gnome-mag for color blind users

beitme · 2017-05-10 08:05:07

Apparently gnome-mag is the only solution available on Linux for people with color blindness. The app has the ability to apply a color filter which effectively makes the screen look "right" to such visually disabled people (as myself).

But Arch doesn't provide this app. Can this be remedied?

I think Android was the first to offer an equivalent solution with the advent of kitkat. Later, Apple also implemented a solution into their OS's (from what I hear). Windows and Linux still don't have a solution (other than gnome-mag).

I read somewhere that it's not an important issue because not enough people are color blind. But according to wikipedia, 8.5% of the population is so affected.

It's troubling to have to see a screen with colors that are dismally inferior to those on my Android devices. Any reason why Arch doesn't offer this app?

I may have to abandon Arch and migrate to Linux Mint just for this app. This of course sounds silly, but it is the case nonetheless.

Ropid · 2017-05-10 09:25:11

I normally don't use Gnome but have it installed. I just logged out and into a Gnome session, and that feature you talk about is there. You go into the settings, then into the accessibility area, then click on the zoom feature, and then a dialog window opens, and that window has a color effects tab. I don't know if that thing still has the same features as what it had in the past as I never used this.

beitme · 2017-05-25 14:47:48

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, those settings can't fulfill my needs as IOS and android can. However, I may have figured out a way to manually calibrate the colors to more closely match what a person with normal color vision sees.

Also, I've never used gnome-mag (since my computer can't run any version of linux except Arch with the grsec kernel), but from what I've heard the gnome-mag app does have color correction filters for color-blind users. This is not what the built in features of gnome offer. So either I've been mislead about the capabilities of gnome-mag or the two apps are simply different in features.

loqs · 2017-05-25 16:51:20

https://git.gnome.org/browse/archive/gnome-mag/ it appears it was never ported to the gnome 3.x series and has not been updated by gnome in 6 years which would explain why it is not included in arch.

Ropid · 2017-05-25 17:21:49

What I'd try to do in your shoes is, I'd see if there's an "ICC" color profile that's supposed to help color-blind distinguish colors better. This ICC stuff has everything that's needed to completely warp colors on screen.

I think I've seen profiles somewhere that are intended for graphic designers with normal vision to simulate the different color-blindness issues to help in designing graphics that work for everyone. Maybe someone also worked on the opposite, something that warps colors in a way that makes color-blind people perceive differences easier.

You add and apply an ICC profile to a monitor somewhere in the Gnome settings.

Another idea is, is there a technical description about whatever those iOS or Android features you are thinking about do? If you can find and show that explanation to people, someone might know something interesting you could try. There might be a way to replicate this with gamma settings or something.

Last edited by Ropid (2017-05-25 17:23:32)

loqs · 2017-05-25 17:28:02

beitme wrote:

since my computer can't run any version of linux except Arch with the grsec kernel

You are aware linux-grsec was removed from the community repo because upstream ceased making patches publicly available and also requested the name grsec not be used.

seth · 2017-05-25 20:17:29

iirc gnome-mag and kmag provided the feature to fake visual defects to allow developers to check what their stuff will look like to affected users.

apply a color filter which effectively makes the screen look "right"

I beg your pardon? No filter will allow a color blind person to see colors, so you might want to elaborate on your expectations and, in case it's not too private, name your actual defect (since there's a pleathora of visual defects and 8% sounds like a red-green weakness rather than actual color blindness)

beitme · 2017-05-29 04:55:56

loqs wrote:

beitme wrote:
since my computer can't run any version of linux except Arch with the grsec kernel
You are aware linux-grsec was removed from the community repo because upstream ceased making patches publicly available and also requested the name grsec not be used.

Yes, I know. But I have no other choice at the moment. This Acer Swift 3 just doesn't run on the generic linux kernel. This is something well documented on bugzilla as well as Acer's support site.

beitme · 2017-05-29 05:08:05

seth wrote:

iirc gnome-mag and kmag provided the feature to fake visual defects to allow developers to check what their stuff will look like to affected users.
apply a color filter which effectively makes the screen look "right"
I beg your pardon? No filter will allow a color blind person to see colors, so you might want to elaborate on your expectations and, in case it's not too private, name your actual defect (since there's a pleathora of visual defects and 8% sounds like a red-green weakness rather than actual color blindness)

In fact, the Android and IOS features do make colors more distinguishable for me. In android, it's called "color correction." Why else would they have a feature with such a name if not to help "correct" color vision problems? Simply put, it works. There are also sunglasses that have the ability to correct color blindness. This is not exactly controversial stuff.

As for what 'color blindness' refers to: "color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color." - Wikipedia, first sentence.

You don't need to be completely blind to a color to be diagnosed with color blindness. I was first diagnosed when I joined the military. Moreover, blindness in general doesn't usually mean someone is "completely blind" as if they can't see anything at all. There are very few blind people who live in absolute darkness.

Naming my defect doesn't help one whit. But since I don't feel embarrassed in any way by it, I have deuteranomaly.

beitme · 2017-05-29 05:12:47

Ropid wrote:

What I'd try to do in your shoes is, I'd see if there's an "ICC" color profile that's supposed to help color-blind distinguish colors better. This ICC stuff has everything that's needed to completely warp colors on screen.
I think I've seen profiles somewhere that are intended for graphic designers with normal vision to simulate the different color-blindness issues to help in designing graphics that work for everyone. Maybe someone also worked on the opposite, something that warps colors in a way that makes color-blind people perceive differences easier.
You add and apply an ICC profile to a monitor somewhere in the Gnome settings.
Another idea is, is there a technical description about whatever those iOS or Android features you are thinking about do? If you can find and show that explanation to people, someone might know something interesting you could try. There might be a way to replicate this with gamma settings or something.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that. But as I mentioned in the previous post, I did manage to improve the contrast and range of hues by adjusting the display settings in KDE. In particular, I reduced the amount of red since I'm deficient in green photoreceptors. Anyhow, it's all rather complicated and I don't understand it in much depth, but it seems to be working a bit.

seth · 2017-05-29 08:16:05

This is not exactly controversial stuff.

That's why I didn't claim such...

You might have though gotten from the WP article that there is not "one" color blindness, that's why

deuteranomaly

... I just asked for this. So the "normal" red-green weakness.

Playing with the gamma values alone won't help you too much, you actually need to adjust the ramps.
You're looking for an ICC Profile that transforms the luminance levels of all three colors into curved ones (basically y[c]=n[c] => y[c]=a[c]+b[c]*x^3). You can find the math behind if you look for "daltonization" or "vissolve", but I stunningly found no such pre-fabbed profile available (though you'll require personalized values for an optimal result)
The xcalib code will show you how to alter the gamma ramps (in X11)

beitme · 2017-05-30 04:33:22

seth wrote:

Playing with the gamma values alone won't help you too much, you actually need to adjust the ramps.
You're looking for an ICC Profile that transforms the luminance levels of all three colors into curved ones (basically y[c]=n[c] => y[c]=a[c]+b[c]*x^3). You can find the math behind if you look for "daltonization" or "vissolve", but I stunningly found no such pre-fabbed profile available (though you'll require personalized values for an optimal result)
The xcalib code will show you how to alter the gamma ramps (in X11)

Okay, thanks man! I know of vissolve. I'm also rather flabbergasted at the fact that there are no ICC profiles. All this time computers have been around and the first solution had to come with the advent of android kitkat. So strange. There are ICC profiles for simulating color blindness, but nothing for the other way around.

Actually, I have no idea what you're talking about regarding ramps and luminance levels. I got some learning to do. Will try to solve this problem in the near future.

Thanks again.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-05-10 08:05:07

gnome-mag for color blind users

#2 2017-05-10 09:25:11

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#3 2017-05-25 14:47:48

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#4 2017-05-25 16:51:20

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#5 2017-05-25 17:21:49

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#6 2017-05-25 17:28:02

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#7 2017-05-25 20:17:29

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#8 2017-05-29 04:55:56

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#9 2017-05-29 05:08:05

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#10 2017-05-29 05:12:47

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#11 2017-05-29 08:16:05

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

#12 2017-05-30 04:33:22

Re: gnome-mag for color blind users

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