Following the demise of Google Reader, I was in the search for a RSS reader. I settled on FeedBin, which is quite nice (definitely worth paying for). It works beautifully with Reeder 2, but having acquired DEVONthink Pro office with its built-in function of RSS, I’ve moved all my feeds activity to DT.
I have one database that just acts as a dedicated RSS feed repository.
One suggestion would be to have a separate app that can allow you to easily skim through each feed (modelled after Reeder 2, for example).
That’d be truly fantastic. Right now I can only read my feeds on OS X, and I anticipate that it’d be rather inconvenient to read RSS feeds in DTG 2 for iOS, so a dedicated RSS feed reading app would be nice.
I agree and am also a prior Google Reader user. Here are a couple alternative suggestions:
Rather than a separate DT RSS reader app, maybe a compatibility layer for an existing reader app to read hosted DT RSS feeds. That would give all features of a separate app, and still allow DT to update as feed are refreshed and read.
The current mobile interface for the desktop client allows you to read RSS feeds. It needs A LOT of work but the potential is there for a mobile RSS reader (and so much more…)
RSS reading is only supported by DEVONthink Pro Office, which is an even smaller group of an already small group of DEVONthink users.
Reeder 2 for iOS took ages and one of the arguments put forward by the developer for not making it a free update was that integrating in new protocols took developer time.
In light of costs, time and effectiveness, the argument for supporting DEVONthink is very slim.
Syncing as well – how would that work? Over WiFi or a central Internet repository (in which case, you might as well use Feedbin or Feedly).
Mobile reading experience:
Having a dedicated app for feed-reading would be far more efficient (bandwidth, just syncing RSS feeds as opposed to the entire database) and also reduce complexity.
It would also mean that the app is tailored towards RSS reading exclusively, which entails features just useful for RSS, and an interface just for RSS reading (high data density, big arrows at the side for moving through feeds, …).
Rather than Devontech be sidetracked by non-core business, why not use the ecosystem of apps that is already out there? I use Readkit on OS X, Mr Reader on iPad and Reeder on iPhone, all hooked into a Feedwrangler account. I send articles I want to read or keep to Pocket, and then use IFTTT to create a single RSS feed of items in Pocket that automatically appears in Devonthink.
Sounds complicated in the writing, but it’s pretty straightforward to set up. This way, you get the best RSS experience on each platform, and only the articles you need to read/clip in Devonthink.
A slightly wider user base, but nevertheless not statistically significant enough (sorry, but it’s true – as much as I like DTPO myself there’s not enough people on a significant scale to warrant an increased interest in iOS RSS feed app developers).
Hardly sidetracking. RSS feed reading is one of the capabilities in DTPO and DTP. Having a separate mobile app for feed reading would be analogous to having an iOS app to display the database itself.
Workflow sounds too complicated. Average user wouldn’t want to craft such a ridiculously complicated workflow (nor would they think about it) just to have RSS feed reading capability sync with iPhone.
On the other hand, an app in the App Store (most likely created by DEVONtechnologies, due to a lack of material incentive from app developers as explained above in this post, and also the other post) would lead to use by users.
I struggle with RSS. It seems on the decline these days. Many people consume news feeds using Twitter apps these days. /shrug
Anyway, assuming an RSS feed reader is valuable to any subset of users, the best approach is for DTTG to support iOS8/Yosemite share extensions. This way, they can clip content from ANY app app. Feed reader, social networking app like twitter for facebook, email, browser, whatever.
If I were running DEVONtech, I would not invest a penny in an RSS readers at this point.