02-20-2002, 03:54 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 135
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Speed Reader Plus Review at Pocket PC Addict
http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=4
I read at a reasonable speed. Nothing to get excited about, but it seems to work for me. Speed reading has always interested me, but I've never done anything more than osmosis absorption methods that work well for really short things, but for anything more than half a page really start to fall apart. As a result, it was rather neat, when I got an email today concerning Pocket PC Addict's Review of a new Speed Reading program for Pocket PC devices.
"For someone like me, who spends sometimes 6 hours per day reading, cutting back on that time, gives me time for more important things, like my job! So to find an application for my handheld that solves that little problem is a wish come true. Speed Reader Plus is an excellent program that is produced by a great team."
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02-20-2002, 04:15 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 18
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How do I use it with MS Reader books?
OK..I am very interested in this, but all of my books are in .lit format. I don't think that this will read those books. I assume that I would need to have the books first in some kind of text format, and then import them into this tool. This is a bit annoying, or maybe I am missing something.
TIA
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02-20-2002, 04:30 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 361
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Portable speed reading...great!
I would probably benefit from this (sooooo much to read, not enough time to do it all). Great combination of portability with a practical learning environment.
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02-20-2002, 04:40 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5
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I'm trying it out. Cool but no good for .LIT reading. Any text you can select and copy on your PC can be read.
You can go to a web article, do a Ctrl+A to select it all, a Ctrl+C to copy it to your clipboard, and the desktop software(Clipboard to Library Utility) picks up what you now have in your Clipboard. You name your 'document' and it then copies it to your PocketPC through Active Sync.
You can copy .LIT text one page at a time . But that's no good. :cry:
However, it's still fun to use. I don't know if I'll buy it though. Still, there are plenty of books online (public domain) in .txt and .html formats. And you can select and copy other text file types.
Oh well  ,
ccoletti
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02-20-2002, 04:48 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 792
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Portable speed reading...great!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by kagayaki1
I would probably benefit from this (sooooo much to read, not enough time to do it all). Great combination of portability with a practical learning environment.
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I downloaded this and tried it a little while back (I think it was last time it appeared on Thoughts). It seemed to be a good deal, though I couldn't get the content I needed in straight text. Don't you wish the made our textbooks with digital copies of the book as well?
(Yeah, I could go next door and tell you this...)
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02-20-2002, 06:02 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,023
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It's a great program with a good concept and result. I'm not sure how useful it'd be for recreational reading though. I mean, when you have to really watch every word and you can't slow down to really savor the lastest plot twist or the ending, it might make the book less enjoyable. It vaguely reminds me of watching a VCR tape on fast forward. You could watch a whole movie that way, quickly, but you'd lose the best parts.
For everyday reading of news articles, txt files, and even long websites it would really be handy. Kinda strikes me as a fun tech toy for people who like to do things with newer and better methods. (Which applies to me and most everyone else who surf this website.)
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02-20-2002, 07:33 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 98
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I must have missed something. Does this teach you how to speed-read, or do it for you with text files?
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02-20-2002, 09:37 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 27
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by bblock
I must have missed something. Does this teach you how to speed-read, or do it for you with text files?
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Sort of the latter... The big problem with reading speed comes down to the fact that you have to move your eyes over the document. This takes text files (although not .lit format yet) and flashes up one word at a time on the screen always in the same place (i.e. the document moves to where you're looking rather than you moving your eyes to find the place).
Read the review mentioned above at http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/module...owcontent&id=4 as it gives a very good set of pros and cons.
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02-20-2002, 10:15 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 37
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Speed reading?
Speed reading is hardly a solid science. And even if some value, it says nothing about increasing comprehension. Eye tricks and skimming tactics...
http://skepdic.com/speedreading.html
"Those desiring to increase the speed of their reading would do better to enroll in a community college course devoted to building study skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. It would cost them less, and they would not end up wasting their time trying to read 10 lines at a time, backward and forward. They would also avoid the frustration that will be inevitable when they find that while they can skim through material at a greater rate than they can read it, the utility of such a skill is limited (good for most of what's likely to be in the daily newspaper, for example, but not for studying physics or reading a good novel). Skimming makes both comprehension and taking pleasure in words or ideas next to impossible."
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02-20-2002, 12:01 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,023
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Speed reading?
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"Those desiring to increase the speed of their reading would do better to enroll in a community college course devoted to building study skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. ... They would also avoid the frustration that will be inevitable when they find that while they can skim through material at a greater rate than they can read it, the utility of such a skill is limited
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I wholeheartedly disagree, and I wonder if you've even used this program. I'm quite sure the person that wrote that clip hasn't. I went to that website and it has nothing at all to do with Speed Reader Plus.
I naturally read at between 250-300 wpm with a high comprehension rate. With SPR, I read at a rate of at least 500wpm. I find that my comprehension rate does drop when using SRP, but I often enjoy the read -more- when I know I can get through it in 1/2 or 1/3 of the time. Let me put it this way: I love reading reviews of the latest games, but often times I'll just skip them simply because I don't feel like spending 5 minutes reading 3 pages of information. Besides that, anyone who reads game reviews will know that you spend a lot of time rereading information that's already be written in other reviews. With Speed Reader Plus, I can read that same review in half the time and so, I enjoy reading it more. SRP's Library Utility for the PC is wonderful, it could not be simplier or quicker to use.
Personally I recommend SPR only for information that doesn't require a high comprehension rate, but maybe with time and practice that'll change as well.
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Linear Mode
