The new New York Times Kindle app makes me unhappy

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I think I have everything working as it should. I do not think I need technical help. I am just angry.

I am using an Amazon Fire. Until recently, each day it would download my New York Times which I could read in my bus offline. A couple of weeks ago, Amazon and most newspapers cut their relationship. The Kindle app will not longer let you read the paper.

So I downloaded the New York Times app. This morning I jumped through the hoops to subscribe. It seems to work.

Well, it seems to work when I am online. The paper comes up and I can read the article. When I go into airplane mode the thing coughs up a furball. It need to be online to download each article as I request it.

I do not use the internet at work, as I am a bus driver. It seems my only option is to connect the Fire tot he internet through my smart phone. That makes me unhappy in some privacy-related way that is inchoate.

Now why in the world is Amazon (and the Times) making me unhappy? Some sort of argument about money I suppose.

I wonder if the old B&W Amazon Kindle will still work as it did before.

Seriously, why is this so difficult?

2

OK, perhaps I do need technical help.

Amazon confirms that this is not their problem. I suppose I will now need to access the Internet while I am on my school bus via my cheapo Android smart phone. How do I do that? I need a teenage to help.

3

Go into your phone’s Settings app and search for “hotspot”. The exact menu options may depend on your phone, but on mine it is called “Mobile Hotspot & Tethering”. Under there I click Mobile Hotspot, enter the hotspot name and password, then turn it on. (Make sure you pick a reasonable password so your bus passengers can’t easily guess it.) Then from your tablet, go to Wi-Fi settings where you should see your phone as a Wi-Fi network. Connect to it and enter the name/password you set up on your phone.

4

Thank you. I will monkey with it tomorrow.

All in all, reading the New York Times in a school bus, away from the distractions of an internet connection was just to beautiful to last.

5

Heh. Read and drink fortified coffee.