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Show HN: I made a chart of Google Reader alternatives with my new app

50 points by revorad 14y ago

Brian_Curliss 14y ago
Thank you! I was just searching for a Google Reader alternative.
revorad 14y ago
This is a chart I made using my new app Gini - it's a new type of collaborative spreadsheet/charting app. It's not quite ready for launch yet, but seeing all the frenzy around Google Reader, I thought what the heck, I'll at least make something useful with it and share it with you guys. It will be all collaborative soon (like Google docs), so please bear with me. There are 3 main use cases I have in mind: 1. Making and sharing useful data sets and working on them collaboratively. People use Google docs for it right now, but it's nearly impossible to find sheets unless you already know about them. Also, Gdocs looks clunky. 2. Self-tracking, especially on mobile - I've tried lots of apps and always find myself going back to a spreadsheet for its flexibility. But spreadsheet apps on mobile suck big time. So I'm fixing that. 3. Business data dashboards - There are tons of dashboard apps out there. But people still copy and paste numbers into Excel. Again - because it's flexible. So, I'm building the dashboard itself in the form of a spreadsheet. It's only a web app right now, but I'll soon be making mobile apps. If you're interested, please sign up for the mailing list and I'll let you know when it's ready for you to use.
- hamburglar 14y ago
  Checkbox attributes would be nice for building a comparison chart. Important attributes (to me): * tracks read/unread status at individual item level * keyboard-driven navigation (sadly, as far as I can tell, only Google really gets it here) * unlimited or large limit on items per feed (some only allow 10 articles, which makes it impossible to read hacker news, for example) * standalone accounts (google or facebook login not required)
  - hamburglar 14y ago
    Include whatever features you really want the winner to have, because I'm sure these guys are gonna start scrambling to compete and fill out their checkboxes real quick. :)
  - revorad 14y ago
    Thanks, I'll add those.
DanBC 14y ago
The chart looks nice and clean! Good luck when you launch. Some things to consider for the chart: 1) Include a date. That allows people who find the chart to know how up to date the chart is. 2) Include more information. Things like whether it's a standalone software (and what OSs it runs on) or a web service; what licence it uses; if there's a cost; if there are any social features (because being shown what some other people thought was great was useful.); if there are any sync features (so I can read my feed on my phone and laptop and desktop); But these are just polite suggestions! Feel free to ignore them.
- revorad 14y ago
  Thanks for the feedback, Dan. Those are both excellent points. It's only a web app right now, but I'll be releasing mobile apps shortly. I've added a few more details in my other comment.
- jbellis 14y ago
  +1, the reader table definitely needs iOS/Android app columns.
  - revorad 14y ago
    Just added Platform column. Sorry, it's really meant to be collaborative, so that anyone can make changes. I just launched it in a hurry to stop avoiding launching :-D
webwanderings 14y ago
FeedDemon is dead (died along with Google Reader). They are no longer developing. I would add RSSOwl in the desktop category. They are actively looking for synchronization alternative.
- revorad 14y ago
  Thanks! Added RSSOwl.
Mahn 14y ago
Just for the record, The Old Reader is listed as free, but according to their blog they plan to go freemium eventually.
- revorad 14y ago
  Thanks, updated.
arocks 14y ago
Apparently, a similar crowd-sourced spreadsheet was also gaining popularity on Twitter: http://t.co/omAAsMYhkB http://t.co/omAAsMYhkB
- revorad 14y ago
  Thank you. I'll add the missing ones. Crowdsourcing will be fun when my app becomes collaborative, and I won't hog all the credit for the data :-P
jrajav 14y ago
Has anyone made a Chrome extension with working desktop notifications? I've tried https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rss-alert/lemgijjifkaldmklohlmjaplmfobgich https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rss-alert/lemgijji... and https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/feed-notifier/njjncilebadhdbgkgnnbobcofhgjmipj?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/feed-notifier/njjn... , neither seem to work at all.
Blahah 14y ago
FYI, this isn't a chart. Chart's involve representing data using graphical symbols (other than a verbal description). What you've made is a table.
v33ra 14y ago
All I am seeing is a table (not a chart). Am I missing something?
- revorad 14y ago
  Sorry about the confusion. I treat tables as a first-class data visualisation type. The app will have more chart types. I'm just launching with tables right now. But even the tables will be interactive soon and display more information visually in the form of colour coding, sorting and filtering.
  - lancewiggs 14y ago
    It's an important and not trivial lesson. Your language is wrong for us, the readers, and we are far more likely to reject your site without a real attempt to engage. A chart is a chart, a table is a table. I was amongst many it seems who were discombobulated when we arrived at the site. I was wondering whether the chart was in flash or something had not loaded. And I felt very let down and negative about the table, as I was expecting some sort of x/y bubble chart, where the bubbles showed the number of users and the x/y axes showing something like usability and feature-set. Now that or similar would be a chart worth looking at.
    - revorad 14y ago
      I'm sorry you feel let down. I don't mean to mislead anyone. I'm adding features which will make it clear why I call these charts. Also, bubble charts and more are coming to the site, so thanks for a great idea for a chart!
makkes 14y ago
Don't forget selfoss, still in its infancy but looks very promising: http://selfoss.aditu.de/ http://selfoss.aditu.de/
- revorad 14y ago
  Thanks, added!
deodorel 14y ago
what I would like to see it's an aggregator with a nice ui, like the oldreader, but also with a nice api so we could have all the ecosystem we have right now around google reader. i'am searching and I didn't found one yet :(
hnriot 14y ago
I clicked through and was puzzled!! This is in no shape or form a chart??? It's a table. You need to have a graphical element for this to be considered a chart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart
cheshire137 14y ago
Hm, I'm not seeing any chart like I would expect, e.g. a bar chart or line chart. I see a table filled with text. Did something fail to load? I tried reloading a couple times.
- niggler 14y ago
  Lists can be charts too, as used in accounting "Chart of Accounts" and in medicine
helloamar 14y ago
Isn't Reeder totally dependent on Google reader?
- revorad 14y ago
  They tweeted saying "Don't worry, Reeder won't die with Google Reader." https://twitter.com/reederapp/status/311995748482945025 https://twitter.com/reederapp/status/311995748482945025
vijayboyapati 14y ago
Can someone explain to me why no one is doing a direct, pixel for pixel clone of Google Reader? I mean, the thing is popular enough that any startup would die for its traffic. Not to mention its users absolutely love it. As Paul Bucheit said, it's better to have a small number of users who love your product than a large number that like it. And well, Greader has a large number of users who love it. So why not do a blatant clone as a f* you to Google for nuking a product that its users are absolutely devoted to.

50 points by revorad 14y ago

Thank you! I was just searching for a Google Reader alternative.

This is a chart I made using my new app Gini - it's a new type of collaborative spreadsheet/charting app. It's not quite ready for launch yet, but seeing all the frenzy around Google Reader, I thought what the heck, I'll at least make something useful with it and share it with you guys. It will be all collaborative soon (like Google docs), so please bear with me. There are 3 main use cases I have in mind: 1. Making and sharing useful data sets and working on them collaboratively. People use Google docs for it right now, but it's nearly impossible to find sheets unless you already know about them. Also, Gdocs looks clunky. 2. Self-tracking, especially on mobile - I've tried lots of apps and always find myself going back to a spreadsheet for its flexibility. But spreadsheet apps on mobile suck big time. So I'm fixing that. 3. Business data dashboards - There are tons of dashboard apps out there. But people still copy and paste numbers into Excel. Again - because it's flexible. So, I'm building the dashboard itself in the form of a spreadsheet. It's only a web app right now, but I'll soon be making mobile apps. If you're interested, please sign up for the mailing list and I'll let you know when it's ready for you to use.

hamburglar 14y ago
Checkbox attributes would be nice for building a comparison chart. Important attributes (to me): * tracks read/unread status at individual item level * keyboard-driven navigation (sadly, as far as I can tell, only Google really gets it here) * unlimited or large limit on items per feed (some only allow 10 articles, which makes it impossible to read hacker news, for example) * standalone accounts (google or facebook login not required)
- hamburglar 14y ago
  Include whatever features you really want the winner to have, because I'm sure these guys are gonna start scrambling to compete and fill out their checkboxes real quick. :)
- revorad 14y ago
  Thanks, I'll add those.

DanBC 14y ago

The chart looks nice and clean! Good luck when you launch. Some things to consider for the chart: 1) Include a date. That allows people who find the chart to know how up to date the chart is. 2) Include more information. Things like whether it's a standalone software (and what OSs it runs on) or a web service; what licence it uses; if there's a cost; if there are any social features (because being shown what some other people thought was great was useful.); if there are any sync features (so I can read my feed on my phone and laptop and desktop); But these are just polite suggestions! Feel free to ignore them.

revorad 14y ago
Thanks for the feedback, Dan. Those are both excellent points. It's only a web app right now, but I'll be releasing mobile apps shortly. I've added a few more details in my other comment.
jbellis 14y ago
+1, the reader table definitely needs iOS/Android app columns.
- revorad 14y ago
  Just added Platform column. Sorry, it's really meant to be collaborative, so that anyone can make changes. I just launched it in a hurry to stop avoiding launching :-D

webwanderings 14y ago

FeedDemon is dead (died along with Google Reader). They are no longer developing. I would add RSSOwl in the desktop category. They are actively looking for synchronization alternative.

revorad 14y ago
Thanks! Added RSSOwl.

Mahn 14y ago

Just for the record, The Old Reader is listed as free, but according to their blog they plan to go freemium eventually.

revorad 14y ago
Thanks, updated.

arocks 14y ago

Apparently, a similar crowd-sourced spreadsheet was also gaining popularity on Twitter: http://t.co/omAAsMYhkB http://t.co/omAAsMYhkB

revorad 14y ago
Thank you. I'll add the missing ones. Crowdsourcing will be fun when my app becomes collaborative, and I won't hog all the credit for the data :-P

jrajav 14y ago

Has anyone made a Chrome extension with working desktop notifications? I've tried https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rss-alert/lemgijjifkaldmklohlmjaplmfobgich https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rss-alert/lemgijji... and https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/feed-notifier/njjncilebadhdbgkgnnbobcofhgjmipj?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/feed-notifier/njjn... , neither seem to work at all.

Blahah 14y ago

FYI, this isn't a chart. Chart's involve representing data using graphical symbols (other than a verbal description). What you've made is a table.

v33ra 14y ago

All I am seeing is a table (not a chart). Am I missing something?

revorad 14y ago
Sorry about the confusion. I treat tables as a first-class data visualisation type. The app will have more chart types. I'm just launching with tables right now. But even the tables will be interactive soon and display more information visually in the form of colour coding, sorting and filtering.
- lancewiggs 14y ago
  It's an important and not trivial lesson. Your language is wrong for us, the readers, and we are far more likely to reject your site without a real attempt to engage. A chart is a chart, a table is a table. I was amongst many it seems who were discombobulated when we arrived at the site. I was wondering whether the chart was in flash or something had not loaded. And I felt very let down and negative about the table, as I was expecting some sort of x/y bubble chart, where the bubbles showed the number of users and the x/y axes showing something like usability and feature-set. Now that or similar would be a chart worth looking at.
  - revorad 14y ago
    I'm sorry you feel let down. I don't mean to mislead anyone. I'm adding features which will make it clear why I call these charts. Also, bubble charts and more are coming to the site, so thanks for a great idea for a chart!

makkes 14y ago

Don't forget selfoss, still in its infancy but looks very promising: http://selfoss.aditu.de/ http://selfoss.aditu.de/

revorad 14y ago
Thanks, added!

deodorel 14y ago

what I would like to see it's an aggregator with a nice ui, like the oldreader, but also with a nice api so we could have all the ecosystem we have right now around google reader. i'am searching and I didn't found one yet :(

hnriot 14y ago

I clicked through and was puzzled!! This is in no shape or form a chart??? It's a table. You need to have a graphical element for this to be considered a chart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart

cheshire137 14y ago

Hm, I'm not seeing any chart like I would expect, e.g. a bar chart or line chart. I see a table filled with text. Did something fail to load? I tried reloading a couple times.

niggler 14y ago
Lists can be charts too, as used in accounting "Chart of Accounts" and in medicine

helloamar 14y ago

Isn't Reeder totally dependent on Google reader?

revorad 14y ago
They tweeted saying "Don't worry, Reeder won't die with Google Reader." https://twitter.com/reederapp/status/311995748482945025 https://twitter.com/reederapp/status/311995748482945025

vijayboyapati 14y ago

Can someone explain to me why no one is doing a direct, pixel for pixel clone of Google Reader? I mean, the thing is popular enough that any startup would die for its traffic. Not to mention its users absolutely love it. As Paul Bucheit said, it's better to have a small number of users who love your product than a large number that like it. And well, Greader has a large number of users who love it. So why not do a blatant clone as a f* you to Google for nuking a product that its users are absolutely devoted to.