Nick Bradbury

Beta Flood

The first week after a beta release is always an uphill battle, since we get a sudden flood of questions and comments about the new version. And the FeedDemon 2.0 beta is certainly no exception - we're getting a ton of feedback, which is great because it helps us create the software our customers want and need. But it does take a while to respond to so many comments, so I ask for your patience if it takes longer than usual for you to hear back from us.

Also, I'm getting a lot of bug reports and suggestions about the beta by email, and while I hate to sound ungrateful, I do want to ask that you post your comments in the FeedDemon Beta Forum instead of emailing me. Now that NewsGator is taking care of support (and doing a great job of it, btw), it's important that your questions are handled through them instead of through me.

Alex Barnett's Attention Podcast

Last week Alex Barnett discussed attention with Kevin Burton and myself, and the conversation is available as a podcast from this post on Alex's blog.

Tip: You can drag-and-drop the MP3 link from Alex's blog onto FeedStation to have it automatically synced to your iPod or other media device.

Using FeedDemon 2.0's Synchronization Features

Perhaps the most anticipated new feature in FeedDemon 2.0 is its ability to synchronize with NewsGator Online, enabling you to keep your subcriptions - and unread items - synched between multiple computers.

So far we haven't documented FeedDemon's synchronization very well, in large part due to the fact that it's still a work in progress (FeedDemon 2.0 is a beta, after all). But I've noticed some confusion as to how the synchronization works, so I wanted to take some time to explain it better.

FeedDemon enables synchronization at the folder level, so you can choose to have some folders shared between all of your locations, and others private to a specific computer (in my case, I don't synchronize folders that I only need on my primary desktop). To enable synchronization for a specific folder, just right click on it, choose "Folder Properties," then place a checkmark in the box labeled "Synchronize this folder with NewsGator Online."

After enabling synchronization for a folder, it will be added to NewsGator Online and all of its feeds will be available from any computer you use. Any feeds you add to this folder will automatically be added to your NewsGator Online subscriptions. And when you read an item in one of these feeds, it will automatically be marked read in NewsGator Online - so items you read in one location will remain read on any computer you use.

At this point, I should explain an important sync-related setting that you might not be aware of. If you click the "Synchronization" button in FeedDemon's options, you'll see the dialog shown below:

Note the checkbox labeled "Retrieve only unread items in synchronized folders" - this unassuming option actually has quite an impact on how synchronization is handled. By default, FeedDemon will only retrieve unread items in synchronized folders. This cuts down on bandwidth consumption, since items you've already read aren't re-downloaded. However, a side effect of this option is that items you've already read in NewsGator Online won't automatically be marked as read in FeedDemon if they already exist as unread in FeedDemon.

For some people, that's no big deal - for others, though, this is a big problem. We've heard a number of people complain that synchronization in the FeedDemon 2.0 beta isn't working, and the culprit has invariably been this single setting. Because of these complaints we're rethinking our approach to how unread items are retrieved, so this shouldn't be a problem by the time FeedDemon 2.0 is out of beta. In the meantime, though, if sync isn't working the way you expect, try disabling this option.

You'll also notice the option to check for subscription changes when FeedDemon starts. When this is enabled - which it is by default - FeedDemon will check whether any feeds or folders have been added to (or removed from) NewsGator Online since the last time you ran FeedDemon, and if so, you'll be asked whether to apply those changes to your FeedDemon subscriptions. I recommend leaving this option enabled, since it makes it effortless to keep your subscriptions synchronized.

FeedDemon customers: How to get your FREE NewsGator Business Standard Plan

Just a quick note for those upgrading from FeedDemon 1.5 who are wondering how to get the free NewsGator Business Standard Plan that was promised right after the acquisition.

First, locate your FeedDemon 1.5 serial number. You can find it by selecting Help | Enter Serial Number in FeedDemon 1.5, and it's also shown on the "About" box in FeedDemon 1.6. It's also included in the email you received after ordering FeedDemon (and you can always use our lost serial number page to find it).

Next, visit https://www.newsgator.com/ngs/orderFeedDemon.aspx and enter your FeedDemon 1.5 serial number. Your free NewsGator account will then be created.

If you're using the FeedDemon 2.0 Beta and would like to give the synchronization features a try, click the "Synchronization" button in FeedDemon's options, then enter your NewsGator Online user name and password.

If you run into any problems, you can email us at support AT newsgator DOT com.

FeedDemon 2.0 Beta Receives High Marks

Looks like the first beta of FeedDemon 2.0 is getting some love :) Here's a smattering of quotes from around the web:

"It is, in a word, incredible. The updated UI is a dramatic improvement over what was already a clean, usable interface. Now it’s incredibly powerful, giving you terrific control over feed presentation, filtering, and searching." - Rick Klau

"FeedDemon 2.0 completely blew me away...The real wow moment happened when I selected a feed from Flickr. Above the content appeared a thumbnail pane that contained all the pictures."- Steve Lacey

"Nick Bradbury has redefined what RSS stands for - with his release of the first FeedDemon 2.0 beta. Someone'll buy NewsGator based on this program alone." - Chris Pirillo

"I like reading my feeds as a river of news. And FeedDemon 2.0 does it better than any feed reader I’ve seen before...Did I mention it rocks!" - Labnotes

"I'm pretty darn happy with this new version, the speed especially is great, it switches between feeds almost instantly." - Glenn Slaven

"I've downloaded the beta release of FeedDemon 2.0 and I must say I'm very impressed! I really like the new layout of everything...It seems to run much faster too" - GravityX Zone

"I really like the new version! It’s a huge impovement over 1.5." - Dmitry Chestnykh

Thanks, everyone - it's great to know that the new version is being so well-received!

ANN: FeedDemon 2.0 Beta 1

As you may know from reading this blog, we've decided to skip FeedDemon 1.6 and go straight to version 2.0, which will be a free upgrade for all FeedDemon customers.

Since I had more time to work on FeedDemon, I decided to redesign it with these goals in mind:

1. Make it easier for new users to get started
2. Make it easier for power users to deal with information overload

Several alpha testers have said that FeedDemon 2.0 meets both of these goals (and is much faster as well), and I hope that you come to the same conclusion after using it for a few days.

As you can see from this screenshot, FeedDemon 2.0 is a radical departure from previous versions. In addition to the new single-level treeview (sorry - no subfolders yet), there's a new "subscription overview" which provides a summary of your subscriptions - including which ones you pay the most and least attention to. The UI has been streamlined, and there's a new unread feed view which is great for quickly scanning your unread feeds. And throughout FeedDemon, you'll find a ton of usability improvements that make it easier to work with regardless of your level of experience.

OK, that's enough foreplay: if you'd like to download FeedDemon 2.0 Beta 1, just point your browser to:

http://www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/beta/~fd2beta.exe

Keep in mind that this is a pre-release, which means it's not done yet! So please don't download it unless you're comfortable using unfinished software. If you do download it and run into problems, I hope you'll let us know by posting in the FeedDemon Beta Forum.

For best results, I recommend installing FeedDemon 2.0 in a separate folder from previous versions. I also recommend backing up your cache folder before upgrading, since version 2.0 uses the same cache folder as version 1.6. To locate this folder, select "Manage Cache" from FeedDemon's File menu, then click "Explore cache folder" to open the folder in Windows Explorer. If you're upgrading from FeedDemon 1.5, the new version will give you the option to import your v1.5 cache.

Enjoy :)

Blogging for Business in Nashville

This afternoon I'll be part of a Blogging for Business panel here in Nashville, along with Rex Hammock, Brittney Gilbert and Ken Russell. If you're in the Nashville area, check out the details and come on by!

Critter Likes FeedDemon 2.0

Danny "Critter" Chamberlin is a long-time FeedDemon customer who has always given great feedback, and he's one of the most active people in the FeedDemon support forums. Danny was one of the first two people to be asked to give the FeedDemon 2.0 pre-release a test drive, and I owe him a big "thank you" for taking the time to help make FeedDemon a better program. Not only has he reported bugs I never would've encountered, but he's also made a lot of suggestions that have really improved FeedDemon's usability.

Danny has been using FeedDemon 2.0 for a couple of weeks now, and he says it's definitely worth the wait:

"FeedDemon 2.0 is just so much more usable than 1.x it is amazing...One of the big efforts that is being made for this release is making it new-user/non-techie friendly...while still having the power and flexibility to be attractive to us Power Users as well, and I think they have accomplished that goal."

Thanks for everything, Danny - if I can ever return the favor, please let me know.

PS: I know, I know, I'm being a tease this week by talking about a FeedDemon pre-release that few people have. Truth be told, I feel like FeedDemon 2.0 is the best work I've ever done, so I can't help wanting to talk about it. It's a short tease, though, since the first beta will be out next week.

Judi Likes FeedDemon 2.0

Judi Sohn is among the folks testing the FeedDemon 2.0 alpha right now, and she offers a sneak peak at what's in store for beta testers next week. Here's a snippet of what she had to say:

"It’s a wonderful improvement. If you’re a cross platform user and you’re used to NetNewsWire, switching back and forth between FeedDemon and NetNewsWire won’t feel nearly as jarring as it used to."

Judi, many thanks again for your great feedback over the past week!

Spyder likes FeedDemon 2.0

Right now an alpha pre-release of FeedDemon 2.0 is in the hands of a small group of testers, in preparation for a public beta about a week from now. A couple people testing FeedDemon 2.0 asked whether they could blog about it, and I thought that was a great idea.

Andy "Spyder" Herron was the first to blog about the new version, and it sounds like he's really enjoying it (pre-release warts and all):

"The combination of better presentation in the feed list with the unread feed view and the improved newspaper functionality are simply fantastic. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying managing my data in an intuitive and easy way."

Thanks for the kind words, Andy - and thanks again for all the help with the alpha release. Your feedback has been great, and has definitely improved FeedDemon.

I'll be linking to more FeedDemon 2.0 posts over the next few days, but since this was the first one to cross my path, I wanted to mention it first.

PS: Here's Andy's second post about FeedDemon 2.0.