14 DAY TRIAL // Working with the computer all day long takes a toll on your eyes, unless you make the right calls to prevent the damage. Taking a pause from the display from time to time could improve your productivity at the office and prevent the deterioration of your vision.
However, I have yet to meet the user that remembers to take the time off the display at the right moment. EyePro is specifically built for this purpose, at the same time making available a set of tips that can decrease the strain from working with the computer for long periods of time.
The application is completely free of charge and takes very little time to put on the system. There is nothing special about the installation process as you will go through the regular screens that get you to accept the agreement and define the install location.
The interface of the program is straightforward and should not cause any trouble to users. The first screen gets straight to the point and provides the options for setting up the breaks when working with the computer.
EyePro recommends taking a short break of just eight seconds and a longer one of one minute after staring into the display for 15 and 45 minutes respectively. You can change the time interval as well as the relaxation period to something that suits you better if the default values don’t cut it for you.
A notification message is emitted 15 seconds before the time for a long break approaches. This can also be modified.
During our testing, we found that the default configuration was a bit too disruptive for our activity, more so with the audio notification enabled.
After using EyePro for a longer time, you can check statistics about the number of breaks taken, skipped or postponed as well as a user adaptability index that shows how well you adjusted to the changes imposed by the program.
The application includes a set of tips designed to make you aware of how working with a computer affects the eyesight of a normal person. It stresses the importance of blinking frequency, the distance between the eyes and the screen, the size of the font you’re reading, the light in the room or the position of the keyboard and mouse so as to avoid strain on your wrists.
Although all this information is readily available on the web, it does not hurt to go through it once again and try to conform.
One of the most important sections in EyePro is “Addons.” Here you can find a set of exercises designed to improve eyesight. There are six of them, and the eye doctor we talked to informed us that they are not harmful, if done correctly.
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Before beginning this therapy we strongly recommend consulting an ophthalmologist.
The exercises involve chasing a target on the screen with your eyes, reading various numbers that appear in different places of a row or crossing your eyes. These activities have the purpose to improve tracking skills, which are important in sports and reading, coordination between the eyes and the hands as well as eye teaming.
Searching online for more information about these activities, we encountered various sources recommending them for improving vision in children.
A very fun exercise is viewing 3D stereograms. EyePro makes available a set of five such images that show various creatures.
If you manage to get your eyes into the required relaxed state, you should be seeing a pair of bunnies, a dinosaur, something that looks more or less like a snail, a lion or dolphins. All of them are in 3D.
Apart from these exercises, EyePro makes available a set of screen filters that should protect your eyes from the intense light generated by the display. They come in four colors (black, blue, green and red) and consist in simply applying a layer over the entire screen.
They make a comfortable environment for reading but, on the downside, also impede working with the applications on the screen. That’s because the filter stays on top of everything and prevents clicking inside any window.
In order to work in a different application, you have to drag the filter away (you cannot resize it) first. However, you can use your keyboard to switch to a different window as well as type text, which aligns with their purpose to reduce “eye strains and discomfort while reading without losing visual comfort,” according to the program’s documentation.
The Good
Every short break alert is accompanied by tips designed to eliminate strain on the eyes while long ones block access to the computer screen to ensure that you’re relaxing the eyes.
The Bad
The Truth
Make sure you consult an ophthalmologist before trying out any of the exercises available in EyePro.
