Reader : Safari 5’s latest feature available for all browsers

Readability has made Safari 5’s Reader function available for all browsers.

Reader was presented by Apple as one of the notable new features of their Safari 5 web browser. When reading an article on the web, an icon will appear to the right of the address bar. By clicking on this, the user will be able to see the article on a single page which removes all unnecessary elements. Only the article, with zoom possibilities, will be made available for email and printing.

The Safari 5 reader integrates an open source technology called Readability whose development has been lead by Arc90 Lab. Under the Apache 2.0 license you will find references to Readability in the thanks file supplied with Safari 5. Its therefore pretty clear where this feature came from, and Arc90 aren’t screaming either, but are rather enjoying their new status.


For all browsers
Knowing that Readability is the base of the Safari 5 reader, it means that it is also possible for other browser users to benefit from this function. Readability is available for everyone (IE included, even if it isn’t mentioned in the video below). To be able to easily use this, you simply have to add a bookmarlet (JavaScript program) into the bookmarks, favourites or signets of your browser and to then to click on it when reading an article. Before doing so, you can also select your format.