I wrote in my Read Later post about my use of Poche, an open source alternative to Instapaper. I have been happy with it, but there are a few rough spots.
First, it is actively being developed. This might not be a rough spot, but the features are still in flux, the look and feel is changing greatly in point releases. While I like watching development happen, I also like a little more stability.
Second, the authentication and session mode for Poche doesn’t allow for bookmarks to be added without logging in. I dump a lot of links into my reading list, some that are true “long reads”, other are just anchors, so I will come back and look at the site. The session issues requires me to have a less secure password so I don’t have to do the 1password dance to get the bookmark into my list.
Friction. That is what I am feeling with Poche. And I dislike friction.
Nick Wynja’s Paperback is a great idea. The things that I read and will most like bookmark, are already in my bookmark system. Genius. Plus, Pinboard has a ton of app integrations, and most are now adding the “read later” flag, which makes getting content into Nick’s system even easier.
I was true to my word. I was going to pay to have access to Nick’s Paperback when it launched. I signed up yesterday and dang, he is good. He has a great eye for minimal design, well laid out and nice use of typography. After paying and getting access, I realized how much friction was in Poche.
I have switched back to a Pinboard based read later system and it is great.
Nick is such a great guy that he said via App.net that if he couldn’t keep the service up and running he would consider open sourcing it. That, as I said in my reply, warms my heart.
One thing that I wanted (not of Nick, but of Pinboard) is a bookmarklet that set both the “read later” and “private” flags. I had to do some digging and testing, but here is what I have come up with:
javascript:if(document.getSelection){s=document.getSelection();}else{s='';};document.location='https://pinboard.in/add?next=same&private=yes&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&description='+encodeURIComponent(s)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title)+'&later=yes'
Go and support Nick, get a Pinboard account and link it up to Paperback, it is totally worth it.
