Instapaper

Remember that 3 minutes I told you about. Were I get to read something. Ok, so I'm a slow reader. I need more then 3 minutes.

This is were Instapaper comes in. At its core it is both a web service that saves URLs and a iOS app to read those saved articles. Go to Instapaper.com to sign up. The web service is free.

Usage:

  1. Drag the bookmarklet to your browsers bookmarks. There are instructions here
  2. Start saving articles for reading.

There isn't another step unless you have a iOS device. If you would like more information go here.

If you decide you would like to use more than just the web interface and have articles on your device for offline browsing you can purchase the Instapaper app from the AppStore. I say purchase because the app cost $4.99. Worth every penny. once the app is installed you sign in with your username and password and the device grabs up to the most recent 500 articles. You can make folders for savings and categorizing stories. There is also a straight archive that is just that, an archive. You can add via in app purchase search for $3.99 for 3 months.

You can also use this service to send articles to your Kindle. There is a fee associated doing that but if you are kindle user and do not intend on buying a iPad or iPhone this might interest you.

Instapaper is great app/service. I love always having something to read. Learning or laughing or simply having a place to save and archive your favorite articles or important info from your day.

The best write up I have read is here .

iPad

What's good about the iPad. It's not what you think.

I am a compositor. I sit in front of a computer all day long. I use every bit of RAM and all cores. When I get home the computer can be a very deep dark hole. The screen sucks me in. An update to the Web site or edit the lastest photos. maybe learn some Python or compositing trick. I could sit at a computer for hours.

Enter iPad.

The iPad provides a rich experience but scales it down for me just enough where I do only what the iPad is good at. I read, return e-mail. Surf the web. I do not listen to music on the iPad, but I play games. During the baseball season I watch or listen to baseball games. Thats about it.

Perfect.