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JANUARY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON
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At your fingertips Most people I speak with — regardless found that people comprehend and recall of their age — tell me they prefer reading a text better when it’s read on paper rather real newspaper (on paper) than a screen. rather than a virtual one on a Compared with paper, peocomputer screen. ple find reading on a computer, They like the “old-fashsmartphone or tablet screen to ioned” tactile experience, be more taxing — both menwhere they can tur n the tally and physically. Prolonged pages, skim the headlines, reading on screens also causes choose which ads to read, clip more eyestrain, headaches articles of interest, and generand blurred vision than readally feel like they have accoming printed paper. plished something when they I think this is all true. And are through. (You’re some- FROM THE we like to point out these facts how never “through” with on- PUBLISHER when speaking with those ad line media.) By Stuart P. Rosenthal agencies and potential adverBeing the publisher of a tisers who believe that the printed newspaper, it’s possible that I, per- only place to advertise today is online. haps unconsciously, choose to speak with (Obviously, advertisers you see in the people who are likely to agree with me on Beacon do not share that bias, for which this. we are grateful, as there would be no BeaBut there is evidence that a preference con without them.) for reading on paper rather than screens is But even I have to admit that there are widely shared. Scientific evidence. Scientif- times and places where having access to a ic American evidence, even. broad range of reading material in one’s In its November issue, that premier mag- pocket can come in handy: waiting for a azine of scientific research published an ar- train, sitting in a doctor’s office, standing ticle titled, “Why the Brain Prefers Paper.” It in line and, as the British say, “on the loo.” reports that, in many studies conducted I own a smartphone and admit to using over the past 20 years, researchers have it to read various news sources in those sit-
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The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve, and entertain the citizens of the Greater Baltimore area, and is privately owned. Other editions serve Howard County, Md., Greater Washington DC and Greater Palm Springs, Calif. Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12), prepaid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent for sales tax. Send subscription order to the office listed below. Publication of advertising contained herein does not necessarily constitute endorsement. Signed columns represent the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily the opinion of the publisher. • Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King • Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Contributing Editor ..........................Carol Sorgen • Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ............Steve Levin, ........................................................................Jill Joseph • Publishing Assistant ....................Rebekah Sewell
The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915 (410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.com Submissions:
The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. Deadline for ads is the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 31 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.
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uations. I also just obtained my first tablet (an iPad). While I marvel at its beauty, I am still figuring out how and when I will use it. So why did I buy it? Drum roll, please. Because the Beacon has recently unveiled our first “mobile app” for both tablet and smartphone users and, believe it or not, not a single member of our 13-person staff owned a tablet on which to check it out! Let me pause for a moment to define “app” for the more technologically challenged folks who may be reading this. An app (short for “application”) is a software program that enables your smartphone or tablet to do something particularly useful for you. For example, there’s an app to convert your phone or tablet camera into a document scanner, or its flash into a powerful flashlight, or to make your device function as an alarm clock or stopwatch or radio or sound machine or GPS or...well, you get the idea. So what does the Beacon app enable you to do? Well, basically it provides versions of our website, newspapers and Resource Guides that are designed to be easier to read on a smartphone or tablet. If you’re familiar with our website, you know that it features many options, including feature articles from our four editions, blog posts from me and our managing editor, an events calendar, comics, puzzles, videos and more. Using a smartphone, you can open and view our website, but you’d better be holding a magnifying glass if you want to read anything on it! But now, if you access our website through a smartphone or tablet, you should get a message inviting you to download our free “mobile app,” which makes it much easier to scroll through a list of stories and topics and to pick one article at a time to read. You can also view our archives and select any of our editions (Greater Washington, Greater Baltimore, Howard County, or Palm Springs, Calif.) to view them exactly as they appear in print. You “flip” through the pages
by swiping the image with your finger. Even though you can significantly expand the size of the text (and ads) to make viewing easier, I don’t think you’ll prefer reading the Beacon in this manner to picking up a paper. But the app can certainly give you an overview, help you find something from a past issue, or call up an ad to remind you of a special offer or phone number while you’re out and about. And you may find reading our print editions on a large tablet can be helpful, especially if you’re out of town or otherwise unable to pick up a printed copy now and then. Our mobile app will also let you access other sections of our website in a simple format, such as videos, information about upcoming Expos, and the like. We will be adding more functions to the app as time goes on. Please don’t be alarmed. Our app will not be taking the place of our printed product! You will continue to be able to pick up our paper from thousands of free local distribution sites. We do expect, however, that younger people, travelers and out-of-towners will discover the Beacon more readily thanks to this app. In fact, we are already seeing some evidence of this. Our new app went “live” just two weeks ago, and we have not even announced it publicly. This is my first reference to it in print. But as I write this column, 96 people have already downloaded it. To download our app, visit http://beacon.mobapp.at, or search for The Beacon Newspapers at the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. I will keep you informed as we make progress. And if you choose to read the Beacon on a mobile device, please return the favor: Let us know what you like (or don’t like) about it, and what else you’d like to see our new app do for you.
Letters to the editor Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification. Dear Editor: As a change of pace to the usual letter to the editor concerning contemporary issues, such as social and economic matters, crime, corruption, etc., perhaps your readers may find interest and humor in the following quotes: 1. Speaking without thinking is like shooting without aiming. 2. They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
3. Those who consider themselves too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. 4. Charity begins at home, but should not end there. 5. When a player can’t see the man who is dealing the cards, it is best to stay out of the game. 6. The only certain thing in life is that nothing is certain. William H. Stevens Perry Hall