The Troublesome Slash

When URLs became ubiquitous in published texts, the typographical problem of the non-breaking forward slash (/) also became more painful. In web browsers you often see URLs stretching beyond the intended line break, and sometimes rivers of text form (as in FeedJournal) because the slash character does not break the line.

In newspapers, this is a bigger concern because of the narrow columns used. Starting today, FeedJournal defines the forward slash character as a potential line breaker - an improvement that I hope will make it easier for you to read your newspaper. The screenshot below shows you how FeedJournal now breaks URLs.

FeedJournal on the iPad in HTML5

Scribd, one of the major online document sharing sites has made a visionary move in replacing their Flash reader with HTML5. Scribd also announced their change, appropriately in HTML5 format. Now, anyone with a modern web browser can read documents uploaded to Scribd without the need for the Flash plug-in. This move is especially welcome for iPad users, who can’t use Flash technology on their devices.

The move diversifies the competition in a crowded market. Scribd becomes the iPad-friendly HTML5 option; Issuu is the option for an attractive reader; and doXtop is the enterprise option with SharePoint support. I love the move because it will drive innovation in the market. Many people will follow how this move plays out very closely.

But how does it affect FeedJournal, you ask? FeedJournal generates your personal newspaper in PDF format. Readers have so far needed a PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader to read and print the newspaper. Now, this is no longer the case. Now, you can upload the new FeedJournal issue to Scribd and have anyone with a modern web browser (such as in the iPad or for 97% of all PC users) read it or print it. We will soon make it even easier to upload PDF files to Scribd, Issue and doXtop.

For an example of how FeedJournal looks in HTML5, check out the May 6 issue of Liberty Newspost.

Curl Up with the Internet

I enjoyed the tweet from travisbedard, suggesting FeedJournal can be used when you want to curl up with the Internet. That was exactly the use case that started off FeedJournal in the first place.

 

As time went by, we discovered so many more uses for the service, such as publishing your own material in PDF format, or going green and reading your material on an iPad or Kindle.