ANN: FeedDemon 3.0.0.27 Pre-Release

FeedDemon 3.0.0.27 is now available from the FeedDemon Beta Site, and you'll definitely want to upgrade to it if you're running an earlier pre-release.

For one thing, it offers completely redesigned synching with Google Reader which corrects many of the issues customers have been reporting in our support forums.  There are a number of other additions and improvements, too, including a new "quick tag" feature and support for WP.me in the short URL preview.

As mentioned in my previous post, NewsGator is shutting down their synchronization platform at the end of the month, so at startup FeedDemon now offers to convert you from NewsGator sync to Google Reader sync.  The conversion process may take a few minutes while it adds your subscriptions to Google Reader and syncs your pre-existing flags, but once it's done FeedDemon will be synched with Google Reader.

As always, if you run into any problems with this build, please let me know by posting in the FeedDemon 3.0 Beta Forum, and be sure to include the build number (3.0.0.27) in your subject line.

BTW, there's also a new FeedDemon 3.0 Frequently Asked Questions page – it's pretty bare-bones at the moment, but I'll update it over time as I get more feedback about the new version.

Comments

[Serge]

I hope there will be an option to get the ad-free version when 3.0 is released. I'd be glad to pay/donate for such a version. It's the only thing that holds my upgrade from 2.7 (I was a paying customer).

Hope you'll consider such an option.

[Nick Bradbury]

@Serge: We hadn't originally planned to have a paid ad-free version, but we're getting so many requests for it that it seems silly for us not to have one. So, long story short, there will be a paid ad-free version before too long.

[Brena]

Re: Ad-free version - Awesome, thank you Nick for listening!

The ads really are super annoying and very distracting - changing constantly and I think also on window focus too. Looking forward (A LOT) to to the new ad-free version!

[Zeeshan]

What about the clippings in feed demon. You said in ur last post that yu'd provide a platform to transfer the clippings before the august deadline for newsgatoe syncing....

[Scott]

I am very excited about supporting Google reader but afraid of losing my ability to use reader on the iPhone.

How is this going to effect the iPhone application?

Will it still work?
If it still works how will clippings work?

[Nick Bradbury]

@Scott: A version of the iPhone app which syncs with Google Reader is in the works.

[Dan]

Getting a little close to the end of month cutover, without a final version, isn't it? I was trying to avoid multiple updates, by waiting for the final version - how about taking this OUT OF BETA?? Or extending the date of the cutover if you are not ready?

Dan

[Jack Brewster]

As Critter42, a long-time forum volunteer, mentions in this forum thread - http://forum.newsgator.com/FindPost51527.aspx - Nick doesn't have any control over extending the sync service. If you want to ask someone, you'll need to ask the NG Executive Team: http://www.newsgator.com/companyinfo/executiveteam

[Wayne]

Heya Nick, greate work with feeddemon! I have a little feature request for you: can you add an option to manually choose the browser to use for open link, instead the default one? This option would be cool if you want to test the other browser installed in the system without change each time the system default browser setting... Really thanks if you can do this!

Wayne

[Oliver]

August 27, and judging by the comments on the Newsgator forums there still isn't a Google Reader compatible iPhone reader available. I have tentatively upgraded my Mac to NNN with Google Reader sync, but my main machines for feed-reading are my iPhone and my FeedDemon Windows laptop (which is running XP and thus might not even be able to run the latest beta), so it looks like I landed between the chairs for now.

[Dave Gray]

Honestly I am holding out for the final release version of FD until I upgrade. The change means that I have to rejig a lot of how I work with FD so I am avoiding that as well. BUT since it is the 28th of August and the shutdown as I understand is the end of the month I am just wondering when that final release will happen?

I am not that keen to run the beta.

[Nikhil]

I hope those people complaining about that small ad-box don't drive or anything. If you can get distracted by THAT.. then there's no hope for humanity..

ANYWAYS, I don't trust Google, never used syncing before either. But I am going to go ahead and enable it this time since FD says that it will speed up.. FD, so yeah, I am gonna trust you guys just like that. :D

Been a long time user (since it went free I guess), and love the fact that something like FD is actually free and free users don't get crap compared to paid users or something. I do hope that in paid version the only "bonus" for the paid users is no more ads and not some extra features free users will need (I mean, we are supporting FD with AD version as well in the end).

So good luck with final release, can't wait for that.

*starts syncing... IT'S ALLLIIIIVE!!*

[Nikhil]

UPDATE: Right, all syncing did for me was slow up the update process by a huge margin. It's not even few seconds late, startup of FD becomes slow, update is slow (probably cause it updates at startup without asking) and not to mention that syncing marked my unread feeds as read.

All in all, I see no gain in that at all except giving Google more info on what you like or not (considering they are the biggest privacy breakers).

Back to doing it without syncing.

[critter42]

how long did you let it sync for? The initial updates do take a long time as there is a limit to the number of transactions that can be performed in a given time (if I'm misunderstanding this issue, I'm sure Nick'll correct me :) ), but after a little while, it takes no time at all.

I've been synching with NGO for years and GR after the initial announcement and I have noticed no difference in speed once everything was fully synched up.

[Nick Bradbury]

@Nikhil: Critter is correct - the initial sync can be quite slow, especially right after you install FD, but after that it should be considerably faster than NG synching.

[Tom]

Hello,
I bought Feeddemon at a time it wasn't free (version 2.5) and it seems the serial from back then is not working to get rid of the ads introduced in version 3. Does this mean I have to buy a serial again ?

[Nick Bradbury]

Sorry, Tom - this is a brand new version of FeedDemon, so it does require a new serial number. BTW, at least for now it only costs $9.95.

[Brena]

Hi Nick, above you mention $9.95 for an ad-free version? Where do I pay/get it?

Excited :)

Thanks!

[Brena]

Yes! Found it under Help, bought it. NO ADS!!!

Awesome :)

[Nick Bradbury]

Thanks, Brena!

[Hubert]

I have been using daily FeedDemon since the beginning, and upgraded to this pre-release version and have to say I am extremely dissappointed. This version is very unstable. The browser is slower than it has ever been. Why do I have to double click in the news items pane to open the web page? Half the time, I need to try a few times (double-clicking) before anything happens. The whole application hangs as soon as I try to do things too quickly. I am running this on Vista Premium and have plenty of processing grunt. This product is far from ready.

[Dave Gray]

Nick, do previous paid users have to pay again for an ad free version? Not that I don't mind supporting your great software, it would be a bummer to have to pay twice :(

But that said I will

[Nick Bradbury]

@Dave: there's a thread in our forums discussing that exact topic - check out http://forum.newsgator.com/Topic51786-73-1.aspx

[amar]

beta 3.0.0.30 .. says broken/corrupt..i tried downloadng 4-5 times

[Brena]

@Dave - Same boat here with "double purchase" but found the very reasonable price to gain version 3 and drop the ugly ads is very much worth it. Definitely had my value from previous purchase way back when FeedDemon was new.

[Nick Bradbury]

@amar: You were probably trying to download it at the same time I was uploading a new build (v3.0.0.31) Try it again - it should work now.

[Alexey]

I would love to pay for an ad-free version of FeedDemon, but I am not going to enter my PayPal password in your program. Its nothing personal. Please, provide a way to pay from the web browser.

[Nick Bradbury]

@Alexy: That actually is your web browser - it's just an embedded version of IE, and it navigates to PayPal's site when you choose to order via PayPal (so FD doesn't know anything about your PayPal password).

But there will be a way to purchase a serial number from a browser external to FeedDemon, just in case you're still concerned about it. We should have that up-and-running in a few days.

[Jerry Mills]

I think it kind of sucks that my serial number no longer works. I felt like I got screwed after paying for this and then shortly after that you turn it into a free product and now that you have returned to a registered version my serial number is invalid???

Order Number: ST21309523

[Nick Bradbury]

@Jerry: I am sorry you feel that way, but quite honestly I don't understand why you believe you're getting screwed. You purchased FeedDemon over three years ago for $24.95 - have you not received your money's worth during that time?

A year-and-a-half after you bought a copy of FeedDemon, we made it free. And it's still free - all we're doing is responding to the people who told us they want to pay us to remove the ads.

I would like to have continued making FeedDemon both free of charge and free of ads as we planned, but after 18 months of following that plan, it unfortunately didn't work out, and I doubt anybody feels worse about that than I do.

We found ourselves at a point where FeedDemon needed to generate revenue, and decided that customers would prefer non-intrusive advertising over having to pay for it again. Quite a few people told us they'd prefer to pay to remove the ads, so it's now possible to do that (and it's only $9.95 - far less than the upgrade cost of most software these days).

[Frank]

I had problem with double purchase and was billed twice - did anyone sort this out?

[Nick Bradbury]

@Frank: I wasn't aware of a double-billing problem - who did you contact about this? If you can let me know your order numbers and/or full name, I'll get this sorted out.