Keep Mac screen from dimming

By Etan Horowitz, Technology / Software

The Internet is full of great TV shows and movies that you can watch for free online, but sometimes, Mac computers will often dim the screen slightly while you are watching the video.

You can brighten the screen back up by moving the mouse or hitting a key, but that can be annoying. A free program called Caffeine will keep your Mac from dimming or going to sleep while you're watching Web video.

1. Go to lightheadsw.com/caffeine.

2. Click "Download Caffeine."

3. Once the installation file downloads, double click on it. Drag the picture of the coffee cup into the applications folder on your hard drive.

4. When you are ready to use Caffeine, open your applications folder and double click on the program. If you see a little coffee cup in the upper right corner of your computer screen then you'll know Caffeine is running.

5. To set how long you want your computer to stay awake, hold down the command key, click on the coffee cup and choose one of the options.

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(Etan Horowitz is the technology columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at ehorowitz(at)orlandosentinel.com.)

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Š 2008, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Posted by fuchikoma 09/24/08 17:05

Rank: 5/5 after 2 votes

I love this site, but I've got to kill my subscription to the RSS feed... there's just way too much random junk on here that has nothing to do with "Science; physics; tech; nano" or even "news."

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Posted by jrmontag 09/24/08 21:48

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Seconded. Come on physorg... you're a science news source. don't dilute yourself.

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Posted by Bob_Kob 09/24/08 22:11

Rank: 3.5/5 after 2 votes

I lol'ed how such a shitty problem affects macs. God theyre crappy computers.

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Posted by fuchikoma 09/25/08 11:34

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I lol'ed how such a shitty problem affects macs. God theyre crappy computers.

Well... actually it's the same as a Windows machine putting the screen to sleep on a timer - most movie players are smart enough to shut that off, but some 3rd party ones aren't.

I support both at work... Macs are pretty slick these days, they just have a zillion hardware faults and recalls these days if you look them up, and no other hardware vendors to choose from (unless you hack OSX to install on other stuff, then any weirdness truly can't be blamed on them.) On the upside, at least they fix the problems as soon as they know about them... but a Mac fan would really be best off letting a new product "mature" for a while, just as with a new version of Windows.