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Subject:Re: online vs. paper From:Jim Curran <jcurran -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 12 Oct 1994 13:08:41 GMT
In <TECHWR-L%94100611251185 -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>, mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
writes:
>Lori Lathrop writes:
>>"ease of use." Because the resolution of information displayed on a
>>computer screen is, at best, a small fraction of the resolution of 10,000
>>dots per sq. mm. for information in a typeset document, fatigue sets in
>>more quickly when reading online documentation.
>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. There have
>been testimonials on alt.hypertext (responding to a similar thread) of
>people having read full-length novels (mostly on small portables with
>LCD screens, which they claimed were more readable). I think the fatigue
>has much more to do with the limited number of postures available when your
>reading material is in a fixed position (try reading from a lectern for an
>hour or three).
Here's a conclusion on fatigue in reading from visual display units (VDUs),
from Dillon (1994) - _Designing Usable Electronic Text_:
"It would seem safe to conclude that users do not find reading from VDUs
intrinsically fatiguing but that performance levels may be more difficult
to sustain over time when reading from average quality screens. As screen
standards increase over time this problem should be minimized."
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Jim Curran "Is that a real poncho I mean is that a Mexican
Information Developer poncho or is that a _Sears_ poncho? Hmmm...
RTP NC USA no fooling...?" -Zappa
