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Would anyone like to share how and why they use Instapaper? I tried it out and it seems solid, but I'm not sure on the utility. Do people use it when they stum

Would anyone like to share how and why they use Instapaper? I tried it out and it seems solid, but I'm not sure on the utility. Do people use it when they stumble across something they want to read but don't have enough time to read it now? I usually just fast-read/skim to completion anything if I'm in a hurray, and don't tune into HN or RSS if I don't have time. But I feel like I might be missing something, would someone care to share their experience/use of Instapaper?

etm117 16y ago
I use Instapaper all the time. When I have 5 minutes before a meeting at work or early in the morning before I leave the house. The main thing I do is when I only have a small amount of time, I scan my normal sites for interesting articles and use the "Read Later" bookmarklet to add it to my reading list. I may add 20 things to the list in a quick 5 minute scan of HN, ESPN, Ars, & my email with links from friends of things like "gotta read this" or the like. Then when I have a bunch of free time (usually at night before bed), I sit down at my computer (or iPhone/iPad) and read through things I have saved. The text-only view on the iPhone and iPad is great. I guess if you regularly have large chunks of time throughout a day, you would not need Instapaper. But if you are regularly running around all day with little to no downtime, it is nice to be able to sit down to one place and read through the days material.
- bojanbabic 16y ago
  I've enhanced Instapaper experience with Firefox addon where you can select part of article that you are interested in and bookmark it or bookmark without visting it. Also there are utils that help you to get notifications from Instapaper via xmpp updates on http://instaright.appspot.com http://instaright.appspot.com
- lionhearted 16y ago
  I gotcha - thanks. Yeah, I set my own schedule and I try to do things in semi-large blocks. I can see where the utility would be if I'm scheduled up with lots of things to do, cheers.
Pyrodogg 16y ago
I use Instapaper mainly in association with my twitter client.(Ubertwitter) If I come across interesting links, I can send them to instapaper to read on my computer instead of my mobile.
MichaelSalib 16y ago
I used it more during my last job where I spent 2.5 hours on the train every day. I am the last software engineer on earth who does not have a smartphone. So I'd instapaper long form articles on the web and read them on my kindle during my commute.
mattmaroon 16y ago
I do the same thing as this guy, though with Firefox rather than conqueror. It's great. I'd MUCH rather read a lengthy article on my Kindle than on my computer, and Instapaper is the only one-click method of getting it there that I know of. Beyond that I'd sooner just click Readability and leave the tab open until I get to it.
chadgeidel 16y ago
I use it in conjunction with my e-reader (Sony) and Calibre. I have a bookmarklet I use to send long-ish articles to Instapaper, then I read them on the reader. To be honest though, it's basically just an excuse to use the e-reader.
njan 16y ago
I use it to read articles while commuting (often in subways where net is unavailable)
Confusion 16y ago
Do people use it when they stumble across something they want to read but don't have enough time to read it now? Exactly that. With the iPhone app I have the stuff available offline, which is great during my daily train commute.
gaiusparx 16y ago
I think some people do have need for service like Instapaper. I just bookmark what I want to read in a "Inbox" folder on bookmark bar (or you can named it "Read-Later"). Then read it later. For conversion to text based reading, use Readability or viewtext.org. For bookmarks sync with multiple devices, xmark or mobile.me or Chrome bookmark sync.

etm117 16y ago

I use Instapaper all the time. When I have 5 minutes before a meeting at work or early in the morning before I leave the house. The main thing I do is when I only have a small amount of time, I scan my normal sites for interesting articles and use the "Read Later" bookmarklet to add it to my reading list. I may add 20 things to the list in a quick 5 minute scan of HN, ESPN, Ars, & my email with links from friends of things like "gotta read this" or the like. Then when I have a bunch of free time (usually at night before bed), I sit down at my computer (or iPhone/iPad) and read through things I have saved. The text-only view on the iPhone and iPad is great. I guess if you regularly have large chunks of time throughout a day, you would not need Instapaper. But if you are regularly running around all day with little to no downtime, it is nice to be able to sit down to one place and read through the days material.

bojanbabic 16y ago
I've enhanced Instapaper experience with Firefox addon where you can select part of article that you are interested in and bookmark it or bookmark without visting it. Also there are utils that help you to get notifications from Instapaper via xmpp updates on http://instaright.appspot.com http://instaright.appspot.com
lionhearted 16y ago
I gotcha - thanks. Yeah, I set my own schedule and I try to do things in semi-large blocks. I can see where the utility would be if I'm scheduled up with lots of things to do, cheers.

Pyrodogg 16y ago

I use Instapaper mainly in association with my twitter client.(Ubertwitter) If I come across interesting links, I can send them to instapaper to read on my computer instead of my mobile.

MichaelSalib 16y ago

I used it more during my last job where I spent 2.5 hours on the train every day. I am the last software engineer on earth who does not have a smartphone. So I'd instapaper long form articles on the web and read them on my kindle during my commute.

mattmaroon 16y ago

I do the same thing as this guy, though with Firefox rather than conqueror. It's great. I'd MUCH rather read a lengthy article on my Kindle than on my computer, and Instapaper is the only one-click method of getting it there that I know of. Beyond that I'd sooner just click Readability and leave the tab open until I get to it.

chadgeidel 16y ago

I use it in conjunction with my e-reader (Sony) and Calibre. I have a bookmarklet I use to send long-ish articles to Instapaper, then I read them on the reader. To be honest though, it's basically just an excuse to use the e-reader.

njan 16y ago

I use it to read articles while commuting (often in subways where net is unavailable)

Confusion 16y ago

Do people use it when they stumble across something they want to read but don't have enough time to read it now? Exactly that. With the iPhone app I have the stuff available offline, which is great during my daily train commute.

gaiusparx 16y ago

I think some people do have need for service like Instapaper. I just bookmark what I want to read in a "Inbox" folder on bookmark bar (or you can named it "Read-Later"). Then read it later. For conversion to text based reading, use Readability or viewtext.org. For bookmarks sync with multiple devices, xmark or mobile.me or Chrome bookmark sync.