4 ms·

All displays should be e-ink. It's crazy to stare at a backlit screen all day.

by scroot 9y ago

DaiPlusPlus 9y ago
Apart from the very slow response times, of course.
- scroot 9y ago
  Things seem to be getting better in that regard [1]. We'll need better software/interfaces for using these kinds of displays though. [1] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/e-ink-monitor-with-hdmi-paperlike-pro#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/e-ink-monitor-with-hdmi-p...
Fnoord 9y ago
Depends on the use case. We have two e-readers from Kobo. Both have e-ink. They can both also run a browser. Pretty cool thus far? The refresh rate is abysmal which you're gonna notice whilst browsing, and it all has to be rendered local (including all the bloated JS being used nowadays). Both of these factors are a killer for battery life. So if you'd be scrolling down a web page, and then replying to say here in HN that'd be terrible use case because input is also terrible (touchscreen isn't very accurate either and low refresh rate makes the letters appear slowly). For pure reading however, it is great, and for browsing it is OKish (the only disadvantage is the rendering). It has Pocket support which is sanitised. The less the screen is refreshed, the better e-ink is.
bitwize 9y ago
The refresh rate sucks. Transflective LCD gets you e-ink-like contrast, LCD-like refresh rate, and battery life that's still much worse than e-ink but a significant improvement over backlit LCD.
suprfnk 9y ago
> It's crazy to stare at a backlit screen all day. Why?
squarefoot 9y ago
Backlit displays hurt our eyes because most apps often use full white backgrounds without taking into account the much bigger surface (that is, light) our eyes is exposed to by doing so, which is roughly double compared to say 10 years ago. That can be corrected by choosing darker themes, but good luck convincing most people to do that. E-Ink technology needs a lot more time to become a viable option for monitors.
- mrob 9y ago
  Or just turn the brightness down. The monitor I'm using now has a dedicated button for cycling through brightness settings. I have it on minimum for general use, and I set it to maximum for games/movies.
- scardine 9y ago
  In the office most programmers and designers use dark themes, but in fact they are more straining than light themes because your eyes do more work adjusting for seeing little bright things in the dark than for seeing little dark things in the light - I guess in the end it is a matter of taste.

All displays should be e-ink. It's crazy to stare at a backlit screen all day.

by scroot 9y ago

All displays should be e-ink. It's crazy to stare at a backlit screen all day.

DaiPlusPlus 9y ago

Apart from the very slow response times, of course.

scroot 9y ago
Things seem to be getting better in that regard [1]. We'll need better software/interfaces for using these kinds of displays though. [1] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/e-ink-monitor-with-hdmi-paperlike-pro#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/e-ink-monitor-with-hdmi-p...

Fnoord 9y ago

Depends on the use case. We have two e-readers from Kobo. Both have e-ink. They can both also run a browser. Pretty cool thus far? The refresh rate is abysmal which you're gonna notice whilst browsing, and it all has to be rendered local (including all the bloated JS being used nowadays). Both of these factors are a killer for battery life. So if you'd be scrolling down a web page, and then replying to say here in HN that'd be terrible use case because input is also terrible (touchscreen isn't very accurate either and low refresh rate makes the letters appear slowly). For pure reading however, it is great, and for browsing it is OKish (the only disadvantage is the rendering). It has Pocket support which is sanitised. The less the screen is refreshed, the better e-ink is.

bitwize 9y ago

The refresh rate sucks. Transflective LCD gets you e-ink-like contrast, LCD-like refresh rate, and battery life that's still much worse than e-ink but a significant improvement over backlit LCD.

suprfnk 9y ago

> It's crazy to stare at a backlit screen all day. Why?

squarefoot 9y ago

Backlit displays hurt our eyes because most apps often use full white backgrounds without taking into account the much bigger surface (that is, light) our eyes is exposed to by doing so, which is roughly double compared to say 10 years ago. That can be corrected by choosing darker themes, but good luck convincing most people to do that. E-Ink technology needs a lot more time to become a viable option for monitors.

mrob 9y ago
Or just turn the brightness down. The monitor I'm using now has a dedicated button for cycling through brightness settings. I have it on minimum for general use, and I set it to maximum for games/movies.
scardine 9y ago
In the office most programmers and designers use dark themes, but in fact they are more straining than light themes because your eyes do more work adjusting for seeing little bright things in the dark than for seeing little dark things in the light - I guess in the end it is a matter of taste.