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Don't tell us where you're going, Nissan Leaf driver, we already know (video)
That cute little bugger above certainly looks innocent enough, but it might have been spreading some pretty detailed gossip behind your back. Leaf-driver Casey Halverson was playing around with the RSS reader in his Carwings system when he discovered that it wasn't just collecting feeds from RSS servers, it was also telling those servers his car's current location, speed, heading and even the destination he'd set in the sat nav. Strangely, Halverson's undercover tattletale appears to have halted its indiscretions after he posted the discovery on his blog, but we're surmising there's still hundreds of server logs up and down the country that prove it really happened, not to mention his video after the break. Cue Rockwell, fade to black.
TUAW's Daily App: Byline
We last covered the iOS RSS reader Byline back in May of last year, when it had just hit version 3. Now the app's been updated to version 4, and it's still an excellent RSS reader for both the iPhone and the iPad. Version 4 brought universal capability to the free version of the app (it has ads, though you can get rid of them for just a few bucks). The new version also adds an easy way to "Mark All as Read" (just slide the "Edit" button), and the 4.0 release (as well as the minor releases after it) fix all kinds of bugs and add in some performance improvements. Byline still hooks up directly with your Google Reader account, integrates with Instapaper and Twitter very easily and has an offline reading mode that lets you browse your RSS feeds even when you're not connected to the internet. In other words, Byline is a quality app that's only getting better. If you still haven't settled on a good RSS reader for your iPhone or iPad, it's definitely worth a look.
Flipboard rumored to launch web app
One of the more awe-inspiring iPad apps of 2010 was Flipboard. The free app is a beautiful way to read RSS feeds, see and respond to updates from friends on Twitter and Facebook and more, displayed in a format that looks more like a well-designed magazine than a reader app. It's so good that Apple named it the iPad App of the Year. Now The Next Web is reporting that Flipboard may be coming to a much larger audience as a web app. The company has reportedly posted a job opening for a "Designer - Web Developer" for the purpose of designing a way to read content online. This move makes sense for Flipboard, particularly if they plan on offering the app in Google Chrome's Web Store. A web app that is readable from a variety of devices would give Flipboard an advantage in development, since all upgrades and changes could be made to one code base instead of requiring rewrites for many platforms. There's no word on when the web app may launch, although it's a sure bet that it will be sometime in 2011. [via MacStories]
Pulse News Reader for iPad 2.0: More sources, better organization
Alphonso Labs reported today that their Pulse News Reader for iPad (currently US $1.99) has been updated to version 2.0. The new version of the app addresses one of the major complaints about the original by allowing up to 60 news feeds to be added, with up to 12 feeds on each of five pages. Organization of sources is much easier in the new version. Each one of the five pages has a tab that can be renamed, so users can define each page by type -- for example, "Apple," "Food," "News," and more. The feeds are listed under each tab and can be dragged around to be placed in the order you would like to see them. It's also easier to find sources; when you go to add a source, there are tabs for "featured" and "categories," both featuring sources that look good in Pulse. Alphonso Labs calls this the "Pulse Bazaar." The app seems snappier than the previous version also, both at startup and while loading or refreshing pages. I'm not sure if it's new, but it's possible to add both your Facebook and Twitter feeds to Pulse, with any post with a photo or link in it showing up in your Pulse list. There's also support for Bump, so you can share feeds with friends who have both Bump and Pulse installed. Sounds like a great update -- if you've had issues with the app previously, it's worth giving it another look.
TUAW review and giveaway: Pulse News Reader
A few days ago, I did a quick first look at Pulse News Reader for iPad. It's a very different RSS reader for the iPad platform, developed by two Stanford grad students. Since that post, I've had enough time to really give the app a try and I'm happy to say it's now my RSS reader of choice. The concept of Pulse (US$3.99) is different from most RSS readers. As you can see in the gallery at the bottom of this post page, Pulse provides a manageable grid of boxes on the iPad display instead of trying to cram as many post headlines into as little space as possible. Each row of boxes is a feed, with the most recent post in a box on the left and older posts streaming to the right. The app is fast. One of my major complaints about some of the other news readers is that while they're out pulling in new feed info, they just bog down. Likewise, some of the other iPad news readers I've used have a tendency to really slow down when they're syncing read status. That's not the case with Pulse. Since it currently allows a maximum of 20 feeds and the last 40 posts for each feed, it's fast to update. In fact, it's usually done updating feeds by the time the Pulse splash screen disappears. %Gallery-94307%
Found Footage: Pulse News Reader for iPad
I've been looking for an iPad RSS news reader for a while, and was totally underwhelmed by what was out there. Fortunately, a reader pointed me to a video demonstrating Pulse News Reader (US$3.99), a new RSS reader from a couple of Stanford grad students. Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari have created an RSS reader that makes traditional readers look like, well, cluttered inboxes. If you're one of those folks who follows a few hundred RSS feeds, you may not like Pulse -- the current version has a limit of 20 feeds. The app makes it drop-dead simple to add feeds by searching keywords, and then picking feeds from the search results. The feeds show up as a series of tabbed rows of articles with the newest posts on the far left, oldest on the far right. Navigating posts is done by flicking left or right, and you can read the full post by tapping on the large post icon. Pulse 1.1 still needs some work -- the current version doesn't support video, so the post icon for this article would appear as text only. Still, it looks great and is easily one of the most usable news readers I've seen. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that TUAW is one of their featured sources in the app... We'll have a more thorough TUAW review of Pulse News Reader soon. Thanks to Graham for the tip! [via Cult of Mac]
Unauthorized iPhone news readers raise eyebrows
Here's an interesting little new media legal dilemma for you: apparently there are several paid apps in the iPhone App Store that bill themselves as "readers" for publications like the New York Times, CNET, and the BBC, but aren't actually licensed or official in anyway -- they're just pulling RSS feeds. That means people paying for an app like The New York Times Mobile Reader aren't actually getting an app from the Times -- and, perhaps more importantly, the Times isn't getting anything from anyone. Seems like Apple should probably just shut these apps down, but that's the interesting part: all these apps are pretty much just custom-built feed readers, and you can generally access all of the same content using Safari. Now, there's obviously a trademark issue involved here, especially if these apps are confusing people into thinking they're official, but we're curious to see how these pubs and Apple handle the situation in the next few weeks, since it's relatively uncharted territory. P.S.- Let's not even get into the fact that Apple's rated the NYT Mobile Reader app "12+" for "Infrequent / Mild Mature / Suggestive Themes." Oh, the App Store.
Mac 101: Getting your RSS feeds in your inbox in Mail.app
RSS reader support has been a built-in feature of Mail.app since version 3.0 (when Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was released). Although I subscribe to a number of RSS feeds, I've yet to find the need for a dedicated RSS reader app -- such as Newsgator's NetNewsWire. I like having my email and news feeds in the same application. By default, RSS feeds that you subscribe to in Mail will appear in their own folder. If you'd like your RSS feeds to appear in your inbox, just click on the upward pointing arrow of an RSS feed(s) within the RSS section in Mail.app. On the downside, this view of RSS feeds may flood your inbox and be overwhelming, depending on the number and the activity of feeds you're subscribed to. As a result, you may want to be selective in choosing your feeds. However, I've found this view particularly handy with time-sensitive feeds, and have used it on numerous occasions to score in-demand concert tickets (at face value prices, too!) with search-based Craigslist feeds.
Cowon V5 HD set for South Korea debut on January 1
Cowon has finally made its latest and greatest PMP official, and the spec sheet does not disappoint. Mixing appealing curves with a 4.8-inch display, the V5 HD offers 720p video playback that can be channeled out via HDMI or Composite outputs. On the software front, there's the usual litany of wide-ranging file compatibility and basic apps -- cortesy of Windows CE 6.0 -- as well as a world clock, RSS reader, Flash games, voice recorder, and an optional T-DMB tuner. We still don't know what's doing the dirty work under the hood, but you won't be wanting for storage, with integrated memory options up to 32GB being augmented by SDHC expandability. Battery life is rated at 10 hours of video or 45 hours of music, and the Korean landing date is January 1 with prices starting at 299,000 KRW ($256). Until then, you can check out more pictures after the break. [Thanks, The DarkSide]
Beta Beat: Gruml brings GReader to the Mac desktop
I discovered Gruml a while back, but didn't write about it right away because there were too many glitches in the first beta to make it really interesting. Thankfully, recent releases have smoothed out the vast majority of the kinks, and I can now present -- with gusto -- a great RSS reader that interfaces with Google Reader. NetNewsWire switched to syncing with Google Reader back in July, and I was pretty excited. Google Reader has been an amazing tool for me in the RSS world, and the more apps I have that all sync with it, the happier I am. However, despite seemingly endless trials and searches, I haven't really found the app that can top a Fluid SSB with a good userstyle. Gruml comes the closest so far, and it's free (at least right now, I'm not sure what the future holds after beta). One of the things I like about desktop clients (when it comes to RSS readers) is scriptability. Gruml currently lacks the AppleScript dictionary that, say, NetNewsReader has, and I'd love to see it implemented. The keyboard navigation is decent, but not yet up-to-par with Google Reader's web interface, which can be navigated entirely with the keyboard. It might not make a difference to a lot of folks, but when I'm cruising through headlines I like to be all-keyboard when possible. The "Send Article to ... " menu is fantastic, covering 12 services ranging from Delicious to Twitter, and including Facebook, Ping.fm and Posterous. Note-taking, starring and sharing are all very well done, and sync perfectly with Google.
NewsGator releases iPhone app/feed stats
NetNewsWire was one of the first native applications on the iPhone to read RSS feeds. Today, NewsGator released some astounding statistics about their application and users. One of the announcements was that NNW on the iPhone has over 200,000 users. Some of the other interesting stats they're talking about are: 115,000 users have signed up for the iPhone version in the past 30-days Average NNW for iPhone users subscribe to 26 feeds (I subscribe to over 115 -- just sayin') One NNW for iPhone user subscribes to over 2,800 feeds (and how does this person read all of the newsies coming over the wire?) NetNewsWire is a free application for the iPhone that can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store (iTunes link). You can celebrate with the NewsGator folks on their blog. Be sure to take part in our poll to find out how many RSS feeds you subscribe to. %Poll-20095%
NewsFire goes free
Coming hot on the heels of the 1.5 release, Dave Watanabe's popular RSS reader, NewsFire is now free. David posted this on his blog:"After much internal debate, I've made the decision that as of today, NewsFire is totally free. No feature restrictions, no ads, no cut-down 'lite' version... this is the real deal."Newsfire is just the latest in the growing trend of free offline RSS readers available for the Mac. In January, leading reader app NetNewsWire became a free program, joining Vienna, Safari and even Mail.app as alternatives to the 800 lb gorilla known as Google Reader (also free). Whether or not some of the other freeware alternatives will be able to sustain development without the support of a company like Newsgator (which owns NetNewsWire) remains to be seen, but in the meantime, I'm loving all these new RSS choices that don't deplete my wallet.Although David Watanabe has been a controversial figure in the Mac community, he does make beautiful looking software. If you aren't already married to your RSS reader, or you have been waiting for NewsFire to have full Leopard support, now is your chance to try it out. Thanks Carlo!
Daring Fireball feed goes free
John Gruber's Daring Fireball is probably my favorite Mac blog out there (save for the ol' TUAW, of course)-- it was one of the first I started reading, and he consistently provides not only great insight on Apple products and policies (and journalists' treatment of them), but a strong, often funny voice in the community. We're big fans here at TUAW, and that's why we were so happy to hear that even more people will have a chance to read Gruber's work. Because as of today, he's releasing his full RSS feed, free to anyone.Previously, he had a plan where you paid a membership fee (included when you bought a T-shirt from him) and then got access to the full RSS feed. A feed was available for free, but it was partial content only. Now, he says, confusion about which feed is which, and RSS readers without HTML authentication (most notably Google Reader, and the .Mac reader for iPhone that David loves so much-- what's up with these popular readers not providing a feature that supports the content producers that supply them?) have convinced him to try out a free full feed for a month. Additionally, the free feed will be supported from week to week by sponsors.If you haven't signed on to DF's feed yet, now's your chance. And if, like us, you find it interesting and informative, might as well put a couple bucks in the bucket and pay for it anyway-- Gruber's definitely earning it.
NewsLife out of beta
ThinkMac has announced that their RSS newsreader, NewsLife, has hit 1.0 and come out of beta (and as you can see above, they couldn't have chosen a better site to show it off with, if I may say so myself).David did a quick rundown on the app last week, and found it to be "a simple, streamlined app for reading your favorite news sites and blogs." There is a cool feature called the News Bin, which seems like an easy drag-and-drop clipping interface. The obvious comparison to NewsLife is NetNewsWire, of course, but NewsLIfe appears to be filling the role of the simpler, cheaper (€12, or about $16 US) alternative to that old favorite. You can pick the 1.0 release up right now from ThinkMac.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Vienna 2.2 being prepped for release
Vienna is a free, open source news reader that we like (we've written about it here); it's not as full-featured as NetNewsWire but it's a pretty slick app. The Vienna Development Team is preparing to release version 2.2, which will feature a huge list of changes and improvements, including: A new UI (no more brushed metal!) Russian localization Improved drag-and-drop from Safari Unsubscribe/resubscribe command added to the File menu SQLite updated to 3.4.0 The full list of changes hasn't been released yet, but you can get a look at what we haven't mentioned here. In the meantime, you can check out the 2.2 beta. Just remember, it's a beta, so backup your stuff.Vienna is free, universal and requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.
Apple readying iPhone only RSS web app
It would seem that Apple is eating their own dogfood in regards to Web 2.0 applications for the iPhone. Go visit reader.mac.com, I'll wait. At the time of posting you'll get a splash page like the one shown above (assuming you aren't using an iPhone to visit it). The iPhone in that graphic clearly shows a web based RSS reader designed just for the iPhone (perhaps it syncs with your Safari RSS feeds). It is hosted on .Mac, so does this mean we'll be seeing some useful additions to .Mac very soon? I hope so![via Daring Fireball]
NetNewsWire 3.0 now available
The NetNewsWire 3.0 beta is now over. That's right, RSS junkies, NNW 3.0 is now publicly available. I've been using NetNewsWire 3.0 since Macworld 2007, and it has really come together in the last few months. There are lots of new features, including: Growl support Spotlight integration Twitterific support A New UI Performance enhancement (this sucker screams on Intel Macs) Improved Tabbed browsing Microformat support That's just the tip of the iceberg in regards of to new features. Check out Newsgator's website for all the details.NetNewsWire 3.0 is available now and costs $29.95. Upgrading is free, if you have the NewsGator Online Premium Package. NetNewsWire Lite, the free version of NNW, is still a work in progress.
NewsBreak v2.0 mobile RSS & podcast reader released
Tired of using Bloglines Mobile? How about Google Reader for Mobile? Both are decent RSS options for all that wireless RSS news reading (or blog reading), but just in case you need an installed proggy for that WM Smartphone or Pocket PC, how about NewsBreak? NewsBreak 2.0 has just been released and the upgrade contains some pretty significant updates from the prior 1.2 version. Among them: get podcast (enclosure) support, get a look at attached images and files, podcast download scheduling, new keyword icons and Windows Live Search integration for mobile search. Yeah, we like search choice too (Google, Yahoo!?) but at least you can download the trial and test drive it. If you purchased NewsBreak 1.2, you can even get a free upgrade to version 2.0.[Via Mobility Site]
TUAW Podcast #11
It is time once again boys and girls for the TUAW Podcast. On this latest episode #11, Laurie A. Duncan and I got down to business discussing Apple's recent stock options investigation results, Steve's confirmed keynote for Macworld 07 as well as the event's doubled size, the upcoming new .Mac webmail and whether it's important, the growing passion for RSS readers and what I like to call Adobe's Universal Blunder™.The podcast (or for all y'all Leo supporters out there: netcast) in MP3 format (I know: we're working on support for an enhanced version) weighs in at just under 35MB and 38:08, and it's available from our TUAW podcast feed in the iTS, or right here. Enjoy.Update: we also have a dedicated podcast RSS feed for the non-iTS users out there: http://podcasts.tuaw.com/rss.xml.
Mister Tipster desktop RSS ticker
We're still waiting for someone to create an RSS reader that spits out feeds like a vintage paper stock ticker, but until that cool-but-admittedly-wildly-unpractical day comes, it looks like we'll have to settle for something like FeedVision's Mister Tipster. Hooked up to your Windows XP-based PC, it'll keep track of all your RSS feeds, displaying headlines one at a time on its four-line LCD display, with three configurable blinkin' lights that can be set to flash when a word or phrase is detected. Ok, so it may not be as au courant as the Optimus mini three, with its fancy OLED displays, but you can get your Mister Tipster in your choice of three different colored displays: dark blue text on a gray background, yellow text on a black background, or the classic Game Boy color scheme above. It will, unfortunately, cost you almost as much as the mini three, with the Mister Tipster setting you back $135 at the current sale price, or $150 after October 31st.
