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:
- Make it easier for new users to get started
- 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 :)
Will the shipping version of 2.0 support sub-folders?
-c
Posted by: Charlie Wood | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 10:41 AM
Great job. Any chance there will be a Mac version anytime soon?
Posted by: NewMexiKen | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 11:51 AM
Despite being a licensed FeedDemon user I have not installed it since my last rebuild (every cuppla months with XP it seems).
Why? Bloglines. So much easier - less complicated - and free.
Posted by: Peter Tilbrook | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 11:53 AM
Charlie, FD2.0 won't have nested subfolders, but I expect to make them available in the future.
"NewMexiKen," there won't be a Mac version, but NetNewsWire is now a NewsGator product, and a new version of NetNewsWire with synchronization is in the works.
Peter, I hope you'll give FeedDemon 2.0 a try. I think you'll find it much easier and far less complicated.
Posted by: Nick Bradbury | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 12:03 PM
Absolutely loving this new version!
Thanks Nick!
Posted by: Brena | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 12:38 PM
Finally! I'll be trying this, for sure.
Posted by: Manuzhai | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 01:01 PM
Congratulations, Nick. FeedDemon 2.0 looks nice and is really handy. I don't regret I've payed for it (about two years ago, but *pst*)
Posted by: Christoph | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 01:56 PM
Rock on, I've really been looking forward to trying out Feed Demon 2. Can't wait to see what you'll do with Feed Demon on Windows Vista.
Posted by: Tom Kirby-Green | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 02:03 PM
I miss the following options:
Browsing
*When a news item is selected, go directly to its link when its description is empty
*When a news item is selected, always go directly to its link
and I would like to use firefox!
otherwise feeddemon 2 completely well succeeded.
I likes it very much!
Posted by: gassa | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 02:29 PM
Nice. Really nice. Within my short testing session I only noticed a (minor?) glitch: importing an OPML with subfolders these seem to be added to the root of the feed list and not the parent folder. And I miss a keyboard shortcut/hotkey to mark the items read in the current folder only.
Great job and I might reconsider using it in favor of RSSBandit.
Posted by: Björn Graf | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 04:12 PM
Excellent job, congratulations.
Posted by: Steven Rowe | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 04:57 PM
lol @ people whinging in the first few comments, some people will just never be happy
Glad we can finally blog about the beta :D
Posted by: Andrew Herron | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 05:05 PM
Yay! Thanks SO much Nick.
You are a star. I love FeedDemon. Ditto Topstyle. I use them both, all the time when I'm bolted to the computer.
Can't wait to go play with beta 2 :)
Posted by: Alan | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 05:47 PM
Just tried beta 2.0.
I LOVE IT.
Posted by: Alan | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 05:56 PM
Amazing.
Posted by: Ian Williamson | Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 06:39 PM
It's great!
Posted by: Christoph Wagner | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 06:03 AM
Terrific, I love it! Thanks, Nick!
Posted by: gaba | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 07:26 AM
Very nice Nick, great job. What happened to the Attention stuff? The last beta release has some in there...has the feature been dropped?
thanks,
Alex.
Posted by: Alex Barnett | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 11:13 AM
Thanks, Alex. The attention stuff is still there - it's part of the main subscription view (most/least attention) rather than a separate report.
Posted by: Nick Bradbury | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 11:15 AM
Do you recommend a newby -- just used to version 1.5 try it out -- I'm kind of weak with technology although getting better with time. Is there anything I could get into trouble with?
Thanks much...
Posted by: ob3 | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 11:39 AM
All I can say is Wow! I always thought that the drop down channel approach in 1.5 was a bit weak. Having folder trees makes blog-surfing so much easier. Also, I love the new features for viewing; the newspaper view is now really useful.
Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Nitin Badjatia | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 12:16 PM
ob3, I hesitate to recommend a beta version to a new user, but quite honestly I think you'll find version 2.0 much easier to use than previous versions. If you're comfortable using a pre-release, I'd say give it a try.
Posted by: Nick Bradbury | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 01:33 PM
Brilliant work Nick! This release is truly a leap forward. While I still tend to use NewsGator most often (simply beacuse Outlook is open almost all of the time), this version of FeedDemon is the first to make me seriously reconsider my RSS consumption habits. I know I've barely scratched the surface of all the work you've put into this new release but I'm loving every little feature and enhancement I've encountered so far.
Posted by: Marc Orchant | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 02:34 PM
Any chance of the "Last 24 hours" filter being put back in? I use that a lot and it's a lot better if you're browsing feeds around 12AM - 1AM if, like me, you work funny hours and get home late.
If you set it to "Today" at that kind of time you get nothing or just a few items and if you set it to "Yesterday" you get get all the old stuff but none of the new stuff.
Posted by: James | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 05:42 PM
Other than that, it's really well done. The 'folder' view works really well.
Posted by: James | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 05:43 PM
Nick, ah, I see it now. thanks.
Posted by: Alex Barnett | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 10:05 PM
I'd really like to see more levels in the folders view too. Other than that I think this might be the version for me. In the past I've looked at FeedDemon but not bought it because of the channel view thing. When multiple levels get implemented in the folder view I'm definitely jumping on the bandwagon, synchronization plan and all.
Posted by: Søren Lund | Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 02:34 AM
Nick,
Just wanted to drop my two cents and say that this is the FeedDemon I've always wanted. My one gripe is that when I drag feeds into another folder it collapses the folder it was in, when in fact I'd like to keep it open. I haven't read the comments so forgive me if I'm repeating myself. Otherwise, this product is really really what I've always wanted of it.
Posted by: Kenny Meyers | Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 08:05 PM