Thorough FeedDemon review

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FeedDemon 1.10 RC5

FeedDemon 1.10 RC5 05/31/2004 12:35 PM

Okay, I lied about RC4 being the last FeedDemon 1.10 pre-release :) Out of necessity, I'm making one last pre-release available. RC5 contains a number of fixes related to how Japanese characters are displayed, and it also includes a new "Web Search" feature along with support for IE's form auto-completion.

• RC5 release notes (please read!)
• RC5 download link (2.03MB)

If you encounter a bug in RC5, let me know by posting in the FeedDemon Support Forum. Please include 1.10RC5 in the subject line of any message you post about this pre-release.

Note: Translators, I apologize for yet another change, but there are two new strings in this release. If you'd prefer not to send me new FDLANGs, please feel free to simply email me the translations for the strings shown below.

<const name="S_StatusPopupKilled" value="Popups were blocked on this page. Press &quot;Ctrl&quot; when clicking to allow popups."/>
<const name="S_SearchWeb" value="Search Web"/>

FeedDemon: What's in a Name?

FeedDemon: What's in a Name? 06/05/2005 11:08 PM

Every now and then I'll receive an email from someone stating that they really like FeedDemon, but they won't buy it because of the word "demon" in its name. The majority of these comments come from reasonable, sincere people whose beliefs cause them to be turned off by the demon imagery, and while my personal beliefs don't include angels or demons, I do take these comments seriously and I certainly don't want my choice of name to be a stumbling block.

For the record, the name "FeedDemon" originated as a play on the phrase "speed demon," simply because I worked so hard to make sure FeedDemon was faster than the competition. Of course, the FeedDemon logo does include a demonic-looking hand catching a fireball, but I never even considered that it would offend people, any more than I would think the logo for Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners would cause controversy.

I hesitated to make this post because any mention of religion usually brings out the wackos on both sides (believers and non-believers alike), but I am curious whether many people feel this way. If you're among those who can't comment about religion without being intolerant to those who believe differently, this isn't the place for you to vent. But if you have a respectful comment, I'd love to hear it regardless of whether I agree.

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 RC3

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 RC3 02/01/2005 08:42 PM

FeedDemon 1.5 RC3 is now available. The release notes are here.

If all goes well, this will be the last release before the final one. As always, if you run into any problems using this pre-release, please let me know by posting in the FeedDemon 1.5 Beta Forum.

ANN: FeedDemon 1.10

ANN: FeedDemon 1.10 06/07/2004 05:42 AM

I'm pleased to announce the final release of FeedDemon 1.10. Among the highlights in this new release are:

• Support for Atom feeds
• A new integrated web search
• The ability to search previously downloaded feed items
• Improved browser features such as popup blocking and form auto-completion
• Enhanced grouping and styling of feed items

In addition to these "big" new features, version 1.10 offers a lot of smaller tweaks that really boost FeedDemon's usability. A complete list of what's new can be found in the release notes, but be sure to watch the FeedDemon Tips blog over the next week since we'll be highlighting a number of new features that you might overlook.

If you already own FeedDemon 1.0, the upgrade to version 1.10 is free - just download the new trial version and install it on top of the previous version, and you're set to go. Your serial number, channel subscriptions and other information will all be retained.

My thanks and appreciation go to everyone who not only tested FeedDemon, but also stuck with me during that nasty little episode with the neck surgery. A couple months back I had no idea when I'd be able to get FeedDemon 1.10 out the door, so I'm really glad to announce that it's done :)

PS: If you have any questions about the new release, please visit the web-based forums for help. I'll also be updating the FeedDemon FAQ over the next few days to address common questions about 1.10.

FeedDemon 1.0 RC2

FeedDemon 1.0 RC2 05/07/2004 08:41 PM

FeedDemon 1.10 RC2 is now available from the FeedDemon beta site. As with all version 1.10 pre-releases, RC2 is only available to those who have purchased version 1.0.

RC2 fixes a number of bugs, including several related to Atom newsfeeds. For complete details on what's new, please check out the relea se notes.

Note: Because my new web-based forums are still being tested, it's probably better if everyone continues to post comments about v1.10 in the newsgroups. But if you'd prefer to post in the forums and understand that your messages may be deleted once the forums go live, please feel free to use the FeedDemon 1.10 Beta forum. I'll reply to messages in either location.

FeedDemon 1.10 RC4

FeedDemon 1.10 RC4 05/21/2004 08:36 AM

FeedDemon 1.10 RC4 is now available to registered users.

• Added: Generic "Date" column to news item list, which contains pubDate if it exists, received date otherwise. This new column isthe only date column shown by default - both the "received" and "published" columns are hidden. This also affects the default sorting and grouping (both are now set to the generic date), which may change how you're used to seeing news items sorted.
• Changed: The default newspaper filter is now "Unread News" instead of "Today's News"
• Changed: The default value for automatically marking items as read has changed from five seconds to three seconds
• Changed: The cleanup wizard now remembers your selections
• Changed: Double-clicking a news item navigates the news item's link if the item newspaper is showing, otherwise it re-displays the news item newspaper (change in RC3's behavior)
• Fixed: FeedDemon now correctly handles xml:base in Atom entries and passes all the link tests at http://diveintomark.org/tmp/tests/wellformed/base/links-in-content.xml and http://diveintomark.org/tmp/tests/wellformed/base/links.xml
• Fi xed: "Previous unread channel" shortcut skips topmost channel

When you're ready to download RC4, stop by the FeedDemon beta site.

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 RC2

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 RC2 02/01/2005 08:43 PM

FeedDemon 1.5 RC2 is now available. Be sure to check out the releas e notes to find out what's new. As always, RC2 should be installed directly on top of your existing version.

If you run into any problems using this pre-release, please let me know by posting in the FeedDem on 1.5 Beta Forum.

"RSS 101" Screencast with FeedDemon

"RSS 101" Screencast with FeedDemon 03/14/2005 06:24 PM

A lex Barnett has put together an RSS "how-to" screencast which features FeedDemon. Nice work, Alex!

FeedDemon in the news

FeedDemon in the news 07/08/2004 02:22 PM

I firmly believe that the Internet enables very small companies such as my own to compete without requiring enormous amounts of PR and advertising, but being a one-man show sometimes makes it difficult to be taken seriously by the press. So it was very gratifying to wake up this morning and discover FeedDemon mentioned in both Th e Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and PR Week. This quote from the WSJ did more for me than the two cups of coffee I drank before finding the article:

"Newsreaders come in several varieties. One is a stand-alone software program you install on your PC. In that category, FeedDemon ($29.95 from Bradbury Software) is especially powerful, with extensive options for customizing the way news feeds appear on your screen."

Update: Here's further proof that one-man shows can still get press attention: Adam Stiles' excellent NetCaptor was reviewed in this morning's USA Today. Congrats, Adam!

Update 2: Here's a link to the WSJ article for those without a subscription.

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 4

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 4 12/22/2004 01:35 AM

FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 4 is now available. Before installing it, you might want to check out the release notes to find out what's new. As with previous beta releases, beta 4 should be installed directly on top of your existing version.

If you run into any problems using the beta, please let me know by posting in the FeedDem on 1.5 Beta Forum.

Enjoy :)

Coming soon: FeedDemon 1.5

Coming soon: FeedDemon 1.5 02/05/2005 09:08 PM

Blogging will be light for the next few days while I put the finishing touches on the final build of FeedDemon 1.5. I'll announce the new version here soon after it's available.

PS: Version 1.5 will be a free upgrade for everyone who purchased a previous version.

FeedDemon and RSS enclosures

FeedDemon and RSS enclosures 05/12/2004 09:45 AM

The RSS enclosure element is used to attach media (such as video) to a news item. The original design of enclosures was to enable downloading media attached to news feeds while the computer wasn't in use - for example, downloading MP3s while you sleep - so you wouldn't have to wait.

I have to confess, though, that I was never wild about this idea, at least not for FeedDemon's purposes. If you read a news item that was just retrieved by your aggregator, you probably want to see the enclosure right then and there rather than wait for it to be downloaded when the computer is idle.

More importantly, much (but admittedly not all) of the Web's media is designed to be streamed, so rather than download enclosures, why not simply link to the media object and let the system's default media application take care of it? For example, if a news item has a video enclosure, just link to it and let the media application stream it to you - no wait, and no wasted hard drive space.

So, this is how FeedDemon handles RSS enclosures. If FeedDemon encounters a news item with an enclosure, you'll see a paper clip ("attachment") icon in the newspaper. Just click this icon to view the media.

FeedDemon 1.0 is on the street

FeedDemon 1.0 is on the street 12/20/2003 06:23 AM
Nick Bradbury .. depuis hier ..

nick.typepad.com/blog/2003/12/introducingfeed.html
track this site | 5 links

FeedDemon 1.0 RC3 Released

FeedDemon 1.0 RC3 Released 11/05/2003 12:42 AM

XP SP2 and TopStyle, FeedDemon

XP SP2 and TopStyle, FeedDemon 08/12/2004 04:40 PM

Last night I created a VMware< /a> virtual machine for the new Windows XP SP2 in order to test both TopStyle and FeedDemon with it, and I'm relieved to report that they both work fine.

I'm not so relieved, however, to report that installing SP2 on my development machine didn't go so well. After installing SP2, rebooting then logging in, I was greeted with a blank desktop (no taskbar, no icons, no nothing). Lucikly, I was able to hit Ctrl+Alt+Del to get to task manager and launch apps from there, but after troubleshooting for a few hours I gave up and simply uninstalled SP2. If you're planning to install SP2, I hope you have better luck than I did!

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2a

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2a 02/10/2004 02:47 AM

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2a is now available to registered customers. This is a minor update of beta 2 which fixes an annoying problem with the address bar, and adds two new features:

* Desktop alert can now be moved by dragging its title bar
* Supprt for back/forward mouse buttons

The release notes are here:

http: //www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/readme/readme110b2a.asp

And the download is here:

http://w ww.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/beta/fd110beta2a.exe

As with previous betas, beta 2a will not work on your computer unless you've purchased FeedDemon 1.0.

More Reviews of FeedDemon 1.5

More Reviews of FeedDemon 1.5 03/14/2005 06:24 PM

"FeedDemon is easily the slickest, most powerful reader I've tried, with features that come close to making it a killer app...After you've tried it, I bet you'll be more than happy to pay for it. " Th e Houston Chronicle

"FeedDemon sets the standard for RSS readers in a market that Microsoft has yet to even address with any of its software products." The Winning AdVantage

"Having happily shelled out semi-big bucks for his beyond awesome CSS editor, TopStyle Pro (probably one of the most elegantly written apps of all time), it was not much of a stretch to part with the $29 registration fee for FeedDemon. So, what is it? It's the best RSS reader in the world...FeedDemon has become a must-have." Imaginary Mind

"FeedDemon's integrated podcasting client is also a work of art making stand alone podcaster irrelevant." tonkinese.net

"I love the integration with de.lico.us, NewsGator, and the newspaper styles" Omar Shahine

"FeedDemon...is my choice as Software Product of the Year. Nick Bradbury, the individual behind FeedDemon, is my choice for Most Valuable Player in the Blogosphere. FeedDemon is that good." Denn is Kennedy

"If you haven't used FeedDemo, then you should. It is bloody brilliant...a dream to use and encompasses every feature a young man could want." PodCastL ab.com

Add Google to FeedDemon

Add Google to FeedDemon 05/26/2004 10:42 AM

In his latest FeedDemon Tip, Oskar van Rijswijk shows how to add Google as a FeedDemon search channel.

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2 02/10/2004 02:47 AM

FeedDemon 1.10 Beta 2 is now available to registered customers. As with beta 1, beta 2 will not work on your computer unless you've purchased FeedDemon 1.0.

Details on changes in beta 2 may be found in the release notes:

http:/ /www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/readme/readme110b2.asp

The direct download link for beta 2 is below:

http://ww w.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/beta/fd110beta2.exe (2.29MB)

Just install this directly on top of the previous version and your existing settings will be retained.

If you have any comments about the beta or run into any problems with it, please let me know by posting a bug report in the new feeddemon.beta.110< /a> newsgroup, and be sure to include "Beta 2" in the subject line of your message.

Enjoy :)

FeedDemon compliment

FeedDemon compliment 12/17/2004 06:38 PM

Andy Jarrett considers FeedDemon the best online discovery of 2004. Thanks, Andy :)

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 4a

ANN: FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 4a 12/25/2004 05:06 PM

This morning I received an email from Radek Gontarek alerting me to a mistake I made in beta 4 which will cause it to expire next week (ouch!). Since I'm planning to take a day or two off for xmas, I wanted to make sure to fix this as soon as possible. So...if you're running beta 4, please stop by the FeedDemon beta page and download beta 4a. The release notes are here.

Sorry for the mixup - and enjoy the holidays!

FeedDemon IS golden!

FeedDemon IS golden! 12/30/2003 12:07 AM

Yep, it's midnight, and I've locked the FeedDemon 1.0 code. Expect to see it for sale early next week!

FeedDemon, RSS and cookies

FeedDemon, RSS and cookies 08/18/2004 10:25 AM

I've recently had a a few people ask whether FeedDemon supports the use of cookies, and the answer is, "yes, it does."

The most obvious use of this is to require a login before returning any information, and I've seen this done by several feeds already. Unfortunately, some of them redirect to an HTML page when the login cookie isn't found, which obviously won't work since FeedDemon is trying to download RSS, not HTML. So, if you use cookie-based authentication, don't redirect to an HTML page - instead, dynamically create an RSS <item> which includes a link to the login page.

FeedDemon Tips

FeedDemon Tips 05/18/2004 05:54 AM

Now that the TopStyle Tips blog is off and running, I'd like to announce FeedDemon Tips. This new blog will be regularly updated with helpful tips and tricks for FeedDemon users. Authors include myself and these FeedDemon power-users:

• Radek Gontarek
• Oskar van Rijswijk
• Matt Zur

If you'd like to be a FeedDemon tips author, just use my contact form to let me know. You don't have to be a prolific poster to be an author - just a few tips a month will suffice.

To visit FeedDemon tips, point your browser to:

http://nick.typepad.com/ feeddemontips/

PS: Don't forget to subscribe to the FeedDemon tips RSS feed :)

FeedDemon and Atom

FeedDemon and Atom 01/16/2004 11:01 AM
Nick Bradbury, FeedDemon developer, has posted his thoughts on the subject of Atom and valid XML: “FeedDemon will also support Atom, but if an Atom feed isn’t well-formed XML, FeedDemon will display an error rather than try to parse it.”

This reminds me of another point—NetNewsWire’s error-reporting user interface isn’t that good. I plan to improve it, to make errors more obvious. I’m also considering a preference where you could tell the RSS parser to require valid XML.

FeedDemon partners with Moreover

FeedDemon partners with Moreover 09/21/2004 02:39 PM

From the press release:

"Moreover Technologies, the premier provider of aggregated online current awareness and business information, today announced that Bradbury Software will integrate Moreover RSS (Rich Site Summary) news feeds and news search within its FeedDemon RSS reader application."

FeedDemon 1.1 (now AtomEnabled)

FeedDemon 1.1 (now AtomEnabled) 06/05/2004 06:06 AM
the best desktop syndication client for Windows just keeps getting better

FeedDemon 1.10 RC1 Expires May 11

FeedDemon 1.10 RC1 Expires May 11 05/07/2004 01:26 PM

To avoid customers accidentally using pre-release software long after an update is available, I always hard-code my beta versions so that they expire after a certain date.

FeedDemon 1.10 RC1 is no exception, and it expires on May 11. Now, RC1 was released in March, so I figured I'd have RC2 available well before May 11. However, my recent surgery delayed things quite a bit, so I'm now feverishly working on RC2 to avoid having RC1 expire on everyone.

Once RC2 is available, I'll post an announcement here.

FeedDemon Crack

FeedDemon Crack 06/18/2004 09:27 AM

Dave Winer and Evan Williams commented that the people who shout the loudest are often the ones who have no basis for their anger. I'm reminded of this fact by an email I received this morning. Here's a quote:

"Fix your piece of s--- program! I upgraded to FeedDemon 1.10 and it crashes with 'Win32 device error.' Did you even test this s---?"

I've actually received a number of emails (and one forum post) about this bug, but I have no plans to fix it. Why? Because the error message only appears if you upgrade a cracked version of FeedDemon 1.0. This is a deliberate error message that FeedDemon 1.10 displays when it detects that you upgraded from a specific cracked version of FeedDemon 1.0.

That's right, people who use a pirated version of FeedDemon are emailing me for support. It never ceases to amaze me when people not only steal from me, but also expect me to spend my time answering their questions. And more often than not, the email I've received about this problem reads like something a drunk teenager would write.

I've written about piracy befor e and I'm not planning to start another lengthy rant. But I do have a request for those who have justified their use of cracked versions of my work: don't ask for support. I support my family with sales of my software, and my life is affected - dramatically - by the existence of cracks. Please, if you're using a pirated version of my software, don't expect me to help you.

FeedDemon 1.0 going Gold!

FeedDemon 1.0 going Gold! 12/30/2003 12:07 AM

At the stroke of midnight tonight (CST), I'm "officially" locking the FeedDemon code in preparation for its final release. It's been a long time coming, so I'm excited to finally get to this point.

I should add that several people reported an "access violation" error when closing RC4a, but it looks like this has been resolved in a RC4b build I made available for testers.

If you're using RC4b and are still seeing problems, please let me know by posting in the feeddemon.beta newsgroup on my news server.

Introducing...FeedDemon 1.0!

Introducing...FeedDemon 1.0! 12/30/2003 12:06 AM

I'm very pleased to introduce the final release of FeedDemon 1.0. My thanks to everyone who helped test FeedDemon - a lot of people spent a great deal of time putting the various betas through the ringer, and your feedback has been very much appreciated!

So, without further adieu, I invite you to download FeedDemon 1.0.

If you're interested in buying a copy, you can get it right now for the introductory price of US$29.95. The simplest way to order is to download the trial version, install it, then click the "Order Now!" button (or select Help > Order Now).

If you run into any problems ordering or activating FeedDemon, please let me know by posting in the new feeddemon.support.sales newsgroup.

Blogger, Atom and FeedDemon

Blogger, Atom and FeedDemon 01/24/2004 01:41 PM

Now that Blogger has announced its support for Atom, FeedDemon users may be wondering when it will be able to read these Atom feeds. So I'm happy to announce that the upcoming FeedDemon 1.01 (a free upgrade from 1.0) will include Atom support. A beta of 1.01 which includes Atom support is expected in early February and will be made available to registered FeedDemon users.

As an aside, it's curious that Blogger favors Atom over RSS given that RSS is already widely supported. Google is obviously trying to push adoption of Atom, and this move will certainly make Atom support a necessity for upcoming feed readers.

FeedDemon supports ecto

FeedDemon supports ecto 06/01/2004 10:23 AM

Both ecto 1.0 RC4 and Fee dDemon 1.10 RC5a were released yesterday, which is good timing since the developers of ecto and I have been working to enable ecto as "Blog This" tool in FeedDemon (thanks, Alex!). This adds to the list of desktop blog publishing tools which FeedDemon already auto-detects:

• BlogJet
• BlogWizard
• w.bloggar
• Zempt

If you'd prefer to post directly to your blog from FeedDemon, instructions are available for several blogging packages:

• Movab leType
• Nucleus
• pMachine
• Type Pad
• Word Press

BTW, if you're not sure how to blog from FeedDemon, all you need to do is right-click a news item in FeedDemon's news item list and select "Blog this News Item."

FeedDemon Affiliate Program

FeedDemon Affiliate Program 12/30/2003 12:06 AM

Now that FeedDemon 1.0 is out the door, it's time to announce the new FeedDemon affiliate program. Want to earn 20% of every FeedDemon sale you generate? Then stop by http://www.bradsof t.com/feeddemon/affiliate/ and sign up!

Unlike the cookie-based TopStyle affiliate program, the FeedDemon affiliate program enables you to host a branded version of FeedDemon on your site. This means that your download "knows" that it came from your site, so you'll always get your commission.

Note: Every affiliate must be manually approved by me, so please bear with me if approval takes a few days during x-mas week.

Firefox problem with FeedDemon? Here's
the fix.

Firefox problem with FeedDemon? Here's
the fix. 06/29/2004 10:02 PM

If like me you're using Firefox as your default browser, you may have run into a problem recently when using it with FeedDemon. Several FeedDemon users (and users of other tools that rely on Firefox) have reported that every time they try to use Firefox as an external browser, they get a message that Windows cannot find the URL.

Luckily, a FeedDemon customer posted the solution in the FeedDemon support forum:

1. Open Explorer
2. Select Tools and then Folder Options
3. Select the File Types tab
4. Select Extension: (NONE), File Type: HyperText Transfer Protocol
5. Click Advanced toward the bottom of the window
6. In the Edit File Type window, select open and click Edit
7. Clear the DDE message box (which should contain "%1")
8. Click OK, Click OK
9. Repeat for File Type: HyperText Transfer Protocol with Privacy

FeedDemon 1.10 BETA 3 expired?

FeedDemon 1.10 BETA 3 expired? 04/09/2004 04:03 PM

An unfortunate bug in FeedDemon 1.10 beta 3 is causing registered customers to receive an expiration message - my apologies for this mistake. If you're seeing this message, please download 1.10 RC1:

http://www.bradsoft.com /feeddemon/beta/

WSJ Online Feeds and FeedDemon 1.1.03

WSJ Online Feeds and FeedDemon 1.1.03 07/22/2004 02:45 PM

If you're a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal Online, you'll be happy to hear that a set of WSJ Online feeds is now available. If you're not a subscriber, you can still access the feeds - but they'll show only headlines as opposed to full content (hat tip to Kevin H. Stecyk for letting me know about these feeds).

When I first viewed the WSJ feeds in FeedDemon, I discovered that the wrong titles were showing in the channel bar. At first I thought there must be a problem with the feeds themselves, but it turns out the problem was with FeedDemon. So, I've posted a new build of FeedDemon which fixes this bug - just visit the download page to get it. As always, existing users should install the new build directly on top of the current build. All of your existing information (including your serial number) will be retained.

Note: The version of this build is 1.1.03, which is displayed during the install and in FeedDemon's "About" box. I'll update the "Check for new version" page shortly to reflect the new release.

FeedDemon and authenticated feeds

FeedDemon and authenticated feeds 02/10/2004 02:47 AM

Several FeedDemon users have expressed concerns about the Microsoft security update which removes support for user names and passwords in URLs, and I'd like to alleviate those worries.

If you subscribe to any authenticated feeds, it's not necessary to include the user name and password in the feed's URL in order to view it in FeedDemon. This was the case with early beta versions of FeedDemon 1.0, but this was no longer necessary by the final release of 1.0.

The first time FeedDemon connects to an authenticated feed, you'll be prompted for your user name and password. This login information is retained during the current session of FeedDemon, but as is the case with Internet Explorer, you'll be asked to login again the next time you run FeedDemon. If you find it annoying to have to fill in your user name and password again, just select "Remember my password" and your login will be filled in automatically.

FeedDemon: Podcasting without an iPod

FeedDemon: Podcasting without an iPod 12/17/2004 06:38 PM

Randy Peterman points out that FeedDemo n 1.5 enables podcasting without an iPod. In addition to supporting synching downloaded enclosures to your iPod via iTunes, FeedDemon also supports syncing to any device that maps to a drive letter and/or supports Windows Media Player's automatic synching. This opens up podcasting to a lot of media devices.

More details are available in this section of FeedDemon's online help.

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