Re: OT -- Because...

On Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:25:59 -0600, Ken Cashion <kcashion@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:56:41 -0600, Misifus
<rafseibert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

debnchas wrote:
"Ken Cashion" <kcashion@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:aesll35uitturn579g1g83umv0bff9i6b8@xxxxxxxxxx
...this is an international forum and I respect the judgment of so
many of you here -- on so many varied subjects -- I have a personal
question.

There is the term "fishing in the wrong hole" that might apply here.
This is when a fellow is trying to do the right thing but in the wrong
place.

For instance... do many of you read on-line...like books...articles...
and the like? Not just for information but for entertainment?

Does anyone here set aside time to spend reading on-line? (Even at
home? <g>)

I know that Stephen King really screwed up trying to sell an e-book.
That might have been a little ambitious but this is not quite what I
mean. .

My principal source of information has always been books, with recent
filler-information gained on-line, but perhaps my age keeps me from
seeing a more popular fishing hole...the net in general, as a reading
source.

Perhaps many, many people are reading on-line and I don't know it
because I am so far out of the loop.

Ideas?
Opinions?
Suggestions?

No money is involved. Something more valuable than money is...time.

Ken, kid trying to learn a trade.

I read quite a few physical books but I also do read online... books,
articles, whatever. I don't usually set aside a certain time to read, but
because of the availability of books online, it's hard not to spend some
time sitting there even though reading on a screen is not the same
experience as holding the book. My daughter has a book reader device ( I
think by Sony) and she loves it; I find that the display screen (or maybe my
eyes) just don't cut it.

I find that, too. I have wondered if the refresh rate has something to
do with that. I find that, for anything critical, I have to print out a
hard copy and proof that.

-Raf

Raf, I am wondering if it might be position, or the difference in a
reflective versus emissive one.

I remember the older word processors with the monitor rotated 90
degrees and beneath the work surface.

There is a real area of study here. It would take a flat screen on a
long cable. The reader could sit in his favorite chair, turn the
screen at a slight angle ccw (the way I read), and, of course, the
screen viewing parameters could be a common news media font with the
contrast adjusted accordingly.

The "pages" could be turned by pressing the left or right lower
corners; right -- forward...left -- reverse.

A parallel test could be having readers read their regular books but
they must be out of their hands on a stand in front of them...as in
mounting the book to the face of a computer monitor.


Eventually, we would learn which parameter is THE one that makes us
prefer reflective medium. We might also learn that our monitors are
not the correct shape or post ion, or even design.

Ken

There are a lot of physical obstacles to reading online that come
under the general heading of Computer Vision Syndrome. Years ago I
complained to my Opthamalogist about fatigue etc. and he gave me the
usual recommendations - exercise, posture etc. I finally gave up on
him and researched it myself. Big thing I found was the difference in
how the eye focuses (or fails to focus) on computer displays.

Found an eye doctor who knew about these things - different exam etc.
for computer glasses. Major difference. I generally spend more than 10
hours a day on a computer so this was a big breakthrough. I would
suggest that anyone who spends a lot of time on a computer should be
throroughly familiar with all the components and remedies to CVS.

As for reading for entertainment or any other seriouis purpose, I
prefer my Lazyboy, lying on the floor, on the throne... anywhere but
online. Maybe if I didn't *have* to do so much online stuff it
wouldn't be as bad but still, the inability to flip or change
positions, the fragmentation of display, sometimes slow responses,
etc. etc. - lots of drawbacks. Someday maybe the "electronic paper"
medium will solve some of the problems, but I'm skeptical.

Returning to your original questions... sort of. I read online for
info and for entertainment, but only short pieces. If I find something
online that is really interesting but lenghty, it gets printed (bought
a duplex printer for the purpose) and dragged to the recliner or other
comfortable spot.

I don't know what the young whippersnappers do. My guess is that they
will all grow up deformed and deficiant in any number of ways unless
they learn to do things right like us. Actually that's not wholly
true. My young(er) colleagues hate online documentation as much as I
do - always getting lost in the links or missing important items
between screens etc. Not sure if they read for fun at all though. Most
of us geeks are too immersed in tech manual to read for fun. That is,
fun other than reading manuals.

fdp

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Fred Pierce (DNRC)- Avialantic.com
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