Please solve for X, where MacBook Air + instapaper + X = awesome
November 21, 2010 10:19 AM   Subscribe

I want: MacBook Air + Instapaper + X = faux iPad/Ipod Touch; can you solve for X ?

I'm thinking of buying the 11inch MacBook Air. I love Instapaper and use it all the time with my Touch. I'd like to have the Air replicate the Instapaper functions available on the Touch if possible.

Specifically, I'm looking for a way the Air could access my Instapaper account and download all the saved content to the Air's (solid-state) disk, so I could read it later from the Air when not connected to the net.

Is there a hack out there to do this?---I could rig up a Goldberg contraption using Sikuli, but would prefer not to.
Thanks!
posted by Napoleonic Terrier to Computers & Internet (8 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
It'll lack some of Instapaper's features- removing markup, knowing what you've already read, etc.- but you can just print web pages to PDF and drop them in a "Read Later" folder on your Mac.
posted by mkultra at 10:25 AM on November 21, 2010


Best answer: You can use Calibre to download a pdf (or epub) version of your Instapaper feed. I use this to download to my Nook and it works beautifully.

For bonus points, use Skim to read the PDF; you can easily rotate the image and make it full screen. That way you can hold the Air like an actual book and just click to turn the pages.
posted by justnathan at 10:32 AM on November 21, 2010


You could print them to all to pdf using their built-in feature, but I'm not sure how well that works. It's not automated, and admittedly kind of low-tech.
posted by azarbayejani at 10:38 AM on November 21, 2010


You might want to consider using evernote instead of instapaper it syncs and can be read without a connection.
posted by Brent Parker at 10:47 AM on November 21, 2010


Response by poster: You people are fast! It looks like Calibre will do everything but mark the read articles. But any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.
posted by Napoleonic Terrier at 10:48 AM on November 21, 2010


Once you're on a webpage that you want to read later, click the readability bookmarklet.
Then click print (on the left) and save. A total of 3 clicks.

For what you want to do, this would be the fastest way. Because no matter what that X is, you would still have to remember to sync back to your laptop before you lose the internet connection. If you use readability and save, everything goes to your HD right away.

On preview, I just thought of option B
Install the Readability bookmarklet
Then install Evernote and its clipper (by default it will include menu bar icon and will sync every 5 minutes)

When you're on a page, first click readability (to remove ads and format), then the evernote clipper (it will take the whole page if you don't select any parts), then click ok.
Now when you're on the road, open the Evernote app and you'll see all the articles there. The additional advantage here is that you can still read the same articles on your ipod touch if you allow that to sync as well.
posted by special-k at 10:55 AM on November 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


You should make Marco Arment - he has said he wishes he had a Mac app to work on, and since he wrote Instapaper he may be interested in knowing Instapaper for the Mac could be in demand.
posted by backwards guitar at 12:49 PM on November 21, 2010


Make Marco Aware of this thread - is what I meant to write.
posted by backwards guitar at 12:50 PM on November 21, 2010


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