All posts tagged: Reader

Lynsey Crombie answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Lynsey Crombie answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Published by Sam Flores

What are the best eco swaps you can make at home? Bishan, West Midlands I’m a massive fan of using what’s already in your cleaning cupboards at home, rather than always running to the supermarket to buy the latest cleaning product. A juicy lemon and a bit of bicarbonate of soda makes a fabulous scrubber for the oven, for stainless steel and some of those really grimy jobs. White vinegar is absolutely amazing at banishing hard water marks and limescale. Soda crystals, which you may already have in your laundry cupboard, are a really good degreaser. What are your top daily cleaning habits that people can stick to without feeling burnt out? Elliot, London Always air and make your bed every day. If you make your bed, it literally transforms your bedroom and it sets you up for the day. Never go to work with a pile of dirty dishes in your sink. Nobody wants to walk home from work exhausted at 5pm to a pile of breakfast dishes. And always run the vacuum around …

I’ve been missing Google Reader for years — this new RSS app finally came close

I’ve been missing Google Reader for years — this new RSS app finally came close

Published by skeptic

RSS is the best way to keep up on the news, but man, does it feel more like an obligation than a joy. I’ve been an avid RSS user for the past 16 years or so. As a tech news journalist, I’ve got to keep my eye out on the massive amount of news and information across many sources. RSS solves that problem, letting me create lists of outlets and news sources that I can organize into topical lists. Google Reader (launched in 2005) was my favorite platform for managing these lists, but it was shut down by the tech giant in 2013. I’ve been searching for something better ever since. I’ve tried many RSS platforms, like NetNewsWire and Feedly, but they all end up feeling more like managing an inbox than finding out what’s happening in the tech news space. The problem is that with such massive amounts of content coming in, you end up with huge unread counts and overwhelming red notification badges. You end up clicking through stories, not even reading them …

Mark Lane answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Mark Lane answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Published by Sam Flores

What’s your favourite tool to use? Stephen, undisclosed I love multi-headed tools such as Wolf Garten, as they allow me to take several tools around the garden in my trolley without taking up too much space. A simple click method makes changing the head easy and quick, while the various handles of different sizes and shapes makes gardening effortless. How has climate change altered your gardening habits? David, West Midlands Plant choice is now very dictated by climate change. We’re getting hotter, drier summers and wetter, warmer winters that are not killing off pests and diseases. I’ve also moved away from labour-intensive container gardening, growing just specimens in them now, with an automatic watering system where needed. Collecting and storing water is also important. Saving this precious resource and using it throughout the year is better for your plants and your garden in general. And when it comes to growing your own produce, plant selection is key. Think about using the Three Sisters approach based on the traditional indigenous method of companion planting that originated …

This new RSS reader is the smartest way to keep up online

This new RSS reader is the smartest way to keep up online

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) protocol has been giving users a way to keep up with their favorite websites for decades. It essentially presents all the new articles on a specific site in chronological order as they’re published, so you can read through or skip over them as you like. It’s also, by the way, the main way that podcast feeds are published, but it was originally designed to manage web feeds. While RSS isn’t quite as widely used anymore, with social media or newsletters now more commonly used to promote articles on a site, the standard is still appreciated by those who want a simple, clutter-free way of managing their online reading. A simple way to catch up on the internet. Screenshot: Current To use RSS, you need an RSS reader, and Current is one of the latest to appear. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, its intention is to let content “flow” like a river. “Engage with …

Money problem: The broadband compensation rule that means reader is owed £2,000 | Money News

Money problem: The broadband compensation rule that means reader is owed £2,000 | Money News

Published by Sam Flores

Our Money team helps a reader every week with their consumer issue or financial dispute… Today, the problem comes from a reader called Kevin… My contract with Plusnet was coming to an end in April 2025 and I decided to switch from broadband to full fibre. The activation date was 14/4/25 but nine months later I am still waiting for the service to be activated. Other properties around me have full fibre. I was paying £28.99pm and now having to pay out-of-contract pricing at £62.44pm. Delays have been blamed on work needing to be scheduled by Openreach. Plusnet have told me they will refund the difference for the out-of-contract pricing and that they won’t apply the 60-day missed service date compensation cap. As of 13/1/26 this means they owe me £1,709.76 for the missed activation date and £275.12 for out of contract refund. When phoning Plusnet I have been discouraged to leave as I will likely face the same issue with other supplies and may not get the compensation above. This has left me in …

Sewing Bee winner Annie Phillips answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Sewing Bee winner Annie Phillips answers Telegraph Recommended reader questions

Published by Sam Flores

How did your sewing journey start? Lorna, South East My sewing journey started when I was around eight. My grandmother is Ghanaian and it’s a part of her culture to make her own clothes. So she, without question, said: “You’re learning! You’re learning how to sew!” to me and all my cousins. But I was the only one that pursued it. I’m really glad I did as it gave me a different outlook on dressing, clothing, altering and vintage that I continued into my adult life. What inspired you to innovate with sustainable dressing? Charnjit, West Midlands For me, reworking from home is something that’s always been in my family. My dad has upcycled furniture for a long time. I can’t remember anything that we had from new, so it wasn’t a conscious choice. As a student it was out of necessity but also being experimental. Then, working in the fashion industry, I saw how much waste there was and I thought this is something I can practically do as a conscious choice to try …

Do writing retreats actually work? Reader, I finished my novel in style … | United Kingdom holidays

Do writing retreats actually work? Reader, I finished my novel in style … | United Kingdom holidays

Published by Sam Flores

The idea for my novel came in a rush: as I walked over the Thames on the Golden Jubilee Bridge in central London, the scene at the heart of it leapt out of the deep blue dusk and clung on to me until I committed to writing it into existence. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. A few months later, it became depressingly clear that the half-hour snatches of writing at the end of my working day just weren’t going to get me over the finish line. And so I entered the world of the writing retreat. More than simply a place to write, the best are spaces that can rejuvenate even the most frazzled and blocked writers. The first retreat I went on was self-guided: three very solitary nights in a converted chapel in Llanfrynach village, near Abergavenny, in the foothills of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). Dylan Thomas was definitely on to something with his love of walking, and Wales meets a writer’s …

How Vox is using Patreon grow reader revenue and interaction

How Vox is using Patreon grow reader revenue and interaction

Published by Sam Flores

Vox’s page on Patreon Explainer journalism brand Vox is using membership and subscriptions platform Patreon to help build a “two-way relationship” with its audience. US-based Vox expanded its existing paid memberships onto Patreon in November, providing subscribers with additional video content, ad-free video and podcast libraries, livestreams and chats with Vox journalists, and unlimited access to the main Vox website. Vox editor-in-chief and publisher Swati Sharma told Press Gazette she believes Vox is “the first national newsroom to use Patreon at scale”. She said they had chosen to do so because: “We are a multi-platform newsroom, and what Patreon offers is really great tools to engage with an audience that does care about multi-platform offerings.” The main Vox membership costs $6 (£5) per month and a “champion” tier with an extra chat feature and a special video thank-you is $10 (£8). Vox (which was founded in 2014) already had paying members via its website, with readers invited to pay between $5 and $50 per month to get full access to the website. The membership was …

Charlie Kirk Shooting: A Reader Who Lives Nearby Reflects

Charlie Kirk Shooting: A Reader Who Lives Nearby Reflects

Published by Jenni Sidey

Reader Eric Ruff, a computer programmer, shared with us a local perspective on the tragic shooting of the popular debater and apologist, and we thought we would pass it along. Many people are touched by national tragedies. The details about what happened at the local schools are particularly telling. Thank you so much for your post on Charlie, one of the greatest debaters and apologists for Christ and everything good. This event was supposed to be a wonderful kickoff for a desperately needed message, but was stopped by a cold-blooded evil shooter in a way none of us ever imagined could have happened here in Utah County. This directly impacted my family and friends in the Orem neighborhood we recently moved from (we were just a couple hundred feet from the east edge of UVU campus, and now we’re 10 minutes away in Provo). Orem is supposed to be one of the cleanest, safest, most conservative and peaceful towns on earth. Our kids had friends at the event on the university campus. My son’s brother-in-law …