FREE Download Current Newspapers & Magazines

[Charles Patrick]

>> Upon opening, there's a popup that says something like "News from News2PDF.com"--which is blank.

This will be removed. This is the dialog I mentioned in my previous post that will be become a passive entry in the status dialog.

-- Popups on open and close? Nuisance. Two mouseclicks I don't want. The second one should certainly not be included in any paid service;

The first one will be gone, the second one will not likely be visible for paid users.

>>Help button--also unavailable offline=bad.

We originally had a "getting started" dialog that was available offline, we may restore it at your suggestion.

>>if you want it to be *really* nifty, make the whole thing run portable, so that people can install the program on a flash drive & use it in a library or school computer, instead of needing to run on their home computer.

Great idea! That's partly our target market since these users may have home computers but have no Internet access other than the library or school computer.

>>Full explanations is probably too much tech, but people are going to keep asking why the version on their computer doesn't match the one they can Google for.)

We'll have to think about this. We'd prefer to not necessarily tell users how we do it Smart ones (like you) will figure it out. The rest of our users seem to be satisfied that they're getting full-text articles with none of the web page distractions. You're the first to bring up comparing our versions to the web versions - but we'll address it again if it does become an issue.

>>Re: Reader's Digest image--I had selected Reader's Digest. On checking, it has images. They are 1/4" wide thumbnail shots of some sort;

The Readers Digest images are in the specific pixel size that Readers Digest provides them. We don't touch the image sizes, we append them precisely in the form and size as they are retrieved. The images are much larger in Business Week and Wall Street Journal. (you can't see WSJ yet)

>> You're right about duplicates same day; I must've had one of the articles open when I tried to re-run it last night... I don't expect the whole program to crash because of it.

I don't' believe the program crashed. I believe it simply didn't overwrite the file? That's my experience here?

>>Also, there's still the problem that I can't make one set of files for me, focused on sci/tech/education, and another set for my husband. It auto-saves changes into whatever .ini file is open at the time, which means if I experiment with new settings, I lose my old ones.

Bad. Agreed. I believe we're going to emulate the expected "File > Page Settings" screen you've seen in oh-so-many windows applications. You'll be able to select a device, (Sony Reader, PalmPDF, or whatever) and you can overwrite our settings, or restore [Defaults]. I like the drop down options, but we're adding the e-mail-to-kindle feature and user allowable margins, so I believe we'll be switching to a more recognizable "Print Setup" dialog format.


>> If the Kindle & Sony have the same page size, make them a single listing. Every checkbox on the menu should do something different.

I'm not sure if you noticed that all those listings are dynamic and pushed from our server. Since they're not hard-coded, we can change them at any time.

>>If page margins aren't going to be user-adjustable, the "printable" page sizes

As you've seen, some of the publications can generate a few hundred pages. I suppose it's possible people might print these pages - but I can't imagine it. Can you? in any event, we will allow users to set margins in a future version.

>>I have no idea what Kindle users deal with, but I expect it's even more troublesome.

Kindle uses have to e-mail the PDF file to Amazon. There is a 10-cent charge if they have the converted file delivered wirelessly to their Kindle, but the conversion is free if they have the file returned to their computer then move it by cable to the Kindle.

>> I will NOT be downloading four (or more) new versions (at 10 minutes each), as they appear, and installing them, and looking for new bugs caused by the fixes. The "updates" page could possibly include a change log/bug fix listing underneath the "download now" option.

Noted.

Thanks again for your help!
Charles

[Charles Patrick]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

if you want it to be *really* nifty, make the whole thing run portable, so that people can install the program on a flash drive & use it in a library or school computer, instead of needing to run on their home computer.

Finally, something you may like.

I've updated our install (version 0.1c) so that News2PDF can be installed on a Portable Flash drive.

However, you can install the version you already have on a flash drive...

Be sure to install the files in folder on the flash drive such as E:\News2PDF\

After installing, manually create a folder named -> E:\News2PDF\PDF\

The new version 0.1c installs to a flash drive without those extra steps. Those are just for you so you can try it with the copy you already have.

[Charles Patrick]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

You've provided many good and thorough comments on this developing software. But, at some point you need to stop complaining about dl times and get a broadband connection. Seriously, it's the 21st century now, and dialup just doesn't cut it anymore if you want to actively download media online. Heck, even my 73-year-old mom has broadband.

FWIW, Some of the users of our other programs live in rural areas and simply can't get broadband

"55 percent of American adults now have broadband access at home, up from 47 percent a year earlier and 42 percent in March 2007. By contrast, only 10 percent of Americans now have dial-up access."

Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375624,00.html

Still, 10% of Americans using dial-up access is a large group of people who may want to use News2PDF to grab their articles then read them offline - Or, as Erica suggested, they may want to gather their news on a Flash drive, then take it home to read them offline.

[Xenophon]

Charles:

I just visited your product's web page. I found one part of it extremely disturbing. It says:

Got a Mac? The News2PDF downloader was designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system, but you can run Windows on your Mac with Parallels

with a link to a cost-ware download for Parallels.

Parallels is a great program. On the (rare) occasions when there's a program I have to use that is Windows-only, I even use it (on my work Mac, that is). But telling me I have to run Windows to use your program makes it a complete non-starter.

If I was willing to run Windows on a regular basis, I wouldn't be a Mac user -- I'd just have a Windows box! It's not something I'm prepared to do for any program where I have a choice -- any choice at all -- about using it.

The right thing to tell your potential Mac-using customers is this: The Mac version of News2PDF is in progress. Sign up here to be notified about Beta testing.

Telling us to spend more money to run Windows (typically $79 for Parallels, plus several hundred more for Windows itself) is just an insult.

Grumpily yours,

Xenophon

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by Charles Patrick

SNIP

Still, 10% of Americans using dial-up access is a large group of people who may want to use News2PDF to grab their articles then read them offline - Or, as Erica suggested, they may want to gather their news on a Flash drive, then take it home to read them offline.

So 10% who are unable to get broadband matter, but 8% who are Mac users don't?

Xenophon

P.S. Rant aside, it sounds like it would be an interesting program to try out...

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

You've provided many good and thorough comments on this developing software. But, at some point you need to stop complaining about dl times and get a broadband connection. Seriously, it's the 21st century now, and dialup just doesn't cut it anymore if you want to actively download media online. Heck, even my 73-year-old mom has broadband.

Sorry. I'm aware it sometimes comes across as whiny; I try to keep it in check.

I have dialup because I haven't got the hardware for broadband and haven't taken the few hours to sort out what'd be required to switch. (To stay within my ISP, which is a small independent company; I have no interest in internet service from a provider who claims ownership rights over my content or will delete my account if they decide I've been looking at websites they find offensive.) (I read slash, look at slash art.)

However, I have friends online who have dialup because broadband is flat-out not available to them, so I advocate heavily for dialup-friendly services & websites. It's especially relevant in a case like this, where dialup users are a demographic most likely to want offline aggregated collections of news stories.

If I miss out on something because it's not available or convenient on dialup, meh. If it really bothered me, I'd find a way around it; at worst, I have friends who'll fetch content for me. In this case, it's a matter of nuisance--not willing to download four separate updates & install them; I'll wait until it sounds like there's a "finished version."

But my ability to get around the limitations of dialup are not universal, and companies that blithely think "oh, everyone's on broadband now!" are slanting their customer base heavily towards urban Americans. (And possibly urban Europeans, esp. of areas where English is common.)

And I'm trying to hold on to the awareness that dialup is still a substantial portion of the web, especially since I expect to get broadband in the next few months. I'm aware I need to upgrade to participate in more of the activities I like.

Heck, maybe we'll even stop reading email with pine.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Charles Patrick

As you've seen, some of the publications can generate a few hundred pages. I suppose it's possible people might print these pages - but I can't imagine it. Can you? in any event, we will allow users to set margins in a future version.

I don't expect people will print hundreds of pages, but they might print a few, or a single article. And some people w/o readers will happily and regularly print out 20 or so pages to read on public transit.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

The right thing to tell your potential Mac-using customers is this: The Mac version of News2PDF is in progress. Sign up here to be notified about Beta testing.

I agree.

I don't know programming--but I know the difference between "simple" and "complex" programs. This is simple. It's grabbing from existing website's "printable article" function, and some kind of "print-to-PDF" program. Those are both Mac-usable. It's comprised of actions a non-technical person can do, combined with settings so they take much less time.

Setting the feed/aggregator and UI to work with Mac programming may not be as easy as for Windows, and might involve an entirely different packet of code--but has the potential of winning over many, many more customers than dialup-friendly support.

And more important, not annoying reviewers. Whether or not a program works on a Mac affects me not a bit--but whether a company is *willing* to create support for Mac users often affects my decisions on whether to use or pay for it.

[Charles Patrick]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I don't know programming--but I know the difference between "simple" and "complex" programs. This is simple....

The "idea" may be simple, but the implementation is not.

We sometimes do it the way you say -- and we sometimes don't. Sometimes print links exist -- and sometimes they don't. Sometimes pages need logins and cookies, sometimes they don't. Sometimes the information is obscured behind full page advertisements (roadblocks), sometimes the target page requires a redirect... and on and on...

The desktop version has about 1000 lines of actual code. This doesn't include the server side code and the server database. Parsing dynamic pages is never "simple" because it's a moving target.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Setting the feed/aggregator and UI to work with Mac programming may not be as easy as for Windows, and might involve an entirely different packet of code--but has the potential of winning over many, many more customers than dialup-friendly support.

"Proof of Concept" and "Low Hanging Fruit."

When studying proof of concept, it makes sense to write the application for an operating system with the greatest number of users: Microsoft Windows.

"Low Hanging Fruit" is spending an hour to change the install program so that students and people without Internet connection can run News2PDF from a flash drive.

More "Low Hanging Fruit" is changing 50 lines of code (out of 1000) so that the program still provides minor function to Dial-up users when not connected to the Internet.

Slightly higher fruit is providing Mac early adapters methods to use the "proof of concept" Windows version, regretfully, even if there's cost and minor inconvenience involved. We're sorry using it on the Mac is an inconvenience, but we'd love to get the Windows version right before we get into the next operating system. Yes, we have Mac users, they're mostly using VMware Fusion (not Parallels).

I really do appreciate your constructive criticism.

[Charles Patrick]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I don't expect people will print hundreds of pages, but they might print a few, or a single article. And some people w/o readers will happily and regularly print out 20 or so pages to read on public transit.

At some point, it would be cheaper for someone to buy a newspaper, but I understand your point. If adding a simple margin option increases the number of likely users then it's a smart thing for us to do.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Charles Patrick

At some point, it would be cheaper for someone to buy a newspaper, but I understand your point.

BBC News doesn't deliver to my door--and if it did, I couldn't have it only deliver the science & tech sections and ignore entertainment, sports & politics.

But much more often, it'll be people who want to print out an article or two to share with friends.

[ddavtian]

Originally Posted by Charles Patrick

Hi

We're aware of the several junk "LINKS" (NOT pages) that appear at the beginning of each Business Week article.

The several extraneous links a "minor inconvenience" and not a critical problem since you still get the full illustrations and Full-text Business Week articles and the links consume only a few rows on the screen.

Can you tell me more about the junk "Pages?" We can't recreate that problem.

For the next couple days, we're working on an auto-mail feature so that NewswPDF users can automatically mail the full text to their Kindles, IPhones, Smart Phones or computers.

Charles

By "junk pages" I meant the pages at the beginning and end of articles. I've attached an article as an example. There are 6 pages at the beginning and 4-5 at the end. Not a critical problem, but inconvenient, it takes time to get to text on the reader.

[Charles Patrick]

Originally Posted by ddavtian

By "junk pages" I meant the pages at the beginning and end of articles <snip>

Updated - Business Week - We've modified the "Business Week" script to get rid of most the "junk," as requested. We've also added bigger pictures and illustrations.

Just added -> People Magazine (with pictures)

Just added -> The Age (Australian - with Pictures)

Just added -> New Yorker (with pictures)

Just restart the News2PDF program and the new publications will automatically appear in the publications list.

Any other requests?

Charles Patrick

[Charles Patrick]

Just Added -> Chicago Tribune (by popular demand)

Just Added -> The Guardian (UK)

Any other requests?

Have a great holiday everyone!

Free Newspaper & Magazines for your reader
at http://www.News2PDF.com

Originally Posted by Charles Patrick

Just added -> People Magazine (with pictures)

Just added -> The Age (Australian - with Pictures)

Just added -> New Yorker (with pictures)

Just restart the News2PDF program and the new publications will automatically appear in the publications list.

Charles Patrick

[Charles Patrick]

Just Added by Request -> New York Daily News

Any more requests?

Current list of free newspapers and magazines for your reader from
Http://www.News2PDF.com

Business Week
Chicago Tribune
Guardian (UK)
People Magazine
Forbes
Detroit Free Press
International Herald Tribune
San Jose Mercury News
BBC
Newsweek
New Yorker
New York Daily News
New York Times
Barrons
Reader's Digest
Salon
San Francisco Chronicle
Austin American Statesman
The Age - Australia
Time Magazine
USA Today
Washington Post