The lexiaProject has come a great distance, but it still needs further development before it becomes a tool that computer users can choose over the common practice of printing long documents for later reading.
The current lexiaReader proof of concept applet is intended as a starting point for the development suite of interface elements such as modular components (Java Beans, ActiveX, etc.) and programmer's libraries (reusable source code) that will be freely available to all.
Before any of this can be realized significant work is needed in several key areas:
- develop core UI functionality
- vertical serial text display with adjustable contrast
- text display granularity (font/lexia size)
- throttle control interface
- embedded media interface
- message handling
- file selection
- develop grammar parser
- set of linguistic rules that given a text returns the best line breaks for a given measure based on the display area and current font metrics
- variable granularity (see above)
- could include ability to reference passed exceptions (e.g., try to keep the words in this list of proper names together)
- develop XML definitions for marking-up lexia-centric texts
- accomodate variable fonts, sizes and styles
- embedded media tags including inPoint and outPoint attributes
- background and foreground color attributes
- functions for kinetic typography effects
Continued research and development of the project's techniques is planned to support a wide range of computer-based tasks. Future versions of the interface might enhance the readability of word processors, spreadsheets, databases, image browsers, hierarchial file listings, sheet music, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or even text objects within a virtual reality (VR) simulation. The following images are rough sketches that suggest some of these directions:
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| Word processor | PDA-based book | Image Browser |
For these visions to be realized, the project must attract enough believers to make it to the next phase -- it cannot continue to exist in a vacuum. It is time to bring more experts into the fold: programmers, academics, beta testers, advisors, visionaries, patrons and saints.
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