The NewsRoom Blog

BBC Discontinues Full Feed - No Problem!

2011-07-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have noticed the BBC World feed which used to be a full article feed produced by BBC News has been discontinued by BBC themselves. However, this is where the power of NewsRoom can shine. We've removed the old BBC feed in favor of a new feed which is deep harvested by NewsRoom. Just head on over to the featured list to gobble up the new feed and go back to full articles on your phone :)

5,000!

2011-07-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we added 2,500 more sites to our deep harvester. That now doubles the number of sites previously being deep harvested. That's 5,000 feeds that normally would just be one or two sentences in your run-of-the-mill RSS reader that are expanded into full articles on NewsRoom!

Big thanks to Amazon Web Services for continually lowering their service fees. When they pass savings along to us, it pleases us to pass them along to you. Enjoy!

More Deep Harvesting!

2011-05-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, one of the claims to fame for NewsRoom is its ability to take boring RSS feeds and turn them into full blown articles complete with images. While this doesn't work for every site out there on the internet, it works remarkably well for a huge number of them. We've been fine tuning how we do deep harvesting over the past several months and I'm pretty pleased with the improvements we've been making.

Today, I'm pleased to announce that we've more than doubled the number of sites we are deep harvesting. This was just flipped over moments ago, so it will only affect newly published data. Also this mostly applies to the most common websites. The less popular blogs you might follow might not be seing the deep harvesting love. However, we've got a plan in the works to make it possible for you to request deep harvesting for any feed right from your phone.

We've also been adding features to the server software to help track the status of any feed inside NewsRoom. Soon, you will be able to check the harvest history, see if the feed has publishing errors, or check on the deep harvesting status for that feed.

Service Restored

2011-04-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

NewsRoom is back up and running. The service outage unfortunately had nothing to do with us and there was nothing we could do to repair it other than wait until connectivity to our machines were restored by Amazon.

Full service for all of Amazon Web Services has not been restored hoever, but they finally got arouund to the nodes that we depend on so we've been able to restore service to our customers.

We've got through great pains to make our server software faul tolerant so uits very frustrating when network servi es we depend on fail out from under us. The good news is that NewsRoom was designed to recover from these sorts of failures gracefully.

Of course, even though the last 24 hours were completely out of our hands, NewsRoom is getting slammed in the product reviews in the relevant markets. It would help us out tremendously (and also maintain our faith in our users' support) if you could chime in that it was an Amazon issue, not a NewsRoom issue and that we stand by the quality of our product that would be super awesome.

Thanks so much for your understanding,

Eric

AWS servers down, NewsRoom update

2011-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hey all, just a quick heads up in case you haven't heard. Amazon Web Services started melting around 1am PDT and NewsRoom has been down ever since. We've been monitoring the situation but unfortunately there is nothing we can do to help things along.

We will post updates on our twitter @trileet as we hear 'em.

Android v2.0.3 - Background updates fixed

2011-04-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

If you've been having trouble with background updates for NewsRoom on your Android phone, drop by the Android Market and update to version 2.0.3. Our users notified us of a background update issue introduced in version 2.0.2 and after some research we were able to get it sorted.

Thanks a bunch for bringing it to our attention and you should rest assured that we remain committed in providing the best news experience for your phone.

Note: It would appear some folks in the Android Market reviews have suggested that this feature was intentionally disabled. This couldn't be further from the truth. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if you dropped by the Market to mention that this important feature has been fixed and that we stand by the product, provide world class support, are devilishly handsome, etc. We've got some of the best users out there and I thank you all for your support so we can continue to make the product better.

Scheduled Maintenance Complete

2011-03-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, our scheduled maintenance is complete. If it feels like there was no downtime, it's because there wasn't! We were able to do our upgrades and ensure data integrity with no interruption in service. If we need to make additional changes, this is where we will post it so you will be the first to know.

Thanks, and we hope you continue to enjoy using NewsRoom!

Scheduled Maitenance

2011-03-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick heads up to let you know that we will be performing some hardware upgrades tomorrow night. The upgrade process will begin Thursday March 31st at 1am EDT. At that time the server will be taken down to ensure data integrity is maintained throughout the upgrade. We expect the update to take less than 30 minutes but we will post updates on our blog.

Thanks for your understanding and continued support.

Help us out

2011-03-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

One easy way you can help us out is by posting a positive review for NewsRoom in the Android Market. I know a lot of you have enjoyed our service over the years, and now would be a good time to share it. As we work through this process to enable deep harvesting on the most popular feeds, some folks undoubtedly will misunderstand what we are doing. We are not at all trying to cripple the service but this first step in the process is a pretty unpopular one.

If people post enough misguided negativity then that is bad news for everyone as we work to make sure this service supports itself.

Anyways, we are calling on our friends of NewsRoom to help us out by showing their love in the market reviews. Please only do so if you appreciate what we are trying to do. We only want you to show the love if it's authentic :)

1000 more feeds going deep today

2011-03-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

After close analysis, we've hiked the number of feeds that are deep harvested. You should see the changes in the coming hours as new content is published for the thousand new feeds added to the list. If your favorite site didn't make the cut, you can request it over at our support site.

Enable Deep Harvesting

2011-03-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Have a feed you want to have deep harvested instead of that janky RSS feed? Head on over to our support site to vote on which sites you would like added.

Small policy change

2011-03-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, so recently some of you may have noticed some feeds may only show the content from rss feeds instead of being deep harvested by our servers. Our servers in many cases also augmented the articles with images where they were lacking in the feed itself. This does a pretty good job of showing just how well that service works. ;)

So why did that change? While it did coincide with the new Android 2.0.2 version, it is actually unrelated to that. You see, recently we crossed a milestone with NewsRoom. Unfortunately it isn't a spectacularly wonderful one. Our overhead to run the service actually exceeded the monthly sales last month. So in effect, we are now paying to build and maintain NewsRoom. Right now we are only losing hundreds each month, so we aren't panicking yet. However, it's not a good situation for you, our users. And it's certainly worse for us.

We've got a lot invested in the product, and it has always been a labor of love. We would hate to terminate the service for many reasons (not the least of which having to go back to a vanilla rss reader that only pulls in limited content). However we are having to rethink how we move forward with the service in order to increase revenue to make it a viable product going forward. We've got some ideas we are chewing on but realize that our next decision with this is critical. To make matters worse instead of paying the bills, this whole endeavor is now a bill itself. Which means we have far less time to devote to it since we need to eat. Until we have that answer, we needed to make some changes as a stopgap to get our costs down so that our hand is not forced into shutting things off completely. We care too much about our users to just suddenly do that -- even if it is literally taking money out of our pockets to keep it rolling.

So, we've basically instituted a policy change. Content extraction still works at it always has, however, it is limited to only the most popular feeds amongst all of our subscribers. See for example CNN and Yahoo Top Stories. So if it's not working on a particular feed for you where it used to, it's because other NewsRoom users aren't subscribing to that feed. I know that sucks, but we feel it still makes for a very compelling product for the vast majority of use cases. I'll report back over the next month or so as the results of this change bear out in our overhead costs.

We do have the ability to flip deep harvesting back on, on demand. We could also increase the number of the most popular feeds to be included for deep harvesting. However, I don't really want to go down that path until we have some kind of baseline for this new change. Another thing you might consider is adding your feed through http://www.wizardrss.com before adding it to NewsRoom if there is a feed that you just can't live without content expansion.

Stay tuned.

NewsRoom for Android v2.0.2

2011-03-15T03:03:00.000-07:00

There is a new version of NewsRoom in the Android Market. Even though you are unlikely to notice anything feature-wise, it is a recommended update for all users. With this version you will have changes that should help with stability and more importantly battery life.

Expiration Problems?

2011-03-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Some folks are having issues with their license keys since the Android 2.0 update. This does not affect those that purchased NewsRoom through the Android Market.

There's a fix in the Android Market (v2.0.1) which should address this.

Server Improvements

2011-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I've updated you all on what's going on on the server side of things. Even if you don't see updates to the client on your phone, don't think for a second we are putting a lot of effort into making NewsRoom a better product all the time. There are some new changes that were made live today on the server that should make updates even more timely and reliable. Thanks for hanging in there over the instability over the past couple weeks as we rolled out some new hardware and made necessary changes to make these speed improvements possible.

As always, if are having any issues, just head on over to our support site and let us know what is up so we can look into it.

Server upgrade this afternoon

2011-01-31T15:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, this one snuck up on me.

Running a bit low on disk space. I'm pulling things down for a bit to upgrade the hardware. Now that we are tracking over 25,000 feeds actively this could take a bit to migrate. I should have things happy again by 4pm PST and I'll post here if anything changes.

[ Update 3:57p ]
4pm is fast approaching and the data rebuild is sitting at around 34% so it looks like we are in for a little bit of a wait. Don't you wish you could make bits move quicker?

[ Update 5:28p ]
Still going.. at 73% and counting. Now targeting 7pm PST.

[ Update 7:45p ]
Got things rolling around 7p, but now we need to wait for everything to get current again. It'll take a bit since a lot goes on on the internet over the course of an afternoon. It'll probably be a little while before all your feeds are current, but the server is happily chugging along making up for lost time.

Thanks for your patience!

NewsRoom 2.0 beta for Android

2011-01-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

Head on over to the NewsRoom user group for Android to get the download if you are interested in taking it for a spin. The big news for this version is support for the Galaxy Tab, the first tablet to be supported by NewsRoom on any platform. There's also some performance tweaks and bug fixes.

If you are on your Android device, you can download it directly by clicking here (assuming you external application support enabled).

If you have any issues or feedback, please post them back at the user group.

Enjoy.

Lifehacker recommends NewsRoom on WP7

2010-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

In their best of 2010 series, Lifehacker designates NewsRoom in their list of the best WP7 apps. In their words:

"Definitely pricey, but potentially worth it. Why? For one thing, the app pulls down full RSS feeds, even when the feed itself is truncated. The layout is mighty nice, and you can set the app to automatically send your starred items to read-it-later service Instapaper."

See the full list here.

Quick Server Maintenance Completed

2010-12-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

We had to do some server juggling this morning which might have resulted in some network errors for some of you for a few minutes. It also slowed our feed updates while the switch was made. This are rolling along smoothly in the new configuration and I apologize for any inconvenience!

As always, if you have comments, suggestions, or any problems, head on over to http://support.trileet.com and we will do what we can to help you out.

Gizmodo tabs NewsRoom an essential app for WP7

2010-11-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

Fresh on the heels of mentioning NewsRoom for Android, Gizmodo lists NewsRoom as an essential app on Windows Phone 7.

This time around, they made note of the richer content NewsRoom offers, so I can be less grouchy.

NewsRoom gets mention on Gizmodo

2010-11-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

In a review of Android RSS readers today, Gizmodo gave NewsRoom an honorable mention. They knocked it for not using Google Reader as a backend but clearly missed the benefits of using our proprietary server (full articles, better images, etc). I'm not entirely sure the reviewer realized we are even an aggregator. It's not that we don't want to work in GR somehow, we just set out to change how people read news on their phones by trying to enhance the experience in a big way. By the looks of how things have sorted out over the past year, that may have been a bit too ambitious. Such is the life when you go out and try to build something better than Google Reader instead of just accepting what folks are already accustomed to.

Anyways, if you want to chime in on the conversation, it's over here.

NewsRoom for Android v1.9.1

2010-11-06T02:45:00.000-07:00

Put away your reading glasses! Thanks to some handy beta help over at the NewsRoom Users Group for Android, this minor update should help with font sizes for low DPI screens like the HTC Tattoo. There's a number of other devices that fall under that umbrella as well, so if you've been having issues with small font sizes, you should give this new version a go.

Such is life in Android's mega-fragmented landscape, it's tough to ensure the best experience across all devices. If you are still having issues with this, please be sure to post a support ticket over at our support site so we can look into it.

Happy reading!

NewsRoom for WP7 Tips

2010-10-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

So you've got a shiny new WP7 phone and a copy of NewsRoom already? You are pretty far ahead of the curve already. Here's some tips to make sure you stay there.

When swiping through previews, simply tap on the preview to load the full article right inside NewsRoom (no browser necessary). This works even if you don't have a data connection (like commuting on the subway for example).
To refresh a source or mark it as read, tap and hold the name or favorite icon.
You can refresh a bunch of sources all at once by tapping and holding on a category (refreshing every source at once by tap-and-holding the "All" category.
You can have your starred articles saved to Instapaper with a single tap (full version only). The configuration option for that is under the "Starred" category.

Any questions or concerns (or glowing praise even), can be directed over at our support site at http://support.trileet.com.

Thanks for trying out NewsRoom and we hope you enjoy it to the fullest on your shmancy new phone.

NewsRoom launches on Windows Phone 7

2010-10-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard, there is a new kid on the block coming at you straight outta Redmond, yo. We are pleased to announce NewsRoom as a launch title for Windows Phone 7! Sure we are still waiting on the US release, but reviews are already starting to roll in for the newest version of NewsRoom.

Continuing in the tradition established on webOS and Android, the WP7 edition of NewsRoom brings the best content optimized for the best in mobile reading. Microsoft has really outdone themselves with their new OS and we are very pleased with how well NewsRoom has been integrated into the full WP7 experience. The panorama display familiar to WP7 users brings a certain panache to the overall feel and allows for a more unique way to navigate your sources. Users can specify their favorites to show right at launch or swipe the panorama over to a full list of sites. The WP7 version of NewsRoom also marks the introduction of categories to organize your sources and view them more easily by topic. If you want to share your starred stories on the web to read later, you will love the way we've integrated Instapaper for single-tap sharing to the web.

NewsRoom for Android v1.9

2010-10-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hooray, after a little hiccup with the release process thanks to some changes in the Android SDK, a new version for Android that has been in beta testing for a good while is now available in the Market.

Below is the full change log (which you have probably seen on this blog already in our call for testers). The biggest feature that most people will get excited about is the "Starring Service" integration whereby you can use your Instapaper or Read it Later account with NewsRoom. It's a great pairing really. Once configured, you simply tap the star as you are browsing stories. Then that feed is added to your account in the background without interrupting your reading at all. This also serves as a sort of backup for your starred articles if that is something that appeals to you.

Lot's of other updates are included and you will notice some of them straight away (like faster loading times and better swiping on high res devices).

Thanks for being a NewsRoom customer, we hope you like our latest update and don't forget to leave us positive feedback in the market so we can continue to bring you more free updates!

Changes since 1.8.0 release

- Starring Service, allows you to publish starred items to the web to view from the desktop. Configure this from the preferences and select a free service to use (both Read it Later and Instapaper are supported).

- 5 font size options
- Quicker startup times
- Improved swiping fluidity (particularly for higher-res devices, but should affect all devices)
- Fix layout problems with some sites (including ESPN game recaps)

- Fix FC when browsing some feeds

- Added toast when typing punctuation while not in URL mode on add view

- More agressive unread count updating
- Tweak font size options
- Remove superfluous line breaks after the title in the summary view

- Support for "Even Darker" theme across more sites

Network errors resolved

2010-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple days some of you have been seeing network errors on your client. We've now patched things up on the server and it should be moving along happily again. It may take a bit for some feeds to get current again since the server was offline for a period of time while this was addressed. If you are continuing to have problems, please don't hesitate to visit http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet and post an issue for us to look into.

Android Beta Now Public

2010-10-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

Instead of managing a private beta list, I've decided it is more practical to open it up to any would-be testers. To join in the fun, just head over to the newly created Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/nug-android

If you are an existing beta tester, you will need to join the public beta group if you would like to continue to be in the program.

Happy testing and thanks for all the help!

Android beta reopened

2010-10-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

If you missed your chance to join the NewsRoom Android beta, here's another chance to join the group. Some new features and changes we need tested for the next version are listed below. Before signing up, please first create a free account over at Read it Later and/or Instapaper. This is required to test the new starring web publishing feature. By the way, I absolutely love pairing NewsRoom with Read it Later. I personally use their premium digest feature and can wholeheartedly recommend it if you want to spring for it.

Changes since v1.8.0 to be tested

- Support for "Even Darker" theme across more sites

- Quicker startup times

- Improved swiping fluidity (particularly for higher-res devices, but should affect all devices)

- 5 font size options

- Fix layout problems with some sites (including ESPN game recaps)

To join the beta, send an e-mail to newsroom-android-beta@trileet.com and include your username for either Instapaper or Read It Later.

NewsRoom v1.5.1 for webOS already in the hopper

2010-09-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, we already released a version of NewsRoom this week, however a small change that broke e-mail sharing made it into the v1.5.0 release. We've already got the fix ready but we are waiting on the Palm review process to get that out to you.

It's an isolated issue, so feel free to grab the update if it's not a feature that you use. However, if you do, you should just hold off for v1.5.1 which hopefully will get reviewed over at Palm (hp?) and placed into your hands quickly.

NewsRoom Server Update (v1.227)

2010-09-30T20:52:00.001-07:00

Another big server update. Like usual, most of the changes are behind the scenes to just make the service more robust for you. However, this time around there are a couple things a bit more noticeable on the client side.

The biggest is that PuSH feeds are no longer capped at 25 stories. Instead this has been doubled to 50 to be kept around at any given moment. This should keep you from missing out on stories from sites that publish frequently throughout the day.

Another tweak that will be a welcomed changed to a good number of users is a more liberal licensing policy for those that have purchased trial keys. This is a feature that really only exists for those that don't have access to paid applications via their carrier or specific device. Now when you add your key after a system update or switch phones, your license can go with you.

That's about it on the server front. Don't forget that we are making all client versions better whenever we put effort into our server. So even if you don't see updates coming across the wire for your phone, we are still working to bring you a better NewsRoom.

Android Beta Filled

2010-09-29T22:33:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all the responders. Our current round of beta testers is full. We'll let you all know when we need more. Thanks for the quick responses, you guys rock!

Call for Android Beta Testers

2010-09-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've gone and made a bunch of performance enhancements and various tweaks to NewsRoom for Android and would love to have a few new beta testers to kick the tires on it before pushing it to the market. If you want to get in on it, just send an e-mail to newsroom-android-beta@trileet.com and I will get you setup.

Next up is online starring so you can read articles later on your desktop.

Much ado about WebOS

2010-09-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

Wowee zowee. So, I off the cuff made some comments about WebOS and it caused a bit of a stir. I didn't intend to offend the WebOS fans out there (of which I am one). I was just trying to make a point that things haven't been heading in the right direction for a good while on that platform for reasons outside of my control.

But it does bring up a very worthy conversation. There is still a very vibrant palm community and a possibility that WebOS 2.0 and some new hardware will spark the platform back to life. Are you one of those that would like to get in on that bet? One thought I've been kicking around is to let others contribute to the NewsRoom project. If you think you would like to make the product better and/or earn a revenue share, feel free to pop in over at the support site and let me know.

Man, WebOS users love them some WebOS, be careful what you say friends ;)

NewsRoom for Android v1.8.0, the all request release

2010-09-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

A new release for Android comes with bug fixes and a couple new features a lot of you have been clamoring for.

First, as requested a number of times, you can now use a dark theme or what some would call "night mode." This has a two-pronged effect. For one, it is easier on your eyes when in dimly lit environments (like checking NewsRoom while your spouse is trying to nod off ;). It also won't light the room up as dramatically. The second is that for OLED based screens the display will actually use less battery. For those of us that spend more than 80% of the time on our Android device in NewsRoom that can actually make good deal of difference in how much battery your display draws over the course of a day. To enable this feature, visit the Preferences panel and select either "Dark" or "Even Darker" for theme. The difference between the two is that when in "Even Darker" the full article view will try to override the site's defined style with a darkened theme. I'm curious how this will work along a wide-swath of sites. It's worked well on a good number that I've tested, but if you have problems using this option, please share on our support site.

The other feature is an option to disable auto-refresh on launch. You might have noticed that it only auto-refreshed when background updates were disabled. However, some of you want to manually refresh feeds no matter what. Note that if this is enabled but background updates are also enabled, it will continue to not refresh on launch.

I'm cranking on some other bugs that I'd like to address this week. If you've got a feature request you are dying for in NewsRoom that would make it even better for you, please, please, please join the conversation and post it at http://support.trileet.com.

Google Reader Revisted

2010-09-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

A lot has been said about Google Reader and NewsRoom's limited support for it. Let me give a quick recap for the uninitiated.

Why Google Reader?

I want articles that I read on my computer to be shown as read on my phone

I want articles that I read on my phone to be shown as read on my computer

I want to star articles to later read on my computer

I don't want to add all the feeds I follow one at a time

Why not just run NewsRoom against Google Reader?

Updates from Google Reader are more resource intensive and will impact battery life and data usage

NewsRoom expands teaser feeds into full article feeds (see CNN.com for example)

NewsRoom shows preview images even when they are not included in the feed (also shown on CNN.com)

NewsRoom does not require anybody to create/login to an account for a different service to use it

When we set out to create NewsRoom, we wanted to make a product that made good use of a touch screen. However, more importantly we wanted something that was highly optimized for mobile devices and delivered richer content than most RSS feeds provide. Ultimately the reason we always give up on RSS -- especially in the mobile context is because the content is just bad. Invariably you are going to come across a "teaser" feed that only shows a couple sentences along with a headline and no images and from that you have to decide if you want to visit the webpage to download the full article. We also wanted to make the product easy to use out of the box, not requiring clumsy login pages as a first user experience or forcing users to create an account using their computer. These goals are part and parcel to why we don't just run against Google Reader (even though that approach would be cheaper and easier).

However, I see the value in having support for the product and would love to offer it if we can do so without sacrificing what we do better than Google Reader. This is not easy, but hey, don't we all like a good challenge? We've gotten this far right?

A few months ago I wrote an client library for Google Reader with the plans to abandon NewsRoom as we know it today. This was going to reduce our costs, make a very vocal contingent of our user base happy, and more or less be a graceful exit for the NewsRoom experiment. While that library works really well, pride got in the way and I just can't bring myself to abandon the far better content NewsRoom offers. Plus the prospect of rewriting clients for four different mobile platforms is not terribly appealing -- especially when the end product in my eyes would be inferior. And honestly, sales on WebOS don't even generate enough revenue to compensate my time to even write this post, so I'm hesitant to say that there's enough motivation to take on a project of that magnitude for what looks to be a stagnate platform. But that's a post for another day.

Taking a look at the first bulleted list, I only see two that can't easily be solved without Google Reader. We can support Google Reader import in a more graceful way without too much trouble -- import is an easier problem than sync. We can also support a service like Instapaper so that when an article is starred it is automatically sent to your IP account for reading on your computer later. Adding something like instapaper support is probably only a day's effort. The question at the end of the day is which is more important? Starring things to be read on your computer or having read status synced with your computer?

So this leads me to the current approach and what has been keeping me busy lately. I've been looking into the prospect of routing all of our server aggregation through Google Reader (which itself is an aggregator). What does this buy us? It will allow us to augment our data with Google Reader specific identifiers. So when content is delivered to your phone we will be able to do data manipulations on GR from your phone having the appropriate information needed to do so. Those that want GR integration can authorize the application to have access to their account and then the magical reading and starring syncing can take place. The downside is that content will only arrive as quickly as GR gets it. NewsRoom today gets content faster than Google Reader for most feeds. However, the update frequency on GR is probably acceptable.

This is also a bit different than a straight GR client in a few ways

Google Reader accounts are not required for those that don't use it

Content continues to get expanded using NewsRoom's fancy shmancy content expanding algorithm

Only feeds added to NewsRoom would get content synced with Google Reader

So the long and short of it is, even though NewsRoom really isn't paying the bills, pride leads me down this path. I would really love to bring this feature to the product since there are a good number of users that really want it and adding this would complete the product for them.

I want to know what you think of all of this. Am I wasting my time with this?

If you would like to chime in on the conversation, please post over at this thread.

Server Improvements

2010-09-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hello friendly NewsRoom users! We just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know about some things that have been keeping us busy lately. First off, today marked a big improvement to how we aggregate feeds for use in NewsRoom. Not only are things going to be even faster (they were pretty quick to begin with), but our aggregation should work for many feeds where it failed before. There are still going to be some feeds with some formatting issues that will present problems, but the number of feeds where it's a problem is smaller than ever before -- in fact it's less than 1%. If there was a feed giving you troubles before, now would be a good time to give it another shot. If you are still having issues, just drop us a comment on http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet and we will have a look at it. We've also added more useful error logging which should help us in diagnosing problems that crop up in the future.

We've also been busy preparing a new release for both WebOS and Android where we will be taking a stab at adding features to address some of the more common niggles folks have had. There is also a version of NewsRoom for the iPhone/iPod Touch that we've had waiting in the wings for some time that we might just need to dust off and get out for beta testing.

And if three platforms weren't enough, there is now a new version of NewsRoom custom tailored and ready for launch on for completely different platform that hopefully will get the covers taken off soon. It's not out of the question to suggest that NewsRoom could be available on four distinct platforms before the end of the year. And let me tell you, that is quite an accomplishment!

Hope everything is going well with you. And don't forget that even if you aren't seeing updates for your mobile phone, it doesn't mean that we aren't working to make the NewsRoom experience even better. Most of our efforts have focused around delivering great content on the server side, and at the end of the day, it's the content that's king. :)

More Fasterer, More Furiouser

2010-08-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, if you've been following along at home you will know that some feeds refused to update over the past couple weeks. This is because a large feed aggregator was alarmed at the frequency of our updates (though we only poll once every 15 min for each site). This gives us reasonably fresh content and up until recently was the only way to get updates from content publishers. To address the issues with this particular aggregator we were informed that most all FeedBurner feeds now support PubSubHubbub, the handy protocol with the silly name.

In the process of getting those feeds rolling again, we now fully support the protocol allowing NewsRoom to automatically receive content the moment it is published without polling. This means that for a good number of feeds in the NewsRoom database (over 4000 at the time of this writing) are essentially up to date at any given moment. If you want to give it a try, add Gizmodo from the featured list (make sure it's the one with the link http://feeds.gawker.com./gizmodo/vip, if its not, you will need to back out of NewsRoom completely and go back in to refresh the list). Then as content gets published directly on the Gizmodo blog, you can refresh your NewsRoom icon and the content will already be there. What's even better is that's 4000 or so feeds that we don't have to poll every 15m to free up resources to keep the other feeds fresh.

So, ya, we had a little hiccup with the server over the last day or so thanks to the aforementioned technical hurdle. However, it's nice to get something new for our users in the process of fixing it. And who doesn't want even more timely content? I know I'm loving it.

Feed Updates Fixed

2010-08-04T19:01:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago we started having issues fetching fresh content from a number of sites (specifically those from FeedBurner). Those issues have now been resolved and things should be running smoothly for you now. If you still have some feeds that don't want to update, you may want to delete them and re-add them as in some cases, I ended up recreating a couple feeds to get them to point to the appropriate places.

The solution was to essentially support a pub/sub protocal which FeedBurner now supports -- even though the protocol is in it's infancy. Aside from addressing the issue from earlier this week, it also means for those feeds, they will update even more timely than they did before. So in a way, FeedBurner goes from goat to hero in NewsRoom's eyes. More on that later. Happy updating! :)

Some feeds not updating?

2010-08-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

We are doing everything we can, but starting at about 9pm on 8/1, a good chunk of feeds started blocking our server from accessing them. We are not sure why it is happening, since we do a pretty good job of playing by the rules when it comes to harvesting frequency. The only common thread amongst the problematic feeds is that they are all hosted on FeedBurner. We are contacting Google (who purchased FeedBurner some time ago) to see what we can uncover so we can get the service running smoothly again.

In the interim, you can ironically use these same feeds by routing them through Google Reader as shown in this blog post. However, who is to say how long before that gets blocked too. This is a very important issue and trust that we are doing everything we can to get it straightened out but unfortunately, it is really out of our hands -- and in those of almighty Google.

The feeds in the featured list that were encountering this problem have been replaced by versions that are routed using the aforementioned trick. At the time of this writing they are working swimmingly. You will need to remove the non-updating version from your phone and add the new one however, but at least you can still get your Gizmodo or Lifehacker fix while we wait for this to smooth over.

TIP: Adding a problematic feed

2010-07-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

While NewsRoom tries to do a good job of dealing with all sorts of feed formats (even ones that are malformed), there are still some that still don't add properly. But all hope is not lost. Here's a handy tip that will allow you to add most any feed. Make sure you only use this for feeds that fail to add normally.

All we are going to do is leverage Google Reader's feed parsing by piggybacking off of it but while still keeping the premium NewsRoom experience intact. So, I'm going to use a couple feed examples that users pointed out NewsRoom was having difficulty with.

For details on how to do this, please visit our support site over at:

http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet/topics/tip_adding_a_problematic_feed

Want access to the NewsRoom server?

2010-07-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

I was having a thought today as I wrapped up my week-long marathon of NewsRoom server improvements. First, on those improvements, you should all be seeing faster feed updates. A nice side-effect (well to be honest the primary motivation of the change) is that our monthly costs will actually be lower going forward. Can't beat that.. save money AND performance improvements. This will should help us keep the service running long into the future.

Okay, enough on that. Most probably know that NewsRoom has a unique content extraction algorithm that allows many of the limited feeds people add to be expanded into full articles and in some cases embellished with photos from the article. This particular feature is one of the reasons we set out to create NewsRoom for in the first place. However, there are a number of cases where our content extraction doesn't kick in when it should or kicks in when it really shouldn't. And for this, it requires a little bit of human intervention. It's not particularly time consuming, but if we could spend less time doing that and more time writing code, it would be beneficial for all of us.

Back to my thought.. I'm willing to bet there are NewsRoom users out there that would love to have access to our backend server to tweak feeds where appropriate. I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea to open that up, but if the right person was interested (and of course, the right person has no problem with being paid in the form of a teensy amount of fame on this here blog and on our support site instead of monetarily), then it could end up being a win-win-win. This person would also have the ability to review banner/icon submissions, modify feed details, determine featured feeds, and a lot more using our admin interface.

If you would like to help make NewsRoom better by having some control over how the product works, shoot me an e-mail at eric@trileet.com.

Server Update

2010-06-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

Howdy all, it's been a little while since we've talked. Good news.. that's because we've been heads down working on some server upgrades to make NewsRoom better. The most notable of changes from a user perspective is performance. As NewsRoom has gained in popularity, the number of feeds that are ingested by our server has grown far beyond what we expected. This is has resulted in some feeds not updating as timely as we would like -- our low bar for that is every 15 minutes (Imagine that, caching the internet every 15 minutes can be a challenge ;)

So, in an effort to keep things running smoothly we are rolling out some new code. While this upgrade happens, NewsRoom will continue to be usable on your phone. However you may notice a hiccup in update frequency for some of your feeds as the new server comes to life. You may also get some network errors as the actual switch is made.

We're planning to perform the update this evening (after 4pm PDT on June 29th). If you are encountering update errors during that time, it's likely related. Just give it some time and try a manual refresh on the feed in question later and see if that doesn't clear things up for you. If you are still having problems after trying that tomorrow (Wed, June 30th), shoot an e-mail over to support@trileet.com or visit our support center at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet.

We hope our commitment to NewsRoom helps you to feel good in supporting our development efforts and we are pleased to have you as a customer.

NewsRoom v1.7.4 - A New Order

2010-06-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Some of you like to read your feeds in chronological order instead of always seeing the latest news first. A number of people have been asking for this feature for a while and although it took a while to get to it on the priority list, we listened. There is now a new option in the preferences screen for showing the oldest feeds first. I'm personally going to give that feature a try as my primary setting over the next couple weeks and see if I like it better than the 'newest first' setting I've been accustomed to.

Also, if you are running a version prior to v1.7.2, make sure to backup your feeds before you upgrade. Thanks to a tweak in how NewsRoom is being released in Google's Android Market has created file permission problems for some which has caused them to uninstall/reinstall the application to keep moving forward with the new versions.

Android v1.7.2 - FroYo Fixes

2010-05-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Are you one of the lucky dogs already on Android 2.2? Are you also one of the unlucky dogs who are having problems with their favorite Android app? We've just put out v1.7.2 which fixes an issue on Android 2.2 whereby articles would jump ahead unexpectedly while swiping through. Get the update, and hey, while you are in there, make sure you check the box for "Allow automatic updating" so you are always on the latest and greatest version.

See any other issues running on Google's shiny new OS? Make sure to post them over at our support site at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet.

FroYo issues (Android 2.2)

2010-05-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

Android v2.2 is starting to make it's way around the internet and we just wanted to make a quick note that we are aware of some weirdness with NewsRoom and this version of Google's OS. Some users have reported articles skipping as they swipe across feeds. We are working on a patch and will have an update for this released soon. If you see any other issues with FroYo or otherwise, be sure to head over to our support site and let us know!

http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet

Search broken on Android?

2010-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple months NewsRoom use has grown significantly. Our poor backend server was starting to feel a little abused. Yesterday we rolled out a new server and load-balancer to keep things moving fast for all of you. In doing so, a client change was necessary for Android to avoid a problem with how it searched for feeds.

If you are getting an error about the network being down when trying to search for feeds, you need to upgrade to at least version 1.7.1 where a fix was applied.

Sorry for the inconvenience. But I have to say, it's worth it for the speed improvements on the server side :)

NewsRoom and the HTC Desire

2010-04-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

We've heard from a number of owners of the new HTC Desire who purchased NewsRoom on their previous Android handset. The new device is great, problem is, the Android Market is missing a lot of apps that should be there. Unfortunately, this is not because of anything we have done or can do. One such user received the following response from HTC regarding this issue:

"The explanation we have been given is that for all new ROMS released we have to supply Google with a 'fingerprint' that identifies the ROM and this needs to be updated in their database with compatibility info and such so that the correct apps can be shown. Such as the market filtering out incompatible apps. We do supply these before relaese of all our ROM's and devices however we have no say over how long it takes for Google to update their database."

So the long and short of it is that it is out of our hands and apparently out of HTC's hands. Hopefully Google gets to this soon and HTC Desire owners can resume downloading premium apps fromt he market. For more information, follow this thread over at Google Support for the Android Market: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=72687bc93eba9a1b&hl=en

Get a free copy of NewsRoom

2010-03-26T11:12:00.001-07:00

Enjoying the NewsRoom trial? Want the full version but aren't quite ready to fork over five bucks? Instead of supporting us with your wallet, how about supporting us by helping spread the word about NewsRoom?

If you have a twitter account, just tweet about why you like NewsRoom and include @trileet so we can find it. I'll be selecting users at random for free copies. First 10 people to play along all get free copies.

Can't find paid version?

2010-02-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

A lot of folks have messaged us looking for a way to purchase the full version of NewsRoom since paid apps are not available on all carriers. We've created a way to allow you to unlock the trial version by purchasing a license key through Google Checkout. This option is currently only available on Android devices.

After upgrading to version 1.6.14, visit the Preferences screen. Near the bottom you will find an option to purchase a license key. After you have your key, simply copy it from the browser and paste it back at the Preferences screen. The name of the app will still be called 'NewsRoom Trial' since Android does not give us the facilities to change that. However, the app will be fully licensed and will not expire. You will also be granted the same upgradability as the people who purchased it through the catalog.

As always, if you are having trouble, please e-mail us at newsroom@trileet.com so we can get it fixed up!

WiFi Only Updates

2010-02-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

Are you an Android user on metered data access? The latest version of NewsRoom for Android (v1.6.13) includes an option for limiting background updates for when you have a wifi connection. Even though NewsRoom is careful about data usage, if you have a lot of feeds that publish often this feature allows you to be mindful if you are on a metered data plan.

Saving Battery Life

2010-01-18T18:13:00.001-08:00

We've always tried to evangelize how gentle NewsRoom is on your device's precious resources. We designed the product from top to bottom with this in mind (this goes for both the Android and WebOS version). Now we finally have a tool that will let us see how all that effort stacks up against traditional news readers.

One of the neatest things the latest flavors of Android offer is the inclusion of the "Battery use" view. Over the course of the day while your phone is not plugged in, this screen will show you who the most egregious battery eaters are both in terms of CPU consumption and network traffic. This helps you make the decision as to which apps get a permanent home on your Android phone and which will need some work before they are ready for day-to-day use.

This gives us the opportunity for a little battery shootout of sorts (we realize that we are far from an impartial third-party, so we encourage you to try this out and see for yourself). We picked a couple popular news readers to pit against NewsRoom and configured each product to update every 30 minutes. If the product allowed, we had it cache the entire article for quick access (or offline use). The same batch of 31 feeds were loaded into each application and we let them run for the better part of one day. Notifications were enabled for all products.

The Players:

NewsRob - NewsRob is a pretty popular RSS reader primarily due to it's price (free) and it's ability to sync with Google Reader. NewsRob also let's you cache the article for offline use. Relies on Google's "mobilizer" to read complete articles. NewsRob uses a traditional list view.

FeedR - FeedR is a traditional RSS reader with the ability to update your feed list from google reader. It does not allow sync in the same way as NewsRob. Relies on Google's "mobilizer" to read complete articles. FeedR uses a traditional list view. FeedR costs $0.99.

NewsRoom - NewsRoom runs against a proprietary server to allow for an optimized mobile experience. Its backend server automatically expands terse RSS feeds into complete articles in many cases significantly reducing reliance on the browser. NewsRoom introduces a new UI for reading news that uses broad swiping gestures. NewsRoom costs $4.99.

The two biggest things that impact battery life for background apps are CPU cycles spent and data transmitted in and out over the cell or wifi radio. Let's start with CPU use.

Looking at the cpu chart, we see NewsRob being the biggest drain with over 13 minutes of CPU time. Spread out over your day, that may not sound like a lot, but imagine your CPU churning on data for 13 straight minutes -- then think about how your battery would feel after it was done. FeedR fared quite a bit better using only 5 minutes of CPU, but it's important to point out that it is the only app in our shootout that did not download entire articles so it had significantly less work to do. As expected, NewsRoom did very well in this test coming in just barely over 2 minutes -- 6.5x less CPU use than NewsRob, the only other app which is fetching full articles. This would not be possible without the proprietary NewsRoom server which allows us to employ a compact, yet highly optimized format for parsing on device.

The data transfer chart looks an awful lot like the CPU one, but it is still very important. Every byte that gets pushed out over your network connection has a very real cost to your device's battery life. NewsRoom is optimized to the point that there is very little overhead in it's network usage. The same cannot be said for the other applications in our test.

Understandably, NewsRob was the worst offender here again since it is having to go out and fetch full articles in separate requests for each article in each feed. This results in roughly 10x the data transfer as NewsRoom. That's because NewsRoom has an unfair advantage. Since the full articles already reside on NewsRoom's server, they are sent down at the same time the feed updates are sent using a compact wireline format. Not only does it only have to fetch what's new (unlike FeedR which needs to grab the full feed every time there is a new article), the updates can be bunched in a manner to update many feeds with a single request. This really helps make the most of high latency mobile network connections -- which would not be possible if it were to rely on Google Reader for a backend. It does all this, and delivers what we feel is superior content in most cases (but we'll leave that to discuss another day).

NewsRoom gets a lot of attention for having a sexy UI, but not everyone realizes just how much attention went into the nuts and bolts too. Hopefully this short article goes a long way toward helping you realize that NewsRoom has much more to offer than a pretty face. Most important of all, we realize what it means to have paying customers and are here to work through any problems you encounter. We are always listening for your feedback or concerns at newsroom@trileet.com.

Nexus One Support / Background updates

2010-01-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

If you've noticed NewsRoom not updating in the background for your Android device, you will want to grab v1.6.9 which was just released. We've also made some changes that will make the app handle the high resolutions of the Nexus/Droid phones better.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, send them our way at newsroom@trileet.com.

Update for Palm WebOS

2010-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

Tired of all that Android news? Check out the Palm App Catalog to grab NewsRoom v1.4.3 available now. If you've been experiencing some feeds not updating in your NewsRoom, you will definitely want to grab the update since it should be fixed now.

If you have any questions, as always you can e-mail newsroom@trileet.com.

Android: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube support

2009-12-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

You can now grab v1.6.4 for Android now enhanced with social web goodness. Share links using your Android Facebook or Twitter client. If an article embeds a youtube video it can now be viewed in the native Android YouTube client.

If you have any trouble using these new features, make sure to drop us a note at newsroom@trileet.com so we can make sure it is addressed in the next update. You can also visit our support site over at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet.

Easy upgrades from trial version to pro

2009-12-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

With the new backup and import support in v1.6.2 for Android, you can now give yourself a nicer upgrade path from "trial" to "pro". You will need an SD Card in your phone to proceed.

First, make sure you've upgraded to the latest version. Visit the preferences screen and select "Backup Feeds." After installing the full version, vist the same preferences screen and select "Restore Feeds." And there you are! The first fetch may take a bit since it needs to grab all the icons, banners, and full articles lists, etc. But once that is done, you will be rollin' pro style.

If you'd rather, you can place an OPML file (like say from Google Reader export) in the NewsRoomBackup folder on your SD Card. Then, simply select the "Import OPML" and off you go. If you rearrange/rename your feeds, don't forget you can create a backup to make things easier down the road.

Android v1.6.2 - Backup/Import Support!

2009-12-18T17:34:00.000-08:00

Some of you ran into an intermittent bug with the old versions of the Android client whereby sometimes some of your feeds would just disappear. Well, this update is here to address that. Not only should that bug be fixed, but we've added the ability to backup and restore your feed list. There is also support to import OPML files from the likes of Google Reader or wherever you have some feeds stashed.

In version NewsRoom v1.6.2 for Android

Fix bug where feeds would be removed under some circumstances
Added support to backup / restore feeds to the SD Card
Added support to import OPML files

To import an OPML file, just place it in a folder named "NewsRoomBackup" on your SD Card and select the "Import OPML" option from the preferences screen. If you create a backup, it will reside in that same folder, allowing you to save a copy of those feeds anywhere you like for safekeeping.

Android Widgets!

2009-12-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

Sure it's been less than a week since v1.5.4 dropped, but we couldn't keep the lid on a couple new features we think you are going to like. So here's what you can expect by upgrading to NewsRoom v1.6 for Android (available now).

Widgets for Android are undeniably popular, so we decided to let NewsRoom users take advantage of them. We didn't want to take over your home screen (each feed widget is the size of one home screen tile) and wanted to let you pick which sites you cared about. You will notice that the NewsRoom feed widgets are designed to blend right in your Android desktop as just another application. Tapping on a widget will also launch NewsRoom directly into that feed. It's like creating a specialized app for whatever site you want!

To create a widget, tap-hold the home screen, select Widgets, then pick NewsRoom. From there you can select which feed to create a widget for. Widgets will show the number of unread messages. Note that by adding widgets, background updates are automatically enabled so they can be kept up to date.

But wait, there's more! A few people asked for the ability to let NewsRoom keep your screen from dimming/sleeping while reading an article. We've added this new option under the preferences screen. Use with caution -- if you enable this feature and never leave the app, you will impact your battery considerably. So long as you leave the app when you are done with it, your phone will resume sleeping.

We've also continued to address minor bugs and such. Of course, if you run into any problems, be sure to chime in at our support site at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet

NewsRoom officially launched on Android

2009-12-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

With NewsRoom v1.5.4 we've hit a milestone for the product on Android. Starting with this version you have the option of supporting our development by purchasing the full product for $4.99. The trial product is still there and will continue to be there, but like all trials in the past, it will expire at some point.

~~If you feel confident NewsRoom is the right product for you, you may want to consider purchasing it earlier instead of later since your feeds will not transfer over from the trial version.~~ With the current v1.6.4 you can backup your feeds and import them into the paid version. Just make sure to update to the latest version first.

The trial version won't always have an update available to keep it from expiring since now we have to shift our focus to supporting our paying customers first.

We are pretty happy with how far NewsRoom has come -- and how fast! We owe a lot of that to you, our users and all of your fantastic feedback.

As always, visit us at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet. Submit art at http://newsroom.trileet.com or zip us an e-mail at newsroom@trileet.com

NewsRoom v1.5.4 - Android

2009-12-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

Bug fix release this time.

Fix issue where sometimes icon placement was not preserved
Fix issue where updated names were not preserved
Fix icon update graphic sometimes not stopping (even though the update was complete)
Fix problem with feeds not being saved when writing to external storage

If after picking up this update you are having difficulty writing to external storage, it could be an issue with Android not sufficiently granting external storage permissions to the app along your OS upgrade path. If that's the case, you may have to uninstall and reinstall the application on your updated OS to get things happy again.

That's all for now. If you find any more issues, be sure to let us know at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet.

Want to make NewsRoom better?

2009-12-10T10:45:00.001-08:00

We are quickly realizing that we have some of the most outspoken and passionate users out there. If only we could harness that energy to help NewsRoom fulfill it's dreams. We spent some time over the past week to enable you to do just that.

Do you wish some of the more obscure sites provided a better icon so they wouldn't cramp your NewsRoom style? Some icons are small, some just aren't there at all. That makes for some sad pandas out there. In the same way, there are banners for most of the popular sites, but perhaps one of your favorite sites doesn't have one.

Now you can make NewsRoom better for yourself -- and for others at the same time! We've just launched a new portal into the NewsRoom backend that allows you to contribute your own icons and banners (they are really easy to make, sometimes as simple as a screenshot). Make sure you follow the guidelines presented on the site, or your icon/banner may not be accepted.

Give it a try! Head on over to: http://newsroom.trileet.com

Thanks for helping to make NewsRoom even better for everyone.

Droid in the Fast Lane

2009-12-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

So, a little while back we added support for the Droid users out there. For the most part it was a quick fix to make the app work on the new high resolution screen sported by the phone. Now, Droid users can rejoice as of NewsRoom v1.5 which fully utilizes that beautiful screen -- and with it, HUGE performance gains.

Let us know what you think over at our support site at:

http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet

NewsRoom v1.5 for Android (Update)

2009-12-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Head on over to the Android Market and check out the newest version of the NewsRoom Trial. With this update comes a few cool new features.

Background Updates

Take a look at the newly updated preference panel to find an option under "Advanced" for updating in the background. If this is checked, NewsRoom will keep itself up to date even when you are not in the application. We've gone through great lengths to make sure that even though it's using your phone's resources throughout the day, it's very gentle on your battery. For example, some of you are aware that since NewsRoom runs against a proprietary server we are able to send down just what is new for your phone -- so updating 2 times a day or 20 times a day makes little difference to how much work your phone needs to do.

Notifications

Getting notified when there is new stuff to read can be nice, but it can be overwhelming to be notified for any feed in your NewsRoom (or for some of the more chatty blogs out there). The preference panel now includes settings to manage these. You can choose to be notified whenever NewsRoom receives new content -- or tap-hold on a feed to ask to be notified just for that feed. By default, NewsRoom won't pester you unless you ask it to.

SD Card Storage

As most of you know, NewsRoom fetches full articles and images for many articles. This can result in NewsRoom taking up quite a bit of your internal storage. Now, you can store your articles on your SD Card to free up your internal storage for other applications.

[Update] There is a v1.5.2 release out there now to address a small layout issue on Android 1.5 devices (there are still a few of those left). Samsung, I'm looking squarely in your direction.

NewsRoom v1.4 for WebOS (Update)

2009-12-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

Some of you have already noticed, but NewsRoom v1.4 for WebOS is available now. Go get it while the gettin' is good.

All those goodies we talked about earlier for v1.4 on Android are now ready for our Pre/Pixi brethren to chew on. In case you've forgotten here's the new stuff:

You can now star items for later reading or perusal, just tap the star icon on any item
You can customize the read/unread behavior as well as how you want single and double taps to work from the home screen. Want a single tap to only open those articles you haven't read? Now you have a choice.
One of our favorites, you can now swipe up from the home screen to view all the unread articles across all feeds. This makes it really easy to keep up with all your news, this is our favorite new feature.
We now indicate whether there are unread articles on other pages via the pager icons on the home screen.
The article published date is now displayed at the bottom of the article, as is a marker for whether it is unread or not.
Inline YouTube video thumbnails, integrated with the WebOS YouTube application.

There were of course a lot of bug fixes and performance enhancements along the way. Are you liking the new version? Make sure to drop us some love in the App Catalog. You can also join the discussion over at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet.

[UPDATE]

You may want to hold off until v1.4.1. Some folks are reporting issues with 1.4 not updating some feeds. We've identified the bug and are testing a fix. The update will get out just as soon as we can validate it and Palm can approve it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Palm features NewsRoom

2009-11-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

NewsRoom has been recognized by Palm as a featured WebOS application. If you are a happy customer, why not head over to the App Catalog and share your feelings in a review (only if you think it is deserving of course)?

Thanks for all the feedback at our support site at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet. We are quickly realizing that we have some of the best and brightest customers out there.

Got a great idea?

2009-11-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

If you've got a great idea for NewsRoom, we want to hear it! Sound off at our support site over at http://getsatisfaction.com/trileet. We are always checking in to see how you are liking the product and on the look out for killer ideas for future versions.

Welcome Droid users!

2009-11-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

The newest Android device now has the best mobile news app. After some initial reports of problems running on the Droid, NewsRoom now is working much better on Moto's flagship device. Take it for a spin and tell us what you think. This release (v1.4.2) also has all the 1.4 goodies mentioned in the previous post.

Oh, and Pre/Pixi users, we haven't forgotten about you. Your announcement packed with those same features will be made just as soon as we can get it pushed through Palm's review process.

NewsRoom v1.4 for Android

2009-11-17T16:08:00.001-08:00

We just pushed NewsRoom v1.4 for Android and it is jam packed with new features and improvements including:

You can now star items for later reading or perusal, just tap the star icon on any item
We've finally added the ability to add feeds by URL
You can customize the read/unread behavior as well as how you want single and double taps to work from the home screen. Want a single tap to only open those articles you haven't read? Now you have a choice.
One of our favorites, you can now swipe up from the home screen to view all the unread articles across all feeds. This makes it really easy to keep up with all your news, this is our favorite new feature.
We now indicate whether there are unread articles on other pages via the pager icons on the home screen.
The article published date is now displayed at the bottom of the article, as is a marker for whether it is unread or not.

And lots of other new improvements and bug fixes. As always, send us your comments or questions at newsroom@trileet.com.

PS. Palm Pre users, fear not! You'll be seeing an update with the same improvements very soon as well.

ADC2 Round 2 Voters

2009-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Did you just get pushed NewsRoom as an app to vote on in ADC2? The version you are using should give you a taste, but if you really want to get the full NewsRoom experience, make sure to download the NewsRoom Trial from the Android Marketplace. It's waaaay faster and has a ton of new features compared to the one you are using right now. Plus it won't nag you about being expired (we were told originally that ADC2 would be over by now and to cripple the product after a set time period.. boo).

At any rate, we are crossing our fingers that the version we submitted back in August is enough to pull us through in the competition and we appreciate any high marks you can give us (of course, only if you think we deserve them).

WebOS update 1.2.1 available

2009-11-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

If you have a Palm Pre, you can head over to the App Catalog today and download an update for NewsRoom (v1.2.1). This version is primarily just to add support for the soon to be released Palm Pixi. However, we can't just put a drop out there without giving our faithful customers something else to chew on.

We've made even more performance improvements, in particular the time it takes to refresh feeds has been reduced quite a bit. This version also gives you more control over how the app performs it's background updates. If you close NewsRoom, only the feeds which you have specifically asked for notifications from will be updated in the background. If you leave the card open, all feeds will update in the background as it always has. The application is also smarter about dealing with screen resizing when there are pending notifications.

Some things we are working on

2009-11-11T17:31:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to drop a quick note to give you all an idea what we are keeping ourselves busy with these days. A few of you have been asking for a way to not have an entire site get marked as "read" every time you open it. We are hard at work on a new feature that will allow you to easily view only the new articles for a site, or instead view the new articles across all sites. After using this feature for a few days, I have fallen in love with it, and hope you will too. This feature will be coming shortly to the Android Marketplace, and with Palm's help it will be available in their App Catalog a bit quicker than the last update we put out.

We've also been chugging along on more server improvements that among other things will allow us to feature popular feeds in a smarter way than we are today.

Last but not least, we have a version in the works for the iPhone as well that should at a minimum have feature parity with both the WebOS and Android versions you all are enjoying today.

GearDiary review of NewsRoom for Palm

2009-11-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

NewsRoom Palm user and GearDiary editor Mark Chinsky does a nice job of capturing what makes NewsRoom so cool in his review. Check it out!

NewsRoom in top 20 for ADC2!

2009-11-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hot off the press from Google themselves:

Congratulations! Your application 'NewsRoom' was selected by Android users as one of the top 20 in the Productivity category! We're excited that you chose to participate in the ADC 2 and wish you luck in the final round as your application is evaluated by users and a panel of judges.

That's right, NewsRoom was loved by users enough in the ADC2 to rank in the top 20 of the thousands of submitted apps.

Sadly the version of NewsRoom submitted for ADC2 is ancient compared to the version available in the market, but hopefully users will still be impressed during round two. Best of luck and congratulations to all the other entries!

Have some questions or concerns? Send them on over to newsroom@trileet.com

NewsRoom v1.2 for Palm

2009-11-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks everybody for your patience! The v1.2 update is now available for download from the Palm App Catalog. There are a lot of goodies for your enjoyment.

Big changes under the hood for performance improvements as well has reducing the memory used by the app significantly.
As promised, the 9 feed limit is gone. You can now add up to four pages for a total of 36.
Per-feed notifications. Tap a site while holding the orange key or visit the Site Manager to enable notifications for the sites you care about the most. NewsRoom will also keep things up to date for you even when you don't leave it open.
Article skim view now resizes when there are pending notifications.
Tap-hold on the site icons to rearrange them in the order of your liking
Sites can now be renamed

We hope you enjoy the new version as much as we do. One caveat is that you will likely have to re-add your sites after installing the update. The application was coded to be backwards compatible, however, it looks like the data will not be brought forward. We are working with Palm on ways to deal with this issue for future updates.

Enjoy! And as always, your feedback is always welcome.

NewsRoom v1.3 for Android

2009-10-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

We just pushed the latest version of the NewsRoom trial (v.1.3) to the Android Market. This version brings about a lot of new changes that everybody should appreciate.

you can now add up to 36 sites across four pages of feeds
you can reorder sites, as well as edit their names
the article viewing has been greatly optimized for speed, things should be much faster
article downloads from the server are much faster
lots of little bug fixes here and there..

We still have some big ideas in store for upcoming clients, so this version will expire in 30 days. Make sure to send any problems or suggestions to newsroom@trileet.com.

Server Updates

2009-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

We've had our heads down the past couple weeks to make NewsRoom even better for everyone. Just moments ago we shipped v1.105 of the NewsRoom server. With it comes all kinds of improvements that you should start seeing immediately. Probably the most notable change will be speed improvements for both the Pre and Android clients. Oh ya, and some of you have mentioned some feeds not updating properly -- you should expect that to be fixed as well!

Eat it up, yum.

Down with the question marks!

2009-10-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

We just pushed a new revision to our server (v1.97) which solves some encoding issues with international character sets. This should fix a few international feeds which have been seeing question marks instead of the correct international characters.

As always, send us any questions or comments at newsroom@trileet.com. Thanks!

Android Users, you're not forgotten!

2009-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy few weeks for us here at Trileet, with the Pre launch and upcoming update and some other unexpected projects coming up. But we haven't forgotten you Android users! As our first, you'll always be dearest to our heart and we have a jam packed update on the way in the next few weeks.

In the meantime check the app store for version 1.2 which lifts the expiration for a few more weeks to hold you over, and keep your eye out for the next update before then.

Questions or comments? As always, send them over to newsroom@trileet.com.

Thanks a Bunch

2009-10-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Our launch this week of NewsRoom on Palm Pre has gone swimmingly and we have all of you to thank for it. We've received a ton of great feedback so far and are excited to see where this thing is headed. We've even already got the first update on it's way to you with huge performance improvements and that nasty little 9 feed limit lifted.

We are thrilled you guys are digging it -- and if you are one of them, make sure to leave us props in the Palm App Catalog. The more support we get in the early going the more likely this app will blossom into something truly awesome.

Demo Video of NewsRoom for Palm Pre

2009-10-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

We've created a demo video to show NewsRoom for Palm Pre in action. You can view more details over at http://www.trileet.com/palm/newsroom.

If you are on the fence about whether you think this app is worth purchasing, hopefully this will help push you in one direction or another (preferably in the direction supports NewsRoom development ;)

Bug Squashing Continues

2009-10-07T19:16:00.001-07:00

Even though the client update hasn't yet made it through the approval process, we have been making improvements and fixing bugs on the server side. Some users have reported seeing new article counts despite the feeds being unchanged. We've tracked down the issue on our side, shipped a new version of the server (v1.86) and it should be fixed going forward.

Thanks again to everyone providing their comments, you are helping make NewsRoom better day by day. As always, send us any comments at newsroom@trileet.com

First Impressions

2009-10-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but we hope we won't need one. How's your first go round with NewsRoom all ye Pre users? Post in the comments and let us know what you like and what you would like to see improved upon.

We've already heard from a lot of you, and here is a list of a few of things we are looking at.

Removing that obnoxious temporary 9 feed limit
Performance improvements (we won't stop until this thing is as silky smooth as possible)
Per-feed update Notifications

What is on your list? What about NewsRoom makes you want to gush with praise? ;)

Let's hear it in the comments.

Palm Pre losing 9 feed limit

2009-10-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Palm Pre is a new platform for us and as such we opted to tread carefully when it came to using your precious phone's resources for the first version of NewsRoom. Rest assured that the 9 feed limit is somewhat arbitrary (that's how many fit on a page) and this limitation will be lifted just as quickly as we can get an update through Palm. It might be a little while since Palm obviously has their hands full trying to fill out their catalog offering, but don't fret it -- you will be able to track more than 9 at a time soon enough.

If you have any other feedback, let us know as soon as possible and perhaps it will make in the next update! As always, you can e-mail us at newsroom@trileet.com.

Welcome Palm Pre Users!

2009-10-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Palm Pre has opened it's doors to paid content in the App Catalog and there to greet it is a shiny new copy of NewsRoom for the Pre. We hope you find this fresh new way of bringing the web to your phone a pleasure to use. We are continually trying to make it better and would love to hear your feedback, suggestions, or concerns so we can address them quickly.

~~We've been told there's an issue with adding feeds by URL on the Pre. We are looking into it and will get it fixed up as quickly as possible.~~ This turned out to be due to some malformed URLs. We've made the server more lenient in dealing with these and you shouldn't have a problem adding feeds by URL on the Pre.

As always, feel free to e-mail us at newsroom@trileet.com.

Welcome ADC2 Users!

2009-10-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Android Developer Challenge has been underway for a little while now. We see the Android platform and the NewsRoom product as a great marriage.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to those of you and participating in the voting process. Many improvements have been made over the past few weeks since our ADC2 submission. After giving it a try in the challenge, be sure to go download it from the Marketplace so you can really kick the tires. We are working tirelessly to improve the product and we hope you are enjoying it. If you like the direction we are headed with NewsRoom your votes will help encourage future development.

Product Shot Detection

2009-10-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Face detection is all fine and good, but where is the face for all those product shots that find their way into many blogs today? We've introduced automatic product shot detection which allows us to show the most interesting part of the photo for you automatically. We just pushed this version out this morning, so look for better product shots going forward. This will be especially helpful for the Gizmodos and Engadgets of the world.

Face Detection

2009-09-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

In our continuing effort to make the most of your phone's precious screen space, we've added face detection to Newsroom. This means we should do a better job of zeroing in on the parts of photos that matter the most for your snippet views. As always, let us know how we are doing or make any suggestions at newsroom@trileet.com.

Better Summaries

2009-09-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Continuing in our quest to bring you the greatest browsing experience, we just pushed a new change to our servers (v1.68) which should help improve the quality of article summaries. Specifically we are now trying to remove header information which you might not be interested in immediately, like the by line or date. Don't worry, it will all still be there when you view the full article, but we think this makes it even easier to skim articles quickly.

Let us know what you think! A good example site is CNBC. As always, send us your comments and questions at newsroom@trileet.com.

Broken Transparency

2009-09-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

We just fixed a problem pointed out by a user (thanks!) that affected a few preview images in some of the blogs. Namely any image which had a transparent background was being put on a black background instead of the more standard white one. We now do the more 'correct' thing and draw a white background which should make most look good. This change is on the back end, so you don't need to do anything, new items will be fixed as they come in.

Got a cheer or a jeer? Send us a note at newsroom@trileet.com.

The Bleeding Edge

2009-09-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

We've made some more changes to our deep harvesting technology on the server side which should mean more content for more feeds! But as with all these types of things, there are always a few bugs, so if you encounter a site which seems wrong, send us a note, we'll take a look at it!

Remember, you can always send us comments, suggestions or rants at newsroom@trileet.com.

Supersizing Your Content

2009-09-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

One advantage that NewsRoom has over other RSS readers is that we process the RSS feeds on our server first. That means that we can do all sorts of fancy things to make it a better experience on your phone. One thing we are experimenting with is taking feeds which only have teaser content and pulling the full content out for you, because after all, that's what you want to read!

This feature is still in the early stages, but you can see it on popular gossip feeds like TMZ or People.com. You'll enjoy full articles and images when reading them in NewsRoom despite the raw RSS feeds only containing teaser content.

Just another way we try to make NewsRoom more than RSS.

Have a feed you'd like to see more content for? Got any questions or comments? Drop us a note at newsroom@trileet.com.

New Feed Additions

2009-09-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

One comment we've seen is that new feed additions sometimes take more time than in other readers. That is one case that is true! The reason is that if you are adding a feed which we haven't seen before, the server has to go gather the content for that site before NewsRoom can view it. This may take 10 or 15 seconds, but only happens the very first time you add a brand new feed. Needless to say, updates from then on are speedy quick, and most feeds will already exist, so it shouldn't be something you run into often.

Things seem slower for you? Got other questions? Send them to newsroom@trileet.com and let us know!

Don't be a Stranger Now

2009-09-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

NewsRoom is only as good as you make it! If you have comments or suggestions, good or bad, make sure to send us an email at newsroom@trileet.com. We can't reply to you if you just write a review and we want to address any and all questions!

So don't be a stranger now, let us know what you think!

Welcome to NewsRoom, Stay a While.

2009-09-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

To all our new users, welcome to NewsRoom! We've built NewsRoom to make it a joy to keep up to date with the latest news you care about. We tried hard to make it as enjoyable an experience as possible, but hey, sometimes even we make mistakes. So if you run into any problems, or have any suggestions, make sure to let us know.

If you have any questions, problems or suggestions, send them to newsroom@trileet.com. We promise we'll respond to them!

We Heart your Battery

2009-09-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Android users, you'll appreciate this one. If you've tried any of the other RSS readers, you might notice two things when you are running them. One, they slow down your phone periodically when they go fetch new articles, and two, they absolutely KILL your battery life.

We built NewsRoom to only fetch articles when you enter the app. We can do these quickly because of our server back end which sends down only the new articles. So your battery will be exactly the same running NewsRoom as it is without and your phone will never be slow from us.

There, that wasn't so hard was it? We love your battery, you should too.

Doing Away with Lists

2009-09-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

We aren't big fans of lists. Endless lists are hard to read, and it just isn't how we usually consume our news. When we read a website like LifeHacker, we skim it, glancing at the headlines and the images, seeing if there is anything that catches our eye. NewsRoom is built to allow you to do the same thing on your phone by giving you the title, a little image snack and a tidbit of content to help you skim your favorite news sites. If you want to find more, it's easy to do so with a quick swipe up.

Unclogging the Pipes

2009-09-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

One big problem with RSS readers on cell phones is how much data they pull down. Every time you phone goes to the network to download something, it uses your battery life up, not to mention that it takes a while, since even the fastest networks are still pretty slow. NewsRoom was built to both minimize the number of requests and the total size by using a custom server architecture which only sends the new articles to your phone. This makes updates both very fast and very small.

On a typical RSS reader, each time you update your sites, you'll making at least one request per site! On NewsRoom only one request is made, and if nothing has changed, the response size is tiny. As they say, size matters, and the smaller the request the longer your battery life and the faster you'll be up to date.

Fat Fingered Interface

2009-09-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

One of the main goals in building the interface for NewsRoom was to make it Bus Friendly (tm). We ride public transit a lot, and as anyone will tell you, that leaves you with a lot of time to kill and a rather bumpy ride. So NewsRoom is built to work with broad gestures instead of precise clicks. You skim articles by swiping left and right, drill down with broad upwards swipes and back up with downward swipes. It is intuitive and fun to use, but most importantly easy to navigate no matter how bumpy the ride.

Newsroom is better than RSS

2009-09-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

With all those RSS readers out there, why on earth did we bother building Newsroom? First a little background..

Hipster for the Sidekick

Nic and I were developers for the T-Mobile Sidekick when it was in it's infancy (the first Sidekick's were available in October of 2002). During that time, the folks who had cell phones tended to have pretty un-smart ones. You know the type, 9 digits worth of keys, tiny screens, crummy J2ME games.. The Sidekick brought with it an always on GPRS connection, a large landscape display, and a beautiful QWERTY keyboard. We were jazzed just thinking about all the possibilities we could create with those assets at our disposal. We could

create an app to show the lowest gas prices near your home, a stock tracker, or even just a mobile enhanced version of Gizmodo. Being the ambitious chaps that we are, we decided to tackle a project that would do all the above and more.

The product, we called Hipster, allowed anyone who could create an XML document to screen scrape any website and format it in a way that works great for the device. When it was released, folks created over 100 Hipster modules to bring the best of the web to their phone. It was even featured in Popular Science as a "must have" app for the T-Mobile Sidekick. What does all of this have to do with Newsroom? I'm glad you asked.

Newsroom is born

A good chunk of our Hipster modules relied on RSS feeds from various sites as they were generally easier for module authors to parse than full web pages. Although the real power of Hipster lied in processing sites that did not publish RSS feeds, we set about to build an RSS focused product for the Sidekick. Why do that when you already have something even more powerful like Hipster? Well, Hipster sadly was a little before it's time. The carriers (*cough* T-Mobile *cough*) were apprehensive about apps that were too popular and that they wouldn't have the bandwidth to support all of the users. Also, at the time (and possibly still today), Hipster was too powerful of a concept for them to wrap their collective carrier heads around. There were so many RSS readers out there, but we didn't want to build just another RSS client, we wanted to bring a far cooler and more satisfying experience for consuming that content on a phone.

Newsroom is better than RSS

Sure we could just spit out a list of headlines and links, but where is the fun in that? Nic and I were both originally server engineers, having spent time building enterprise class servers by day and tinkering with mobile phones by night. We wanted to use our expertise with building solid back-end services and combine that with mobile phones to produce something more compelling.

Most RSS readers on mobile phones suck because..

..they are ugly
..they tend to show the user a vanilla list of headlines to click on (kinda like reading the Table of Contents for a text book)
..they have limited use of images
..they are sloooooow and take even longer to update
..they overwhelm users with large lists of "unread" posts asking them to "mark as read", etc
..they chew up the phone's battery

There are other reasons they are sucky, but these are the big ones, and the ones we wanted to tackle. We'll go into more detail into how we addressed these in our next posts.