Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
However, page turn rate for trying to skip past multiple pages is annoying. It never bothers me when reading (except for some badly-formatted PDFs, where the reader can take upwards of 5 seconds to flip the pages), but it can bother me when I'm trying to find a section. (I suppose a reader with search would fix that. Hm. May look into Aztak's Pocket Pro soon.)
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I think the problem with searching is that it demands active recall on the part of the user. Passive recall is much more common for many readers, and cannot be satisfied very well with search functions. In these cases, paragraph size and shape (visual structure), common word placement, and other forms of passive information rebuild the location as it's passed in scanning. For example, I may not recall what the word was I wanted to find 30-40 pages back, but I passively remember that it was in a very short (1-2 line) paragraph about 30% down from the top of the page, and there were a several instances of italic words on the right edge of the page. I wouldn't be able to necessarily describe that when telling someone I was looking for it, but when I saw the page again, I'd instantly recognize it.
This is one reason I keep making my rigid PDFs and never reflow text. The page itself is a visual device that helps me navigate text through passive recall and cognition. I wouldn't call this kind of reading technique complex or esoteric at all...in fact I'm a little surprised that so many people here are content with only the most linear form of oral storytelling imitation.
Mind you, I think search function is to be expected in future readers because it's incredibly useful...but it isn't a complete solution. It certainly does add value to ebook readers though. I just think they need both navigation responsiveness as well as active search functions.