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Feed readers are dead. Not at all feeds themselves, but the process of using a reader like mail to pull in feeds to a desktop app is going out the window. When

Feed readers are dead. Not at all feeds themselves, but the process of using a reader like mail to pull in feeds to a desktop app is going out the window. When consumers buy products, they should be able to look into the future. If you choose technology that is a bit behind the times, understand that you should be careful before upgrading, as old features are often cut from Apple products. This happened in every industry, not just the computer industry. The problem here is that the computer industry abandons old features at a MUCH faster rate than other industries, but for good reason.

Udo 14y ago
> Feed readers are dead. At least as far as standalone desktop apps are concerned, I think you're right. I can't even remember a time when I was not using Google Reader. I do hope RSS-fed reading in general is not going extinct though.
- AndrewDucker 14y ago
  As I got to this page via FeedDemon I think "dead" is an exaggeration. Sprained seems reasonable though :->
reustle 14y ago
This isn't as much about abandoning features as it is deleting content. It would have been great to say "Hey, we're about to delete all of your feeds, would you like to export them?".
Nerdfest 14y ago
most industries have some thought for their customers, and are not so dictatorial. They will at least give some advance warning of feature removal. Feed readers are far from dead, and I find there are more people than ever using them, mainly through Google Reader. as there are huge advantages to having globally maintained read/unread content.
Wilya 14y ago
That's a pretty gratuitous assumption that you're making. And I don't see what the "good reason" is. Let's face it, they just dropped a feature that people were using, without clear upgrade path. Few people were using it ? Maybe. That doesn't make it a good decision, only (at best) a sad but necessary compromise. Frankly, a feed reader that is already there, and works, needs next to zero maintenance. It's not like RSS format changes everyday.
- mullr 14y ago
  But a feed reader inside another program that IS changing does indeed require maintenance. Even just testing to make sure it still works isn't free. It also adds complexity to the user interface.
  - sonnenkiste 14y ago
    To remove something is ok. But you should clearly inform the user and give him the possibility to easy get his data back and really cool would be to provide a solution for the now existing problem. Maybe to point him to an App Download. Just dropping a feature without any response is bad practice.
  - prodigal_erik 14y ago
    If they didn't test it, it might have broken. That outcome is still better than what happened, where they ensured it became completely unusable.
sp332 14y ago
You know what still has RSS feed support? Windows Live Mail, the free MS email client. I don't think feeds will be dead anytime soon.

Udo 14y ago

> Feed readers are dead. At least as far as standalone desktop apps are concerned, I think you're right. I can't even remember a time when I was not using Google Reader. I do hope RSS-fed reading in general is not going extinct though.

AndrewDucker 14y ago
As I got to this page via FeedDemon I think "dead" is an exaggeration. Sprained seems reasonable though :->

reustle 14y ago

This isn't as much about abandoning features as it is deleting content. It would have been great to say "Hey, we're about to delete all of your feeds, would you like to export them?".

Nerdfest 14y ago

most industries have some thought for their customers, and are not so dictatorial. They will at least give some advance warning of feature removal. Feed readers are far from dead, and I find there are more people than ever using them, mainly through Google Reader. as there are huge advantages to having globally maintained read/unread content.

Wilya 14y ago

That's a pretty gratuitous assumption that you're making. And I don't see what the "good reason" is. Let's face it, they just dropped a feature that people were using, without clear upgrade path. Few people were using it ? Maybe. That doesn't make it a good decision, only (at best) a sad but necessary compromise. Frankly, a feed reader that is already there, and works, needs next to zero maintenance. It's not like RSS format changes everyday.

mullr 14y ago
But a feed reader inside another program that IS changing does indeed require maintenance. Even just testing to make sure it still works isn't free. It also adds complexity to the user interface.
- sonnenkiste 14y ago
  To remove something is ok. But you should clearly inform the user and give him the possibility to easy get his data back and really cool would be to provide a solution for the now existing problem. Maybe to point him to an App Download. Just dropping a feature without any response is bad practice.
- prodigal_erik 14y ago
  If they didn't test it, it might have broken. That outcome is still better than what happened, where they ensured it became completely unusable.

sp332 14y ago

You know what still has RSS feed support? Windows Live Mail, the free MS email client. I don't think feeds will be dead anytime soon.