Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Newspaper Isn't Dead Yet

Posted by Soulskill on from the through-no-fault-of-its-own dept.

theodp writes "Slate's Farhad Manjoo had high hopes for using the Kindle DX — Amazon's new large-screen e-reader — to read newspapers. A good first effort, says Manjoo, who concludes that for now newsprint still beats the $489 Kindle. While he has issues with latency, what he really misses relates to graphic design. The Kindle presents news as a list, leaving a reader to guess which pieces are most important to read. Newspapers, by contrast, opine on the importance of the day's news using easy-to-understand design conventions — important stories appear on front pages, with the most important ones going higher on the page and getting more space and bigger headlines. Also, because of its overnight delivery model, Manjoo gripes that the Kindle suffers from a lack of timeliness, making it not even as good as a smartphone."

8 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. But Cory said.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    But didn't Cory Doctorow just tell us that these "gatekeepers" are just getting in everyone's way?!? Clearly this guy from Slate is just horribly misguided and doesn't understand the world around him.

    1. Re:But Cory said.... by cloudwilliam · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your paper has Paris Hilton on the front page? Dude, the National Enquirer is not a newspaper.

    2. Re:But Cory said.... by TimHunter · · Score: 2, Funny

      Good thing I'm not a newspaper reporter...

  2. I find the paper much more cost-effective by localroger · · Score: 5, Funny

    Lining my parrot's cage with Kindles would get expensive.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
    1. Re:I find the paper much more cost-effective by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's only more expensive at first. Once you get enough Kindles to line the cage, you can wash them and never have to buy another one. Try washing newspapers! Parrots live a long time and eventually you'll find that those Kindles actually pay for themselves and end up saving you money!

  3. Re:What a concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Just put the "important" ones at the top, so us morons will know what's important," writes genghisjahn in response to an article picked by an editor and placed at the top of the story list.

  4. The newspaper isn't dead... by McGregorMortis · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... it just smells funny.

  5. Re:google news by owlnation · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not sure if you realize this, but some people actually have to work when they get into the office.

    Well, yes... some people do. Not anyone who reads /. though! So the original point was pretty valid for this audience!