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Read at Work Helps You Do Just That
Posted by Adam Pash at 4:00 AM on May 31, 2008
Got some downtime at the office but don't feel comfortable pulling out a paperback to get some reading in on-the-job? Web site Read at Work serves up public domain works in PowerPoint-looking chunks. The site boasts a convincing Flash application that runs in fullscreen and looks exactly like a Windows XP installation. (You have to try it to truly appreciate it.) Granted, reading an entire book in this fashion is far from ideal, but if you're desperate, it's a fun—albeit weird—way to get your fix.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
gg101
Posted 4:35 AM 31/5/08
It looks much stranger staring at a bunch of weird powerpoint slides for a few hours than reading a text file or actually pulling out a real book. Not to mention looking at those slides for 30 seconds already started to give me a headache.
gg101
AskTheAdmin
Posted 4:28 AM 31/5/08
Like Adam said reading a whole book in this fashion is far from ideal... But getting in the last chapter of something you were really into but, forgot to pack the book might, be a better reason to use this.
AskTheAdmin
Rivercat
Posted 4:25 AM 31/5/08
That's hilarious.
Rivercat
zhinker
Posted 4:25 AM 31/5/08
yeah, no one's going to wonder why I'm looking at a powerpoint with cute little pictures on it...you're better off downloading a txt or pdf version of the book and reading that.
zhinker
MagicEightBall
Posted 4:21 AM 31/5/08
That's brilliant. I love it.
MagicEightBall
mlhoward516
Posted 4:12 AM 31/5/08
its even weirder on a mac
mlhoward516
osnofla
Posted 4:12 AM 31/5/08
that's weird
osnofla
Darkmatter91
Posted 5:03 AM 31/5/08
cool factor = OVER 9000!!!
usefulness = 0
love it but can't see myself using it
Darkmatter91
Spamwich
Posted 5:03 AM 31/5/08
Can we get Lifehacker presented this way? =D
Spamwich
navigator99
Posted 4:48 AM 31/5/08
Love it!! if only I was not using windows at work!
navigator99
Rhywun
Posted 4:47 AM 31/5/08
Utterly surreal. PS. Who doesn't lock their taskbar??
Rhywun
cisengineer
Posted 6:04 AM 31/5/08
Cute...but not very useful. I couldn't imagine reading like that for more than a few minutes without getting a headache.
cisengineer
inainai
Posted 6:02 AM 31/5/08
haha, hilarous :)
bradhh, I feel the same... wasn't as bad as I thought
inainai
bradnh
Posted 6:00 AM 31/5/08
Wow, I just read a short story and it was surprisingly not bad. I kind of liked the format, even...
bradnh
B1663R
Posted 6:32 AM 31/5/08
if you're that paranoid that you will get fired for not workiung when you are slaking off at work. don't slack off!
at least commenting creates the appearance that I'm working because all you hear is my noisy ass keyboard and no one suspects a thing.
nice website though...
B1663R
BluegrassGeek
Posted 7:08 AM 31/5/08
Eh. Just load up a PDF, minimize when the boss comes in. Even better, keep 'em on a USB drive so they don't get stored on your work PC at all.
BluegrassGeek
DianaBoston
Posted 7:25 AM 31/5/08
How cool is that? It gave that little geek inside of me those warm fuzzy feelings. I thought it was brilliant.
DianaBoston
SenorDunda
Posted 11:36 AM 31/5/08
That is pretty awesome, I got to admit.
SenorDunda
wormz
Posted 4:22 PM 31/5/08
This website is rather dedicated to the slacker who's into new ways of paid procrastination.
Books concealed in ppt-looking presentations, omg! You hardly focus on the story when you have to get through charts, text boxes, lists... and this XP UI is much annoying. I doubt any boss passing by could fall for this, it's easy to spot the fake OS.
I'll rather get some PDF instead...
wormz
ICEBreaker
Posted 5:56 PM 31/5/08
Am I the only one who can't get in?? I am not using any proxy (Google Accelerator etc.) Why am I blocked?
Request denied by WatchGuard HTTP proxy.
Reason: IPS matched signature "BLEEDING-EDGE Malware Gator Agent Traffic", id='10026'
Method: GET
Host: www.readatwork.com
Path: /
ICEBreaker
Dooga
Posted 4:49 PM 2/6/08
Why would anyone have a powerpoint title "She pursed her lips"? It's a really interesting idea though.
Dooga
twister141
Posted 2:25 AM 3/6/08
THAT is amazing! So clever...I love it!
twister141