What is your preferred device for reading programming books?

[AstonJ]

@IRLeif

(The “Reply” feature on this forum platform is a bit confusing. Sometimes, my reply gets “embedded into” the post I’m replying to, sometimes there’s link in the top-right corder of my reply… Hmmm.)

Can you post a screen grab of what you mean please Leif? Edit: just noticed ODL replied, is that what you meant?

@sztosz

I’m not sure if LCD screen does really flicker. Subpixels can turn on and of as often as refresh rate, but when image is still, like a book page. They are constantly turned off or on, until what is to be shown on does not change. And that is not really what Id call flickering.

The type/amount of flicker can depend on your device, but there will be some sort of flicker - from wikipedia:

In LCD screens, the LCD itself does not flicker, it preserves its opacity unchanged until updated for the next frame. However, in order to prevent accumulated damage LCD displays quickly alternate the voltage between positive and negative for each pixel, which is called ‘polarity inversion’. Ideally, this wouldn’t be noticeable because every pixel has the same brightness whether a positive or a negative voltage is applied. In practice, there is a small difference, which means that every pixel flickers at about 30 Hz. Screens that use opposite polarity per-line or per-pixel can reduce this effect compared to when the entire screen is at the same polarity, sometimes the type of screen is detectable by using patterns designed to maximize the effect.

Much more of a concern is the LCD backlight. Earlier screens used fluorescent lamps which flickered at 100 or 120 Hz; most modern screens use an electronic ballast that flickers at 25–60 kHz which is far outside the human perceptible range. LED backlights should not flicker at all, though some designs may “dim” themselves by switching on and off rapidly and noticeably.

You can do a quick test - read on an LCD screen for 30 minutes or so, then switch off your lights and close your eyes. You’ll usually notice a ‘pulsation’.

@NobbZ

But paperbooks can lift me in a reading mode, I barely can reach when reading from electronic devices. I can better concentrate on paper. I do not think its because of notifications or such things, I really think its the haptics. I grew up with dead trees, and didn’t had an alternative for more than half of my life.

I highly recommend a Kindle. I absorb what I’m reading a lot more when I read on my Kindle - it also feels ‘nicer’ (no flicker, no bright screen, no horrible blue light).

You do need to acclimatise tho - before I start reading on my Kindle I put all other devices aside (and turn the computer screen off) and then close my eyes and count to 10 - if anything comes into my mind, I blot it out, and then I keep doing that until a) my mind feels clear and b) the ‘pulsating’ from looking at an LCD has gone.

Try it, you might like it