On 80 columns should (not) be enough for everyone

[Walter Bright]

Nick Sabalausky wrote:
>> 80 colums is an artifact of the old age.

An elegant width, from a more civilized age.

 > Any remotely modern computer is perfectly capable
 > of speeding up voice playback by 10x, but nobody does it that fast because
 > the human user is the limiting factor.

People who use screen readers often crank up the playback rate to 2x. The 
software adjusts the pitch so it doesn't sound like the Chipmunks.

I've often wondered why DVRs don't do this (I've sent the suggestion to Tivo, 
they ignored me). I'd like the option to play the news (or other talk shows) at 
a faster rate, with pitch adjustment. I've found I can watch Tivo at 3x with the 
closed captioning on, and can almost keep up. The problem with DVRs at any fast 
forward speed is they turn the sound off! Grrrr.

A golden opportunity missed.

I'd also love it if youtube etc. did this. It's so boring looking at youtube 
presentations because they talk so slow. I'd love a double speed youtube viewing 
option.

Remember I posted this in case some troll tries to patent it.