A method and apparatus for computer aided reading training provides for improving reading speed with comprehension, the method comprising the steps of displaying textual matter in a machine readable format; presenting a designated text display area indicia on a video monitor screen; presenting input device controllable operational indicia on the video monitor screen; and displaying the textual matter within the word display area indicia on the video monitor screen, the textual matter being segmented into textual portions, each of the portions appearing on the monitor screen for a selected duration and at the termination of the selected duration being instantly replaced by each subsequent one of the textual portions in turn, the operational indicia being functional for adjusting the position and approximate quantity of textual matter in each of the textural portions.

A semiconductor device for display control includes an input section for receiving a display information including a character code, a display position information and a character size information, a first address generating section for generating a first address group corresponding to the received character code by applying a predetermined conversion rule to the received character code and character size information, a font data storing section for outputting the font data stored in the region specified by the first address group when the first address group is given, a second address generating section for generating a second address group by utilizing the received display position information, the second address group representing a region where the font data is to be expanded, a font data expanding section for expanding and temporarily storing the font data in the region represented by the second address group, and an output section for outputting the font data to an external display driving unit.

A method and device for displaying electronic text on a screen is disclosed, comprising presenting text as a single word display of a particular duration plus a non-text gap, and continuing this single word duration plus gap presentation until all desired text has been sequentially displayed; wherein the speed of the text display is created by repetition of the duration plus gap, and wherein varying the gap relative to the duration creates a different flow of text presentation. The speed of the display is controllable by the reader using a control pad. This method and device permits text to be easily read on a limited viewing area.

A text enhancement method and apparatus for the presentation of text for improved human reading. The method includes extracting text specific attributes from machine readable text and varying the text presentation in accordance with the attributes. The preferred embodiment of the method: extracts parts of speech and punctuation from a sentence, applies folding rules which use the parts of speech to determine folding points, and presents text segments each on a new line and having a determined horizontal displacement based on the text specific attributes. One method displays text over bent curves having a shape based on text content. Another method includes displaying relative text position within a hierarchy using alternating vertically and horizontally tiled planes. Another method supports reading text segments across opposed pages without waiting for paging. Yet another method displays text to allow reading from bottom to top as though from front to back. Still another method displays words in colors reflecting the relationships between the words and the larger text segments of which they are apart.

A method for displaying a group of headlines from a headline stream across the bottom of a computer graphical user interface display provides a solid polygon shaped display which displays a headline, its immediate predecessor and its immediate successor on adjacent polygon faces. At predetermined intervals the bar rotates so that the successor headline moves into a dominant position, the previous headline moves to a predecessor position, and a new successor headline is displayed. In one embodiment, the predecessor and successor headlines are foreshortened to enhance the suggestion of a three-dimensional solid polygon being displayed and rotated about a central axis. The headline display method is less distracting than the usual ticker tape display, and is easier to read because the eye does not have to follow moving text. In another embodiment, the user double clicks on the a displayed headline to retrieve and display an associated news story. In another embodiment, the user can advance or retreat the display along the headline stream by alternatively single clicking on a successor or predecessor headline, respectively. In another group of embodiments, the invention defines an object for displaying headline type information.