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Q: I’ve been a long-time subscriber to the Northwest Florida Daily News e-edition and the paper version before that. I read the paper with my Apple iPads which include almost every version. It’s always been unfriendly to view but recently it seems worse. When I use my Icon to load it will start to load and after a few views of the front page and a couple of taps it will pause and the screen turns white. Sometimes, after a long pause it will actually load or not and I’m able to read the paper and extra additions. But at no time once it loads is it friendly. Lots of jumping around which is getting maddening. Is it my iPad or the fact that I’m 80? Something is rotten to the core, Apple that is.

 – Steve B.
Navarre, Florida

A: I don’t think you’re alone having problems with the electronic version of the Daily News, Steve.  Considering that Gannet is taking a lot of steps that seem designed to push subscribers away from physical paper newspapers and on to electronic editions, the software seems to be baffling to many people.  I say that because of the number of questions I’ve received asking about it, although I must admit, the traffic in my question queue has plummeted to near-zero since my column was dropped from the Gannet publications in its home market about two months ago.  Readers, consider this a call!  If things don’t pick up, I fear for the future of It’s Geek To Me. But I digress.

The electronic edition seems pretty stable on a PC using either Microsoft’s Edge browser, or Google Chrome.  I can’t really say I’ve ever had a failure when accessing it via my PC.  In fact, I too consider myself to be a “long-time subscriber” having been a reader since about 1995.  I finally and very reluctantly pulled the plug on my own print subscription just a couple of months ago, and have gone to a fully digital subscription. Admittedly, this is saving me a small fortune, as my subscription cost has dropped by about 2/3.  However, like you, I’m forced to read the paper using this sub-par software.

On the occasions when I’ve tried to use my iPad to access the eNewspaper, I have found certain functions to be “unfriendly” as you described, and I’ve had other problems of my own, that you didn’t even mention, such as inability to print a paper copy of the Sudoku or crossword, because the print button doesn’t appear when I click on the item in question.  But I haven’t experienced any of the loading delays or other screen issues that you described in your question. 

Now, having said that, I can’t be fully certain that all of the problems you described can be blamed on the software that runs the eNewspaper.  That whole thing about the screen freezing and turning white, for example, seems more like something that could be caused by having too many things open on your iPad, or even a slow Internet connection.  It’s possible that content hasn’t finished downloading and your browser is displaying a white screen while it’s waiting to render the page.  Of course, that’s just a guess, since all I have to go on is your description.  

Are you using the standard Apple Safari browser?  Spouse Peripheral tends to use the Google app, because it acts like a browser, but I don’t know how much support it offers for running app-like stuff like the eNewspaper.  So, for best results, stick to an actual browser.

You asked the question “Is it my iPad or the fact that I’m 80?” Honestly, it might be a little of both, especially considering that the iPad version of the paper can be very sensitive to screen touches, which translate to the equivalent of mouse clicks.  Holding your device improperly can lead to inadvertent clicks around the edges of the screen.  That can cause all kinds of mayhem, from activating menu choices you don’t want, to accidentally zooming a story to full-screen.

One final word of advice:  It’s not obvious, but there is an online page available that has information and instructions on how to use the eNewspaper system.  It is labeled “Help” on the menu, but the tooltip calls it “FAQ Page” which is not a particularly accurate description. Pay it a visit, and among the things you’ll learn is that the paper and its articles can be presented in different modes, called Browse Mode, Pages Mode, and Index Mode.  This information alone makes it worth a read and could go a long way toward helping you solve your issues.  Good luck!

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