By Ben Popper 11/16/11 11:29am

Free Me Uhm

rich-ziade

Readability Focuses On Free, Aiming to Enlarge Its Platform

You might not be a readability user, but chances are if you’re a tablet owner, you’re relying on their technology everyday.

“It’s a very popular tool,” says Rich Ziade, founder partner of Readability, about the text parsing tool the company developed under the Apache license. “When you’re on an device from Apple or Amazon and you click through to the article view, that’s Readability you’re using.”

Does he regret that his small startup won’t ever benefit from licensing fees these large tech giants could easily afford to pay? “I try not to dwell on the past,” said Mr. Ziade with a wry chuckle. “I think we’re still at the beginning of this movement towards a more readable web.”  Read More

By Ben Popper 10/17/11 11:18am

Read Me...Later

Wikipedia in the new Instapaper 4.0

Instapaper 4.0 Adds Wikipedia, Social Streams and Tablet Native Interface

Marco Arment is an Apple purist, so it’s natural that the newest release of his popular app, Instapaper 4.0, treats the iPad and the iPhone as distinct devices worthy of their own details.

On his blog Mr. Arment notes, “The iPad browsing interface has been completely redesigned to feel more at home in the iPad environment. Instead of just being a blown-up full-screen list, it’s now a more touch-friendly grid, with all navigation available in any orientation.” Read More

By Ben Popper 9/06/11 8:48am

First World Problems

Deep breathes now.

Marco Arment on RSS: You’re Doing it Wrong

Instapaper creator Marco Arment has some very strong opinions on how people should consume the internet. Putting a bunch of high volume feeds into your RSS reader, for instance, is a rookie mistake that Mr. Arment considers downright destructive, although he admits, “Abuse is probably a more accurate term, then, but it sounds ridiculous to call such a trivial, first-world problem ‘RSS abuse.’” Read More

By Ben Popper 6/16/11 5:46pm

David and Goliath

Remain calm, nothing to fear

Marco Arment on Predictions Apple Will Kill Instapaper: “Try It First”

When Apple announced at their recent WWDC that they would be building an Instapaper like feature right into iOS 5, founder Marco Arment went on something of an emotional roller coaster.

But in a wide-ranging interview with Mac Observer today, Mr. Arment says reports of his death are greatly exaggerated. “Apple’s Reading List leaves a lot of holes. It’s very, very basic. And I strongly predict to anybody who’s trying to predict my death to try it first.” Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 6/06/11 3:23pm

The Tao of Steve

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Apple’s Instapaper-Killer Sent Marco Arment on an Emotional Roller-Coaster

We witnessed something on Twitter today that one rarely finds in 140 characters: raw, human emotions. Lots of them. All jumbled and up and in conflict with one another, coming from every which way. It was sort of like watching the cycle of grief in real-time.  Join us, if you will, down the rabbit hole of  Instapaper founder Marco Arment’s Twitter feed as he heard Steve Jobs & Co. announce what sounded an awful lot like the death knell of Instapaper. Read More

By Ben Popper 4/28/11 12:45pm

Ecosystem Play

out-to-pasture

Instapaper Puts Free App Out To Pasture

Marco Arment delivered his diatribe on the death of Instapaper’s free app today. It’s amazing just how different his approach to business is from his former employer, Tumblr.

Because Instapaper is an ongoing service, as opposed to a game you download once that doesn’t require updates, users represent a continued cost to Arment. Even over time, he doesn’t feel most would add up to $3.50 worth of ad impressions. Read More