What’s wrong with reading digital text? Too cheap? Too computerized? Too many devices? For one writer, the answer is obvious.
In a Christian Science Monitor op-ed, author Trevor Corson explained his problem with digital reading: “Vertical orientation makes no sense in an increasingly paperless world that we view in the horizontal frame of our computer screens. ‘The document’ needs to be reconceived as something that goes not up and down, like paper, but sideways.”
His essay focuses on the web application, Tofu. It was created by a programmer in England named Amar Sagoo. As illustrated by that graphic, the simple program rearranges digital text into columns, allowing the user to read in columns from left-to-right, rather than endlessly scrolling down. Here’s a quick summary of the reading experience, from the essay: “The columns are arranged sideways in a way that’s completely native to the width of the screen.” Mac users can explore the program here.