'Boston Globe' Announces New Digital Reader Application Thing!
OH GOD. The Boston Globe just rolled out their Globe Reader! It appears to be a computer application available for print subscribers to the paper, so they can now get a "daily" download of Boston Globe content. It's like a PDF, but with links, and with its own application! I don't know how to squeeze it onto my iPhone! This is humiliatingly painful. Do watch the video (sorry, it's not embeddable, because GOD FORBID). It's like their shiny new product comes with a built-in keyboard cat to play the Globe off the world stage. Also, the New York Times announced today a new licensing plan—now they'll sell your own news publication their news stories that have not yet been printed in their physical paper. Revolution! I am being mean because all of this makes me sad.
I worked a trade mag that did this. it's essentially a digital edition that assumes the existing format and layout of a newspaper (or magazine) is perfect and needs just be transferred online.
Please open your browser to the width of this line of text…
It's like their shiny new product comes with a built-in keyboard cat to play the Globe off the world stage.
I'm investing in a skywriter.
This really puts a dent in our respect for the city of Boston.
Does anyone want to download my own virtual iPod to play my music on?
My print-edition-plus-online-edition paper installed a similar device a year or so back, replacing previous access to print-edition stories. (Which was HTML or PDF, take your pick; no e-reader to get in your way; bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, etc).
It is resented by everybody who has to use it, starting with me.
However, it does seem to be helping keep us profitable by throwing clumsy technology in the way of our exclusive content. Yay, having a job!
I love keyboard cat. His breath smells like cat food.
Same as Times Reader, right?
https://timesreader.nytimes.com/
Daddy, what's a computer?
Oh man is this like another Gawker? Double daily dose of depressing death of print schadenfreude! Did you notice the "d" alliteration there? It is economically valueless.