4 ms·

I'd wager most who hate green on black don't spend much time in terminals. I'd be blind by now if they were locked to black on white.

by axaxs 13y ago

thedufer 13y ago
I spend basically all day in a terminal, but green on black is still pretty grating. I use http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized (the dark version), which is quite pleasant - most text is a light grey, and the background is a very dark blue. In general, though, I find that light on dark is much easier on the eyes than black on white. That's how my Kindle Fire is set up, too.
nilved 13y ago
What's wrong with e.g. #ddd on #222?
- axaxs 13y ago
  For me, the same thing that's wrong with #222 on #222 - harder to see. In seriousness, it's easy on the eyes but doesn't seem nearly as clear as green.
snogglethorpe 13y ago
Sure, but the typical green-on-black terminal from days of yore is very, very, different than jwz's blog page on a modern monitor... I don't know whether it's strictly the color of those old phosphors or other physical attributes of the displays, but it's like night and day. [I was a particular fan of the H29, a soft yellowish grassy green, it was cheerful without being grating, just great to use. Also a good feeling detachable keyboard, lots of nice stuff.]
- npongratz 13y ago
  Agreed that the difference is like night and day. I also remember the black of the green-on-black terminals was "lighter" somehow, so that there was less contrast between the black and the green. The lower contrast definitely saves on my eyes. I approximate this in iTerm2 by setting my background to RGB (0, 39, 0), and foreground to RGB (26, 223, 0). Probably not perfect, but I found it works fine with a MBP non-retina built-in as well as an external LCD.
jff 13y ago
I've used a real green-on-black VT-220 and it nearly blinded me when I looked away after a few hours. Everything looked purple.

I'd wager most who hate green on black don't spend much time in terminals. I'd be blind by now if they were locked to black on white.

by axaxs 13y ago

I'd wager most who hate green on black don't spend much time in terminals. I'd be blind by now if they were locked to black on white.

thedufer 13y ago

I spend basically all day in a terminal, but green on black is still pretty grating. I use http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized (the dark version), which is quite pleasant - most text is a light grey, and the background is a very dark blue. In general, though, I find that light on dark is much easier on the eyes than black on white. That's how my Kindle Fire is set up, too.

nilved 13y ago

What's wrong with e.g. #ddd on #222?

axaxs 13y ago
For me, the same thing that's wrong with #222 on #222 - harder to see. In seriousness, it's easy on the eyes but doesn't seem nearly as clear as green.

snogglethorpe 13y ago

Sure, but the typical green-on-black terminal from days of yore is very, very, different than jwz's blog page on a modern monitor... I don't know whether it's strictly the color of those old phosphors or other physical attributes of the displays, but it's like night and day. [I was a particular fan of the H29, a soft yellowish grassy green, it was cheerful without being grating, just great to use. Also a good feeling detachable keyboard, lots of nice stuff.]

npongratz 13y ago
Agreed that the difference is like night and day. I also remember the black of the green-on-black terminals was "lighter" somehow, so that there was less contrast between the black and the green. The lower contrast definitely saves on my eyes. I approximate this in iTerm2 by setting my background to RGB (0, 39, 0), and foreground to RGB (26, 223, 0). Probably not perfect, but I found it works fine with a MBP non-retina built-in as well as an external LCD.

jff 13y ago

I've used a real green-on-black VT-220 and it nearly blinded me when I looked away after a few hours. Everything looked purple.