PangoBright

PangoBright is a simple utility that makes it easy to adjust the brightness of your monitor or monitors. Although many of us park our computers on a desk in our office or home, there are plenty of other environments in which they turn up. In some of these settings, such as nightclubs, theaters, planetariums, and darkened lecture halls, a bright monitor can be a distraction. DJs, theater techs, presentation givers, and anyone else who operates in a dark environment and doesn't want the screen stealing the show will love PangoBright.

PangoBright requires no installation and appears as an icon in your system tray once it's opened. Clicking on it reveals a menu with brightness options ranging from 20 percent to 100 percent of maximum brightness. If you're using multiple monitors, the menu allows you to set the brightness of each one individually. That's all there is to it. The publisher's Web site contains information about the program and brief instructions, but they're really not necessary, as PangoBright is extremely intuitive. The program is also lightweight and not a drain on system resources; you won't even know it's there until you need it. Sometimes the smallest utilities can make a big difference, and that's definitely the case with PangoBright. Those who have ever worked in a dark environment and have wished that their monitor could easily tone it down will appreciate this clever tool.