Reading redefined!

[Napoléon]

This would be so useful for me - I wouldn't read a book like this but the news - that would be great - and a variety of technical articles of various subjects.

This could be great on the news I didn't even think of that. Instead of that stupid bar that goes across the bottom of the screen for most news channels instead have a selection of different tabs using this technology to display several stories at once. That is actually the best use of this software I can imagine.

[Minimalist]

New-fangled contraption!

[max-greece]

This would be so useful for me - I wouldn't read a book like this but the news - that would be great - and a variety of technical articles of various subjects.

This could be great on the news I didn't even think of that. Instead of that stupid bar that goes across the bottom of the screen for most news channels instead have a selection of different tabs using this technology to display several stories at once. That is actually the best use of this software I can imagine.

Its a funny thing - if someone asks me what I am reading they mean books - and half the time I'm not. In reality, however, I read for untold hours every day - just on the net.

If I think about my reading the following would probably be usefully improved with this tech:

Email.
Any TL;DR post on this site.
The BBC news site.
The Guardian newspaper.
Any scientific paper linked to from there.
Nature magazine (some of those articles can really drag).
Scientific American.
CNET

Usually that lot takes me from about 7 am to 8:30. I skip quite a lot of things due to lack of time - usually hoping to come back to them later which I rarely do.

When I get back on in the evening (usually) its much the same story.

I'd use this tech to skip less and probably on just about all of the above.

Books? Probably not - I like reading books and want to savour them - which I am bad at anyway - if I get into a book I can't put it down till its finished. A Suitable Boy took 36 hours - that's 1500 pages - its so big the author actually apologises to the reader in the forward for the wrist strain.

I was OK with it - for some reason my wrist is really strong....hock:

[max-greece]

Just to update here there's an app on the android play store that allows upto 350 wpm on the free version if you want to play with it.

Actually there are 2 but only one using this actual technology - A Faster Reader.

The other one is called Speed reading and appears to work similarly.

I've installed both. The faster reader works with Chrome (not tested it with anything else). Just open a page and choose share then select the Faster Reader option. It works.

Speed Reader does the same thing but isn't speed limited - it also comes with a few texts of its own.

One thing I have noticed so far - the red highlighted letter in the middle doesn't always appear. Not sure how important that is.

[Sejanus]

It does seem cool, but only for things trivial things like text messages, news, etc. I can't see it being much use when reading something that requires complex thought.

[Coffee Jesus]

I didn't want to sign up.

I couldn't find an open-source one, but I found this.

http://spreeder.com/

I was ashamed of my inability at 200 wpm until I tried larger chuck sizes.

Argh, but they need to have it cut the chunk short if it's the end of a sentence. I read the last word of a prior sentence as if it was the first word of the next.

I'm going to speed read this post.
http://atheistforums.org/thread-25447.html

[NoraBrimstone]

I clicked out of curiosity but it doesn't seem to be working.

I have a picture of a phone, and below the screen it says "Click above to learn how to spritz" but nothing happens when I click above.... Fuck it.

[salamenfuckyou]

You can try the concept out here: http://www.spreeder.com/

[Napoléon]

I clicked out of curiosity but it doesn't seem to be working.

I have a picture of a phone, and below the screen it says "Click above to learn how to spritz" but nothing happens when I click above.... Fuck it.

Where are you clicking? Works fine for me, just click the white box. If it's not working my guess would be your browser maybe? Salamen's link also shows the concept but I prefer the spritz link as you can change the speed and it gives a better introduction.

[NoraBrimstone]

I think it was my browser, actually. I was trying it at work and we use a shitty old version of IE that doesn't run most sites properly. Usually when I visit a page that won't work I get a warning at the top of my screen telling me that my browser is out of date and some features won't work properly, blah blah, but I wasn't getting that. Anyway, I'll have a go on my phone now I'm home.