February 2012
2 posts
On Comics, Sandman, Reading →
Working on Readefine 2.5
I’ll admit, I’ve been reorganizing code too much rather than working on features. The problem is, Readefine has to be easily maintainable even more so due to its origin as a prototype.
However, I’ve made considerable progress. Readefine 2.5 has facebook support, faster RSS parsing (roughly 1.5x faster), support for media tags (so guardian feeds now have thumbnails) and lastly...
January 2012
1 post
Media Tags in RSS
Ah, I can’t believe I overlooked this. Guardian puts image thumbnails in a media tag; Readefine now parses it correctly. Feeds look so much better with at least one image per article.
November 2011
1 post
2 tags
Coming Soon: Facebook, Traditional RSS Support
The next Readefine update will support Facebook status updates (and the new timeline stuff if timeline launches by then). Lot of love is being directed towards the non-google Reader guys, because honestly, pure RSS feeds workflow needs attention.
I’ve been going through the blog posts of Nick Bradbury, who blogs a lot about his experiences creating FeedDemon, a popular RSS reader. It was...
September 2011
2 posts
A Traditional RSS Client versus Google Reader
Looking at the alternatives in CNET’s Newsreaders & RSS Readers category, I see a lot of traditional RSS readers. By traditional, I mean that they allow users to add RSS feeds and check for new articles. The downside to this is that if you don’t check often enough, you end up missing articles because most feeds have a fixed size.
Aggregators like Google Reader and Bloglines work...
August 2011
10 posts
Readefine 2.42 to 2.43 - Some bugs squashed
This is a bug-fix only release. The bugs fixed:
2.43: Fixed iframe embed sizing issue.
Unread count shown in feed doesn’t match number of articles.
Space key breaks “Previous page” button in Magazine layout.
IFrames now appear inline so that more youtube embeds work.
Space key when no articles present clears the no article message.
There is one behaviour change:
If you use...
Readefine 2.4 - Share with note, Following Feed
Version 2.4 adds support for two popular requests - the “Share with note” functionality and the “Following” feed.
The “Following” feed will appear when any person you follow in Google Reader shares and article or note. This will be aggregation of posts from your friends, rather than articles from a single person.
A minor tweak to article title when only...
Readefine 2.3: Folders and much more
Readefine 2.3 is all about smoothing out various flaws in Readefine.
Collapsible folders! (Much awaited):
Second, a keyboard shortcut (Enter) to jump to next feed when current feed runs out of articles (along with “View All Articles” to see read articles):
Third: Starred articles. Finally.
Added two new settings options: one to control the number of articles shown (helps...
3 tags
Details on the critical bug fix to Readefine 2.1
Well, this is embarrassing. In 2.1, I broke “Classic” layout when viewing Google Reader feeds. So much for shipping out updates on a Sunday. My wife warned me not to do so, should have listened to her.
I also fixed the bug due to which people complained they were stuck in “About”. The “Go” button wouldn’t work if you view Google reader articles, switch to...
1 tag
Brought Back to Book
Readefine was mentioned in the Life section of a Thai English newspaper - Bangkok Post:
Readefine converts the boring and ultimately offputting PageDown-read, PageDown-read, PageDown-read way of getting information from the web into a much more pleasing and natural way, more like a magazine
This is the second newspaper to cover Readefine, after Canada’s “The Globe and the...
Top rated on Adobe AIR Marketplace
On the Adobe AIR Marketplace, Readefine has been constantly on the top rated apps list.
Adobe AIR Marketplace is closing its doors on August 31. I only have this to say: thanks for the exposure, we’re sad to see you go.
1 tag
New version with Twitter, Read It Later support
Readefine 2.1 has Twitter and Read It Later integration:
A new setting pane has been introduced. This lets you sign out of third party services and also lets you configure if you want the feed items shown in the top, left edges to change to articles when viewing the full article in Magazine layout.
Readefine has a new icon thanks to Rick Vargo, an enthusiastic Readefine user who...
1 tag
Initial Feedback from Readefine 2.0
Most requested feature: sharing via twitter, ReadItLater, mail and facebook.
The one I’m personally interested in implementing apart from the above:
1. When an article is chosen in Magazine layout, the top and left banners should not change. I find the sudden switch from Feeds to articles jarring. The main reason it was done that way was to have a hybrid experience when viewing a single...
Why was Readefine written?
I spend a lot of time reading on the web. Somehow, I miss the lack of typesetting and pagination especially when the article is captivating as well as long. Scrolling long text feels very artificial and breaks my flow. This is my attempt at making reading content on screen more beautiful.
This is great for reading one article. I can go page by page (using keyboard or mouse) and tweak settings...
1 tag
