[jeff k]

Got first imac. IN past with G4 &5, I would run stuff overnight and turn my monitor off.
With imac is there a way to turn monitor off? or it just has to be on all night? thanks.

[Spheric Harlot]

Check the Energy Saver pane in the System Preferences.

[Simon]

Ctrl-shift-eject turns off a Mac's screen.

[reader50]

Maybe that key sequence only works with built-in screens. It did nothing on my PowerMac G5 under Tiger.

[seanc]

Nor my MacBook Pro, must be an iMac feature.

[Simon]

It works on my MBPs, MBs, and my Mac mini. I'll have to try the iMacs and MPs at work on Monday. Maybe it's a Leopard feature.

[jeff k]

Thanks simon.

[Simon]

Glad it worked for you.

[seanc]

I'm sure in Leopard I could make the eject bezel appear on the screen whether there was a disc in the superdrive or not. Doesn't seem to be working in Snow Leopard.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Simon 

It works on my MBPs, MBs, and my Mac mini. I'll have to try the iMacs and MPs at work on Monday. Maybe it's a Leopard feature.

Control-Shift-Eject works fine in Snow Leopard on my iMac. It also works fine in Leopard with my Cube (and Samsung LCD).

Originally Posted by seanc 

I'm sure in Leopard I could make the eject bezel appear on the screen whether there was a disc in the superdrive or not. Doesn't seem to be working in Snow Leopard.

The eject image overlay does not appear on my Leopard 10.5.8 Cube unless there is a disc in the SuperDrive.

[reader50]

I'd expect the eject overlay to always appear for a tray-loader, since you have to open it with Eject.

[jeff k]

Eug you are on imac?
Do you calibrate your monitor? I'm a photographer, so I'm curious if you bother and if have recommendations regarding this.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Ctrl-shift-eject turns off a Mac's screen.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Check the Energy Saver pane in the System Preferences.

If the shortcut didn't work then you can always set the Display Sleep time to sleep earlier in your Energy Saver preference. The shortcut works for my MBP by the way.

Originally Posted by jeff k 

Eug you are on imac?
Do you calibrate your monitor? I'm a photographer, so I'm curious if you bother and if have recommendations regarding this.

If color accuracy is important to you then you should calibrate your monitor. I have yet to use a monitor that didn't need calibration out of the box for color accuracy. I like using ColorVision's Spyder calibrator but there are other good companies out there. I don't have an iMac so I don't know how well it works on those computers but it works well on my external monitor and laptop screen.

[jeff k]

thanks, if anyone has recommendations on calibrating an imac let me know.
also does sypder have a dialogue box that says, "your monitor is now calibrated"
is there a visual que for this accomplished?

[reader50]

Yes. When the calibration is done, they tell you to remove the sensor. Then they provide a before / after button for you to admire the difference.

[jeff k]

the reason I ask it that the before can often look as cool as the after. I would really love something that really says: your monitor is definitly calibrated -- some universal standard.
For example is there some universal something that can say if my monitor is caibrated accuratey right now?

[RedStar]

Even though you already found a solution there is an alternative for turning off the iMac screen.

In Sys Preference > Screen saver > Hot Corners - You can set a hot corner for putting the display to sleep. This did the trick for me.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

the reason I ask it that the before can often look as cool as the after. I would really love something that really says: your monitor is definitly calibrated -- some universal standard.

Well you can always check manually if you are using a different calibration profile in your Display section of your System Preferences. Select the Color tab and see which profile if selected. When you create a new calibration profile you are allowed the option to save it with whatever name you want to call it so if that is highlighted then you know that you are using your new profile. You can then manually select different profiles in that menu to see the differences between them.

In that same Color window you also have the choice to use Apple's built in calibration tool. It's not the best calibration software but it's free. A hardware calibration tool like ColorVision's Spyder is more accurate. If the default profile is pretty close to accurate then your new color profile won't be that different.

Originally Posted by jeff k 

For example is there some universal something that can say if my monitor is caibrated accuratey right now?

Short answer no. Color accuracy changes every time your ambient lighting changes so if you are working in a room with a lot of ambient sunlight then it will change from morning to night. You either have to calibrate your monitor for several times to adjust to the different lighting changes or work in a room that has more consistent lighting.

In order words you calibration your screen to make it accurate at your given time and current lighting conditions. There is no color accuracy detector tool which seems like what you are asking for. You have to trust that your calibration product is doing its job correctly and you will know it is when you are able to match your prints with your screen.

You really should search Google and read up on calibration and color accuracy. Most of your questions would be answered by simply learning the process.

[Thorzdad]

If you're looking to calibrate a monitor, but can't spring for a proper hardware tool, I heartily recommend SuperCal. As far as software calibration tools go, it's far, far, far better than Apple's sad and ancient calibration tool. SuperCal is shareware, of course.