Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A computer is not a brochure

I am reading a company's annual report online in lieu of having my mailbox stuffed and my desk piled up with lots of brochures and booklets.

It makes a hard read because the online version is exactly as how it would appear on paper. It has two columns that are each longer than my screen. So, I have to scroll down and then back up to read any given page.

One software company has made it easier to read many newspaper pages. By putting its bookmark in the bookmark bar of your browser, you can quickly get a page that you can read continuously. See www.tidyread.com.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work on PDF files such as annual reports.

This is another case of many where people apply the old paper methods to computers. Think of your bank that limits access to your account while they balance their books every evening, just when you want to make that crucial transaction. Computer-based financial systems have had audit trails for over forty years. Your bank could let you make the transaction, save it until the books are balanced, and then apply it.