Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

f.lux VS GnuPlot

Compare f.lux VS GnuPlot and see what are their differences

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f.lux logo f.lux

f. lux is a piece of software for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android that provides a blue light filter over your screen. Research suggests limiting our exposure to blue light in the hours before bedtime can help us fall asleep faster.

GnuPlot logo GnuPlot

Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility.
  • f.lux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18
  • GnuPlot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13

f.lux features and specs

  • Reduced Eye Strain
    f.lux adjusts the color temperature of your screen to match the lighting conditions, which can help reduce eye strain, especially during nighttime use.
  • Improved Sleep Quality
    By reducing blue light exposure in the evening, f.lux can help regulate your circadian rhythm, potentially improving sleep quality.
  • Customizable Settings
    f.lux offers various customization options allowing users to set their own schedules and adjust the color temperature to their preference.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    f.lux is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS, making it accessible to a broad range of users regardless of their preferred platform.
  • Free to Use
    f.lux is available for free, making it an attractive option for users looking for screen color adjustment software without incurring costs.

Possible disadvantages of f.lux

  • Compatibility Issues
    Some applications and games may not function properly when f.lux is running, causing issues such as color inaccuracies or screen flickering.
  • Learning Curve
    While f.lux is relatively simple, new users may need some time to fully understand and effectively use its various settings and features.
  • Performance Impact
    On lower-end systems, running f.lux can sometimes lead to a minor performance impact, potentially slowing down the computer.
  • Limited Mobile Support
    f.lux is not available on Android devices, restricting its usage for users who primarily rely on this operating system.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with any software that alters system settings, some users may have concerns about the level of access and control f.lux requires to function correctly.

GnuPlot features and specs

  • Highly Customizable
    GnuPlot offers extensive customization options for creating plots, allowing users to tweak almost every aspect of the graph, including colors, labels, line styles, and more.
  • Scriptable
    GnuPlot can be driven by scripts, making it convenient for automating complex plots and integrating with other software workflows.
  • Wide Range of Output Formats
    It supports many output formats such as PNG, PDF, SVG, and EPS, making it easy to generate graphics for different purposes like presentations, publications, and web content.
  • Cross-Platform
    GnuPlot runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring that it can be used in diverse computing environments.
  • Complex Plotting Capabilities
    GnuPlot supports a wide variety of plots, including 2D and 3D plots, histograms, heatmaps, and more, which caters to the needs of advanced visualization requirements.
  • Performance
    GnuPlot is efficient and can handle large datasets with ease, offering fast rendering times which is crucial when dealing with complex visualizations.
  • Free and Open Source
    Being free and open-source software, GnuPlot is accessible to everyone, and users can modify the source code to suit their needs.

Possible disadvantages of GnuPlot

  • Steep Learning Curve
    GnuPlot has a complex syntax and a steep learning curve, especially for beginners who may find it difficult to get started without substantial effort.
  • Limited GUI
    GnuPlot lacks a full-featured graphical user interface (GUI), making it less user-friendly for those who prefer point-and-click interactions over scripting.
  • Documentation
    While comprehensive, the documentation can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate for new users trying to find specific information quickly.
  • Date Handling
    Handling and formatting dates can be cumbersome in GnuPlot, requiring more manual setup compared to other dedicated plotting tools.
  • Interactive Features
    GnuPlot's interactive plotting capabilities are limited compared to other modern plotting tools that offer more dynamic and real-time interactivity.
  • Integration
    Integration with some modern programming environments and languages may not be as seamless as with other plotting libraries specifically designed for those ecosystems (e.g., Matplotlib in Python).

Analysis of f.lux

Overall verdict

  • f.lux is generally considered a good tool for those looking to reduce blue light exposure and improve their screen viewing experience, particularly at night. It is user-friendly and offers customizable settings to suit individual preferences.

Why this product is good

  • f.lux is designed to help reduce eye strain from computer screens by adjusting the color temperature according to the time of day, making it warmer at night to reduce blue light exposure. This can improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue for users who spend long hours in front of screens.

Recommended for

    f.lux is recommended for individuals who work late into the night on computers, people sensitive to blue light exposure, and anyone looking to improve their sleep patterns by minimizing screen glare after sunset.

Analysis of GnuPlot

Overall verdict

  • Gnuplot is generally considered to be a good choice for those looking for a reliable and flexible plotting tool, especially if the users need robust scriptability or work across different operating systems.

Why this product is good

  • Gnuplot is a powerful, portable, and multi-platform tool capable of producing high-quality 2D and 3D plots. It supports numerous output formats and can be used interactively or in scripts. Additionally, it has a large support community and extensive documentation, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

  • Scientists and engineers who need to visualize data across diverse platforms.
  • Users comfortable working with command-line interfaces.
  • Individuals or teams needing to generate plots through automated scripts.
  • Those looking for a free and open-source alternative to other graphing tools.

f.lux videos

F.lux Review - Should You Really Use It? [MY EXPERIENCE]

More videos:

  • Review - Does F.lux (FLUX) Really Work? Blue Light Filter test W/ Ghetto Science Applied.
  • Demo - F.lux - Review & Demo

GnuPlot videos

Gnuplot Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - DTrace Latency Visualization in gnuplot
  • Review - Basics of Gnuplot - Make your plot look Good

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to f.lux and GnuPlot)
Work Management
100 100%
0% 0
Technical Computing
0 0%
100% 100
Color Temperature Adjuster
Numerical Computation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, f.lux seems to be a lot more popular than GnuPlot. While we know about 350 links to f.lux, we've tracked only 5 mentions of GnuPlot. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

f.lux mentions (350)

  • Adafruit Receives Demand Letter from Fenwick Legal Counsel on Behalf of Flux.ai
    Nor f.lux, the warm light software that got Sherlocked by every major OS. https://justgetflux.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Show HN: Monchromate โ€“ the best greyscale browser extension
    Somewhat related: I really like f.lux's "Darkroom" feature. Although I no longer use the app to reduce blue light after the advent of macOS's Night Shift, Darkroom mode tints the screen completely red (like a red version of Color Filters). It's great for working during the wee hours. https://justgetflux.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Flux is fast and it's open source
    I know naming things is hard, but... https://justgetflux.com/ https://flux11pro.com/ (Maybe the same thing? Unclear.) https://github.com/flux-framework/flux-core (apparently archived now, but this was the first thing I thought of) https://www.flux.ai/ https://fluxcd.io/ https://runonflux.io/ https://fluxml.ai/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Modos Paper Monitor Pre-Launch on Crowd Supply
    Give Flux a try. https://justgetflux.com/ It did it before night mode and does it far better. ;). - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Tools that keep me productive
    For those evenings where I'm in front of the computer, f.lux is a must. Like some wise person said, "Be kind to your eyeballs". macOS's Nightshift kind of works, but f.lux destroys it. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
View more

GnuPlot mentions (5)

  • Question about Project Management
    To some extent it extends the concept of tasks which only can be reasonably executed after the completion of other ones (though results of branches eventually may join each other) and offers an additional assisting birds' eye visual of projects. So far, I'm aware about the documentation on worg interfacing org-taskjuggler and taskjuggler, as well as a video tutorial interfacing gnuplot instead. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How do I make a transparent background on .ps or .eps file imported to groff
    Gnuplot is a program to plot diagrams. The Commands issued to use it don't change regardless if it is used in Linux/Windows/MacOS and it comes with less dependencies than a Spread sheet, or a statistics program. This is why I started to Become comfortable with it, and venture out some of its features. Here, "conditional plot" referred to "the diagram only displays a Thing/uses a pixel if the value in the table... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Drawing graphs and diagrams
    Or, does drawing diagrams refers to plotting data, but neither using matplotlib, nor gnuplot (export to .svg, .pdf, .png; pstricks, tikz to mention a few options)? Source: over 3 years ago
  • Are specific softwares avialable that are suitable for converting different diagrams, graphs and mindmaps to latex codes?
    There may the occasion you actually need the data from a publication, and want to plot them altogether with data newly collected data in one diagram in common. An overlay, though possible, can become tricky (scaling, centering, alignment, etc.) and plotting all data in a diagram generated from scratch (gnuplot/octave, matplotlib, Origin, ...) exported as an illustration in the usual formats (.pdf/.png), or... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Introducing Graphs
    Have you looked at the graphing capabilities of Octave or Gnuplot? Gnuplot in particular has a lot of options, and a GUI for those who want it. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing f.lux and GnuPlot, you can also consider the following products

LightBulb - Background application that adjusts screen gamma, making the colors appear warmer at night...

Matplotlib - matplotlib is a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety...

Red Moon - Screen filter for night time phone use.

GeoGebra CAS Calculator - Free online algebra calculator from GeoGebra: solve equations, expand and factor expressions, find derivatives and integrals

Dimmer - A very small and free utility for Windows to reduce brightness on LCD/TFT screens.

GeoGebra - GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for learning and teaching.