Jeffrey Kishner

Web Publisher, Ecstatic Dancer

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Testing Out Wallabag.it

After my last post, I was reminded on Twitter that there is a hosted solution for Wallabag. Wallabag.it has a 14-day free trial. I’ve documented my set-up process and impressions.

Not User-Friendly

When I downloaded and opened the iOS app, first thing I was presented with was “Server.” I had to ask on Twitter and was told to enter https://app.wallabag.it.

Then I had to enter a Client ID and Client Secret, which means I had to create a new client. After I got my keys, I entered them into the app, and after logging in, I was finally able to use the app.

I understand the reasoning for above. Wallabag is an open-source app that was designed to be self-hosted, so obviously most users will be entering their own servers. Designing a separate app for users paying for the hosted solution is not cost-efficient. However, if someone is not savvy enough to install Wallabag on his/her own server, what makes one think he/she will be comfortable generating app tokens?

Same issue for the Chrome extension. I thought if I was logged into the app in Chrome that would be sufficient, but after bookmarking a few articles and not seeing them in my list, I went into the options and saw I needed to once again enter my Client ID and Client Secret, as well as my login credentials.

Accessibility

There are no settings in the iOS app to adjust the text size, and it does not support Dynamic Type. Frankly, I find the default text size a strain to read.

Conclusion

It appears that the annual fee for a one-year subscription on wallabag.it is about 15 US dollars. I would be more than happy to pay for a web service. However, even with the hosted solution, this is not user-friendly out of the box, and it does not make for a pleasant reading experience. As much as I value paying for my apps and owning my data, I’m gonna stick with Pocket.

Published on April 5, 2017 Leave a Comment

Sometimes Self-Hosted Open-Source Solutions Are Just Too Much Work

The two major read-it-later services have both been acquired: Pocket by Mozilla (Firefox) and Instapaper by Pinterest. I tend to favor web services in which I control my own data, but right now I feel I’m stuck. I used to self-host Wallabag but I have been unable to install version 2 on my LAMP server. Maybe I’m just not as Linux-fluent as I used to be, but I just have not been able to figure out how to install all the dependencies required to make this app work. (Or I’m not willing to spend hours of research and trial & error just to install an app).

So for now I’m sticking with Pocket. It’s user-friendly and has iOS and Chrome extensions, so it’s really easy to add an article to my reading list. (And if you’re a Workflow user and upset that Apple removed Pocket support, you can add these workflows using the Pocket API).

I’m not thrilled about using Pocket, because (a) they are tracking everything I save to their service; (b) who the f knows what Mozilla is going to do with it? Privacy concerns and impermanence, two constants of the web.

Published on March 28, 2017 1 Comment

best pop culture this week

Published on January 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

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Jeffrey Kishner is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor practicing in New York.

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