I built a f.lux alternative because the M5 Max firmware broke existing solutions

I built a f.lux alternative because the M5 Max firmware broke existing solutions(driftformac.app)

24 points by jackvanstone 3 hours ago | 15 comments

VCFundedGenYer 1 hour ago |

And what exactly was the issue with the built in Night Shift mode?

I think you should have instead filed an issue with f.lux rather than vibe code a redundant app.

The website looks like 50 other AI-generated product sites I've seen lately.

tptacek 1 hour ago | |

Just from the screenshots it looks like this has a bunch of features Night Shift doesn't have.

jackvanstone 3 hours ago |

So the M5 firmware has some limitations and bugs that broke one of my favourite apps, after a while I found a thread that basically said certain devices don't allow modification of the gamma layer in the display. I started building a util for myself but it grew arms and legs, eventually it turned into a small app which i wanted to share, as it solves night shift issues which are still present in f.lux. If you work late like me, but you like your eyes to not be on fire when you go to sleep, please take a look at Drift :)

Thanks - Jack

NetOpWibby 1 hour ago | |

On mobile there’s weird copy ragging and you’ve left out a word or two.

Product looks nice. Hope does it compare to Apple’s built-in Night Shift?

shooly 1 hour ago |

The Liquid Glass effect `<canvas />` used for 1(!) tiny, barely visible button degrades the performance of the entire website.

Also, why is text selection disabled?

Also, please don't hijack the scroll to make it "smooth", I know it's not smooth on Macs by default, that's why lots of people use e.g. `Mos`, so now it's double smoothed.

doctorpangloss 1 hour ago |

what if i told you that there are randomized control trials that conclusively show that the color tint of your screen, blue or otherwise, does not affect sleep?

pureliquidhw 17 minutes ago | |

If I told you there are certain eye conditions/deformities that impact the refraction of light based on the wavelength? Lasik side effects can (and do) include increased distortion as wavelengths move closer to blue from red. And who cares if it works or not for sleep, it is shocking to me how little control modern laptops allow over their screens. Why is it not OS native to control gamma curves? Same question about audio equalization. Don't get me started on transparency and gradients that are clawing their way back. Looking at you "AI-Era" Google aesthetic and Liquid Glass. /rant

Georgelemental 1 hour ago | |

Maybe, but warm tint at night subjectively feels more comfortable

xnickb 1 hour ago | |

does it ease the strain on the eyes? I believe that's individual and hard to measure.

If it helps OP then I see no issue with it being useless for sleep.

I tried using f.lux a decade ago or so. Deemed it not helpful for myself

tptacek 1 hour ago | | |

It was extremely helpful to me, to the point where I could pinpoint basically all my insomnia nights (retroactively, not the night they happened) to accidentally turning F.lux off. But the research on it seems pretty clear, so I'm convinced it's just a potent placebo effect. There's nothing wrong with that!

jasonvorhe 1 hour ago | |

Good luck staying misinformed then. "Trust the science".

tptacek 1 hour ago | | |

The placebo effect is a hell of a thing, and is especially potent with sleep interventions.

doctorpangloss 1 hour ago | | |

metareview CRD420251034611 "non-significant reduction in sleep onset latency" means blue light has been conclusively observed to not delay sleep - it doesn't mean that blue light has not yet been observed to delay sleep, we instead know conclusively that it does not.

registered trial: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01855126 - RCT where shining a bunch of blue light on old people's eyeballs didn't help them stay awake longer.

something i learned from this journey is, going to bed too early is actually a more common clinical issue than staying up too late. like old people go to the doctor, and that's the issue that they have, they feel like they sleep way too much.