Consuming Articles Offline(blog.nawaz.org)
blog.nawaz.org
Consuming Articles Offline
http://blog.nawaz.org/posts/2021/Dec/consuming-articles-offline/
18 comments
Most articles feature an image so that they can be gain more attention on social media via OpenGraph metadata for the image. That and most ways of presenting the articles on these sites are usually very visual.
What browser do you use? It sounds like bliss.
What browser do you use? It sounds like bliss.
I like to think I have tried them all. I wish there were more to try. I settled on links, original and optional graphics. The later is the one found in BSD/Linux package repositories. Compiles fast, source is relatively small. All prior versions are available. Can make the must-have changes myself. No need to rely on anyone else. FWIW, links has the best HTML tables support of any text-only browser I have tried. As an HTML reader links has worked well for me for a long time. I guess compared with an advertising-supported browser that is impossible to control,^1 links could be "bliss", depending on how much one values speed, control and avoiding ads.
1. I can compile an OS, including a customised kernel and hundreds of robust, reliable and secure programs, in less time and with fewer resources than I could compile one of the popular browsers. (By comparison, I do not consider popular browsers to be robust, reliable nor secure. In practice, customisation by users is only possible with "permission" from a company. These oversized programs do not belong to users.)
1. I can compile an OS, including a customised kernel and hundreds of robust, reliable and secure programs, in less time and with fewer resources than I could compile one of the popular browsers. (By comparison, I do not consider popular browsers to be robust, reliable nor secure. In practice, customisation by users is only possible with "permission" from a company. These oversized programs do not belong to users.)
I’m sure you’ve already heard of this, but for anyone who hasn’t: check out Gemini, a protocol and format (gemtext) that might appeal to users with this philosophy.
From gemini.circumlunar.space:
"Overview
Gemini is a new internet protocol which:
At present, I only need to send plaintext hostname over the wire for a minority of HTTPS sites. Most sites do not require it. One shared hosting provider, Cloudflare, even offers encrypted SNI, which works fine while encrypted Client Hello (ECH) is being finalised. AFAICT, the SNI problem will eventually be fixed in HTTPS.
Making SNI mandatory, i.e., no option to disable it, is against the philosophy of user control. One of the reasons I use links and other non-graphical clients plus a local TLS proxy, instead using of a popular browser, is because the popular browsers do not permit the user to disable the sending of plaintext hostnames over the wire.
Not all HTTPS sites require SNI, in fact most do not require it, yet popular browsers send hostnames in plaintext to every website. From a user perspective, that is stupid. Gemini is arguably worse because it codifies this stupidity into the protocol, thereby ensuring people will write clients that send hostnames in plaintext over the wire to every site and servers that will reject TLS negotiation without SNI. If there is only one Gemini site on an IP address, then it makes no sense to send the hostname in plaintext over the wire.
"Overview
Gemini is a new internet protocol which:
Is heavier than gopher
Is lighter than the web
Will not replace either
Strives for maximum power to weight ratio
Takes user privacy very seriously" <--- Yet it REQUIRES user to send plaintext hostnames over the wire
At present, I only need to send plaintext hostname over the wire for a minority of HTTPS sites. Most sites do not require it. One shared hosting provider, Cloudflare, even offers encrypted SNI, which works fine while encrypted Client Hello (ECH) is being finalised. AFAICT, the SNI problem will eventually be fixed in HTTPS.
Making SNI mandatory, i.e., no option to disable it, is against the philosophy of user control. One of the reasons I use links and other non-graphical clients plus a local TLS proxy, instead using of a popular browser, is because the popular browsers do not permit the user to disable the sending of plaintext hostnames over the wire.
Not all HTTPS sites require SNI, in fact most do not require it, yet popular browsers send hostnames in plaintext to every website. From a user perspective, that is stupid. Gemini is arguably worse because it codifies this stupidity into the protocol, thereby ensuring people will write clients that send hostnames in plaintext over the wire to every site and servers that will reject TLS negotiation without SNI. If there is only one Gemini site on an IP address, then it makes no sense to send the hostname in plaintext over the wire.
I use a Kobo ereader and it's integrated Pocket reader. I use the pocket extension for my browser to save articles, and then sync with my Kobo over wifi. No advertisements, and much easier than even the Calibre setup. If I want to automate blogs, I use ifttt to save new posts to Pocket. So easy! The screens on the newer Kobos are of course sharper.
+1 to pocket. I never liked how aggressively it was pushed in firefox[0], but a few years after ignoring it, I tried it one day, and so far I am surprisingly happy with it. Instead of leaving a ton of tabs open or push notifications for articles that I'll never get to, I put them in pocket and sometimes remember to read them.
The TTS feature is pretty nifty (on Android, not sure if there's an equivalent on the web version, though firefox reader mode has TTS). With bluetooth headphones/speaker I can just have a bunch of articles read to me while I'm doing something else.
[0]: I hate random buttons for services I don't use showing up in my browser unexpectedly! I think stuff like this is part of why so many people (at least used to) avoid automatic updates. UI changes that don't immediately benefit the user.
The TTS feature is pretty nifty (on Android, not sure if there's an equivalent on the web version, though firefox reader mode has TTS). With bluetooth headphones/speaker I can just have a bunch of articles read to me while I'm doing something else.
[0]: I hate random buttons for services I don't use showing up in my browser unexpectedly! I think stuff like this is part of why so many people (at least used to) avoid automatic updates. UI changes that don't immediately benefit the user.
IIRC, Pocket uses Amazon's TTS service, Polly. It is quite impressive. I stopped using Pocket because their web app was updated in a way that doubled the margins, sometimes resulting in lines with just 3 words on them. But before that I used it all the time both for reading and listening.
The text styling, including margins on the pocket reader app is pretty customizable I thought.
The mobile app does offer adjustments to margins, but only if you're a premium subscriber. The web app, which I use, does not offer the ability to customize at all, and the margins are 2x as big as the default on the mobile app. They look absolutely ridiculous, and despite having contacted Pocket support about this over a year ago, they remain double the size of the mobile app (and much bigger than they used to be before the 'upgrade').
Yes. I do own a Kobo and used the Pocket feature for a while. It works but the one down side was I quickly ended up with too many articles. Somehow that gave some anxiety whereas paper doesn't. Also it's easier to just pick up a pile and throw in recycling vs finding a way to remove half of the Pocket articles.
Maybe not what you are looking for, but on your webpage for Pocket, you can do "Bulk Edit" and delete.
Select the pencil-like icon on the right of the top bar (hover over it to see words "Bulk Edit"). Select the articles you want to delete, then select the trashcan to delete them.
On the Kobo, you are limited to deleting one item at a time, unfortunately. So you bulk edit on the web, then sync your Kobo to remove the items.
Select the pencil-like icon on the right of the top bar (hover over it to see words "Bulk Edit"). Select the articles you want to delete, then select the trashcan to delete them.
On the Kobo, you are limited to deleting one item at a time, unfortunately. So you bulk edit on the web, then sync your Kobo to remove the items.
For tough to digest content, having a physical medium makes it much easier to comprehend for me. There's something about being able to write all over it that maybe helps.
I really hope e-readers get to the point as mentioned towards the end where it replicates paper more accurately. High DPI, proper size, easy to write on.
I really hope e-readers get to the point as mentioned towards the end where it replicates paper more accurately. High DPI, proper size, easy to write on.
I also do something similar and it's great for me.
I download a few (10 at most) articles a day with MarkDownload and create an ePub.
I either read them on a reMarkable during daytime or a Kobo HD if in bed (I prefer the backlight to an actual light on eInk).
What I like is the artifical limit on the amount to read. It stops me engaging in the infinite scroll trap of tablets and I find reading on a eInk quite relaxing, unlike other displays.
I download a few (10 at most) articles a day with MarkDownload and create an ePub.
I either read them on a reMarkable during daytime or a Kobo HD if in bed (I prefer the backlight to an actual light on eInk).
What I like is the artifical limit on the amount to read. It stops me engaging in the infinite scroll trap of tablets and I find reading on a eInk quite relaxing, unlike other displays.
I need to check this out. I used to do the same thing with a web app called Readlists which would clean and combine articles into a single Kindle “book.” I’ve been sorely missing it for years!
Just an FYI, in case you're not familiar with MarkDownload[0], it just downloads pages as Markdown (including linked images). I then use `pandoc` to create the ePub.
[0] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/markdownload/
[0] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/markdownload/
I was surprised to read that they'd both tried and discarded an e-reader due to its lack of resolution: I owned a Kindle ~5 years ago and felt like the 'reading ergonomics' were terrific and have to imagine they're even better now.
If anything, my main complaint was that the process of getting the content I wanted to read on to the thing was the problem: no matter what software or special formatting I used PDFs were rendered terribly and the steps involved in using that 'send an article to your Kindle' really cut into my desire to take an article I saw on my normal computer and read it over there.
I know they've got large, monitor-sized eInk displays now so I think the only thing standing between me and my ideal reader is a more sophisticated way to reformat/reflow PDFs (I vaguely recall Adobe saying they were going to make this a component of their new reader?) and an easy way to 'cast' pages to it that performs the same ad-stripping and reformatting that's mentioned in the article.
If anything, my main complaint was that the process of getting the content I wanted to read on to the thing was the problem: no matter what software or special formatting I used PDFs were rendered terribly and the steps involved in using that 'send an article to your Kindle' really cut into my desire to take an article I saw on my normal computer and read it over there.
I know they've got large, monitor-sized eInk displays now so I think the only thing standing between me and my ideal reader is a more sophisticated way to reformat/reflow PDFs (I vaguely recall Adobe saying they were going to make this a component of their new reader?) and an easy way to 'cast' pages to it that performs the same ad-stripping and reformatting that's mentioned in the article.
I recently tried out my wife's Kindle Paperwhite and was surprised how lousy the resolution is. I would have believed it was from 5-10 years ago, but it is less than a year old.
> I was surprised to read that they'd both tried and discarded an e-reader due to its lack of resolution: I owned a Kindle ~5 years ago and felt like the 'reading ergonomics' were terrific and have to imagine they're even better now.
How does that Kindle compare with laser printer paper? I get 600 dpi on the normal setting and the difference between it and an ereader is very noticeable.
Also bigger screens tend to have lower DPI. 6in screens are too small for me.
How does that Kindle compare with laser printer paper? I get 600 dpi on the normal setting and the difference between it and an ereader is very noticeable.
Also bigger screens tend to have lower DPI. 6in screens are too small for me.
As software's been eating the world, I've started to feel like we're losing out on the benefits of paper, in both personal and business settings:
* Fairly durable * A security violation requires physical access to the paper storage * Flexibility - you can take a pen and draw anywhere on paper - and it will make sense to other readers without having to write custom software * Flexibility 2 - you can organize bits of paper any way you like
Having had my identity compromised through third parties (Premera, Experian), the security aspects are particularly compelling.
It also feels like a lot of the business innovation credited to software could have been possible using paper systems, e.g. reading about the Toyota Production System, it seemed more about process innovation than anything to do with software.
* Fairly durable * A security violation requires physical access to the paper storage * Flexibility - you can take a pen and draw anywhere on paper - and it will make sense to other readers without having to write custom software * Flexibility 2 - you can organize bits of paper any way you like
Having had my identity compromised through third parties (Premera, Experian), the security aspects are particularly compelling.
It also feels like a lot of the business innovation credited to software could have been possible using paper systems, e.g. reading about the Toyota Production System, it seemed more about process innovation than anything to do with software.
Voice Dream Reader on iOS.
I use it for all articles and books. I love it so much that, if a book is available only in print, I’ll scan it so I can use it with Voice Dream.
What I love about it:
- Switch fluently between text-to-speech and reading visually - Add highlights and comments - Export my annotations - Having my entire library with me wherever I go - Connecting to a projector for a “reading cinema” (AirPlay)
Being able to annotate and copy quotes has actually made me prefer reading an EPUB inside VDR over listening a professional Audible audiobook.
I use it for all articles and books. I love it so much that, if a book is available only in print, I’ll scan it so I can use it with Voice Dream.
What I love about it:
- Switch fluently between text-to-speech and reading visually - Add highlights and comments - Export my annotations - Having my entire library with me wherever I go - Connecting to a projector for a “reading cinema” (AirPlay)
Being able to annotate and copy quotes has actually made me prefer reading an EPUB inside VDR over listening a professional Audible audiobook.
I've chosen to print articles for ~10 years, as it was the easiest for me to read during commute. Content is also much easier to make sense of on paper, as we can scribble notes anywhere. I wish e-readers evolved faster to allow for a similar experience.
Although I've now stopped printing stuff; I care a bit more about the planet than I did back then.
Now I long for solutions to help me curate and organize content.
Although I've now stopped printing stuff; I care a bit more about the planet than I did back then.
Now I long for solutions to help me curate and organize content.
It is not only the fact to be able to write all over it (although it is a huge one), but there is something about the haptics and spatial distribution of information on paper that makes me remember content better. For example I know a certain formula was on the lower right hand side of one of the last pages of an article. On the other page was a graph.
That way I retain and find information much easier.
With digital content it is all a blur on the same mini screen of my smart phone.
That way I retain and find information much easier.
With digital content it is all a blur on the same mini screen of my smart phone.
They should just make reusable printer paper :) would also help the issue of accumulating clutter due to documents you're holding onto "just in case"
Yes!
There was also a satisfaction for me to get rid of the articles I was done with. A bit like this moment in Matrix where Neo says "I know kung-fu" :)
There was also a satisfaction for me to get rid of the articles I was done with. A bit like this moment in Matrix where Neo says "I know kung-fu" :)
Since then I've realized that just putting stuff inside my head was not the best option; I now prefer to take a lot more notes, and keep those around in Obsidian. There's less knowledge decay that way :)
I use Kindle integrated with Pocket. Once a week I get a mini ebook from crofflr Only articles tagged with 'read' will get to my Kindle. Once a day I quick scan feedly and save articles in Pocket via Firefox extension. I do have a lot of articles, but, I like it. I believe the content should be available. I use this method to read book summaries when it is worth it.
Firefox reader mode (mentioned in the article to help print articles without bloat) is also a great way to read the articles without physically printing them. It also lets you have the article read to you via TTS (text to speech). It seems so nice that sometimes I worry advertisers/publishers will try to mess with it if it becomes too popular.
also sometimes it lets you bypass paywalls. Why is that? SEO maybe?
I was doing this for a while with Print to PDF > Print as Booklet in Adobe Reader and then staple it together as a lil pamphlet. Works great but the only downside is the little pamphlets would get mixed up with all my other reading material..
I'm a big fan of printing articles to read. Digital reading--whether my Kindle, phone, tablet, or computer--has always been a worse experience for me in a number of ways. The only benefit I've experienced is portability, but I get so much more out of having some printed articles, so I don't think of it as a real con.
My biggest problem is formatting for printing. And, unlike the author, I often find that there are graphs or tables in images that I want printed, so stripping all images doesn't work. But I don't need pictures just because there are pictures.
My biggest problem is formatting for printing. And, unlike the author, I often find that there are graphs or tables in images that I want printed, so stripping all images doesn't work. But I don't need pictures just because there are pictures.
Try the Print Friendly browser addon mentioned in the article. You can select what aspects of the page to print or not print.
Mercury Reader extension on chrome does this job very cleanly. You should give that a try.
Sadly, not all websites are optimized for printing, and because of how the pages are structured, you'll lose chunks of text.
This is the way. Defy hypermedia dependence.
Send to my kindle, but destroys trees
Not for me. I have been using a text-only browser to read the www for over 20 years. The keyword here is "read". I do not need graphics to read text.
Ocassionally I get a glimpse of the type of images that users of graphical browsers would see when reading articles and I am often shocked by how little these images add to the text. In a remarkable number of cases, they are just garbage "filler". As if the publisher was "required" to use some images. Perhaps use of images has some effect on users' response to advertising.
What's more is that in cases of true photojournalism, by a reputable media outlet, where I do want to look at the photos, I often find I can extract the URLs and download the images, for offline viewing, easier with non-graphical clients than if I am using a graphical browser. Viewing images is one thing, but I would not want to rely on a graphical browser for downloading them to view offline.
On today's www, I think graphics are overrated. They have a place, but they are routinely being used in situations used when they are not truly necessary. In a surprisingly large number of cases, they do not add anything except distraction.