The 'night vision' mode in software is next to useless. The light intensity, although red, is still way too high and too bright to be of any use. You are better off making a simple filter to put infront of your screen. There is an article on IIS regarding making one of these:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-213-0-0-1-0.html
I've made one for my laptop from a piece of filter material I bought from the South Pacific Star Party for about $10 and cardboard.