4 ms·

I'm actually working on an app specifically to address this problem. https://getpolarized.io/ https://getpolarized.io/ It builds on the idea of 'bookmarks' an

I'm actually working on an app specifically to address this problem. https://getpolarized.io/ https://getpolarized.io/ It builds on the idea of 'bookmarks' and we have a new take on them called 'pagemarks' which is basically a box that spans multiple pages. This way you can keep track of the parts of the book you've read and jump around. I like reading multiple textbooks, articles, etc and go back and forth often. This allows me to easily suspend and resume. I worked on a proof of concept about 6 months ago and I've been expanding it in my spare time. You can read about it here: https://getpolarized.io/incremental-reading.html https://getpolarized.io/incremental-reading.html Polar is free and Open Source btw. It blew up on HN a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18219960 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18219960 I'm about to re-announce as we're just in the process of porting it to the web to make it more accessible to people (mobile, tablets, chrome OS, etc.). It goes FAR behind this though and supports document management, offline, and supports capturing web pages for offline usage and archival. Additionally it supports annotation so you can take any page and add highlights, comments and flashcards.

eigenvalue 8y ago
Very cool! At least for me, so much of my reading is done on my mobile devices (e.g, iPhone, iPad) that not supporting those via an app is pretty much a deal killer for me. But if I could have one place to read PDF files, saved websites (e.g., like Pocket; btw, Pocket integration would seem to make a lot of sense for Polarized) where annotations/highlights are also stored in the cloud (say, in Dropbox), and I could access this on the go on a mobile device, I would certainly use your service.
- burtonator 8y ago
  Mobile + web is coming... I'm also working on different ways to read while mobile which I think will be amazingly valuable. I'm going to keep these a surprise though. I like to read on my laptop and not mobile though... but maybe that will change.
  - davidtsong 8y ago
    Awesome, thanks for the share! Would be great to integrate functionality from Zotero
alphagrep12345 8y ago
I wanted to make something like this for a long time. Thanks.
gnicholas 8y ago
Another tool to help increase focus while reading on-screen: http://www.beelinereader.com http://www.beelinereader.com. Testing by CNET showed that people are 35% more likely to finish an article when reading with this turned on. Would be interested to talk about collaboration, if you’re also looking to help folks focus! [username] at email-service-starting-with-the-same-letter.com
barabba 8y ago
Am I mistaken or there is no support for bookmarks / table of contents in the pdf reader? This makes reading a lot more difficult.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
> ...a new take on them called 'pagemarks' which is basically a box that spans multiple pages. Not wanting to belittle what you've done as it sounds like a really useful product, but this sounds like exactly the same way I use "highlights" on the Kindle.

eigenvalue 8y ago

Very cool! At least for me, so much of my reading is done on my mobile devices (e.g, iPhone, iPad) that not supporting those via an app is pretty much a deal killer for me. But if I could have one place to read PDF files, saved websites (e.g., like Pocket; btw, Pocket integration would seem to make a lot of sense for Polarized) where annotations/highlights are also stored in the cloud (say, in Dropbox), and I could access this on the go on a mobile device, I would certainly use your service.

burtonator 8y ago
Mobile + web is coming... I'm also working on different ways to read while mobile which I think will be amazingly valuable. I'm going to keep these a surprise though. I like to read on my laptop and not mobile though... but maybe that will change.
- davidtsong 8y ago
  Awesome, thanks for the share! Would be great to integrate functionality from Zotero

alphagrep12345 8y ago

I wanted to make something like this for a long time. Thanks.

gnicholas 8y ago

Another tool to help increase focus while reading on-screen: http://www.beelinereader.com http://www.beelinereader.com. Testing by CNET showed that people are 35% more likely to finish an article when reading with this turned on. Would be interested to talk about collaboration, if you’re also looking to help folks focus! [username] at email-service-starting-with-the-same-letter.com

barabba 8y ago

Am I mistaken or there is no support for bookmarks / table of contents in the pdf reader? This makes reading a lot more difficult.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

> ...a new take on them called 'pagemarks' which is basically a box that spans multiple pages. Not wanting to belittle what you've done as it sounds like a really useful product, but this sounds like exactly the same way I use "highlights" on the Kindle.