Web Feed Reader Wish List - My Must Have/Should Have/Would Be Nice Feature List

With Google Reader and my client reader of choice both dead, and given my complete reliance on consuming feeds, I, like so many of you, have started shopping for a replacement. This is my thinking out loud list of stuff I must have/should have/would be nice if it had feature list.

First off, I'm an edge case. Probably close to a worse case edge case. I subscribe to, as of this morning, 2,536 feeds. Many of these feeds are aggregate feeds, like blogs.msdn.com, etc. While many of those feeds might not be active (my philosophy has been, when in doubt subscribe) many are. I scan 4k+ posts a day. This list is with all that in mind.

Must Have

• Must support thousands of feeds
• Must support folders
• Must be server/cloud based
• Must support fast scanning (i.e visual review of title)
• Must have HTML5 interface
• Must support OPML import
• Must support OMPL export
• Must support large OPML Import (> 500k file size)
• Must have well performing UI
• Must allow for scanning/marking as read by folder
• Must honor my privacy, be private by default
• Must be able to handle wonky feeds
• Must not be a vector for web based infection
• Must check for updated feeds at least every 30 minutes
• Must be able to handle very active feeds (or at least have option to "turn on" highly active feed support)
• Must support RSS 1+ and ATOM
• Must have a solid business plan/revenue stream

Should Have

• Should have a two way API (not just pull from client, but push back, such as read status, as well)
• Should have Folder filtering to show only those folder with unread articles
• Should be smart enough that feeds use single instance storage, but read status is personal (i.e. if two or more people subscribe to the same feed, it's only grabbed from the given site and stored once, using the same update period)
• Should provide bandwidth limited features (even when using HTML5 version). I use a hotspot on my train ride to/from work, I don't want a bandwidth hog site/service. So option to filter out images/video/etc
• Should work in IE
• List/title view by All/Folder
• Bulk option settings. I want to apply a view setting for all feeds, feeds by folder, etc. For example, change to a List/Title View for ALL folders, not have to do so, folder by folder.
• Should have a clean and simple UI

Would Be Nice If

• Windows Desktop/Windows Phone 8/Windows RT (in that order) client
• Staring/favoriting/saving posts
• Would be nice if the service were to somehow allow of better post providing tracking, i.e. support individual recoding/reporting to the producer of the feed. So if two people subscribe to the same feed, instead of being a single consumer, the producing site would see it as two.
• Statics

Things I don't currently care about

• Sharing articles
• Social service integration
• Magazine views

 

That's enough for now... Will update as more come to mind. :)

And so dies my desktop feedreader of choice too, Google Reader's shutdown also kills FeedDemon

Nick Bradbury - The End of FeedDemon

"This is a hard post for me to write.

I've used FeedDemon every day since I created it back in 2003 - it's part of my daily workflow, the first thing I turn to after pouring myself a cup of coffee in the morning.

I've thoroughly enjoyed working on it and I'm grateful for all of the people who paid for it over the years despite free alternatives.

But it's time for FeedDemon to die.

If you're an avid FeedDemon user, you probably know that I've struggled to keep it updated. FeedDemon stopped "paying the bills" a while ago, so I took a full-time job elsewhere and haven't been able to give FeedDemon the attention it deserves.

Then today came the news that Google Reader is shutting down on July 1. FeedDemon relies on Google Reader for synchronization, and there's no decent alternative (and even if there were, it's doubtful I'd have time to integrate with it, at least not without trading time away from my family - which I won't do).

That was the nail in the coffin for me. I hate to say goodbye to FeedDemon after a decade of working on it, but it's time to say goodbye. When Google Reader shuts down on July 1, FeedDemon will also disappear.

..."

Nick's call, I can understand. I've been a paying FeedDemon user for nearly a decade and he's done allot to try to keep FeedDemon relevant. I've moved with it/him from BlogLines to NewsGator to Google Reader. But it looks like it's time to move on to some other client.

Thanks for the past times Nick, and good luck.

 

Related Past Post XRef:
Google Reader Bytes the Dust - Google Reader is being turned out to pasture on July 1, 2013

Google Reader Bytes the Dust - Google Reader is being turned out to pasture on July 1, 2013

Google Reader Blog - Powering Down Google Reader

"...

We have just announced on the Official Google Blog that we will soon retire Google Reader (the actual date is July 1, 2013). We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too.

There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.

...

Thank you again for using Reader as your RSS platform."

Thank you, but screw you too, I guess. Wow, does this really sour me on Google. I really need a server based RSS sync repository. My feeds are too active and I don't want to leave my feed reading running 24x7 just to keep up. If someone spins up a service, even a fee based one, I'm in. I'd have paid Google too if I had that option...

I HAZ ICONZ MONSTRZ- 1309+ Free icons from iconmonstr (PNG, SVG)

DesignMichel - A new ressource for your icons…

…is available here : http://iconmonstr.com/

And the icons come in svg format…

iconmonstr

iconmonstr - License Agreement

"...

You are allowed to ...

Use in both personal and commercial projects with no attribution required.
Use in a website or presentation template or application as part of your design with no attribution required.
Modify in shape, color, size or otherwise manipulate for your needs.

You are not allowed to ...

The icons may not be sub-licensed, resold, rented, redistributed or detached from a template, application or web page.
The icons may not be included in any online or offline archive or archived downloadable format.
Embed in a font or regenerate as webfont via 3rd party tools.

Modern UI/Metro like PNG/SVG Icons with a very nice license...

Now this is the kind of vinyl I can appreciate... Self-adhesive vinyl Star Wars Return of the Jedi decals for living room/office that has everything...

Gizmodo - Re-Enact the Greatest Space Battle of All Time on Your Living Room Wall

Why suffer through all the boring parts of the Star Wars movies when this set of self-adhesive vinyl decals lets you perpetually relive the best part: that epic space battle from Return of the Jedi. For $30 the collection includes a squadron of X-Wings and TIE Fighters ...

And I have this perfect wall in my living room for this! I wonder what my wife will say (like I REALLY have to wonder... lol)

Pre for free... Microsoft provides a promo code to get free premium services on PreApps.com

Edvangelism, a blog by Edwin Guarin - New Pre-Release Support for Windows App Developers

"As part of our initiatives to support the Windows developer community, we have collaborated with PreApps.com; the exclusive place to preview, rate, and test the best mobile apps coming soon. The site will help our developers market their Windows apps before release. PreApps helps developers improve their app’s chance of success through increased downloads, ranking, and overall quality.

Through the special relationship between Microsoft and PreApps, all Windows app developers will receive FREE premium services on PreApps.com in the “Feedback” section (a $24.99 value). Simply use the promo code “Windows01” in the checkout screen. The promo code expires April 11th. There is no credit card required to take advantage of this offer.

..."

I've not used this service, but free is nice and I while $25 isn't big, every little bit counts and I dig that no credit card is required. Seems like a great offer for budding WinDevs...

Jean-Sébastien lobs the Windows Phone 8 Company Portal at us (LOB... get it? ;)

Jean-Sébastien Dupuy - Windows Phone 8 - Company Hub Development

Company Hub ?

Since the arrival of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft offers businesses the opportunity to develop enterprise portals (Company Hub) to publish applications for their employees. The aim is to provide business applications, necessary for the needs of a corporation, without validation or publication on the Microsoft Windows Phone Store. In addition to the applications management part, an enterprise portal is also a communication tool: it can relay information to employees (organizational changes, health server status ...). You can use Push Notifications, Live Tiles and Lock Screen to improve the visibility of these communications.

This article covers the steps prior to the establishment of a Company Hub and the development parts used to make this portal. Deployment is manual and I do not use MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution such as Windows Intune or System Center Configuration Manager 2012. If you opt for a managed deployment, keep in mind that these softwares natively offer a company portal (Windows Phone 8 Company Portal App) ready to use. For more details, I suggest to read the following articles:

• Set up Windows Intune Direct Management for Windows Phone 8 Mobile Devices
• How to Manage Mobile Devices by Using the Windows Intune Connector in Configuration Manager

Let’s go ! Although the procedure can seem a bit long, the idea is relatively simple. To install applications outside of Windows Phone Store, you must obtain a certificate that gives you this privilege and that identifies your company. Once this certificate in hand, you must associate the phones to your company and sign all your applications with the certificate. The Company Hub is an application like any other, it must also be signed.

...

I've whined a little about this feature of Windows Phone 8 in the past, saying it looked like kind of a pain to get running (see below), but Jean-Sébastien makes it look much, much easier.

 

Related Past Post XRef:
"Windows Phone 8 Company Portal App" now available (but only usable by those with System Center Config Manager/Windows Intune)

55+ Windows 8 App Templates... 55 "Getting Your Win8AppDev Started Kits" now on CodePlex

AspRangers - Free : Win 8 App Design Reference Templates

Now to help you in Designing the Great APP( s). Here are the Design Templates which you can use :

There are total of 55 templates.  Complete list here http://aka.ms/win8templates

Adding few below

CodePlex win8template Search

Windows 8 App Design Reference Template: Recipe

Disclaimer: The template provided in the form of Visual Studio project (C# and JS) is meant to act as a starter kit for Windows 8 Store apps development. You are recommended to change or modify the look and feel to suit the branding that is required for your app. The template by no means restricts you to stick to the layout, navigation or other aspects indicated.

Project Description

Recipe template is an emulation of a Recipe app with placeholders for Recipe List, Recipe details data.

You can leverage this template even if you are not building a Recipe app, but the implementation scenario is closest to the template. Please refer to the “snapshots” folder under the root template folder to get a glimpse of the template look and feel.

Download includes the following

• Source (C# and JS)
• Package
• Snapshots
• Documentation 

I'm not sure if these are related to these, 50! As in 50 "store ready" Windows 8 application templates (in both C#/XAML & HTML/JS)....(and free!), but this time they are all on CodePlex, and there's more, so new post! :)

 

Related Past Post XRef:
50! As in 50 "store ready" Windows 8 application templates (in both C#/XAML & HTML/JS)....(and free!)