reading

Speed-reading programs are older than computer programs, but they're a natural when teamed up as software. Speed Reading III is a simple, free tool that tests your reading speed but not your comprehension. It's designed to help you increase your reading speed and concentration, which can boost comprehension. The basic idea isn't to try to read every word as fast as you can but to focus on a midpoint and see how well you understand the message.

Speed Reading III opens with a plain and simple interface containing a text message that describes the basics of reading … Read more

Extra-short show today to make room for this morning's Apple iPad HD coverage, but we'll quickly speculate about the deal-making features that would push us to run out and buy an iPad HD--we'll also talk about the possibility of a haptic feedback display, a new AppleCare+ program, and what sites you should use to sell your old tablet if you upgrade.… Read more

How I envy today's parents of young kids. Not too long ago, my family trips always included bulging, back-breaking backpacks stuffed with children's books.

Now, you can pack a 1.3-pound iPad (or an even lighter iPhone or iPod Touch) with enough books to go from here to there and back again.

And not just static reproductions of kids' classics, but animated, interactive titles both new and original. Case in point: Disney Digital Books just introduced The Lion King: Timon's Tale and Tangled: Storybook Deluxe for iOS. They're priced at $4.99 and $6.99, respectively.… Read more

Even if you love reading those longer articles on the Web, sometimes you have to pause to take care of other things--like going back to work from lunch. Because of reasons like this (and the large list of other interruptions you may encounter), a developer created an extension for Chrome that will let you mark the last line(s) you read. When you come back to the e-book, review, opinion article, or even research materials, you can pick up your reading from right where you left off.

Step 1: Get the youRhere extension.

Step 2: Once installed, head to a … Read more

A few weeks ago, CNET's Scott Stein made the case for using a dedicated e-reader instead of a tablet--for book reading, that is.

I'm inclined to agree with him, as I find that when I read on my iPad or Nook Color, I'm frequently distracted from my book. It's hard to resist the siren song of e-mail, Web browsing, Flipboard, and the like when they're just a tap or two away.

With a regular old e-reader, however, all you get is your book--and that's a good thing. Hence I'm seeing the value … Read more

The Buzz crew talks about Facebook's historic IPO, and the challenges the company will face moving forward. Zynga is smiling, and so is the invite-only Pinterest. We've figured it out, and it's the new social network for girls or metrosexuals. "Into it, Not Into it" brings us vacuum-sealed couples, and that's all you need to know.

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Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, we're cutting the live stream to free up bandwidth. Our tenderest apologies to the daily live listeners, but be sure to follow @the404 on Twitter for an extremely truncated, livebloggish version of the episode.

If you're now wondering what to do from 12-1 p.m. every day, we recommend rewatching old episodes and pretending they're live. On today's show: sunbathing groundhogs, instant Facebook millionaire David Choe, a CBS pilot show about Groupon, and "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton strikes back.… Read more

A squatter using TV show Reading Rainbow's Twitter handle was ousted in just over two hours.

LeVar Burton--Reading Rainbow TV host and also the actor who played Star Trek's Lieutenant Geordi--set out yesterday to gain control of the Reading Rainbow Twitter handle.

Burton, who for 26 years hosted the now defunct PBS show that encouraged kids to read, launched a new company called RRKidz in September and is currently working on a Reading Rainbow iPad app.

However, when he tried to register the @readingrainbow Twitter handle--he learned it was already taken. According to TechCrunch, the handle owner … Read more

For any iPad owner who's seen those spiffy-looking magazines and newspapers on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet and thought, "Hey, why don't my magazines and newspapers look this spiffy?", here's good news: Amazon just rolled out a Kindle app update that adds rich magazine and newspaper viewing to the iPad, among other things.

Kindle 2.9 for iOS offers several appreciable changes, and not just for the iPad. For example, iPhone and iPod Touch users will also notice a new scrolling menu atop their library; it lets you sort your view between books, magazines, and documents.… Read more