Tag: READING

Like it or not, e-readers are here to stay. For instance, recall that one day near the end of 2009 when Amazon sold more digital books for the Kindle than it did physical books. But, as more and more folks turn to the screen instead of bound paper, some questions are being asked. For instance, is using an e-reader bad for your eyes? According to The New York Times, there's no cut and dry ...

We will be the first to admit that reading on the iPhone isn't the most pleasant experience in the world. In theory, it's amazing to be able to carry your favorite book on your cell phone -- an ability that products like the 'Classics' iPhone app offers to users. But when the device displays a mere 50 to 75 words at a time (translating to hundreds of screens of text), reading a novel becomes ...

Much of our Web perusal can be broken down into two distinct types: scanning and in-depth reading. Longer-form articles tend to be easier to read on a single, scrollable page, so the print/one-page option (if available) and some ninja-fast text-resizing can sometimes improve a piece's readability. Unfortunately, many sites no longer offer print-ready versions of articles. Readability, a tool ...

Despite a function on the Kindle that reads text aloud, two universities and an advocacy group for the visually impaired adopted a staunch anti-Kindle stance Wednesday. According to an Associated Press report, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and Syracuse University won't invest in more electronic readers for college students because the audio feature is too difficult for a visually impaired ...

Growing up, there was no better way to ease into a good night of sleep than with Mom or Dad reading a bedtime story. But in today's fast-paced, mobile world, parents aren't always home to read to their children. According to Tech Flash, a new online service hopes to revitalize bedtime stories -- no matter how many miles might separate parents and kids. For a fee of $6.99, 'A Story Before Bed' ...

For those of you who thought Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' was too archaic, or just too hallowed, why not give a new translation a chance? According to the Telegraph, the epic novel about a man's quest for a white whale will be translated into Emoji -- a language based on the emoticons many Japanese use when sending messages via mobile devices. In order to accomplish this massive (and ridiculous) ...

Yesterday, Google debuted its 'Fast Flip' feature, a news hub that simulates the experience of flipping through a newspaper or magazine. The site, part of the experimental Google Labs, lets readers view articles from over three dozen major publishing outlets. Thumbnails of stories load extremely fast, and the site's design, like that of most Google sites, is sparse and simple. Likely to ...

It's no secret that kids are reading less these days, and attracting the youth back to the printed page is no small undertaking. Publishers and authors are increasingly looking for ways to get kids engaged, and the newest scheme is... video games. PJ Haarsma writes a series of science-fiction novels aimed at pre-teens, and the novels come with an online game that encourages children to explore ...

Last we checked, Afghanistan's government had been freed from the iron grip of the Taliban, but it seems as if its ideals are alive and well in the former front-line in the War on Terror. A 23-year old student is being held on death row in Kabul for downloading an article on the role of women in Islam from the Internet. While we wish this were a joke, but it isn't -- in a government backed by ...

Hope Cummings of the University of Michigan and Elizabeth Vandewater from the University of Texas at Austin recently finished a study on how video game usage affects how children use their time. According to the study, boys who play video games spend less time reading, while gamer girls spend less time on their homework. Time socializing with family and friends, however, does not suffer at the ...