These things are nice. I mean, really nice. You get gorgeous, full-color scans of these weathered old books - the whole books. Everything from the cover to the blank pages at the end are included in such rich detail that it's almost as good as actually being able to hold these patina-infused treasures of literature. Check out this screen-cap of The Raven:
You can also switch to "scroll view" if you don't like that 2-page at a time look, which is a nice touch (although part of what I love about this web app is the two-page view's page-flipping animation). Perhaps the best part of all of this is that the webapp is apparently NOT Flash-based, which is just wonderful (and probably explains why it actually works). Full disclosure: I'm a big Adobe fanboy, but I whole-heartedly believe that Flash's reign of terror on the internet needs to end, as soon as possible.That said, I am definitely adding Read.gov to my list of reasons to buy an iPad 2. This interface would be perfect on an iPad in landscape orientation, and the best part is that it's free (your tax dollars at work!), and accessed completely through a regular ol' web browser (meaning that in the case of using it on an iOS device, it'd be nearly impossible for Apple to block it). Additionally, it's great for drooling over illustrations from The Raven (which are apparently by some nobody named Eduard Manet) on a laptop screen while lounging around with a neck pillow on in bed. Anyway, sorry for that little geekgasm there, but this is one of the coolest things to come from our federal government since the National Parks, and I am extremely excited about all the free (and visually delicious) content that's up for grabs. Thanks, Uncle Sam!
you're so cute
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