TL;DR, or "Too long, didn't read" is an internet-wide colloquialism that's become common usage and language specialists. Stremor have capitalised on this concept with an application, which automatically summarises any web information when you don't have time to read the whole story. Perfect for the news junkie with a short attention span.

"The TLDR Reader app is the first mobile app to deliver real-time, on-the-fly summaries of news articles, blog posts, and online journals for a rapidly convenient experience for smartphone users."  Stremor's website reads.

The plugin uses a technology called "Liquid Helium" to quickly analyse any article, strip out unnecessary words and create a brief summary. You simply click the plugin, wait a few seconds and then your TLDR summary is ready. In the ensuing popup you can choose varying lengths to read the article in.

"Not a walled-garden of limited news offerings, TLDR Reader users on iOS and Android have unlimited access to web content through a seamless “find more like” feature that helps to explore complicated subjects through short summaries of related content," Stremor continues.

The software is great if you find a long winded article and so I tried it out on this article on a particular BBC news article about the Supernova 'Mingus' and, well see for yourself.

Now although the summary does feel like you've digitally bashed the journalist over the head with something large and weighty, it does give a great summary of the article.  It maybe slightly hit-and-miss at times; but if you're looking for the basic gist of an article without the time-consuming act of actually reading it, then this is a great little app. 

Suzy Aldridge