How to reduce eye strain from computers with the 20-20-20 rule

Image Credit: pascoeye.com

Most of us spend long hours in front of the computer which can actually cause a lot of strain to your eyes. With the more gadgets appearing on the market the problem only gets worse. People keep staring into their Android and iPhones and tablets. It is important to remember that your eyes need a break. Constantly staring at a screen can dry your eyes and even cause soreness. To help with this problem Tech blogger Amit Agarwal visited his doctor and got this bit of advice. It is called the 20-20-20 rule and there are also now many apps available to help you follow the same 

How does the 20-20-20 rule work

A computer user must remember to take a break every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and looks at objects that are 20 feet away.


Now once your sit in front of your PC it becomes difficult to remember to do this, there are Apps however that will remind you about your 20 minute break.

Coffee Break for MAC

This little App will allow you to schedule your breaks and once your break time arrives it will simply dim your screen for the duration of the break. This way you are forced to take your break, walk around and do a little bit of stretching. You can set up to five breaks during the course of the day.
Coffee Break for MAC

EyeLeo for Windows

If you are a windows users there is now a new app for you and works like Coffee Break for MAC. There are a few differences though. You can schedule short breaks of=r long breaks. Once your break time arrives your computer screen will dim and you can then stretch and walk around a little. To keep your eyes away from the screen. The App can also in addition to dimming your screen also lock it so your not tempter to skip a break. 
EyeLeo for Windows

An original post by

Sociolatte

Memo - for password protected sticky notes on your Mac

Image: Memo

Memo is a simple add that is now available at the Mac App Store, with this little app you can write stickers paste it on your desktop and it gets synced with all your devices. With iCloud support once you put up a sticky note on your desktop it will then be synced with all your devices and you can even password protect your notes. This is helpful to help you stay on tasks and keep notes that will ensure you do not forget tasks on hand. 


To start creating memos all you need to do is to launch the app and blank memos will appear. Once you are done editing you can then click outside of the memo and the note stays on your desktop. The can edit the font and color of the memo and once you're done you can click on the close button to delete it. Once a memo is up it shows up on all your iOS devices like your iPhone and iPad. If you do give it a whirl and try it out, do let us know what you think in the comments section below. 
You can download memo from the Mac App Store here. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

Social Folders: How does it work

Social Folders is a social linking tool that lets you sync your social life and find everything on your computer.  What this means is that once you download Social Folders onto Your Windows PC or Mac, the web app will then download a copy of your photos, videos and documents and store them on your computer. So you will have a copy of all that you share online. Once you have everything on your PC you can then create folders and view all that you have shared online. You can also update your Facebook photos right from the app. which means no need to wait for your browser to upload photos. You can get the job done right from the app. You can also move folders between services like Facebook and Flickr and the photos will get uploaded with a simple drag and drop action. 


Social Folders a more detailed look:
To get started you would need to download the app to your PC or Mac. Once installed you can then connect all your social sites to the App. Once connected you can get a copy downloaded of all that you have shared. You can then move files between services like Facebook, Flickr, Google Docs, Photo Bucket, YouTube, Box and Picasa to name a few. You however cannot download videos from YouTube because a developer API is not available. So download and retrieve a copy of all the data you have shared on social sites. So if you are concerned with how to back-up all your social data. This will take care of it for you. 


Once you have all your files on your computer, you can then play around and move files between all of these services by dragging and dropping between folders. 


You can also gain access to your friends websites and therefore be able to get a copy of all that they share too. You will however need to invite friends to social folder before you can do this. You can also subscribe to your friends websites and get a copy of all that they are sharing on your computer. So you can enjoy looking at stuff even if you are not connected to the internet. 


Adding new files into your folder means that Social Folders will upload the same for you using the cloud. No need to wait around waiting for your browser to do the job for you. The web app allows you to even copy and paste folders between services. 
Social Folders


Check the video out below to know more. If you do try it please leave your feedback in the comments section below.

An original post by

Sociolatte