Re: Speed-reading (

Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:47:51 -0800


>Kennita Watson wrote:
>> About 25 yrs ago, I was exposed to a machine called "Tach-X" that displayed
>> a line at a time and covered up the words sequentially....

Hara Ra replied:
>One approach is software. It is simple enough to write a program which
>displays a few words
>centered in the screen with a brief delay between phrases. Since you do
>not have to saccade your eyes, rapid reading rates for text files can be
>readily realized.

This sounds like a great idea! I'd like to try writing such a program in
Java. Is that an easy thing to do? I've taken an introductory Java class,
but I've never programmed my Mac before, and this seems like a golden
opportunity to learn. What would I need other than the free Java software
from Sun (I think it runs on the Mac)? I have a book on Java -- I assume
I need one on Mac programming (or do I -- it _is_ supposed to be portable).
Any suggestions of which one is best?

I was thinking that a program that grabbed text from a SimpleText file
and displayed sets of n words in a window would be easiest. Then I
thought I'd try grabbing from a Eudora message or a Web page, but
I have no idea if that's easy or not. Suggestions for places I should
look are welcome. (You experts can go get the whole thing done during my
bathroom break if you like, but no telling me the whole solution unless I
ask, OK? I just want to get started without flailing _too_ much.)

Thanks,
Kennita

Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_