Feedly launches cloud platform and new web interface ahead of Google Reader shutdown

Feedly launches cloud platform and new web interface ahead of Google Reader shutdown

The eventual demise of Google Reader gave existing services like Feedly an opportunity to land hundreds of thousands of new users, but the sudden gain of popularity demands an infrastructure that can handle the load. By opening its APIs to the masses today, Feedly says it's officially making the transition "from a product to a platform," supplying developers and RSS users alike with a painless migration path from Google's soon-to-be deceased reader. To go along with that, the company also announced a novel version of Feedly on the web, one which doesn't require any extensions or plugins and is accessible via browsers such as Internet Explorer and Opera.

As the image above shows, the freshly minted cloud platform already offers support for a slew of third-party applications, and Feedly says numerous other devs are currently working on their own for the near future. Now, if you didn't think Mountain View's recent spring cleaning could have a huge influence in such a short span of time, hear this: Feedly's touting that its user base has more than tripled since the announcement, making the jump from 4 to 12 million through the end of last month. Only time will tell if Feedly ends up being a worthy Reader replacement, so perhaps now would be the perfect instance to start deciding whether or not this will be the proper solution to all your RSS needs.

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Source: Feedly

Digg’s Google Reader replacement beta opens on June 26th, friends and family get access on the 19th

Digg's Google Reader replacement beta access opens on June 25th, friends and family on the 19th

Digg -- yes, that Digg -- has a replacement in the works for Google Reader, and it looks like it'll arrive just ahead of the final days of Google's RSS aggregation service. The service, which uses the same API as Reader, is planning a public beta starting on June 26th; a "friends and family" beta will open this Wednesday, the 19th, with limited access.

During beta, the Digg RSS reader is free. In a survey Digg published last month on its blog, however, the company found that over 40 percent of respondents are "willing to pay for a Google Reader replacement." The company noted alongside the finding that, "Free products on the Internet don't have a great track record. They tend to disappear, leaving users in a lurch. We need to build a product that people can rely on and trust will always be there for them. We're not sure how pricing might work, but we do know that we'd like our users to be our customers, not our product."

That said, Digg's latest blog post seemingly assuages our worry. "We mentioned in a prior post that Digg Reader will ultimately be a 'freemium' product," the post reads. "But we're not going to bait-and-switch. All of the features introduced next week, as well as many others yet to come, will be part of the free experience." Those features include the standard RSS reader experience, "easy migration and onboarding from Google Reader," "useful mobile apps that sync with the web experience" (there's an iOS one pictured, and Android is promised in the 60 days post-launch) and "support for ... subscribing, sharing, saving and organizing."

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Source: Digg Blog

Feedly Mobile revamp caters to Reader escapees with fast search, Must Reads

Feedly Mobile revamp caters to Reader escapees with new search, mustreads

The phaseout of Google Reader is quickly becoming a boon for developers still carrying the torch for newsreader apps -- just ask Feedly, which now says it took on 3 million new users in the two weeks since Google's decision. Rather than simply wait for more customers to roll in on their own, though, the company is taking matters into its own hands with a major refresh of Feedly Mobile for Android and iOS. The update brings a reworked search engine that's both extra-quick and makes topic suggestions based on the collective subscriptions of the Feedly user base, getting better as more readers join the ranks. Other updates also serve those who want to keep things moving quickly. A new Must Reads section prioritizes feeds, a title-only view maximizes screen space and an updated sharing panel both allows a customizable shortcut as well as (slightly ironic) sharing to Google+. Once you've gotten over the sting of another Google spring cleaning, Feedly's potential solutions await at the source links.

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Source: App Store, Google Play, Feedly

The Weekly Roundup for 03.11.2013

The Weekly Roundup for 12032012

You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Feedly picks up over 500,000 Google Reader defectors

DNP 500,000 Google Reader users defect to Feedly

It looks like Feedly's promises of a "seamless transition" worked. The newsfeed service recently reported that more than 500,000 Google Reader users have joined its ranks following the announcement that the popular aggregator will close this summer. It multiplied its bandwidth ten times over, added new servers to cope with the sudden influx and hopes to keep the service up as much as possible as more users pour in. In an effort to keep its new clientele happy, Feedly has promised to listen to suggestions and add new features on a weekly basis as well. But if it doesn't, don't worry; we suspect there'll be many more alternatives pitching for your RSS feeds over the coming weeks.

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Via: SlashGear

Source: Feedly Blog

Digg to build a Google Reader replacement with same API, new features

The news of Google Reader's upcoming demise has put the spotlight on several alternatives that RSS fans can only hope will fill the gap. The latest to vie for our attention doesn't even exist yet: Digg just announced that it will be creating a reader of its own. According to its blog, the aggregation service was apparently already planning to build such a reader, but upon hearing that Google's version will bite the dust, the company is kicking into gear to develop a suitable replacement. Digg's reader will maintain what it calls the best of Google Reader's features, including its API, while incorporating changes that reflect the relevance of social networks and other popular Internet communities.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Digg Blog

The Daily Roundup for 03.14.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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The outrage and sadness of Google Reader’s demise

DNP Editorial The many outrages of Google Reader's demise

Pope Who?

White smoke over the Vatican doesn't stand a chance as a trending topic next to the black cloud over one of Google's most beloved products. Google Reader has landed on the company's sunset list, and will wink out of existence on July 1. Problem is, Reader is not as widely beloved as its most fervid users assume. And speaking of trending topics, the extinction of Reader signifies the mainstream rejection of RSS as a hands-on tool for organizing a living library of real-time information flow. It has been eclipsed by social content discovery. As Brian Alvey, chief scientist of Ceros and creator of Blogsmith (Engadget's publishing platform) noted, "Dear RSS: @Twitter won."

More broadly speaking, Reader's ultimate fail is the latest major rebalancing of the internet's legacy symmetry of "push" and "pull."

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Feedly promises ‘seamless’ transition after Google Reader to its own backend

Feedly RSS service promises 'seamless' transition after Google Reader to its own backend

If you (like many of us at Engadget) are in a state of shock facing the end of Google Reader this summer, there may be an easy replacement. RSS app/service Feedly posts on its blog that it has been anticipating the shutdown of Google's service for some time, and invested in building its own backend. Dubbed "Normandy" it is intended to be a clone of the Google API running on Google's own App Engine, set to swap in on July 1st when the service ends. Even better, in the comments Feedly states it will open the API for other 3rd party clients once everything is stable. The only bad news? If you're considering jumping onboard you're not the only one -- Feedly's servers are pretty crushed right now, so you know, just test the waters out some time in the next few months.

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Source: Feedly Blog

Google Reader to shut down with other services in another ‘spring cleaning’

Google Reader to shut down with other services in another 'spring cleaning'

Last spring, Page and Co. retired iGoogle, Google Mini and other services as part of a 'spring cleaning' initiative to help it better focus its efforts, and another clean-up round has just begun. This time around, Google Reader and seven other services are getting the axe, bringing the firm's total of features closed since 2011 to 70. Mountain View says it's sunsetting the feed reader because it has "declined," and that turning it off will allow it to pour its energy into fewer products. Reader will keep the lights on until July 1st, and diehard users will be able to keep their data and subscriptions by using the outfit's Takeout tool.

Other products being put out to pasture include the company's Building Maker, Cloud Connect, Apps Script's GUI builder and five UiApp widgets, Search API for shopping and the CalDAV API (for developers who aren't whitelisted, that is). The internet giant also announced -- and confirmed our fears -- that it'll no longer sell or provide updates for Snapseed Desktop for Mac and Windows. Blackberry's Google Voice app is being shelved as well, but the company suggests its HTML 5 experience is a nice alternative. By the sounds of it, CEO Larry Page is still making good on his promise to keep Google focused on fewer things. Hit the bordering source links for more details.

Update: Apps Script is sticking around, but its GUI Builder and a quintet of UiApp widgets are being deprecated.

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Source: Google Blog, Google Reader Blog