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I am typing this on a wireless iBook laptop connected to my house
through an AirPort base station (oh yeah, 3 dots baby, go go gadget
go!), and it occurs to me that even though the brightness is turned
up all the way, it's still hard to see the screen. If you find
yourself in a similar situation, here are a few tips for you. (OS 9
of course; but I suspect there are parallel functions in OS X.
Actually I know there are.)
While you're banging on the F2 key to increase the brightness,
hold down the option key and the Monitors control panel will
magically open.
Click on the color button.
Click on Calibrate (don't worry, we won't break anything here.
)
Click on Expert Mode and then the right arrow of the
interactive help screen which opens.
I turned the Gamma all the way down, which lightened (not
brightened, lightened) the screen considerably. Dark lines such as
text and window borders are still black, though, so it became
instantly easier to read - at least in the shade where I am
sitting.
Here are my exact settings:
Native Gamma: 2.2
Target Gamma: 1.00
Chromaticity: didn't change
Target White Point: 6000 K
Your settings may be different depending on the exact angle of the
sun, the color of your house, the type of grass you are growing in
your back yard (bluegrass, fescue, or in my case, nonnative
California Oat Grass Weed), and the color of your shirt; then again,
maybe you just don't care.
Happy outdoor computing!
P.S. Turn AirPort, AppleTalk, and File Sharing off to extend
battery life when not connected. But you probably already knew that.
Jeff Adkins is a science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a beige All-in-One to a a G4 XServe, and they all work together nicely. He calls himself the "poster child for technology integration" in the classroom. He was the 2006 Outstanding Educator of the Year for the California Computer Using Educators (CUE) organization. He also maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com.
Mac of the Day: PowerBook 170, Oct. 1991 - At 25 MHz, the PB 170 was at the top of the original PowerBook line.
List of the Day: The iPhone List Low End Mac's forum for discussing and supporting Apple's iPhone.
August 30 in LEM history: 99: The truth about USB speed - 00: Could Eazel kill the Mac? - Mac OS 8.1 on a IIci and LC III - 01: Beyond MHz and GHz - Getting a handle on email - Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad - Apple's anniversaries - 02: Mac OS X v10.2 - iBook video out - 04: Things that freak out my students - 06: Nvu and SeaMonkey can't replace Home Page - 07: DVD-RAM support
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