3 ms·

I'm younger than most of the folks commenting here, but I've noticed very clearly that my eyes aren't nearly as strong as they used to be. I'm wondering how old

I'm younger than most of the folks commenting here, but I've noticed very clearly that my eyes aren't nearly as strong as they used to be. I'm wondering how older folks deal with this beyond just wearing glasses. Additionally, some other things I'd like to learn about: Any subreddits geared for older developers? Any supplements that are great for older engineers/knowledge workers?

lowercased 3y ago
Larger monitors? I worked off a laptop for 15 years. I was a lot more mobile, and the laptop was my primary display. 2020, with travel stopped, I got a desktop and couple of large monitors (32"). I still don't feel terribly more 'productive' with multiple monitors (years of experience on single monitor only!) but the large monitors help a lot. Separately, since I primarily work on a desktop, it's harder to just 'work' whenever/wherever I am, so there's more of a "I'm done now" aspect at the end of a day. I still have laptop, and can do stuff on it when I need to, but over the last couple of years, that's been far far less than it was 10 years ago. I use glasses, but for driving only.
- wing-_-nuts 3y ago
  I'm looking to get a 32" 4k monitor as my external monitor. What sort of scaling do you use? I hear most folks go with 150% but that puts one right back at 1440p real estate.
  - lowercased 3y ago
    I normally still keep it at 2560x1440. Actually, looking at it, it doesn't go higher (not a 4k, missed that when purchasing it). My other one (well, it's not 32" - 27") I toggle between 1680 and 2160. Even when I have 'more' real estate on the 27", I sometimes end up zooming the screen sometimes anyway to get closer. I've had a couple friend rave about their ultra-wides, and I might get just one ultra-wide to replace the two I have.
  - necovek 3y ago
    With Linux, you can get into those "tweaks" tools to separately set lower scaling (I go with 125%), but slightly larger fonts: less real-estate lost, still readable. On Mac, as it has no subpixel rendering, going with anything less than 4K results in lack of smooth lines and jaggy fonts. If there's one drawback, it's that rendering 4K can tax your hardware (eg even full screen 4K Google Meet on pre-Iris Xe laptop will keep your CPU pegged at 80%).
rlawson 3y ago
For me: Standing desk has helped a lot with back/neck pain. Large monitors set to a more age friendly resolution. Turmeric for cutting down on inflammation.
cableshaft 3y ago
Do you have a special pair of glasses for the normal computer distance? I ask for them every time my prescription updates. I have two pairs of glasses, one for driving and one for computer/around the house, and my headaches/eye strain have gone way down since I started wearing those regularly. Not sure if that helps at all. Kind of sounds like you're not wanting to wear glasses at all. I've been wearing mine since I've been six years old, so I don't really know any other way (tried contacts for a year and they were just too annoying to deal with).
cgh 3y ago
I had laser surgery. Not for everyone, but if you're a candidate (they do a comprehensive eye exam first), it could be some of the best money you ever spent. It was for me, anyway.
wduquette 3y ago
I have my regular glasses and my computer glasses (actually, two pair of those, one for work and one for home). For me, the computer glasses get the job done.
hermitcrab 3y ago
>I've noticed very clearly that my eyes aren't nearly as strong as they used to be. I'm wondering how older folks deal with this beyond just wearing glasses. Big fonts and big monitors!
m3047 3y ago
Get good glasses. I haven't had Lasik because when I was young I could "count the rocks on Mt. Rainier!" as my wife's very expensive optometrist put it. I have astigmatism, and I've gotten rather farsighted as I've aged; all of it is correctable with glasses, and I've been informed it wouldn't be after Lasik. I wore dimestore readers for almost a decade. Finally saw the optometrist after discovering that after a day of screentime while I was driving home I'd be seeing double. Astigmatism correction fixed that. Went another decade before saying fuck it and getting aviators (photogrey, bifocal) for driving (don't need them to pass the driver's test); discovered how much they cleaned up the light flare at night. Went another five years before joking about rose colored glasses and ended up getting a lightly tinted pair; it was just a taste, it wasn't enough. Next time I went in I got flamin' rose colored ones in huge hexagonal gold frames: kinda messes with colors but so awesomely worth it driving at night with all the blue-tinted LED headlights and streetlights.

lowercased 3y ago

Larger monitors? I worked off a laptop for 15 years. I was a lot more mobile, and the laptop was my primary display. 2020, with travel stopped, I got a desktop and couple of large monitors (32"). I still don't feel terribly more 'productive' with multiple monitors (years of experience on single monitor only!) but the large monitors help a lot. Separately, since I primarily work on a desktop, it's harder to just 'work' whenever/wherever I am, so there's more of a "I'm done now" aspect at the end of a day. I still have laptop, and can do stuff on it when I need to, but over the last couple of years, that's been far far less than it was 10 years ago. I use glasses, but for driving only.

wing-_-nuts 3y ago
I'm looking to get a 32" 4k monitor as my external monitor. What sort of scaling do you use? I hear most folks go with 150% but that puts one right back at 1440p real estate.
- lowercased 3y ago
  I normally still keep it at 2560x1440. Actually, looking at it, it doesn't go higher (not a 4k, missed that when purchasing it). My other one (well, it's not 32" - 27") I toggle between 1680 and 2160. Even when I have 'more' real estate on the 27", I sometimes end up zooming the screen sometimes anyway to get closer. I've had a couple friend rave about their ultra-wides, and I might get just one ultra-wide to replace the two I have.
- necovek 3y ago
  With Linux, you can get into those "tweaks" tools to separately set lower scaling (I go with 125%), but slightly larger fonts: less real-estate lost, still readable. On Mac, as it has no subpixel rendering, going with anything less than 4K results in lack of smooth lines and jaggy fonts. If there's one drawback, it's that rendering 4K can tax your hardware (eg even full screen 4K Google Meet on pre-Iris Xe laptop will keep your CPU pegged at 80%).

rlawson 3y ago

For me: Standing desk has helped a lot with back/neck pain. Large monitors set to a more age friendly resolution. Turmeric for cutting down on inflammation.

cableshaft 3y ago

Do you have a special pair of glasses for the normal computer distance? I ask for them every time my prescription updates. I have two pairs of glasses, one for driving and one for computer/around the house, and my headaches/eye strain have gone way down since I started wearing those regularly. Not sure if that helps at all. Kind of sounds like you're not wanting to wear glasses at all. I've been wearing mine since I've been six years old, so I don't really know any other way (tried contacts for a year and they were just too annoying to deal with).

cgh 3y ago

I had laser surgery. Not for everyone, but if you're a candidate (they do a comprehensive eye exam first), it could be some of the best money you ever spent. It was for me, anyway.

wduquette 3y ago

I have my regular glasses and my computer glasses (actually, two pair of those, one for work and one for home). For me, the computer glasses get the job done.

hermitcrab 3y ago

>I've noticed very clearly that my eyes aren't nearly as strong as they used to be. I'm wondering how older folks deal with this beyond just wearing glasses. Big fonts and big monitors!

m3047 3y ago

Get good glasses. I haven't had Lasik because when I was young I could "count the rocks on Mt. Rainier!" as my wife's very expensive optometrist put it. I have astigmatism, and I've gotten rather farsighted as I've aged; all of it is correctable with glasses, and I've been informed it wouldn't be after Lasik. I wore dimestore readers for almost a decade. Finally saw the optometrist after discovering that after a day of screentime while I was driving home I'd be seeing double. Astigmatism correction fixed that. Went another decade before saying fuck it and getting aviators (photogrey, bifocal) for driving (don't need them to pass the driver's test); discovered how much they cleaned up the light flare at night. Went another five years before joking about rose colored glasses and ended up getting a lightly tinted pair; it was just a taste, it wasn't enough. Next time I went in I got flamin' rose colored ones in huge hexagonal gold frames: kinda messes with colors but so awesomely worth it driving at night with all the blue-tinted LED headlights and streetlights.