Why oh whyyyyy? The New York Times Editors’ Choice iPad app

I know a lot of people have already expressed their disappointment with this app, but the bits I've read have focused on the content: the fact that the app only contains a selection of articles from the paper (which is why it's called "Editors' Choice"). I wasn't thrilled about that, either. It's annoying that my iPod Touch app has more NYT content. But whatever. I can kind of understand the decision--I might not agree with it, but I can at least see a reason behind it. Also, a paid app is said to be forthcoming and if it's reasonably priced (not $20.00 a month!) I'll consider paying for it (but only if they address my concern below).

Here is where we get to the "Why oh whyyyyy?" part of my complaints:

Why oh whyyyyy have they taken away my ability to tweet stories? It makes no sense. Email as the only sharing option is downright archaic. Twitter and Facebook are by far my preferred ways to share articles (or blog posts). I find myself using this app less and less. Just last night I decided to give it another try, immediately found an article I wanted to share, became frustrated and gave up. And have obviously been stewing about it ever since.

Yes, I realize that I can go to their main website and tweet articles from there. I probably will end up doing just that (and deleting the app). But the app could actually be useful as (I think) it was intended: as a selection, a little snippet of the paper to read when you just have a few minutes (or are too lazy to read the whole thing). It just makes me angry that they came so close to making something useful then blew it by removing a key feature (and one that already exists! They didn't have to invent it or figure it out or anything! Gah).

The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman

The Girl in the Green Raincoat was serialized in The New York Times starting on September 5, 2008 (read chapter 1 here).

Here's what Laura Lippman had to say about it:

. . . And I just want to say—it was a blast. I liked everything about the experience—the challenge of writing to length and creating pieces that were semi-discrete; the face-saving corrections on salient details about my hometown (the Edmondson Drive-In! the Edmondson Drive-In!). A big thank-you to Ilena Silverman, Aaron Retica, Bill Ferguson and everyone at the Times Magazine who shepherded this girl and her “Girl” through the process.

You can read “The Girl in the Green Raincoat” online. I’m not sure when it will be published as a book. I do know that I won’t expand it; it’s the length it should be. I’m also not sure what it augurs for Tess. When I wrote the proposal, I believed it would be the definitive end to the Tess Monaghan series, but I no longer feel that way. I just don’t know how or when she will return.

I, for one, am glad to hear that we can expect more in the Tess Monaghan series. I'm also looking forward to Life Sentences, Lippman's new stand-alone novel. Unfortunately, though, it appears that Lippman won't be returning to Nebraska on her book tour. Too bad. I really enjoyed her reading last time.

The New York Times Article Skimmer

This is the first example of an online newspaper that I'm excited about. I think they did a really good job recreating the experience of browsing through a paper. Here is a brief video showing article skimmer's features and navigation—it's really simple so it was easy to keep the video short.

Free online screen recorder

By the way, this was my first screencast. I used ScreenToaster, a free web-based screen recorder (that I found via Lifehacker). It was easy to use and didn't require any software installation on my part.