Developer Brent Simmons (creator of, among other things, the popular NetNewsWire RSS reader), delivers a compelling rant about the overwhelming state of ads, social media buttons, and other flashing widgets on web sites where the main goal is (presumably) giving people something to read. It's a problem that's been around for a while, and a large crop of tools have surfaced specifically to deal with this. Here's an examination of your best options. More »