Thursday, June 09, 2011

TidBITS informs well

I awoke early, and before even getting up I wanted to use the 'pad on my bookstand by my bed to get an overview of the wealth of announcements from Apple this week. It didn't seem like podcasters were generally up to the task of commenting and recording this soon, so I set two RSS reader iPad apps to update for fresh articles. Heavens, what a ridiculous time these things take to do that! So I took to my TidBITS iPad app instead. Well, what a difference. Less than a dozen concise but inclusive articles covered all the important parts. And like always well written and considered, often even humorous.

You don't need the app though, you can get it all on the TidBITS home page, the relevant articles are roughly from June 6 til June 8. You can even get most articles read aloud by the author (link by the top), something which was nice as I lounged snugly in bed before breakfast.

The Tidbitters take their work seriously, and they are well trained and experienced. One example: TidBITS is about the only tech news web site were I have never seen a report of a "new dangerous virus threat", which later turned out to be virtually non-existent. But I know they will know about it if and when one happens. So they are my go-to place for solid information.

What's more, unusually, almost uniquely, the site has never stressed quantity as being important for a web business (whether it is or not). If an item is there, it has a reason for it. You don't have to wade through five fluff articles to find one relevant one.

Update:

Thanks so much for the kind words, Eolake. You've perfectly captured what it is we try to do in determining what topics really are important, and covering them in such a way that readers are certain to learn something or know what to do about that issue in the future.
cheers... -Adam (TidBITS publisher)

 eolake said...
My pleasure, for sure. Most people don't notice, and it's rarely pointed out, the difference between a Pretty Good news source, and a *really* good one. That last mile is the hardest to climb, and since it's not the one which give the most money, few bother.

3 comments:

Adam C. Engst said...

Thanks so much for the kind words, Eolake. You've perfectly captured what it is we try to do in determining what topics really are important, and covering them in such a way that readers are certain to learn something or know what to do about that issue in the future.

cheers... -Adam (TidBITS publisher)

Tonya Engst said...

Geez . Thanks for writing this, as it totally made my morning and I'm glad that all the work we did earlier this week worked out so well for you.

-Tonya (TidBITS co-founder, senior editor)

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

My pleasure, for sure. Most people don't notice, and it's rarely pointed out, the difference between a Pretty Good news source, and a *really* good one. That last mile is the hardest to climb, and since it's not the one which give the most money, few bother.