Back in 1999, when I was working on eBooks, I researched and wrote a detailed paper on reading – especially on the screen.
It’s called The Magic of Reading, and is still available out there on the Web as a free eBook download from Slate magazine, in Microsoft Reader format. You can download both the book and the Reader software from here:
http://www.slate.com/id/90237/
It’s also archived at the Poynter Institute in Microsoft Word format:
http://www.poynterextra.org/msfonts/osprey.doc
I’m told Bill Gates said it was “a good read”…
The Future of Reading 
Well, I’m guessing that Bill Gates wouldn’t be impressed with the formatting of the Word version. It’s horrible.
Well, I don’t know how you’re trying to read it, or what printer you’re using, but as the document said – quite clearly – it wasn’t formatted to be read on a screen. It was written in days long gone, when we were just beginning to think about how to make text readable on a screen – pre-ClearType in Windows, for example. Word didn’t get a “screen reading” view until 2003. The document was created in 1999. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Word onscreen reading view was horrible – in fact, I’d be stunned if it wasn’t.It always printed very well in the past.I’m interested to see what you’re seeing – can you send me a screen shot?
The point is that the person who prepared the document worked harder than necessary. It’s all in Normal.
That’s very true. I plead guilty to not using styles. I could hardly type fast enough to keep up with the stream of thinking and I just whacked it down. I was completely focused on the content, not the formatting.Wouldn’t do it that way today…
I would really like to read this paper but the link is broken. Do you have an archive you could put up somewhere?
You can download a copy using this link:http://www.billhillsite.com/osprey.docThe site itself hasn't been updated in a long time and I'm sure the content layout breaks on current browsers, but I know the link works because I just tested it.
Thanks for sharing the updated link Bill. I plan on giving this a thorough read this week.I really enjoyed the interview you did with Rob Conery on the This Developer's Life podcast.
Same here: I quite enjoyed the interview on This Developer's life.