Talk of the Sound contains quite a few “long-form” articles. Some readers have complained that scrolling down these long articles makes for an unpleasant reading experience. I have been using Instapaper for so long now that I forget that people still head the long articles the old-fashioned way. Old habits die hard but reading long-form articles in a browser is one habit worth slamming in the head with a 2 x 4.
To have a more enjoyable reading experience, take a moment to sign up for Instapaper. If you have an iPhone or iPad you will REALLY like this app.
Readability is a more public-spirited approach in which you agree to pay a monthly fee of your choice ($5.00 is the recommended monthly minimum) and the funds are divvied up among the publishers of the articles you read. They have a very nice video which both explains their service and the general content.
Readability – Enjoy Reading, Support Writing from Arc90 on Vimeo.
Matthew Guay has an article on AppStorm that is well worth the time for Talk of the Sound readers: Why Instapaper & Read It Later Apps Can Boost Your Productivity. My favorite service is Instapaper which is now integrated with a related service, Readability, which has been incorporated into the new Safari 5.1 browser. The basic idea is that you click a button and all the clutter on the web page goes away and you see only a text-version of the article — larger, in a nicer font with an easy-on-the-eyes background. You have the option to read it now or read it later. If you choose to read it now a new page will appear with just the text; if you choose to read it later the article will be added to your account for later retrieval. Other services include Read It Later and Pinboard but I don’t use those at all.
This high school teacher offers a simple video of how to set up an Instapaper account using just your email address. Other videos show how to use Instapaper with an iPad (it’s the same on the iPhone too), Instapaper on Kindle. One explains Readability and another shows how Reader works in Safari 5.1.
