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(OffTopic) Where to get the news on dialup

  • Thread starter average-computer-user@none.com
  • Start date
A

average-computer-user@none.com

Flightless Bird
I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
longer read the news.

It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
sites balst the user with popup crap.

Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?

I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
for the news sites, but for all websites in general.

It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
web, TO READ THE NEWS?

I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
may no longer be possible.

Remember when the web was fun !!!

Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
 
G

Gord Dibben

Flightless Bird
My paper boy delivers the news every day.

Includes text and photos with no clutter or flash.


Gord

On Sat, 29 May 2010 14:02:16 -0600, average-computer-user@none.com wrote:

>I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
>to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
>I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
>dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
>com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
>useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
>scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
>longer read the news.
>
>It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
>internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
>and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
>sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
>Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
>and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
>or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
>I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
>videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
>for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
>It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
>keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
>be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
>few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
>web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
>I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
>can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
>may no longer be possible.
>
>Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
>Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
 
R

Richard in AZ

Flightless Bird
Try the Google site (www.google.com) then choose the NEWS link at the top.
You can even customize the page to delete topics you do not want and add a
local news option.
The page is very basic and you can expand those topics you want more details
on.

<average-computer-user@none.com> wrote in message
news:h8r206hvq996oivm2mdf2cjkfk8n1rku6b@4ax.com...
> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
> longer read the news.
>
> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
> may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
> longer read the news.
>
> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
> may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.

It is possible to go "very basic", with the Lynx browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_browser

I doubt you want something that extreme though. You can
hardly tell where you're navigating. For example, look at
screenshot here, and see if you can tell where the URL links
are.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Lynx-wikipedia.png

You could try emulating a mobile browser, on your desktop computer.

http://techie-buzz.com/tips-and-tricks/emulate-mobile-browser-in-firefox.html

Scroll down a bit on that page, until you see Step 1 through Step 7 of
the "Steps To Emulate A Mobile Web Browser In Firefox" section. By changing
the "User Agent" string on the browser, that fools a web site into
thinking you have a less capable browser, and then perhaps it'll use
fewer graphic elements.

Have fun,
Paul
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Flightless Bird
http://news.google.com/

average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
> longer read the news.
>
> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
> may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
> longer read the news.
>
> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
> may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.

Which browser do you use? In the settings of most browsers, you can
filter out the things you are talking about. For example, I use Internet
Explorer 7. I can click Tools | Internet Options | Advanced. Then I can
scroll down to Multimedia and uncheck the boxes next to entries such as
"Play animations in webpages," "Play sound in webpages," or even "Show
pictures."

Also you can use a Hosts file to cut out intrusive advertising:

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Finally, you can use Turnflash to toggle Adobe Flash content on and off:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/tflash2.html

(If you use Firefox as your browser, you would have the option to
install the Flashblock add-on as well as the NoScript add-on.)
 
B

Billns

Flightless Bird
On 5/29/2010 12:19 PM, Gord Dibben wrote:
> My paper boy delivers the news every day.
>
> Includes text and photos with no clutter or flash.
>
>
> Gord
>
> On Sat, 29 May 2010 14:02:16 -0600, average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
>
>> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
>> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
>> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
>> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
>> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
>> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
>> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
>> longer read the news.
>>
>> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
>> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
>> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
>> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>>
>> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
>> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
>> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>>
>> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
>> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
>> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>>
>> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
>> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
>> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
>> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
>> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>>
>> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
>> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
>> may no longer be possible.
>>
>> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>>
>> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
>
Personally I like Gord's reply, but I don't know how far in the boonies
this guy lives. No all news radio stations in his area? KNX-AM is all
news in LA and streams online. I'm sure others do.

Bill
 
E

Eddie

Flightless Bird
The Browser you need is called "Off by One". (OB1)
 
C

C.Joseph Drayton

Flightless Bird
On 5/29/2010 2:02 PM, average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
> longer read the news.
>
> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>
> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>
> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>
> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>
> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
> may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.

Some sites loike CNN for example have a sub-site for mobile connections
(ie. phones, PDAs etc.) these pages remove most of the glitz. The only
thing you might not like about it is that the pages are rarely formatted
for screens larger than 480*320 so you will end up with quite a bit of
white-space on your computer screen.

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services

Web site: http://csdcs.site90.net/
E-mail: c.joseph@csdcs.site90.net
 
R

Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries

Flightless Bird
average-computer-user@none.com wrote:

<snipped>

> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser
> that can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML,
> but this may no longer be possible.
>
> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>
> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.

http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

--
Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to
be taken seriously. Hubert H. Humphrey
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Flightless Bird
C.Joseph Drayton wrote:
<snip>
> Some sites loike CNN for example have a sub-site for mobile
> connection...

"Loike?" Is that the Australian-dipthong spelling of "like" or...?
 
C

C.Joseph Drayton

Flightless Bird
On 6/5/2010 11:56 PM, PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
> C.Joseph Drayton wrote:
> <snip>
>> Some sites loike CNN for example have a sub-site for mobile
>> connection...
>
> "Loike?" Is that the Australian-dipthong spelling of "like" or...?

20 hour days are catching up with me. I know . . . I SHOULD have my
spell-checker on <vbg>.

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services

Web site: http://csdcs.site90.net/
E-mail: c.joseph@csdcs.site90.net
 
B

Bob

Flightless Bird
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/Top50/Top50-CurrentUS.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
http://news.google.com/


> On 5/29/2010 2:02 PM, average-computer-user@none.com wrote:
>> I'm on dialup. Thats all thats available where I live, unless I want
>> to spend a fortune on a dish, which I cant afford on a fixed income.
>> I used to get the news on the web, especially on weekends when the tv
>> dont have the news. It used to be that I'd go to CNN, CBS, FOX, (dot
>> com), any of the big media companies. But these sites are no longer
>> useful to simply get the news. They're so bloated with flash videos,
>> scripts, and every other useless browser bling trick, that one can no
>> longer read the news.
>>
>> It's not just the fact that I'm on dialup. Even if I had faster
>> internet service, I absolutely hate the cluttered look of these sites,
>> and hate flash content even more, and even with a popup blocker, these
>> sites balst the user with popup crap.
>>
>> Where can a person go to read the news these days, and just get text
>> and a few jpg photos, like the old websites? Is this still possible,
>> or has the whole web turned into a one huge mass of garbage and bloat?
>>
>> I dont mind "click on" videos, but when the whole site is driven by
>> videos and scripts, I want no part of the site. This is not only true
>> for the news sites, but for all websites in general.
>>
>> It seems this will only continue to get worse, as website developers
>> keep going wild with all these useless web toys, but there must still
>> be at laest a few sites that simply give the news in text format and a
>> few photos. After all, isn't the point of putting the news on the
>> web, TO READ THE NEWS?
>>
>> I keep hoping some software developer comes up with a new browser that
>> can bypass all the bloat and just show a site as basic HTML, but this
>> may no longer be possible.
>>
>> Remember when the web was fun !!!
>>
>> Thanks - please post URLs if you have any.
 
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