Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with RSS

I need email updates on my blackberry from a private authenticated rss feed.

Chamunks — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:57:46 -0800

I need to be notified on my blackberry of RSS events on a secure authenticated RSS feed. These notifications can be sms texts or preferably plain text emails. They could and should filter for keywords as the site doesn't as far as I can tell. I was thinking of using yahoo pipes but I have no idea how to start but I've heard its a good way to start. I'm looking for ways to be notified immediately of events on member sites I go to. One in particular is https://ssl.what.cd and a keyword would be something like "freeleech". Its the only example that I can think of right now but I have many other uses for something like this any insight related to fulfilling my need here is fully appreciated.

Also if this (assuming but not limited to the use of yahoo pipes) pipe could also benefit from being able to push this feed to google reader as it would be nice to find a way to get authenticated feeds in google reader.

Please if you must troll over invites and morality issues please restrict them to direct messages to my user via mefimail I would prefer to keep this questions answers related to solving my problem and not a possible piracy flame war when that is not the focus of this question it was only an example.

Can any RSS reader read private Blogger blogs?

freddymungo — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:21:07 -0800

How can I view private Blogger blogs in any RSS reader? Is there any way? I think it's silly that I can't in Google Reader, since I use the same account to read those blogs as in Google Reader. Bonus points if there's a good downloadable (not online) service that can finagle it.

How to trim a Feedburner feed?

Solomon — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:41:50 -0800

Within the past couple of weeks, I've noticed that a lot of extra info is being displayed in the Firefox address bar when clicking through from my feed reader. How do I stop this from happening? I'm using Firefox 3.5.5 and Sage-Too 2.0.0. Up until a couple of weeks ago, when clicking through from Icanhascheezeburger's feed, it would show

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/12/05/funny-pictures-smarter-than-the-terrier/

in the address bar, but now it shows

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/12/05/funny-pictures-smarter-than-the-terrier/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ICanHasCheezburger+%28I+CAN+HAS+CHEEZBURGER%3F%29

I think I may have upgraded Firefox in the past couple of weeks, but Sage-Too has been installed since August. I'm also pretty sure that this is only happening on Feedburner feeds.

How do I get it to stop adding the extra bit on the end and make it display like it did previously? I don't want to change my feed reader if at all possible.

How to make periodic reminders from RSS/evernote?

insperatum — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:45:57 -0800

How can I make periodic, spaced reminders of items from an rss feed (or even straight from evernote) so that I know I will not forget them? I got an evernote account recently, and I'm loving how easy it is to add notes from anywhere (including my G1 =D). That said, what it seems to lack is the feature of reminding you of notes every so often (a feature which reQall does very nicely).

So what I'm looking for is some way of automatically reminding myself of my evernotes, perhaps from the rss feed which it lets me create. Something which would, for example, email me (or better yet feed me) a note reminder every, say, 4,16,64,etc days after note creation would be fantastic. Of course, something which would be able to import my evernotes straight into SuperMemo or some other spaced repetition software would be even better, though that may be a bit ambitious. Any suggestions whatsoever would be very useful though, since I'm at a complete loss.

While I'm here, do any of you guys have other systems for taking and remembering notes? It's just beginning to hit me that how quickly I forget all the little facts that I learn throughout the day, and so I'm trying to build an easy way of being able to say "Right, this little fact is important. Make sure I don't forget it until I tell you otherwise."

Many thanks,
Luke

Does an RSS feed reader exist that can save the linked HTML pages locally?

chrisamiller — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:04:19 -0800

Is there an RSS reader that can follow a feed's links and download html pages for offline reading? I'm primarily a Google Reader user, but its offline mode only downloads the content of the RSS feeds themselves. Many of my feeds hide some of their content "after the jump", so getting just the feed doesn't help me.

I'm looking for a script or program that will follow the links, then pull down the html page (including associated images) and save them locally so that I can peruse them on my laptop at 30,000 feet.

I could slap something together with an XML parser and wget, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel. I feel like someone has probably solved this problem already.

I'll be using this on linux, but I'm willing to consider windows software as well, if it's something that might work reasonably under Wine.

I'll take a look at anything from full-blown desktop readers to cli scripts in perl/ruby/python etc.

Filter for Flickr feeds

foggy out there now — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:10:19 -0800

How would I filter out a single user's images from a Flickr pool's feed? There's a Flickr pool for my community, and it's great. But there's a particular contributor who dominates the pool with self-portraits. I'd like to filter this person out of the RSS feed if possible.

I'm not a member of the pool, nor would I suggest this contributor be removed from the pool. I just don't want to see this user's work in my feed reader every day.

I'm subscribing to the feed via Google Reader if that makes any difference.

Is there a good way to get notified when jobsites post new listings?

RachelSmith — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:48:12 -0800

A wildland firefighter/fire ecologist, I have a rather unique skillset. I know most of the websites appropriate jobs are posted, but few of them have email alerts or rss feeds. Is there any way to stay abreast of new postings without going to each site every week? I'm a wildland firefighter, just finishing a degree in fire ecology and environmental management, with international and policy experience. I have a bit of an unusual skillset, and the jobs I'm interested on are typically not posted on sites like Monster. The kind of jobs I'm looking for are mostly posted on pages like this, with no rss feed or subscriptions.

Right now I just have a list of website to check in with every week or two, but sometimes I forget and miss potential interesting opportunities. Is there any way to find out about new listings on websites like this? Thanks!

GamerTag Activity RSS Feed

boombot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:15:44 -0800

How do I get an RSS feed of games played for an XBox360 GamerTag? In the past, certain Yahoo Pipes offered this, but they now all seem broken.

What are my options for RSS Readers that are text only?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:53 -0800

What are my options for RSS Readers that are text only? I use Bloglines to read my RSS feed, but I'm trying to find a reader that can strip away all the images and display only the text. The reason is that a lot of the blogs I like to keep up on tend to post a lot of NSFW pictures and I do most of my reading at work. The mobile version of Bloglines worked for awhile, but lately has started displaying pictures too.

Anyone have any recommendations on how I can keep up with my literary porn while working for an ever watchful boss?

How do I create a RSS feed for my Amazon Web Store?

Aegean — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:44:56 -0800

I'm trying to figure out how to create a XML / RSS feed of my Amazon web store products so I can update to Google Merchant. There doesn't seem to be many functions / plug-ins offered by AWS and their help isn't very helpful. I've done a fair amount of searching and have come up empty handed. Would anyone have an idea how I might go about creating this feed?

How to get an RSS feed from a website that doesn't have an RSS Feed.

gm2007 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:40:39 -0800

Setting up an RSS feed for a job board that does not have an RSS feed subscription. Is there a way to do this? I would like to add an RSS feed to my iGoogle pages for USAJOBS.GOV searches that I have set up. USAJOBS.GOV allows you to subscribe to searches and receive them by email, but does not have a way to subscribe via RSS.

I went to feedage.com, which has a tool that they call HTML2RSS, which is supposed to convert any HTML page to an RSS feed, but it doesn't work very well on USAJOBS.GOV.

ANy ideas

"Just add RSS"-type instablog needed

ignignokt — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:47:40 -0800

Recommend a free blog provider that can use an RSS feed as a source for content, but also has a decent comment system. I know Tumblr can create blogs that translate RSS feeds into Tumblr blogs, but - by design - they don't have a robust comment system. You can try to drop in something like Disqus, but I've tried that before, and the results are ugly.

Why I'm looking for this: A friend of mine would like to take his Google Reader shared items feed and present it as a blog that strangers can comment on without too much trouble.

Is there an Instapaper for feed aggregation?

Orchestra — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:26:14 -0800

I'm looking for a very simple rss updater to replace Rososo. Any suggestions? It looks like my rss updater of choice, Rososo, might be permanently out of order. This bums me out as it's just about the perfect fit for my needs and aesthetic preferences. Much like Instapaper, another can't-do-without favourite, it has a zen-like vibe of doing one thing really well and looking as simple as possible while doing it.

What I need is a robust (little downtime) and easy-to-use service for keeping an eye on my twenty or so favourite blogs and other sites. I like to read my articles on-site, not through a reader interface, so I'm therefore not looking for Google Reader, I think. Firefox extensions and the like are out as I often use different computers and browsers throughout the day.

Also, I want to be able to follow any feed and not just those that are already submitted to the service (like Bloglovin or Bloglines). Some of my feeds belong to sites written in languages other than English and others I'm just not comfortable adding to a public index (personal Livejournals and the like).

Is there anything out there for me?

Alternatives to Sage Too?

Doofus Magoo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:57:05 -0800

Are there any good alternatives to the Sage Too Firefox extension? I've been using Sage and Sage Too for RSS feeds for several years now. Having recently reinstalled Firefox, I was planning to install Sage Too until the EULA appeared (reproduced below in its entirety):

Anyone using any type of ad blocker is prohibited from installing and using this add-on.

What's a good alternative to Sage Too? I'm probably more interested in a Firefox extension than reading them via a website, but other than that I'm pretty flexible.

How to get RSS feeds off of a Blackberry onto a PC

quaisi — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:45:53 -0800

I have a Blackberry Curve running Opera Mini. I have a long list of rss feeds I read in Opera whilst out and about. How can I get them out of the phone and into a desktop rss reader? There should be an opml file right? But I can't get into the system files when I connect it to the computer. Any ideas?

How to find out about new TV shows without having to check various websites or actually watch TV

saladpants — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:25:07 -0800

Is there an RSS feed that can inform me about new TV shows that are coming out, and only new TV shows? Since I watch almost all of my television by DVR, I don't often see commercials for new shows anymore, and then I hear from friends that I should watch X show about 6 weeks after it starts...too late to get into it. They tell me to watch episodes on Hulu or other such sites, but my internet connection isn't fast enough for that, and where I live I have no faster option.

This post was helpful for identifying when shows I watch come back for a new season from a hiatus, but doesn't do anything to identify new shows I may be interested in. I don't particularly want to subscribe to a general TV feed like from TV guide, since that contains loads of information I have no interest in. I just want something that tells me what new program is coming out, and contains an explanation or description of that show, or a link to such information. Any thoughts?

What should I be reading?

csjc — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:33:11 -0800

I ask you, educated and oh-so cultured MeFites, what should I be reading? Everything's in order, except for my RSS feeds. I'm in need of a good mix of wit, news, and good ol' amusement from the world over to serve as nothing less than my daily reading material. Help me stock that RSS reader. A little background on myself: I'm a 15 year old, suffice to say "linguistics junkie" from Vancouver, Canada.

As far as news goes, I like to have a variety of angles, political and geographical. Whatever you think would leave me with the most accurate and comprehensive knowledge of world news. Locally, if any Vancouverites could oblige, please do.

Otherwise, I'm open to anything. I haven't done well keeping up with all the news lately, but a couple places I enjoy visiting, are, for example: languagehat (of course), and The New York Times book review. I'm generally a big fan of book reviews, interesting short fiction, food, design, geography, history, travel, theoretical physics, photography and anything linguistics-related. I'd like to have a couple links under each of those headings, at least to peruse during the day.

I know there's a lot out there, but I'm only asking for the bare essentials, or at least your personal favourites.

Anything in French or German would be appreciated too, even Swedish/Danish/Norwegian... if you have anything in mind.

Feedreader similar to NYT's Article Skimmer?

defenestration — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:19:59 -0800

I've been reading the New York Times website using their Article Skimmer. I'm looking for a feed reader—web-based or OS X—that has a similar feel and functionality. I find that I really like the way it presents the information and I love navigating it with the arrow keys. This may have a really obvious answer, but I haven't found something that fills the niche. Any ideas?

iPhone RSS reader that supports SSL and authentication?

aberrant — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:33:06 -0800

Anyone know of an RSS reader for iPhone that supports SSL and authentication, and does NOT use an online aggregator? I need an iPhone RSS reader that will handle SSL and authenticated feeds, but it can't use an aggregator (the feed credentials must stay on the iPhone). I've been searching for a while and haven't come up with anything. Anyone come across such an application?

There's a hole in my ozone. Please fill it with rss goodness.

tylerfulltilt — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:13:11 -0800

Help me find the perfect rss reader for my HTC Ozone. I'm looking for an app, not a web based aggregator. I'm looking for a well designed interface. The ability to play podcasts within the app. The ability to view full articles within the app. And if it could play videos within the app as well then that would be swell.

Viigo would be perfect except it doesn't allow you to save to a storage card, defeating the entire purpose.

Firefox + RSS is making me crazy

taubman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:39:16 -0800

Taming Firefox mouse behavior... After a recent firefox upgrade on my Mac (now running 3.5.2), Firefox now insists on (nearly) instantly showing me the URL for bookmarks in bookmarks toolbar whenever I hover my mouse over one of them. I find this to be really distracting and irritating, especially when im mousing down the list for one of my RSS bookmarks. I'd really like to shut this off, or have it happen with a bit more of a delay when I hover over a bookmark. Any ideas on how to change this behavior?

Thunderbird in plain text

desjardins — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:39:28 -0800

How do I make everything appear in plain text in Mozilla Thunderbird? (using version 2.0.0.22 on Windows XP). I do not want to see any images, don't want to be asked if I want to see them, and I don't want anything to appear in HTML, including RSS feeds. I don't want to see people's cutesy stationary or Twitter's background colors when it notifies me of a new follower. I want black text on a white background, et rien de plus. I click "Show the article summary instead of loading the web page" when I subscribe to an RSS feed but the web page still loads. This was with a Yahoo News RSS feed (don't judge me). Do I need to use plain text news feeds? Does anyone use these anymore or is everything HTML?

Bonus question: How do I force Thunderbird to minimize to the system tray?

I'd like to cause newspapers to lose revenuve faster...

cgomez — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:45:17 -0800

Which quality newspapers and other news services provide full-text RSS feeds? I'm looking for a world, national, and also sources specific to California news and politics. Alternatively, what are some MacGyver-style ways to make a full-text RSS feed for my current favorites? Some exemplary source I've seen are the Sacramento Bee, NY Times, and of course - Metafilter. I've found a site called Feedcry which does offer some full-text feeds for Bloomberg and the WSJ which is great. But, I'm looking for more. Thanks much.

River of news.

Dreamcast — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:40:18 -0800

I hate feed aggregation software. I want to set something like this up (which uses this), but I know nothing about Python. Are there any alternatives? Recently, I came upon this site, which aggregates a bunch of feeds this guy reads on a page. I really liked the set up, so I e-mailed him, and asked him how he did it, and he responded saying he uses Venus, which is a Python script (I don't know the terminology for these things). I attempted to follow the instructions to install it on my site, but it all went over my head, and confused the hell out of me, so I gave up. Is there any way I can achieve the same effect as that guy's site without having to go through some confusing installation process? Preferably, something I can host on my own site, and can customize the look of. I can install things like WordPress and all that, but once you get into things like Python and Ruby on Rails, I'm lost (just so you know what I can and can't do).

What's a good alternative for Google Reader?

scottso17 — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:23:54 -0800

What's a good alternative for Google Reader? My employer just started blocking Google Reader (via Websense), saying that it's using up too much bandwidth. (Yeah, sounds funny to me, too.) I suspect there's some alternatives that aren't blocked, but I really love Google Reader and miss being able to jump into it at work. I appreciate any suggestions. Oh, I can't use software like Tor or HTTP Tunnel. That already got me in trouble. Oops.