OGS Theme Preferences enhancements

[Aten]

This is a human factors topic. OGS has two themes for the background: Day (bright white) can be unnecessarily harsh. Night is black but switching to a more typical window can be, to exaggerate, blinding.

It would be nice to have other options. For example, this OS has 10 stock solid color desktops. Of those, 3 shades of gray, and a sort of bluish-grey that look like good options. Maybe a couple other tinted greys, off-white, etc. would do. (vs. 250 possible stone/goban choices).

(A) The page should present users with a comfortable and suitable image to meet their visual needs (brightness, contrast, being able to distinguish display elements). Screen brightness and temperature can effect sleep cycle. (e.g., refer to https://justgetflux.com/research.html).

(B) When choosing color schemes it’s good to keep color blindness in mind. The topics (* and #) raises the issue of a visibility problem because changing to the Night theme results in insufficient contrast. Maybe the theme needs a tweak.

Some related topics:
(*)two-contrast-issues
(#)ghost-in-chat-box
should-we-have-a-contest-for-new-themes-on-ogs
new-game-parameter-buttons-text-invisible-on-black-themed-ipad
ogs-theme-in-the-style-of-gokibitz-com
supporter-coloured-name-is-too-dominant-on-the-dark-theme
art-contest-help-us-create-new-tournament-trophy-icons

[Aten]

Is there any effect on battery drain using a black background vs. a white one? Pbgarden provided an interesting answer:

Depending on the screen technology*, it’s possible and counterintuitive that displaying black pixels may consume more power than white ones. Two (common) ways screens work: (A) With individual pixels that light up. A darker image will save power since the pixels light up less brightly. (B) With a backlight and individual pixels that block its light. The backlight is always on. Additional power is used to “shut off” pixels (the RGB sub-pixels in fact) to display an image. Therefore a dark image on a backlit screen uses more power than a bright one. (When the screen is off it’s irrelevant since either (A) all pixels are off or (B) the backlight is off.)

In the end the difference is not terribly substantial.

(*) If you don’t know, check the unit’s system report or do a web search on the precise model for the as-released specs.