The question: should it be marked as unread or not?
Right now, NetNewsWire marks it as unread. My policy has always been
to err on the side of marking things unread—on the assumption
that, otherwise, you might miss something important.
(Actually, NetNewsWire marks it as updated, and you have a pref that
says whether or not to mark updated items as unread. Which most people
leave turned on.)
The RSS 2.0 spec
doesn’t address the issue of when to consider an item
significantly changed—and I’m not sure the spec
should say anything about that.
Of course, I don’t want new prefs or special cases, I want the
best policy.
Perhaps changes to <link>s should not cause an item to be
marked unread. What do you think?
On a related topic...
People have often asked me why we can’t use the <link>
element as a unique identifier and permalink for news items.
It can’t be a unique identifier because it may change. The New
York Times feeds, for instance, change their <link>s frequently:
they include a query string that allows you to get past the
registration system, and that query string changes. (It’s the
New York Times feeds that prompted the discussion above about ignoring
<link> changes.)
<link>s can’t be permalinks because there is nothing that
says that a <link> has to be a permalink—it could point to
another site entirely.
Which is why I always ask people to use <guid>s in their feeds,
so we can identify items, so we can know when an item is an updated
version of a previous item.
(About Atom there is one thing I adore: that guids—called
<id>s there—are mandatory. I wish they could be
mandatory in RSS too.)
Grok Headline matches for RSS, updated items, and links
Create links to iTunes Music Store items
Create links to iTunes Music Store items07/30/2004 10:29 AM Today I was messing around with iTunes and discovered that if you
click and hold on the links in the top of the window (the ones next to
the Home icon) ...
... then you can drag these links to an open document in a text ed...
Just a Bunch of Links, but They’re Good Links, I Swear
Links to interviews with Rich Siegel and John Calhoun, BBEdit 7.1.4
release notes, and an excellent story from Andy Hertzfeld on the
development of Switcher.
Updated: ActiveWin.com: Microsoft Security Bulletin List - Updated
"Since ALA, we all have known that the Canadian library schools are
really putting out some top librarian talent. But who knew they had a
fashion sense as well. The students from the SLIS at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, Nova Scotia are hawking some mighty fine
librarian t-shirts, possibly ones even too racy to wear to work.
And, 'action figure' aside, my favorite one has to be the NLA shirt." [librarian.net]
Most shoplifted items
Most shoplifted items06/22/2005 01:49 AM David Pescovitz:
The Food Marketing Institute has ranked the fifty most frequently
shoplifted products snatched by organized retail thieves. Organized
retail theft (ORT) is "separate and distinct from petty shoplifting in
that it involves professional theft rings that move quickly from
community to community and across state lines to steal large amounts
of merchandise that is then repackaged and sold back into the
marketplace." The Top 10 shoplifted items:
#1 Advil tablet 50 ct
#2 Advil tablet 100 ct
#3 Aleve caplet 100 ct
#4 EPT Pregnancy Test single
#5 Gillette Sensor 10 ct
#6 Kodak 200 24 exp
#7 Similac w/iron powder - case
#8 Similac w/iron powder - single can
#9 Preparation H 12 ct
#10 Primatene tablet 24 ct
Move Items X 1.2.911/11/2003 09:11 PM Move files & folders using hierarchical CM.
6 Billion Items
6 Billion Items02/17/2004 11:50 AM Press Release: Google Achieves Search Milestone With Immediate Access
To More Than 6 Billion Items 6B items = 4.28B web pages + 680M images
+ 845M Usenet messages + a bunch (200M?) of book pages...
Launch Items X 1.7
Launch Items X 1.707/02/2004 09:39 PM Open files with customized applications from contextual menus.
School items online
School items online04/06/2005 09:22 AM Kansascity.com - Wed Apr 6, 10:18 am GMT
Japanese Sith Items04/01/2005 02:08 AM Magnets, Towels, Keychains, Mugs, Fans, Clocks, and more are coming
exclusively to Japan. Here's a mini-gallery to peruse.
Jackson Items Given to Investigators (AP)
Jackson Items Given to Investigators (AP)05/03/2004 01:38 PM AP - Underwear worn by Michael Jackson and handwritten notes were
among Jackson items belonging to a businessman that were turned over
to prosecutors in his child-sex case.
Items matching ( gmail )
Items matching ( gmail )04/30/2004 11:29 PM selling their invitations to the Gmail beta on Ebay .. Look at 'em
all! ..
on
search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.co
m%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=Me
taEndSort&query=gmail track this
site | 4 links
This question comes up from time to time, and I've resisted
answering it directly, thinking that anyone who really read the spec
would come to the conclusion that RSS allows zero or one enclosures
per item, and no more. The same is true for all other sub-
elements of item, except category, where multiple elements are explicitly allowed.
The spec refers to "the enclosure" in the singular. Regardless, some
people persist in thinking that you may have more than one enclosure
per item.
Okay, let's play it out. So if I have more than one enclosure
per item, how do I specify the publication date for each enclosure?
How do I specify the title, author, a link to comments, a description
perhaps, or a guid? The people who want multiple enclosures suggest
schemes that are so complicated that they're reduced to hand-waving
before they get to the spec, which I would love to read, if it could
be written. Some times some things are just too hard to do. This is
one of them.
And there's a reason why it's too hard. Because you're throwing
out the value of RSS and then trying to figure out how to bring it
back. There's no need for items any more, so you might as well get rid
of them. At the top level of channel would be a series of enclosures,
and then underneath each enclosure, all the meta-data. Voila, problem
solved. Only what have you actually solved? You've just re-created
RSS, but instead of calling the main elements "item" we now call them
"enclosure".
Sometimes linear thinking leads you to a dead-end, and this is
one of those times, imho. You end up in a torus, there's no wall that
says "you may go no further" but somehow you keep going in circles,
chasing your tail, re-inventing RSS, when there's absolutely no need
to.
So people ask how will we fit show notes into RSS? Maybe we
won't. When you get into show notes, think outlines, and think about
linking MP3s into outline structures. I think this has more potential.
I could be wrong of course (not joking).
New Star Wars M&Ms Items Found04/01/2005 02:08 AM Here are a few new M&Ms items found recently. Jeff Tucker found Darth
Vader sip cups his local Toys "R" Us at the register for $2.99. They
come with a fun size bag of chocolate M&Ms. Meanwhile, Tom Potts found
an M&M mini-lightsaber at Target. The saber lights up when the
"activation stud" on the hilt is pressed.
Open unread items in OmniWeb
Open unread items in OmniWeb04/03/2005 07:27 PM waf
fle: Here’s a “simple AppleScript to open all the
unread items in the current subscription as tabs in a new window in
OmniWeb.”
Streisand Items Net Thousands at Auction (AP)
Streisand Items Net Thousands at Auction (AP)06/05/2004 09:01 PM AP - Collectors took advantage of a rare opportunity Saturday when
Barbra Streisand put hundreds of items from her films and personal
life on auction to benefit several charities.
Several cool, news-making items from CES
Several cool, news-making items from CES01/10/2004 09:05 PM LAS VEGAS -- Now that we take such futuristic things as
high-definition video, broadband Internet, streaming audio, wireless
networking, and dozens of other IT victories for granted in today's
connected world, the next step is how companies are now using
combinations of these in new products. This year's International
Consumer Electronics Show, which first showed the VCR in 1970, the CD
player in 1981, and the DVD in 1996, is all about how current
technologies are teaming up to create new items. And we found some
good examples of how these are going to play out in the next few
years.
Man Tosses All Apartment Items From Window (AP)
Man Tosses All Apartment Items From Window (AP)03/28/2005 08:31 AM AP - A Hong Kong man was arrested and checked for mental illness after
he emptied his 35th-floor apartment by dropping its contents from the
window, police and media said Sunday.
Add login items via the command line03/22/2005 03:39 PM This is simple but handy command to add LoginItems (items that are
executed after the user logs in) via the command line using the
default tool. To add a normal startup item, use this syntax:
defaults write loginwindow AutoL...
Man Who Dropped Items From Window Arrested (AP)03/27/2005 01:12 PM AP - A Hong Kong man was arrested and checked for mental illness after
he emptied his 35th-floor apartment by dropping its contents from the
window, police and media said Sunday.
Burglar Takes Items, but Then Cleans Up (AP)
Burglar Takes Items, but Then Cleans Up (AP)04/01/2005 10:41 PM AP - A woman's apartment was cleaned out, and cleaned up by a burglar,
police said. According to police, the woman returned home Thursday
after being away for a week and discovered her television, computer
and other items missing. The burglar had also helped himself to food
and booze.
Export iCal To Do items to OmniOutliner
Export iCal To Do items to OmniOutliner12/14/2003 02:18 AM iCal's doesn't allow me to print a simple list of all my To Dos as an
outline (with no calendar info), so I wrote this Applescript to export
all my To Dos into a new outline in OmniOutliner. Each calendar has
any associated T...
Add login items to all user accounts at once
Add login items to all user accounts at once05/26/2004 09:05 AM When a Mac is used by more than one account or user, there might be
times when you want to add a login item to all users' accounts. Now
you could login as each user, open System Prefs and then drag the file
or app to the Logi...
Add Dock items from the command line
Add Dock items from the command line08/20/2004 10:00 AM The file /System -> Library -> CoreServices -> Dock.app -> Contents ->
Resources -> English.lproj -> default.plist
appears to contain the default dock items that appear for a new user.
Compared to what appears in a typical co...
Use speakable items to control Exposé
Use speakable items to control Exposé08/17/2004 10:58 AM Did you know that you can use speech to activate Exposé in Windows,
Apps, and Desktop modes? You can even use speech to switch to
Applications in Exposé for "all windows" and "Application windows"
mode.
Disable the Exposé ac...
Police take Michael Jackson items05/04/2004 03:58 AM Police seize items of Michael Jackson memorabilia for possible use in
his trial on child abuse charges.
Google Inc.
yesterday announced it expanded the breadth of its web index to more
than 6 billion items. This innovation represents a milestone for
Internet users, enabling quick and easy access to the world's largest
collection of online information. "People worldwide can find more
information with Google than with any other search engine," said Larry
Page, Google co-founder and president of Products. Google's collection
of 6 billion items comprises 4.28 billion web pages, 880 million
images, 845 million Usenet messages, and a growing collection of
book-related information pages.
30% Off Selected Master Replicas Items
30% Off Selected Master Replicas Items01/16/2004 12:59 PM You can save some pretty big bucks during the three-day sale starting
today at Masterreplicas.com. Almost all the
Star Wars items they have in stock are on sale, including the
Jango Fett
blasters for $314.30. And I believe that set still has free
shipping to U.S. addresses and $19.95 off orders outside the U.S.
"Debugger Window Menu Items: Where should they be?"
Collector's Gallery Adds More Items06/03/2004 08:42 AM From Collector's
Gallery: Star Wars unleashed figures wave 7 IN STOCK. Star Wars
trilogy DVD set preorder. 50 Vintage & Classic items added including
loose Imperial shuttle, boxed Tie Interceptor, Imperial attack base
MIB, POTF Tatooine Skiff MIB, vintage buttons, plush ewoks, school
supplies, household items & more. See the list here...
Many Cool Items On eBay From Overlord307
Many Cool Items On eBay From Overlord30710/29/2003 07:09 PM If you like owning some pretty rare figures, Overlord307, long known
for selling some very desirable items, like the ones in these auctions. Look for these: CD-ROM Bespin Luke and Vader,
OOM-9, and the Ric Olie repaint from the Tiger game, and a few other
more current items. Grok Description matches for RSS, updated items, and links GrokA matches for RSS, updated items, and links
RSS, updated items, and links
The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry:
