Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Blogs
NetNewsWire 3.0 pre-beta released
Since the headline says it all, I need to echo Brent Simmons on this and remind you: this isn't even beta-worthy. It will almost definitely act wonky. If you decide to play with it, backup your present NetNewsWire support directory (~/Library/Application Support/NetNewsWire, using cmd + d will duplicate the folder which is good 'nuff for now) as this release will have bugs in it.
With that warning out of the way: Mr. Simmons announced on inessential.com (his blog) today that he's decided to take a bit more of a public approach to his work on NetNewsWire 3.0, a significant update to one of the most widely used RSS readers available to any OS. With this new slightly more open-door policy to his development work, Brent has unleashed a very pre-release copy of NNW 3.0 into the wild.
He also has provided a list of what's new (which is most likely also a work in progress) in this version, and it goes a little something like this:
- New Combined view (pictured) - completely rewritten to be faster, more fun, and more useful
- Attention Reports - NetNewsWire 2.1 added sorting subscriptions by attention-and now you can also see reports that list feeds that get the most and least attention
- Cosmetic changes - tabs and browser header tweaks, along with other changes that bring it into a more Mac OS X 'unified' look
- Post Tabs to Weblog - Opens a new window in your weblog editor listing all your open tabs in NetNewsWire. It's a way of doing link-dumps. Right now it only works with MarsEdit, but Brent just needs a script to make it work with ecto too (I'm not sure if that's a hint or not; it's just what's in the release notes)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Christian said 6:53AM on 8-07-2006
I'm still waiting for somebody to explain the reason why NNW is so popular. Its interface is sub-par by comparison to the competition (NewsFire), it's not directly integrated with the browser (as with Safari), it's pricey ($30), etc. I tried NNW a few months ago, and it was obvious to me after 5 minutes that it wasn't half as polished as some other feed readers on the market.
And a note to TUAW editors: just because it's popular software doesn't mean you have to publish every small alpha/beta/delta release.
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stainboy said 8:33AM on 8-07-2006
@Christian,
everyone uses their software differently, and when it came to RSS readers i tried them ALL. i know some people love ecto, but i HATED the interface...that doesn't make ecto's interface "sub par," i just couldn't stand using it. and NewsFire didn't impress me with having to click back and forth to read the full text of feeds, plus the eye-candy overload. i much prefer the cleaner, multi-paned approach that NNW offers, plus i'd rather not have to jump between browsers when going to web sites (i'm posting this through NNW, btw). it's not "half-polished" to me in the least.
looks like someone's got a case of the mondays.
a note to TUAW editors: thanks for the heads-up on NNW development. it seemed to be holding at version 2.1 for quite a while so it's nice to see a major update is in the works.
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Beirne said 8:34AM on 8-07-2006
Here's why someone might like NetNewsWire. It's interface isn't as pretty as that of NewsFire but I like being able to scroll through the full RSS content rather than just seeing the first line of the text in the summary. I also like the tabbed browsing so I can pick my stories while going straight through the list and then read them. I also prefer being able to read the article in a frame inside the program rather than having to jump between the aggregator and my browser.
Also, I don't use Safari and I like NNW a lot better than the RSS reader in Firefox. Now that Firefox 2.0 make it easy to send a subscription to another program the integration issue is even less significant.
An extra feature I like is the integration with NewsGator Online. This lets me read my stories on the web if I'm somewhere else and it keeps what I've read in sync. I've used this a number of times when travelling.
Note to editor: Publishing this kind of news item can be very useful. I learned about the NNW beta the other day and really like using it. It has worked flawlessly for me and I really like the combined interface.
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Thomas said 9:00AM on 8-07-2006
Each day when I get home I have aboue 1500 entries waiting for me in Newsfire, the only time I ever open a page in my browser is if I want to reply to something later on. Otherwise I just read the full article - assuming the feed provides it. What's all this about only being able to read a summary?
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Chris G. said 9:37AM on 8-07-2006
Yesterday I decided to switch from Bloglines to a RSS reader. I found a RSS reader called Vienna that is absolutely fantastic. Very simple, does what I need, and is really fast. I'm sold on it.
Best part is that it is free.
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Matt said 9:54AM on 8-07-2006
"1. I'm still waiting for somebody to explain the reason why NNW is so popular. Its interface is sub-par by comparison to the competition (NewsFire), it's not directly integrated with the browser (as with Safari), it's pricey ($30), etc. I tried NNW a few months ago, and it was obvious to me after 5 minutes that it wasn't half as polished as some other feed readers on the market."
100% agreed, I think I'll stick with Vienna
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bhamm said 11:08AM on 8-07-2006
if you spend a few minutes tweaking NNW's layout and colors/styles.. you can make it into something pretty nice.. for instance, i went to a 3 column layout and used the color picker to grab colors from itunes (the light blue margin and alternating (grey/white) rows:
http://ideastorm.com/nnw.png (screenshot)
the only feature i'd like to see at this point is for NNW to let me bookmark a page/site (not just a feed). I've been experimenting with delicious and posting bookmarks there.. and then subscribing to that (my) feed. I just wish there was something built into NNW for this.
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Paul said 11:33AM on 8-07-2006
Funny for being a non-beta it has not crashed on me yet.
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jonathan said 12:28PM on 8-07-2006
i use netnewswire too...i have only 68 feeds, but have trouble reading all or most of them....i am behind by over 4000....
how do you organize your feeds and handle the massive amount....
a post with tips and tricks would be great...whatever secrets you got on rss management
thnaks a bunch
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Beirne said 8:21PM on 8-07-2006
Thomas said:
Each day when I get home I have aboue 1500 entries waiting for me in Newsfire, the only time I ever open a page in my browser is if I want to reply to something later on. Otherwise I just read the full article - assuming the feed provides it. What's all this about only being able to read a summary?
You answered the question yourself, you read the full article if the feed provides it. Often the feed doesn't, so I have to go to the website. Whenever I click on the story link to do that it sends me to my browser.
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Beirne said 8:24PM on 8-07-2006
jonathan asked:
how do you organize your feeds and handle the massive amount....
I have 87 feeds and do OK. For me the key is to be merciless about marking things read. I use the combined view and scroll through all of the stories in a feed, opening ones that I want to read fully in a new background tab. When I've opened all of the tabs for a feed I mark it as read and then go read the stories. When I fall behind, I skim real fast and then mark the stories read. With 4000 stories of backlog you should just mark them all read and start over.
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sjk said 12:20AM on 8-08-2006
jonathan (#9),
Suggestions for managing feeds might be an interesting topic to post on the NNW Tech Support section of the NewsGator forum:
http://www.newsgator.com/FORUM/Forum9-1.aspx
I'd be curious to hear some different usage scenarios and possibly pick up a few new ideas.
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bhamm said 1:56PM on 8-08-2006
"Often the feed doesn't, so I have to go to the website. Whenever I click on the story link to do that it sends me to my browser."
i couldn't tell if this was referring to NNW or Newsfire... but in NNW, you can have clicked links open in a new tab, right in NNW (either in the background, while you continue reading headlines.. or have the tab load upfront). It uses the same rendering engine as safari, and you can enable (or not) java, javascript, plugins, etc..
if i could have NNW actually bookmark sites (not just feeds), i wouldn't have a need for safari..
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