Kurt McKee

lessons learned in production

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Hey there! This article was written in 2010.

It might not have aged well for any number of reasons, so keep that in mind when reading (or clicking outgoing links!).

True bookmarking software?

Posted 5 October 2010 in idea

The problem

Sometimes I run across a document or online book, the length of which requires me to read it in chunks. In the past I've simply used the excellent Instapaper service, to create a feed of items I'd like to read at a later time. Lately, however, that system has broken down. Behold, the RDF Primer, a single 80-page document that I've had to take multiple breaks from reading!

Sadly, it's not possible to keep track of exactly where I'm at in the document, meaning I have to remember where I was at at all times.

What I need

All I really need is a way to keep track of things that I want to continue reading at some later point. Whether it's something I've just stumbled across and don't have time to read immediately, or it's a treasure I have to pull myself away from for a while, I need a way to get back to that exact spot later on.

I don't need to keep track of a page I visit frequently; either I'm keeping abreast of its content in my feed reader, or it's a service that I post things to frequently, which means it's already in my history (e.g. the Tumblr dashboard is d[tab][enter]).

A solution?

I've looked for a Firefox extension that would let me bookmark my exact spot in a page, but I haven't found one yet. As I use my feed reader as my go-to spot for things that I want to read, it would be nice to have an extension that can jump to precisely where I left off and integrate with my feed reader.

One day I'll have that technology. I hope.

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