Matthew Lang

Field Notes have joined the ranks of paper planners with their own take on a planner. I love the fact paper based tools like this are making a comeback.

via The Cramped

At a buck or few per app, how could it be otherwise? That type of pricing will work for Angry Birds and a handful of other games, but very poorly for most other types of software products. The scale you need, the sustained influx of new customers, well, it’s a place for mega stars, and people who think they can beat the odds at becoming just that.

That’s why I’ve been discouraging people from chasing dreams of a successful, sustainable software product business by pursuing paid apps. Far better be your odds at succeeding with a service where the app is simply a gateway, not the destination.

— Don't Base Your Business on a Paid App by Signal v. Noise

Refreshing to hear an argument for web based subscription services that are proving be more financially stable and profitable than paid apps.

Always great to see what people have done for their first sketchnote.

Learning to #sketchnote with my new notebook at the ready. 1st page done! @rohdesign your Sketchnote Handbook is FAB! pic.twitter.com/vHwQgd1qnP

— Rachel Lilly (@RLillyPhotos) July 23, 2015

via Sketchnote Army

Patrick Rhone is back from his personal retreat.

Like Thoreau’s Walden Pond cabin, each hermitage is a small, single room cabin with an attached screen porch. Each one is sparely appointed with just the essentials — a bed, a rocking chair, a small table, a couple of stations for washing and cooking, and a small altar for those who wish to pray. A delicious basket a food is supplied and refreshed daily — a couple of loaves of (oh-my-goodness-so-delicious!) homemade bread, some fruit, some local cheese, and some jugs of water. They have been doing this for years so every amenity is well thought out and centered around reducing any stress or desire.

— Some Thoughts on Solitude by Patrick Rhone

Sounds like the perfect place to disconnect from the digital world.

A superb autumn night captured by Ian Dick.

via iand.net

Is paper making a comeback or did it simply refuse to budge from the digital invaders?

When reports came out last month about declining ebook sales, many reasons were offered up, from higher pricing to the resurgence of bookstores to more efficient distribution of paper books to increased competition from TV's continued renaissance, Facebook, Snapchat, and an embarrassment of #longread riches. What I didn't hear a whole lot about was how the experience of reading ebooks and paper books compared, particularly in regard to the Kindle's frustrating reading experience not living up to its promise. What if people are reading fewer ebooks because the user experience of ebook reading isn't great?

— On the declining ebook reading experience by Kottke

Whatever the reasons, ebooks will never be able to fully replicate the experience of reading a book.