Computer Browser Readability Tips and Extensions [Chrome]

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panacea
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Computer Browser Readability Tips and Extensions [Chrome]

Post by panacea »

I'm really big on computer readability, as I spend over 8 hours a day on the computer, usually reading.
Recently I've switched from my usual Operating System (Windows) to Ubuntu (Linux), and even though it's a bit tricky with compatibility, the text is much easier to read.

It may seem overly simple, but it seems to be because the default system fonts and fonts in my browser (Chrome) are Sans (size 14) DPI 96. For whatever reason, even when running Chrome browser on Windows 7, the readability isn't as good as now. It could be the fonts are based on the OS fonts.

Compared to the Arial and Times New Roman, etc, that I'm always used to reading, Sans font is at most 50% of the normal eyestrain to read.

I've also made the migration from Firefox/Opera to Google Chrome browser for its superior readability plug ins. Firefox has a very clunky layout in comparison, and for some reason the zooming plug ins require a lot of constant calibration for different web pages. On Chrome, I installed the https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... kjimojblie Zoomy extension, and set it to be text-zoomed at 150% permanently, and it is perfect for 99% of webpages now.

Just in case anyone reads a lot, and finds the text on these forums or other websites that are heavily text oriented to be a pain to read, I'd suggest trying out the Sans font, by going to your preferences file (usually in File -> Tools) in Firefox, IE, Chrome, Opera, etc, and then changing your system fonts in control panel to Sans if you like it better, it has made a world of difference for me.

Also, for researching on the web, one of the most important things I've found for enjoying reading websites is having an uninterrupted 'flow' to your ideas/browsing, at least as much as possible. For example, if you're trying to research what the best hammock is for people with bad backs, you might want to search for "best hammock for back pain", "best hammock for the money", and "best hammock for posture" all at the same time, as different keywords reveal golden nuggets. But if your search takes a long time, or your browser lags, or you have to do a bunch of commands like use CTRL+F to find text on a google result page for the first search term, you will forget the 'keywords' that were sparked by your imagination. Even a short second of interrupted thought-process can stop you from finding that 'perfect solution', whether it be researching something to buy, looking up medical or diet information, etc.

So I've compiled a list of Chrome Add Ons that help with this unobstructed 'browsing flow' (as well as the recommendation for Chrome itself, since it seems to get in my way the least when browsing). Most of these extenions/add ons have the identical name for FireFox. If you're using Internet Explorer, I'd urge you to switch, as it's the main target for browser-attacks and is full of garbage.

https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... dkikcmoadk
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... kkbiglidom
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... fnobamjonh
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... obmjgjcoja
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... ppfooljekh
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/de ... dmmmbbnbmf

Also, if you'd like to try Ubuntu, you can install it for free with WUBI installer, by creating a new partition, right inside your current OS, whether it be linux or windows. There's no need to burn a CD or order a CD anymore.

Screenshot of how it looks for me:
Image
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Oscar
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Re: Computer Browser Readability Tips and Extensions [Chrome

Post by Oscar »

I have to say FF starts to get a bit too big and resource consuming, but I'm not ready to switch to Chrome, yet.
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RRM
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Re: Computer Browser Readability Tips and Extensions [Chrome

Post by RRM »

Interesting.
panacea wrote:... Ubuntu, you can install it for free with WUBI installer, by creating a new partition,
Up till 9.10 Ubuntu always worked perfectly for me (and still does),
but i had issues with upgrading to 10.04, as i could not reboot after restarting.
Used 9.04 LiveCD to reinstall, upgraded to 9.10 and then tried to upgrade to 10.04 again; same results.
Tried up-to-date 10.04 LiveCD, but could not boot into CD.
Same with 10.04 on USB stick.
Im afraid i will have the same issue when i use WUBI installer, as Lousy Lucid seems to cause issues
for many users (incompatibilities with many Intel, Nvidia and ATI video cards).
So, i guess i will have to wait for yet another version as the fix for 10.10 seems to be more or less the same as for 10.04,
which i couldnt get to work for me. (9.10 is supported till April this year).
panacea
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Re: Computer Browser Readability Tips and Extensions [Chrome

Post by panacea »

I'm using 10.10 with nVidia right now on a Dell Latitude X820 windows vista bundled laptop, no problems at all, might be worth giving it a retry?

The way I did it is to use my 2GB USB Flashdrive (make it bootable with unetbootin in vista)
Then I hit F12 when computer was starting up, installed ubuntu wiped all my other partitions out.
I messed up the first time I installed it, completely removing all firefox-related files, and couldn't reinstall it, so I simply reinstalled the whole OS again, which took a shorter amount of time than it takes to boot up my old vista OS already installed about 5 times. Which was great.

I did have to download 'unsupported' drivers for my nVidia, but ubuntu was really good about notifying me about it and it just required one restart.

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