I visit the L.A. Times web site every day but I still find that there are articles in the printed edition that I somehow miss online. I also find that reading on the computer is difficult for my eyes and I tend to skim more than I do when reading the physical edition. If given a choice between reading the printed edition or reading online, I would choose to read the actual newspaper.

However, here’s what the L.A. Times (and other papers) could do to improve the online experience of reading and I would be willing to pay for it.

1. Allow more customization.
I’d like to be able to have their web site show me sections of the newspaper that are of most interest to me. When baseball season is over, I don’t really read the sports section. I always read the business section and I like to read it first. Please let me arrange the web site like I can arrange my own newspaper.

2. I’m more interested in some stories than others. Similar to the way Netflix lets me find movies I’d like based on my ratings, can you intuitively figure out which articles are of most interest to me and show me those first?

3. Don’t put everything on the front page and make it easier to find other articles if I click away from your front page.

4. Show more videos. They’re interesting. The pairing between TV News and printed information is perhaps the most informative and and most user friendly format possible in this multimedia age.

Do you have any ideas?

Firefox
This one is maybe too obvious to include. However, this open source browser is a must for any Mac user. Many people are shocked when I tell them I much prefer Safari. However, you do Firefox for those times when Safari doesn’t work quite right.

Mouseposé
Mouseposé puts a spotlight around your mouse’s cursor and (if you wish) can display the keystrokes you’re pushing as well. This is incredibly useful when doing software demonstrations as it allows audiences to easily follow your cursor and know what you’re doing. It can also be useful for the visually impaired to find their cursor more easily.

Update: If you don’t need the computer to display your keystrokes, then here’s a free option, Mouse Locator:

WireTap Pro
This program allows you to grab and record software from any application or your entire system. I use this for time shifting streaming audio and video, converting DVD footage into audio tracks.

HandBrake
Whenever I want to add DVD footage onto my iPod this is my tool of choice.

TweetDeck
For Twitter users, TweetDeck has made me a born-again Twitter user. I had lost interest in Twitter until I discovered TweetDeck. It allows me to create groups of those I’m following so that I am sure not to miss the few people/organizations I’m most interested in following. By separating out a few tweets, it also makes it easier to follow the larger group. I love this program.

Doug’s AppleScripts
These are not applications but scripts that increase the functionality of iTunes. There are scripts to copy files off of your iPod, automatically play preview of songs in the iTunes store, corral dead audio tracks, corral one-hit wonders, convert video types and hundreds of other things. These are all free, donations accepted.

DataGuardian
I’m not sure if this is the best of its kind but everyone needs a program to keep track of multiple passwords. This is the one I use to store passwords and serial numbers so I never lose them.

Skitch
From the makers of ComicLife (another favorite app) this program/service allows you to take screen captures and instantly share them on the web. You don’t know that you need this until you use it. Now it’s indispensable to me. All bloggers should have this. It takes a 5 step process and makes it a 2 step process.

For laptops

Hotspot Shield is free and creates a Virtual Private Network when you are browsing public Wi-Fi networks.  In English, this encrypts your transmissions so that you won’t be hacked when you’re on a wireless network used by other people.  Since it’s free, this app displays ads when you use it but you can easily turn it off when you don’t need it.  I think it’s absolutely worth it.

And some intriguing apps I haven’t used  yet:

1Password
Perhaps better password management than my recommendation but also more expensive. It not only remembers and generates passwords, it automatically fills them in.

iAnti-Virus
Free program to identify spyware and malware on your Mac.  I haven’t found any yet.

NetNewsWire
Free RSS reader that syncs between machines.

For more great applications, see this month’s Macworld cover story “56 Must Have Apps” (not available online).

What are your favorite app add-ons?

Chelsea asks, “Won’t students tune out if we use iPod Touches in the classroom?”

I say…The distraction argument has been made in terms of integrating multimedia in the curriculum, using the internet, math manipulatives, realia, etc. It seems that making school a boring place has the biggest danger of tune out possible. How many students tune out listening to their teacher lecture all day?

What you’re describing, I think, is a classroom management issue. When I pass out linking cubes for teaching addition there’s the same tune-out danger. I always give students time to play with the cubes before starting the lesson. But once the lesson starts, if you’re messing around then I take the linking cubes. Same with the iPod Touches, netbooks, laptops, whatever you’re using.

Sound Opinions
from National Public Radio (home of This American Life) comes what they call the world’s only rock ‘n’ roll talk show. Based in Chicago, they’re the Siskel and Ebert of pop music. My favorite shows have included classical album dissections and analysis of particular genres like funk and disco. They also have interviews with established artists and have all their old shows available from their web site. The elevate the discussion of rock ‘n’ roll to serious criticism. I’ve discovered lots of new music from the podcast.

Morning Becomes Eclectic
I’ve also discovered new music from this podcast which features live performances by artists you’ve heard of and some you haven’t.

KEXP Song of the Day
This podcast gives you a free song every day. Most of the songs I don’t like but every four songs or so you find a winner. Looking at the past episodes, I find many songs I already own. This is also a good way to discover new music.

Bonus

If you become a fan of iTunes on Facebook you get occasional free tunes in addition to the free weekly selections on iTunes. You’ll have to endure Facebook advertising from iTunes in exchange.

Barely Legal Radio
I talk about this one all the time. If you’re interested in the legal side of the music business or are in a band that’s starting out, this show is for you. It’s hosted by entertainment attorney and member of the Vandals, Joe Escalante.

Any favorites to add?

How Michael Became a Brand Icon
What we should do to brand ourselves, our schools, our businesses

Death by an Overdose of Showbusiness
What we should not to to ourselves, our schools, our businesses

Humanizing Michael

Robert Hilburn Remembers
Long time L.A. Times critic reflects

Quincy Jones Remembers
After “Bad” the rest was just noise, Jones says of Michael’s life and surrounding controversy.

Teaching About Michael

As always, Larry Ferlazzo is there with resources for teaching.

So it’s rare that I buy albums even though I spend hundreds of dollars a year on music between iTunes and the Amazon music stores.  Nevertheless, a few albums get through.  Last year I was excited about Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” and Beck’s “Modern Guilt.”  I think “In Rainbows” is a masterpiece but a year later I have to be in a bad mood to listen to it with the exception of the opening track which helps me when I’m working out.  I tell my fiancé that Radiohead was the music I listened to when I was single and sad all the time.  Beck’s album, while poorly reviewed, was one of his most consistent albums in years.  I agree that there’s something empty about it but several of the songs are pleasantly surprising when they pop up on shuffle play today.

This year, I was excited about the new Wilco album which is released today but has been available via the band’s web site for months.  I’ve been a fan of Wilco since a friend of mine had me score a scene in her travel documentary with “California Stars.”  Years afterward I found “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in a local music store (remember when we had those?) and I still consider one of my favorite albums of all time.

“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” led me to explore Wilco’s entire back catalog and even side projects like Tweedy’s work with the Minus 5 and Loose Fur and his previous work with Uncle Tupelo.  Tweedy is an incredible songwriter and his body of work is remarkably consistent, his voice is one of my favorites because it’s appealing and yet not that intimidating.  I feel like I can sing along when I’m listening.

I was a bit disappointed by “A Ghost Is Born” I thought that they took the experimentation of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” too far.  There are some great songs on there but many of them descend into noise…too much noise.  While one can skip over the noise at the end of “Reservations” at the end of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” putting noise in the middle of the album makes it hard to get through it.  But the heartache of songs like “Wishful Thinking” and the killer bridge of “Theologians” bring me back to this album a track at a time when putting together playlists.

“Sky Blue Sky” got rid of the noise but also got rid of the rock.  To say the album is mellow is putting it lightly.  Some of the songs like “Impossible Germany” and “Side with the Seeds” have a nice payoff eventually but you have to stay awake to get to those points.

The newest album “Wilco (The Album)” finds  a perfect balance between the too much noise on “A Ghost Is Born” and the too much mellow on “Sky Blue Sky.”  The guitar solos that dominated “Sky Blue Sky” are used just enough to avoid stealing the show.  The songwriting, as always, is top notch and as an album it’s distinctly listenable.  Highlights for me include “Wilco (The Song)”, “You Never Know”, “I’ll Fight”, and “Country Disappeared.”

The album does not approach the perhaps impossible heights of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” but it’s a terrific mix of melody mixed with just enough darkness and depth to make this a great album that doesn’t make you feel depressed to listen to it.

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