Re: online vs. paper

[Karen Kay <karenk -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM said:
> I don't think this has much to do with resolution.  I've never noticed
> any fatigue in myself when reading dot matrix, for example.

Whooo, boy... I'd much rather read on a screen than read 9-pin
dot-matrix. No contest.

> >Also, readers' attention spans are shorter when reading static displays.

> I'm not sure what you mean by a static display.  Isn't a book a static
 display?

No, you can move it around.

> If they're reading the pages sequentially (say the very first time they open
> the user's guide), then online does indeed require them to "turn the page"
> perhaps two-three times more often.  Personally that doesn't bother me, though
> I understand how it could bother some people.

It bugs me a lot. I feel like I'm spending all my time flipping
instead of getting information.

> Consider point sizes in a
> book: are you really frustrated by books with a larger point size?

It depends on the point size. I had to read a book for a group I
belong to, the Black Mambas Murder and Gossip Club, and it was only
available in a large-print edition in my library. It was great because
I didn't need my reading glasses....but frustrating because I was
always turning pages.

Karen
  karenk -at- netcom -dot- com