Well it looks as though all may not be lost with the shutdown of Google Reader, if this new open source replacement service is anything to go by. CommaFeed.com offers the same kind of simple, easy to use interface as the soon to by gone Google service, but without all the branding fluff.
The key thing is you can instantly import all of your Google Reader feeds and content with just one click, which means that switching over is a breeze. If you’ve got a large list it may take a few minutes for it all to come over though, so you’ll have to be patient.
We also noticed that there’s still a few glitchy patches in the operation of the tool, which we’re going to put down to teething problems and server issues. The fact that it’s open source means that anyone can take the code and improve on it, or indeed fork it and start their own RSS reader service, which should offer more security for online RSS feed services in the future. The main thing the developers will need to do though, is ensure that they have enough server power to cope with a lot of users flooding to their system in July when Reader shuts down.
For now though, this is a very nice implementation of a free RSS service and if you’ve been wondering what to do about your Google Reader account in the summer, this could be a great chance to experiment and see if you like the change. It’s very early days yet for this tool, so we imagine the developers will continue adding features to it to bring it up to full comparative spec with Reader in time. Well worth bookmarking.
Looks so close! The demo doesn’t seem like it supports expanding all the posts at once and showing pictures, but hopefully it’ll get added some day!
Yes, it looks like they’re going to roll out features as they go. It’s definitely a nice clean implementation though, eh? :)
I’ll add it on my to do list, It’s something people have been requesting a few times.
Any sign of a synchronized mobile app (android/ios) for CommaFeed? That was what really drew me to Feedly.
I think it’s still too early to predict the roll out of features (we’re talking less than a week from what I can tell). But it looks as though the developers are very responsive, and the fact that it’s open source suggests that progress should be fairly rapid if they get good support.
Short answer, I have no idea. :) But I would be surprised if it wasn’t on someone’s roadmap in there.
I’m focusing on the web application right now but it’s definitely something I’ll work on. Probably Android first though as I don’t have an iPhone :D
Thanks for the article, I’m glad you like it. Feel free to create issues on Github to suggest ideas and features !
That’s great of you to come and comment directly, and proves what I’ve been saying that you’re responsive. I suspect it’s going to get popular fast. Good luck! :)
PS One issue I’d like to add to the list is more support for keyboard navigation (e.g. more up/down/side arrow support for moving between panels and scrolling up and down the list).
I used it a few times but the next day when trying to login they give me a sign that either my username is wrong or my password, but since I wrote the info down its not that.
So now to their “support page,help,etc”. There is none?
There is no way also on their login page to retrieve a forgotten password.
Moshe, they have an ‘Issues’ page on Github, which they’re using for support questions. It’s here – https://github.com/Athou/commafeed/issues .
Try that and see how you get on. I’m impressed by how much progress they’ve made on the project in just a few weeks actually.
Best Regards,
Nigel P.