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RSI posts

Filed under: Business, Kids, Windows, Productivity, Freeware

EyesRelax is a better way to enforce computer breaks

We've covered other apps before that are designed to reduce the risk of repetitive stress injuries. EyesRelax offers a number of additional features that make it an excellent download.

When it's break time, EyesRelax will display a balloon tip, blank screen, or image. It can also notify you of upcoming breaks via balloons or with a less-than-subtle message box.

All the necessary time settings - work, break, and notification period - are customizable.

If you're in the middle of something important that you can't tear yourself away from, a quick double-click on the system tray icon will disable EyesRelax breaks.

Multiple profiles are also supported. If you work at home, it's an excellent way to quickly change settings on systems that are used for both work and play.

One particularly nice feature is the Parent Mode, which allows you to password protect the configuration. Set it up, and EyesRelax becomes a handy way to make sure your kids don't spend too much time in front of the computer screen.

Filed under: Macintosh, Productivity, Freeware

Time Out: take breaks from your Mac

Time Out for MacTime Out is an app for Mac OS X (similar to Workrave) that is geared towards reminding you to take breaks from your computer, which can ultimately prevent repetitive-strain injury (RSI). Time Out is free and includes two types of breaks: normal and micro. Normal breaks are less frequent, but longer in duration, and micro breaks are more frequent but only last for about 10 seconds.

When it's time for a break, the screen will slowly fade into the Time Out screen with a progress bar showing you the remaining time of the current break. You also have the option to postpone the break for 5 or 10 minutes, or to skip it completely.

The program is highly customizable. You can set break length, frequency, and even the color and fade length Time Out will use when it's time for a break. Scripts, Adium status, and iTunes pause/play can even be triggered during breaks (so, for instance, your music can be stopped during a break, then resumed when the break is over).

[Via i use this]

Filed under: Business, Developer, Windows, Linux, Office, Productivity, Open Source

Workrave - avoid Repetitive Strain Injuries

WorkraveGina Trapani over at Lifehacker pointed out an open-source application called Workrave today, and it's a good one. For those of us that spend what seems like every waking hour in front of our computers, we're definitely at risk of acquiring a repetitive stress injury. More than once I've found myself wearing a wrist brace when the most strenuous thing I could attribute it to would be typing or mousing, so I know these risks first-hand.

Workrave is a little timer application that keeps track of how long you've been working, and prompts you to take micro-breaks , rest breaks, and enforces a daily computer limit. All of these things have been done by other applications, but Workrave also includes recommended exercises that show during rest breaks, complete with illustrations to get you going in the right direction.

Another very cool feature is the fact that users that regularly work on multiple computers can run Workrave on all of those machines, and synchronize them; this means that they get their break warnings no matter where they happen to be computing. Back when I was doing software testing, this would have been a life saver!

While the evidence that breaks are necessary to maintain good health when heavily computing, I'm still not sure how I feel about all these micro-breaks, which just start feeling like micro-interruptions. That being said, I should really give this a try, considering the wrist trouble I've previously had.

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