Poll: Preferred medium for reading?
Can you read e-books or do you need paper? Especially for technical/work/hacking related reading.
18 comments
I recently read Free Culture (by Lawrence Lessig), switching between a paper copy and the PDF version on a monitor (which was free - hooray for Creative Commons licenses!). Reading on the monitor was great for when I wanted to read during lunch - no need to try to hold the book and a sandwich at the same time. I also used the PDF version when I was somewhere with a computer and wanted to read, but didn't have the paper copy with me.
The rest of the time I would read the paper copy. I also print out longer articles to read - paper seems less fatiguing to read from than a screen.
The font, font size, column width, and line spacing seem to make a big difference with how tiring it is to read on the screen. The Free Culture PDF was one of the the easiest documents I've come across to read. The default WordPress and Blogger themes use similar column widths and line spacings - this suggests that there might be an optimum way to display text for readability.
This is a bit of a leap, but if you're designing a site that has a lot of paragraph-form text, mimicking the typography of a typical paperback will probably do a lot for your site's readability. Does anyone else have specific text formats that they prefer for reading on the screen?
The rest of the time I would read the paper copy. I also print out longer articles to read - paper seems less fatiguing to read from than a screen.
The font, font size, column width, and line spacing seem to make a big difference with how tiring it is to read on the screen. The Free Culture PDF was one of the the easiest documents I've come across to read. The default WordPress and Blogger themes use similar column widths and line spacings - this suggests that there might be an optimum way to display text for readability.
This is a bit of a leap, but if you're designing a site that has a lot of paragraph-form text, mimicking the typography of a typical paperback will probably do a lot for your site's readability. Does anyone else have specific text formats that they prefer for reading on the screen?
For reading something cover to cover, paper wins big points for a number of reasons:
- I can read it anywhere - on the couch, while eating, in bed, I can take it on a bench outside, etc. - much easier than a laptop or hand-held
- I don't have to worry about it. It's paper! I can drop it, fold it, put stuff on it, even spill stuff on it, doesn't matter. As long as I don't set it on fire it'll remain usable.
- No distractions. No email, IM, YCNews, or anything. It's just paper!
- Easier on the eyes and body. Better contrast, no glare. A monitor is in a fixed position and my body has to conform to it - I can shift paper from minute to minute to whatever is most comfortable.
For reference, electronic is fine, mainly for two reasons:
- search
- no physical space taken by books I may or may not really need
- I can read it anywhere - on the couch, while eating, in bed, I can take it on a bench outside, etc. - much easier than a laptop or hand-held
- I don't have to worry about it. It's paper! I can drop it, fold it, put stuff on it, even spill stuff on it, doesn't matter. As long as I don't set it on fire it'll remain usable.
- No distractions. No email, IM, YCNews, or anything. It's just paper!
- Easier on the eyes and body. Better contrast, no glare. A monitor is in a fixed position and my body has to conform to it - I can shift paper from minute to minute to whatever is most comfortable.
For reference, electronic is fine, mainly for two reasons:
- search
- no physical space taken by books I may or may not really need
Technical books must be on physical paper for me, especially when used as reference materials.
Casual reading (sci-fi, fantasy, etc) I like to have on an ebook, simply because I go through a lot more of them. I use my psp for ebooks, typically.
I'm waiting for the free e-ink e-book reader, and e-books that are DRM-free or at least not severely encumbered by DRM. Only then will e-books be viable.
Can't a big publisher come out and subsidize an e-book reader? For example, "Buy some e-books from us whose printed editions would add up to $300, and we'll give you an e-book reader free."
Can't a big publisher come out and subsidize an e-book reader? For example, "Buy some e-books from us whose printed editions would add up to $300, and we'll give you an e-book reader free."
I can't read crap on the screen. Stuff over 5 pages long is impossible for me... And I can't put post-its pagemarks on an adobe PDF... I really wish I could read stuff electronically, but I don't see how you're gonna match the convenience of a book in an electronic device. Sadly.
I usually print out any lengthy materials that I want to read. However, I have yet to try any of the fancy modern ebook readers, such as Amazon's Kindle. Has anybody tried these? What has been your experience with them?
Reading on the screen is more difficult, but I voted for e-book for one reason: the ability to search. Indexes aren't enough, especially in highly technical programming books with lots of examples.
Paper for technical manuals, cookbooks, etc. Amazon Kindle for novels.
e-book for ephemeral crap that will be obsolete in 2-5 years, paper for academic computer science stuff that will be relevant for quite a while or which requires deep concentration.
I read a lot of stuff on a computer screen, but I'd rather read all of them on paper. The only reason not to read on paper is that it's more expensive and it takes time to print.
i like neither (assume e-book = pdf)
paper: non-searchable, heavy, takes space pdf: DRM ridden, not grep-able
i like html (and text-file) tho it's open source, grep-able, zoom-able, text-resizeable, view source + css + js + creativity (can highlight, do fancy things)
basically a very mallable media :D love it of i forgot, you can change .html to paper format by technology called printer
paper: non-searchable, heavy, takes space pdf: DRM ridden, not grep-able
i like html (and text-file) tho it's open source, grep-able, zoom-able, text-resizeable, view source + css + js + creativity (can highlight, do fancy things)
basically a very mallable media :D love it of i forgot, you can change .html to paper format by technology called printer
what i meant by mallable + css + js is that you can use firebug to fix the document you want to read
say you don't like pg's essay format open the url to his essay run firebug click html tab change <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="410"> width=410 to width=800 simple change, powerful
can you do that in both paper and ebook format?
say you don't like pg's essay format open the url to his essay run firebug click html tab change <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="410"> width=410 to width=800 simple change, powerful
can you do that in both paper and ebook format?
I tend to prefer dead trees for anything non-tech related. Though I do have several tech books, I rarely pick them up anymore.
I prefer reading long texts on an old black and white Palm M500. I actually find newer screens harder on the eyes.
for any reading worth remembering (and hopefully this is most things) or anything dense (technical/work/hacking/academic reading) I like paper because you can mark it up (highlight, underline, margin comments, etc.)
a large and hi-definition screen is absolutely necessary for reading ebooks
books that stay open when you lay them open.
I use the iLiad, from iRex.
It is unfortunate that they built such a horrible interface, with lots of superfluous, misplaced buttons and a blinking light (a blinking light!) that, of course, blinks when turning pages.
But the screen quality is great. And one can take notes on top.
Even a lamp is necessary to read, for it's proper e-paper without a backlight -reads fine on direct sunlight.
I make latex/pdf documents of anything I want to read, just to do so on the iLiad.
It is unfortunate that they built such a horrible interface, with lots of superfluous, misplaced buttons and a blinking light (a blinking light!) that, of course, blinks when turning pages.
But the screen quality is great. And one can take notes on top.
Even a lamp is necessary to read, for it's proper e-paper without a backlight -reads fine on direct sunlight.
I make latex/pdf documents of anything I want to read, just to do so on the iLiad.