1src Forums - Quick News for Palm OS v.1.01

Reggie

02-16-2005, 03:50 PM

I'm currently in contact with the developer to fix some bugs with the 1SRC Podcast Feed. What's cool about it is that it should be able to download enclousures (the actual mp3 files) and store it in your card.

I'm also suggesting support for MMPlayer since it only supports AeroPlayer and PocketTunes now.

Anyway, comparing QuickNews from HandRSS, QuickNews has far more features. :D

matrix42

02-16-2005, 04:16 PM

Would be nice if they offered Hand/RSS users an upgrade path!

Other than buy the new thing :rolleyes:

Reggie

02-16-2005, 04:22 PM

Would be nice if they offered Hand/RSS users an upgrade path!

Other than buy the new thing :rolleyes:

LOL. Just to let you know, it can read your HandRSS RSS list and use them in Quick News.

jjesusfreak01

02-16-2005, 04:27 PM

Would be nice if they offered Hand/RSS users an upgrade path!

Other than buy the new thing :rolleyes:
Firstly, they cannot be sure youve bought the program, and they make less money off of you, because if they trust in the superiority of their program, they know you will buy it without an upgrade option.

StandAloneInc

02-16-2005, 05:25 PM

Actually, the upgrade from HandRSS to Quick News is free. Your registration code should work for it (you will have to re-enter the code, but you can find this by selecting "About HandRSS" within HandRSS.

Too many people had no idea what RSS was, and were confused about what it did, so we changed the name. Also rewrote it from scratch, and add a LOT of new features.

Since most people who bout HandRSS are 'cutting-edge' types, we didn't want to penalize them by charging for the upgrade. Ergo: gratis :-)

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

matrix42

02-17-2005, 02:13 PM

Very Cool!!!

Thanks Ben

Srcguy

02-17-2005, 02:57 PM

That's the kind of support we like Ben... had no interest in this software until i saw your post... will go and check it out now... Thanks.

Srcguy

Edlin

02-17-2005, 03:53 PM

Ditto Ben,
Knowing a dev. cares enough aboiut customers not only to offer teh upgrade, but to sign up on a board and let them know is great !

strider_mt2k

02-17-2005, 04:51 PM

J Anchan

02-17-2005, 10:48 PM

I have tried the previous version Hand/RSS that was a bit clunky. This one is much better and the developer responds quite well and is very reasonable. Just 20 minutes after trying the trial and reading developer's comments, I registered the product. One cool feature (that may not be obvious) is the swiping of the stylus from left to right on the screen (enable graffiti on screen) and the link in the feeder moves to the next unread message. Cool!

lesliefranke

02-17-2005, 11:20 PM

Nice!
I know zero about this RSS thing, but I see more and more references to it.
I'm a former AvantGo user, but I don't know if that gives me a leg up in the clue department.
I've DLed Quick News, and installed it on my TH55, but I don't know what I'm doing yet.
I appreciate the long demo period! Obviously I'm going to need at least part of it!

I really like it when the developer gets on and discusses the application on the forums.
Getting on here and seeing that makes me think I'm into something good here.

A quick explanation of RSS is here (http://my.yahoo.com/s/about/rss/) at Yahoo. RSS is basically a way gather in news and information from different websites into one spot for easy reading.

There seems to be three main ways to get RSS/ATOM feeds unto your Palm.
1. Through a product like Quick News. I have not used Quick News yet but am going to have to try it out.
2. Into iSilo or Plucker (using Sunrise)
3. Using a site such as Mobile RSS (http://www.mobilerss.net/) to help create a custom channel in AvantGo.

Some form of RSS is here to stay. Use a free web service such as Yahoo, Bloglines (http://bloglines.com) (my favorite), or NewsGator (http://newsgator.com) as a good starting point to learn more about syndication of web sites.

palmhiker

02-18-2005, 07:06 AM

StandAloneInc

02-18-2005, 11:45 AM

Not all feeds will offer articles in their entirety in their RSS feed. Some will just give a snippet, with the idea that if you want to read more, you'll have to follow the link. As for the lock-ups, try grabbing 1.04 off of our website (it should be up later today).

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

lesliefranke

02-18-2005, 12:28 PM

I am new to RSS on my Palm. I have tried Quick News on my Tungsten C, and have it set to update the feeds via Wi-Fi.

The problem I am having, aside from a few lock-up's requiring a soft reset) is that the news stories in the default list of feeds do not seem to be downloading in their entirety. Some of them only show the title with no other content. Most of them have about the first 300 words and then just break off.

Is this the way it is supposed to work? I can't find an option in this application to enlarge the size of feeds or anything like that.

What am I missing? Seeing only a couple of hundred words of a thousand word article is relatively useless.

Ben is right. This has nothing to do with the software it is entirely up to the site. You will find that some sites push out the whole article with any included images, some sites will just push out the text of the article (this seems to be the choice of most), and some sites just the beginning of the article as a way to drive traffic to their site. The choice that the site uses is a combination of the syndication format being used and the author's personal whim. For example I choose to push everything but if you look at Palm247's feed you will find only the full text of the article as they are using an older version of RSS.

palmhiker

02-18-2005, 12:38 PM

Ben is right. This has nothing to do with the software it is entirely up to the site. You will find that some sites push out the whole article with any included images, some sites will just push out the text of the article (this seems to be the choice of most)...

Thanks Ben and LeslieFranke for the response. I suppose that most of these sites assume that one is connected and on-line during the reading of the feed?

In the case of this app., which I see as very useful as an off-line reader, a site not feeding entire articles in one shot would make it difficult to use (for those sites). Running down the list of default feeds that QuickNews sets up, it seems (sadly) that most choose to feed only headlines and snippets. I have been unable to get my T-C to go out and grab the rest of the articles, even when I am connected. Perhaps the new version of QuickNews will cure that issue?

StandAloneInc

02-18-2005, 02:01 PM

For sites that only post part of the article, the way to get the rest of the article is tap the article title and select "Open Link" from the popup menu. This will open the article in your web browser.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

matrix42

02-18-2005, 02:07 PM

I was wondering about the flag function and if anybody has got it to work, I can flag an article but when I tap the "flag icon" at the top it says I have no flagged articles, even though in the list of articles I can see a little flag? Also having problems with Boing Boing feed but that's probably just me...

StandAloneInc

02-18-2005, 04:17 PM

The flag issue is a bug, and 1.04 (which is on our website now) fixes it. If you continue to have Boing Boing problems, send us a note, and we'll take a look at it.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

sungecko

02-18-2005, 07:54 PM

no luck here. i've loaded the prc file into the clie th55 (i can see it when i go through the cliefiles app), but it doesn't show up as an application.

also, i've loaded the conduit into the same folder as my other conduits, but it won't show up in the mark/space Missing Sync. help?

and i just did it again with the 1.04 version, so that didn't help.

sungecko

02-18-2005, 09:36 PM

ok, handheld is ok now. apparently i had an app doing bad things, which i've deleted.

so still looking for guidance for the conduit install. thanks.

StandAloneInc

02-18-2005, 09:53 PM

Hmm. You may have a corrupted conduit. Send me an email (ben at standalone dot com) and I'll send you a fresh copy.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

sungecko

02-18-2005, 10:34 PM

thanks for the help.

sungecko

02-18-2005, 11:40 PM

thanks ben, i'm up and running. i like this. thanks for your help. the new conduit did the trick.

djr

02-21-2005, 08:28 AM

Has anybody with a Sony CLIE TH55 gotten OPML import to work? I tried it several times on my wife's CLIE, but I just can't get it to import any feed at all (using latest 1.04, with Hand/RSS reg. code (THANKS BEN!))

addict

02-21-2005, 01:09 PM

Can anyone confirm or deny that Quick News works with ATOM feeds (the prior version/incarnation did not)?

sungecko

02-21-2005, 01:28 PM

is there a way (now or in upcoming updates) to save the feeds to the memory stick? thanks.

AndrewP

02-21-2005, 06:15 PM

I'm a newbie to actually using RSS though I've been aware of it for some time - I just couldn't see the point on a desktop PC - why not just open the web sites as usual?

However, I've been totally blown away by how useful Quick News has suddenly made my TH55. Any time I've a few minutes free I can check what's happening in the world or with a friend's blog. I can download the 1src Podcast without any effort at all. Fantastic.

Couple of minor queries.
i) Quick News only picks up Clie Mail but I also have Agendus Mail installed, which I prefer. Any one else noticed this?

ii) 1src and Geek News Central podcasts work fine via "Get Enclosure", but Engadget's don't. Is that likely to be a problem with their RSS feed rather than Quick News? Engaget don't seem to have produced anything in 2005 anyway.

Thanks,

Andrew

Opinari

02-22-2005, 10:14 AM

I am having major issues importing OPML into Quick News. I upgraded to version 1.04, and installed the app on my T|T. I am connected to the internet via my BT connection (laptop or T68i, depending on the situation). When I load the OPML file locally on the memory card, the app cannot find it. When I load the OPML file from the internet, it loads halfway, then the PDA crashes. Are there limitations on how large an OPML file can be imported into QN? Are there string length limitations on feed URLs? Clearly, something is causing the app to hang up. Once this problem is fixed, I will plop down my $14.95, as RSS on the T|T is definitely something I use daily.

Dave

Opinari

02-22-2005, 11:23 AM

One additional issue... some of the text renders poorly, or in its HTML form. For example, on one of the default feeds, Al's Radio Weblog, on the article entitled "iPod Linker" the HTML for < td >, < tr >, and < b > show up in the title. Other feeds show small text overlapping, rendering it illegible. Is this a fault of the RSS feeds themselves, or is it a flaw in the app?

StandAloneInc

02-24-2005, 02:21 PM

How large is the OPML file you're trying to import? The Tungsten T is a bit shy on memory (heap, not storage), and parsing an XML file is a rather memory intensive process. Try breaking your file into 100-feed chunks or so, and it shouldn't have a problem. As for the HTML rendering, I'll have a look at it and see if I can figure out what's going on. It's almost certainly our (Quick News') fault, not the RSS feed.

Also, we're looking at adding support for downloading feeds to cards, but again, this would require re-parsing the feed each time we wanted to display, so this may not happen.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

addict

02-24-2005, 02:35 PM

Any comment on ATOM compatibility?

archangel

02-24-2005, 02:52 PM

This program is flat out impressive. I had tried the earlier version of Standalone's reader, but didn't like it, this new version is like a PC program though. Very flexible and easy to use and the text looks amazing on my Zod.

StandAloneInc

02-24-2005, 07:10 PM

ATOM capability: This should work. Do you have a particular feed in mind? I'll take a look.

archangel: Thanks, glad you like it!

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

lekeno

02-24-2005, 08:49 PM

The auto update feature locks my TH55. Any idea ?
I think feeds are downloaded but after that it freezes and I have to soft reset the device.

I was also wondering if auto download of podcasts could be added (obviously the last podcast of each feeds, or only the one which were not downloaded before).

In Hand/Rss the already read item shows up sometimes as unread items (after update the feed). I'm not sure if QuickNews has the same problem.

Other than that, QuickNews is great.

addict

02-24-2005, 10:19 PM

ATOM capability: This should work. Do you have a particular feed in mind? I'll take a look.

archangel: Thanks, glad you like it!

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.
http://stafnes.com/blog/feed/atom.xml

Robomaniac

02-25-2005, 11:39 AM

hello,

I have Quick news on my TG-50. It does not work, I can not see any articles!
I can only see the message everytime I check a article

" The feeds has not been updates. Select "Update Feed" from the menu to download articels."

I then put my clie on my hotsync stand and press hot sync. I see little download mini window downloading things with the name of the website. I see the downlaod status bar moving fast. Everything download real fast. Then I check out my article and I get the same message!

I really want o try this awesome program! I want it! but I need to make it work first! ;)

thanks for your time!

Jerome

Robomaniac

02-25-2005, 11:40 AM

OH ,

what is the quick news conduit??

I think I need that to make it work!

:)

Let my find it!

Jerome

AndrewP

02-26-2005, 08:09 AM

The auto update feature locks my TH55. Any idea ?
I think feeds are downloaded but after that it freezes and I have to soft reset the device.

I'm having a locking problem on my TH55 as well, but it's to do with the download of enclosures, ie podcasts. If I select "Download Enclosure", the Clie just locks up completely. The first couple of times I tried the feature it worked but it doesn't anymore.

I was also wondering if auto download of podcasts could be added (obviously the last podcast of each feeds, or only the one which were not downloaded before).

I'd second that.

archangel

02-26-2005, 09:51 AM

I've had trouble downloading enclosures as well. It worked fine the first couple of times I tried it, but now it freezes up my Zodiac when I try it.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

waltzzz

03-01-2005, 01:22 AM

Great idea! I have quick notes on my Tungsten T3 - and have hotsync only at this stage. RSS working well. I have the versamail on the system that came with the system - but not really working.

I can create email from whole articles but not from links in articles.

What should my next step?

StandAloneInc

03-02-2005, 03:08 PM

I have a new version (not yet released, still in testing) that fixes a few download issues, and adds improved ATOM compatibility. If you're interested, just shoot me an email (ben@standalone.com).

Waltzzz: are you using VersaMail as your email client (selected in Quick News prefs?) You can email article links but not entire articles, is that correct?

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

ManOfAlbion

03-02-2005, 06:56 PM

Hello, new to 1src forum

Pleased with Quick News about to register Version 1.04, as any one got Agendus Mail to work with Quick News, any info appreciated.

waltzzz

03-02-2005, 09:16 PM

Thanks Ben,

> Waltzzz: are you using VersaMail as your email client
> (selected in Quick News prefs?) You can email article
> links but not entire articles, is that correct?

Yes I have VersaMail entered in QN.

I can do with whole articles but not the links. The option comes up in QN when I hold down on the link, but nothing appears in VersaMail.

I also have not been able to get VersaMail to work via Hotsync - but that is a VersaMail question - has anyone got that to work?

lekeno

03-03-2005, 07:12 PM

Hi,

More problems with enclosure (podcast). The download seems to go fine but when it's done, there is no file in the directory I have selected in the options...
If I tap play now after the download, the player can't find the file...

Any idea ?

TH55 (Japanese)
1src podcast but I guess others won't work either.
Quick News V1.04

Ben : can I try the beta and report ?

Thanks.

StandAloneInc

03-04-2005, 03:01 PM

I'm looking into the VersaMail issue. If you'd like a new beta version, please email me directly (ben@standalone.com).

Thanks!

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

Jezlyn

03-06-2005, 02:39 PM

I also would like to get the enclosure download feature working also. Does it not work if you are updating the feeds by Hotsync only? I currently don't have a WiFi card for my Zod 2, so I'm just relying on hotsync update for the feeds. It doesn't seem like there is a way to mark an enclosure to download when a hotsync is done.

I would love to use this as my RSS aggregator and podcatching client, but for now it would have to have full offline reading capability (while I haven't bought my SD WiFi card). :)

ManOfAlbion

03-09-2005, 12:16 PM

Having the same problem with enclosure downloading feature syncing using a Bluetooth access point. Download appears OK but no audio found in download directory.

(Noted incorrect date tag on the BBC news feeds, using Quick News).

Registered the program this weak.

Using every morning to check my feeds, previously used NewsGator,
with my coffee.

Zodiac2
Pocket Tunes 3.07

applejosh

03-10-2005, 02:30 PM

Does it not work if you are updating the feeds by Hotsync only? I currently don't have a WiFi card for my Zod 2, so I'm just relying on hotsync update for the feeds. It doesn't seem like there is a way to mark an enclosure to download when a hotsync is done.

I'd also like this feature, if it is possible. I just don't have the desire to get a wifi card for my T3 (OK, rather I don't have the desire to spend $120 for a wifi card for my T3). I'd probably buy this rather quickly if this was indeed possible and available.

Cheers!

waltzzz

03-10-2005, 06:42 PM

Ben, thanks for the new Beta. Unfortunatley I still have the same problem both in Versa mail and Snapper.

As a side issue to this thread... the T3 does not play all bit rates of podcasts - some just wont play on the Palm. Has anyone seen more info on this?

applejosh

03-10-2005, 08:19 PM

As a side issue to this thread... the T3 does not play all bit rates of podcasts - some just wont play on the Palm. Has anyone seen more info on this?

What are you using to play the podcasts? While I haven't tried to play any podcasts yet, I use AeroPlayer for my audio needs, and I haven't come across any non-playable bit rates yet (granted I really haven't been trying to "break" AP). I think I used the bundled RealPlayer all of about 10 seconds. (It's since been removed via JackSprat, too.)

glassman

03-10-2005, 08:50 PM

The Quicknews interface is much much nicer than the Hand/RSS interface. I don't have near the translation errors either. Nice work StandAlone!

StandAloneInc

03-16-2005, 04:03 PM

Quick News will let you download feeds during a HotSync, and does not require a 'live' internet connection on your handheld.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

djr

03-16-2005, 08:02 PM

Hi Ben,

Quick News is choking on the ipodlounge (http://www.ipodlounge.com/index.xml) rss feed. I get an instant soft reset on my Treo 650 right when Quick News is trying to import that feed.

Could you please look into it? QN is one of my most used apps :) Thanks.

QN 1.05 (registered) / Treo 650 unlocked Euro GSM

LittleBuddy

03-17-2005, 04:53 PM

I am having a problem with the bluetooth freezing up after a feed update, any suggestions.

javabird

03-17-2005, 07:58 PM

Is there any way to display it in high-res? Text looks very poor on my Clie SJ-22.

Chester

03-22-2005, 09:06 PM

Being a Hand/RSS registered user, I downloaded Quick News, but, unfortunately, it did not import my Hand/RSS feeds. Ok, I re-registered them, but it crashes the HotSync (on my iBook G4, Mac OS x 10.3.5) whenever I add The Old New Thing (http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/Rss.aspx).

Other than that, it's insanely great for offline users as me. I only would like to have an easy way to add feeds I find when sufring on the computer (a Firefox plugin to do so would be awesome).

waltzzz

03-23-2005, 01:07 AM

I am enjoying the program too. A Firefox extension would be great. I am getting only snippets of the articles. Which is fine for some feeds - but in some I'd like the full lenght - is that possible?

Stuart Bruce

03-24-2005, 05:27 AM

Quick News will let you download feeds during a HotSync, and does not require a 'live' internet connection on your handheld.

Ben Gottlieb
Stand Alone, Inc.

Ben, you say it does not require a 'live' internet connection on your handheld, but on mine it does. There appears to be no way to download the audio enclosure on a Podcast by hotsyncing. Am I missing something? Without this ability it is pretty useless.

alakritz

03-27-2005, 09:27 AM

Ben, Hand RSS user and I think QN is great. upgrade very smooth. Still have a couple of ? please. QN can not display larger size newsfeeds like nyt section feeds and desktoppipeline, you can see the rss file build and the size in files but no news items display after update. desktoppipeline used to work in the old version but not in QN. Last can you please explain the difference between feed update frequencies and autoupdate? thanks

Ambrosia

03-31-2005, 05:06 AM

Hi

I downloaded a trial of this yesterday but I can't get it to update the feeds. I checked the conduit, and I check all the feeds and update all during hotsync but nothing is updated. I'm tearing my hair out as I've read all these great reviews of the software but I can't get it to work. What am I doing wrong? I have a Tungsten T3.

David Zucker

03-31-2005, 07:15 AM

Ambrosia

03-31-2005, 08:09 AM

Choose "UPDATE ALL AT HOTSYNC" in your Palm menu (in the app.) - use the drop down menu to choose this. This will update feeds with a hot sync. It must be done while you are (PC wise) connected to the net.

To Ambrosia - Erase all feeds by choosing "REMOVE OLD" and then choose "UPDATE ALL". See if this works.
This still doesn't work.

I checked the hotsync log and it says
Starting Quick News Conduit
Begin Sync
OK Quick News

So it thinks it's updating the feeds. I've changed the frequencies to always and I've used only the default feeds. AARGH!