[books, computers] You Do Like Reading Off a Computer Screen

[bridgetester]

You Do Like Reading Off a Computer Screen
Cory Doctorow

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2007/03/cory-doctorow-you-do-like-reading-off.html

March 2007"I don't like reading off a computer screen" - it's a cliché of the e-book world.

Comments

[sharp_blue]

I read an awful lot on the screen, but I've certainly noticed a tendency to constantly switch context while at the computer whether I'm reading or writing. Megazoomer helps a lot with that - I now spend a lot of time with NetNewsWire or TextMate expanded to the full screen. I've started reading scientific papers like that too. It's much easier to focus when all that's visible is the text and an application toolbar.

In my opinion, the main thing that makes reading long articles on a screen difficult is scrolling. I don't know why but I always scroll a little bit with each line I read, even though I know this increases the effort needed to read. I wonder if there are hacks to make browsers display things one screen at a time.

[bridgetester]

Hmm. I know I've seen some sites that provide auto-scrolling, but that's the opposite of what you want. You could try converting long articles to pdf for the single screen view?

[epi_lj]

The "hack" to make Firefox and Internet Explorer advance one page is the spacebar.

I like that in the New Yorker collection that I have, not only does the space bar work, but immediately after scrolling, for a second or two, it displays a highlighted bar to show you what line you're on.

[sharp_blue]

Oh my goodness. I really am an idiot...

[epi_lj]

*giggle* To be fair, I only figured that out when I did it by accident because I'd been reading USENET all day in a program that used the spacebar.