One thing you might consider is setting your screen to a lower resolution so that less fits on the screen at any one time. I like having my screen set to a high resolution, but it makes the print much smaller.

I used to have a lot of eye strain and my nephew suggested a "large" monitor so I bought a 21 inch and I enlarged the font, both helped. When the thin ones came out I replaced the CRT. Some days I move the monitor closer or further away, the doc said that is normal. He also said the fixed stare makes the eyes dry so you don't focus as you should and to take short breaks often.

For the time being, you could try the ClearType Tuner from Microsoft.

This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.

After installation, go to the Control Panel and run ClearType Tuner.
It has a series of text boxes that you check for the ones that look best to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: ClearType Tuner PowerToy

Thanks for these suggestions, especially Clear Type. But I would really be glad to hear about recommendations for monitors, if anyone has any thoughts on that.

If you are posting from the States, might I suggest you contact someone like up here in Canada, the CNIB(Canadian National Institute of the Blind). I am not trying to be mean, but these organizations deal with people who have various degrees of eyesight loss and they may have definate suggestions for monitors
The same as I deal with Hearing Clinics for suggestions on what phones might be available for those with different degrees of hearing loss

I have extremely bad eyesight, legally blind with out corrective lenses, nearsighted level -12 high myopia, count fingers vision with severe astigmatism, so I have a good idea what you mean, not fun but thankful for the corrective lenses!
I use a regular Acer AL1916 flat LCD monitor and have been very happy with it. I have adjusted settings to help, I did set Clear Type, I also went into the advanced settings and changed the DPI setting to a much higher one, that is what I would suggest you do with your current monitor as well as any other you may get. I have my resolution set at the recommended one that came with my monitor info. Changing the DPI setting definitely helps.
Right Click on a blank area of your desktop and select properties, go to the monitor settings tab, set the resolution where it needs to be, click on advanced tab and find the DPI settings set it to the higher number, apply ok, it can also be set custom but all I had to do was set the higher number.
On some websites I do use the firefox add-on text size toolbar to quickly increase the size of a pages text.
Those are the things that help me daily. Hope they help you.

You can also purchase a screen magnifier which attaches to your monitor and acts as a large magnifier glass. I have never tried one since I am able to see ok making the changes I have.

If you wear glasses you can make some changes there to help also, get anti reflective/anti-glare lenses; they also have different focal point lenses for people who mostly use laptops and computers so discussing these things with your eye doctor can help you get the proper lenses for using the computer, you may need a special pair of glasses just for that, I know our eye doc has my husband set up with a trifocal lens with the center lens set for computer distance. Some people find using the computer a lot causes their eyes to be dry and need lubricating drops, that is because we tend to forget to blink when staring at a monitor, doing blinking exercises and taking eye rest breaks are a very good idea.
If you google search "low vision aids" you may find more options.

Go to this site, they make all kinds of glasses to help you see what you aren't at the moment.
fortunately, I found a pair of magnifiers to put overtop of my regular glasses, has increased my eyesite without going any farther in the strength of the lens. I also have an Acer monitor, and am so glad to have it, really works to see all you need to see. Not too pricey either!
But do try some magnifiers, they are great, and can be left right at the computer when you finish.
Baby yourself a little!!!!!!!!!!

http://smarteyes2.stores.yahoo.net/readingglasses1.html

Thank you both for the info and especially RC for all the detail. I have found it is not just a matter of making it bigger but not fuzzy. You can increase font size etc. but it can get fuzzy.

I will pursue all this advice and hopefully solve my problem. Thanks again.

Raven I have what I call computer glasses. They are trifocals on the top and the lower part is for reading. I would need regular trifocals if I worked a job, but not necessary at home except for the PC.

I'd suggest finding a local person,not necessarily a pc tech, to help you work through settings that may help. Tech time can get expensive! I volunteer with our local senior center and have helped many with vision problems. My husband is legally blind. I bought him a 21 inch Viewsonic Wide which works for him. I also installed a better digital video card which allows for larger fonts without getting fuzzy. I set the mouse to have tails, and have it "snap to" the box as he changes programs.

ginny12-
As someone who is very nearsighted, I can empathize. I have three suggestions. First, get as big a monitor as you can afford... 22"-24' would be great. Second, see if it helps to use the Microsoft Tool called Magnifer, which is in: Start / All Programs / Programs / Accessories / Accessibility (in XP). This will enlarge up to 16 times, but it may start to get fuzzy at high magnifications because some of the images onscreen are low resolution images that look ok at small size but start to degrade as they're blownup, and there is nothing that can be done about that. Third, consider using the free Opera browser, which allows a web page to be enlarged up to 10 times, generally keeps text sharp, and allows either scrolling from side to side to see the whole page, or allows it to be "fit to width" with one click. This browser is very similar to Internet Explorer or Firefox, but has, in my opinion, a better magnifier.

This thread is exactly what makes a forum shine. Look at all the options offered by so many posters willing to share their experience. Even myself who read this out of curiosity rather than need found it interesting. I am unifocal, meaning I use one eye or the other but not both together so 3D is not viable for me but I see my screen very well.

For those who might opt for Kuzu9's idea of using Opera for larger type which might cause side scrolling you can get a mouse that scrolls sideways. My Logitech MX1000 will scroll left or right when pages are large by just pushing the wheel to one side or the other. Of course these are more expensive and I am not trying to spend the money of others but it does offer another option to make your computing time even more pleasurable.

This is how to find the DPI settings in XP, this will help anyone that needs the bigger clearer text with their proper resolution.
You can get to it 2 ways, Right click on a clear area of the desktop, choose properties, then the settings tab, then advanced button.
OR Start>controlpanel> Display> settings> advanced this is what you will see.
{{gwi:1450166}}
once you hit the advanced button you get the DPI settings page
{{gwi:1450167}}
change the setting to the larger number, reboot.
ON that first image you can set your recommended screen resolution there as given to you in your monitor information. Be sure for each time you change things you hit apply and ok. when done it is a good idea to reboot. go back in and make sure your change of settings is still correct if so you are done.

In one of Kim Komando's tips she just mentioned this free tool which may be handy for some with vision problems so I thought I would post the link to it.
PCLoupe - Free Magnifying tool

I was fortunate enough to have Lasik surgery four years ago. I went from needing blended progressive tri-focals for just "seeing" to nothing. I am now 20/20. It was quite a shock at then 56 years old. Having reported that I still have times in the morning where my eyes might not clear, in the evening when they are over worked, or if my sinuses are dreadful.

You might want consider doing as I did. I bought several pairs of Walmart glasses 2X and 1.5X. They come even stronger. They sell at Ace Hardware and probably other places too. I think I paid $2 a pair. I keep a pair at my computer, in the garage and in the car. I have them on now as I haven't had my first coffee yet.

Also, I never looked in XP but in Vista START>Accessories>Ease of Access>Magnifier.

The utility is a visual assist. You can drag down the original screen let's say half way and the upper half is a blow up of that screen. Everywhere you cursor points is shown on enhanced screen.

DA

DA I used to buy my cheater glasses at Sams they come in like a 4 pack, very good quality and usually have a case and cleaning cloth with them, excellent price. I could then have a pair in all the rooms I normally would be reading in. Now that I have my bifocals I don't have to use them, but I have been known to put a pair of the cheater glasses over my real glasses when trying to read something impossibly tiny.

Unfortunately for most of us that are in the category I am in lasik is out of the question. But the surgery they are now doing where they put a multi focal implant lens in the eye is a very viable solution, this is a surgery that has zero cuts in the visual area of the eye, makes only tiny cuts in the white area for a tiny lens to be implanted, takes generally one stitch closure. This is the surgery I am looking forward to. Much safer and fully reversible, very similar to the same surgery they have been doing for years for cataract patients. The beauty of it being multi focal means it takes care of those cheater glasses as well! All in one lens.
This is a quote description
"For some patients then, rather than having a corneal laser eye surgery procedure such as LASIK, Custom LASIK, PRK, LASIK, Epi LASIK or monovision LASIK, a different type of refractive surgery can be used to better help them achieve their goals of being less dependent on glasses or contact lenses for not only distance vision, but intermediate arms length and close near vision. This type of refractive surgery is called Lens Replacement Surgery which includes ReSTOR, ReZoom and CrystalensÂ.

ReSTOR®, ReZoom & Crystalens Lens Replacement Surgery is performed in a similar manner to cataract surgery. It is performed in an outpatient surgery center. With ReSTOR®, ReZoom & Crystalens Lens Replacement Surgery, your surgeon will numb the eye with eye drops much like with LASIK. He or she will then make a very tiny incision at the outer edge of the cornea through which a microscopic instrument can be inserted. Using ultrasound from the tip of the microscopic instrument, your surgeon will actually be able to gently break the crystalline lens into pieces small enough to be washed away and drawn through the probe and removed from the eye. Once your natural crystalline lens has been removed, it can now be replaced by a new permanent Intraocular Lens Implant. The new lens is readily inserted and placed in position through the same tiny incision at the outer edge of the cornea through which the natural lens was removed.

In order to help you achieve your goal of being able to see at far, intermediate arms length and up close for reading vision, your surgeon will select from advanced intraocular lens technology available today which includes ReSTOR®, ReZoom and CrystalensÂ. Each of these advanced technology implantable lenses uses a slightly different optical design to help you achieve your goal of clear vision at all distances. Your surgeon and his or her staff will discuss their recommendation based on many factors in your consultation."
Intraocular Lenses

another amazing choice available that we never thought we would have!

I hope (in advance) that someone recognizes a problem I came across and still haven't solved (on a Vista PC in someone else's house).

I could not find and change display settings - it was as if it's no longer available or something. I right-clicked on desktop to no avail. I searched control panel to no avail, and couldn't find anything in the browser settings either.

I eventually was able to make "some" changes, but only for the Start menu (!).....So the problem is still with the default size of all the browser windows and not being able to read their toolbars, etc. (Yes, font size of articles in a window can be changed with CRTL+, etc each session, but I need to adjust the default so the toolbars themselves are not extra small.)

Anybody recognize what I'm talking about and have a solution? As I said, I could absolutely not find the equivalent of "display settings" or "display properties" to make changes. Thanks.

I just googled and got a clue to my question: In Vista, right-click desktop, then "personalize", then display settings.

(I'm now scratching my head why I didn't try it when I was there, IF it was there...grrrrr)

I just checked here at work. The Magnifier utility is on XP and is located in the Accessories entry of the Start Menu.

DA

Homebound, in Vista, go to "Control Panel", then choose "Appearance & Personalization", then "Ease of Access Center", where you can choose "Accommodate Low Vision".

Thanks much. I'll try the suggestions out Wednesday.