Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reader

Google Reader replacement?

grouse — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:38:14 -0800

Google Reader is going away soon. What should I replace it with? Specific requirements inside.

Import existing feeds from Google Reader.
Import starred items from Google Reader.
Web interface that works with Firefox on Windows and Linux.
Keyboard navigation on web interface that allows quickly moving from one whole article to the next (not just titles).
Android app that allows quickly moving from one whole article to the next.
iPad app.
Offline storage on Android and iPad apps.
Ability to star/flag items for future follow-up.
Folder organization of feeds.
Export to Pocket.
Easy subscription of feeds from Firefox.
Would prefer something free but am willing to pay money.
Easy sharing of items via email/Facebook/Twitter/Google+.

There was a flurry of posts about Reader replacements when Google first announced they were pulling the plug, including an Ask MetaFilter post, "Recommended replacements for Google Reader?" I figured that after a couple of months some of the dust will have settled, new services may have been developed, and people would know which services can handle the increased load of Reader refugees.

Is there really no ipad rss reader app with pinterest access?

Acer_saccharum — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:35:35 -0800

All the reader apps I've found don't have pinterest support, and the pinterest app browser is a super cumbersome way to use google reader, as is safari for ipad. The only workaround I've found is to copy the web address within the RSS feed of any post I want to pin, then paste that address in either the pinterest app or safari, then pin it, rendering ipad virtually useless for reading blogs. There has to be a better way, right? I got an ipad as a present over the holidays, and was most excited to have a way to flip through my RSS feed (google reader) using an rss app. Mostly, I follow recipe blogs, and like to pin the recipes accessed from the RSS feed onto a pinterest board.

Problem being that all the reader apps I've found (currently using feedly, but read up on all the main candidates) don't open the RSS posts in a web browser with access to the 'pin it' button, or have pinterest support, and the pinterest app browser is a super cumbersome way to use google reader, as is safari for ipad (in which I've bootlegged a pin it button to the bookmarks, ala web instructions). The only workaround I've found is to copy the web address within the RSS feed of any post I want to pin, then paste that address in either the pinterest app or safari, then pin it, rendering ipad virtually useless for reading blogs.

There has to be a better way, right?

Recreate Google's "Share in Reader" bookmarklet

billtron — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:08:19 -0800

I want this: 1) highlight portion of any website, including embedded youtube, images, text, what have you. 2) click bookmarklet. Optional step 3) a new window pops up, allowing me to add a note. 4) a subscribeable RSS feed receives a new entry, whose title is a link back to the website in step one, and whose body is the highlighted portion from step one as well as my note. 5) share RSS with friends. Does it exist? Back in the day, my favorite thing about Google Reader was the creativity with which people shared links using the "Note in Reader" bookmarklet. Then Google went and made Google+, abandoning the social aspect of reader. Now a bunch of former reader users have gathered at theoldreader.com, which is only missing the "note in reader" functionality that Google took away. While its creators work on scaleability and stability, this seems like a useful temporary solution, if it exists.

The Great Google Break Up: RSS Edition.

itsacover — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:08:03 -0800

What is a good RSS alternative to Google Reader? I have almost entirely de-Googled myself save for using it for search. My last problem is the Google Reader replacement. I have been using Netvibes for a little while, but don't much care for it. I would like something like Feedly, but every app out there relies on Google Reader. Am I missing one? Or am I missing a work around so that I don't have to use Google Reader?

I have found other questions that have answered with Feedly or Reeder, but those still depend on Google. I am looking for Google-free alternatives that are apparently hard to find.

Not so much to ask, really

FatherDagon — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:38:06 -0800

So, I got myself an Android tablet, specifically for DnD nerdery. Now I've got some specific desires for pdf and spreadsheet programs - but am having a hell of a time tracking down apps that can what I want. Are these things really that hard to do in Jelly Bean? For spreadsheet stuff, I've got some .xls sheets that I use for reference. What I'd like to do is be able to drastically change a cell with one or two taps at the most - fill it all black, put a big X in it, something. In excel for Win7 I was able to use macros to set cells up as single-click Marlett checkboxes in several columns which worked beautifully, but that particular slice of VBA is not Android friendly.

So far the closest I've found is Kingsoft Office, which has a ribbon of functions at the top including a fill command. I can tap-select a cell, tap fill, tap the color, but I'd love to just select the cell and tap one thing to fill or clear it. Is there any program that allows creation of shortcuts in the top ribbon?

For .pdfs, my need is much more simple - tabbed reading of multiple pdfs. I'd love something that runs like Foxit Reader, but apparently the Android version of Foxit is a) not free and b) kind of crap. None of the other pdf readers do tabbed reading in a simple-to-switch format. Any suggestions?

For clarity, I'm running non-rooted 4.2 Jelly Bean on an Asus Transformer Infinity TF700TT.

Can I save a secure form in Reader?

Thorzdad — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:16:16 -0800

How to get Adobe Reader to save a secure form? I'm almost embarrassed to admit I can't figure out an answer to this one...

I'm building a PDF form for a client in Acrobat 9 Pro. The PDF will be posted on their website for their customers to download, fill-in, and email back. (No, we aren't doing an online form. Don't ask.) I've set security on the PDF to allow printing and filling-in form fields. However, I run into a problem when opening and filling-in the PDF in Adobe Reader. I can fill-in the form just fine, but cannot save the filled-in form in order to mail it back. Reader will only save a blank form.

I've found that Preview will save the filled-in form, so I'm sure that there are plenty of Windows apps that will, too. But, it's a good bet that a large number of their customers will be using Reader.

Any ideas how I can build this form and get Reader to save a completed form? Will I have to post the PDF without any security set? I'm told there is a way to do this with Acrobat 10 Pro, but, as I said, I'm on Acrobat 9.

Thanks!

Best device/devices to stream music from a HD to surround sound receiver and read e-books?

plumberonkarst — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:24:31 -0800

I need advice choosing electronic device/s to perform 2 different tasks (e-books and streaming music from an external HD to Surround sound receiver)

I have a large amount of e-books in PDF format (although I have Calibre and could convert) and an external hard drive with lots of music that I want to stream (on shuffle) through a surround sound receiver/TV.

Would an e-book reader and something like a sling box be best? or can I find a notebook/Ipad/Microsoft surface etc type device that could perform both functions?

I do not mind paying for quality but I do not need top end by any means.I prefer to directly connect to the receiver as opposed to wireless.

Best PDF annotation app for Android

foxinsocks — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:57:54 -0800

Best PDF reader and annotating application for Android? I have a tablet that runs the newest version of Android (ice cream whatever it is I think). Anyway, I am looking for a program that will allow me to read and make notes on PDF files. I am looking for something like GoodReader or iAnnotate (from the iPad world). Any suggestions?

How can I create my own website aggregator?

Telf — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 08:03:07 -0800

How can I make a sharable aggregate of interesting news and blog articles with a set URL? Please be kind as I'm way out of my element on this one. I don't even know enough to know if this is a dumb question or what words to search for. Even some useful vocab would help.

I'd like to make a collection of my favorite websites and blogs and synthesize them into one website/URL. I'd like this URL to be viewable by anyone. So an account based service might not work.

For example, I like to read articles from elitefts.com, tnation.com, eric cressey's blog, and Sweat Science.

I'd like to somehow get these in one place, more or less automatically once the parameters have been set.

So I know there some useful aggregator sites out there. I still check popurls.com fairly regularly. I'm not exactly sure where services like Google Reader are nowadays. I know the functionality has changed a lot since I last used it. I've tried fiddling around with RSS readers like RSSOWL but I don't understand the functionality.

Anyway, where do I begin to do something like this? Is there a service? Software? Do I need to hire someone to write some code? I probably read 30+ blogs and sites a day. More importantly, I'm in a position where I need to share articles with other people as quickly as possible. I'd like to just give my clients one link that would contain everything.

I haven't an Inklings

Trespassers William — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:43:58 -0800

Where can I find some hapless slob (of the discerning, lettered variety) upon whom to foist my amateur fiction writing for the purpose of obtaining constructive feedback? Recently I decided to try my hand at writing a Victorian fantasy children's novel (sort of aspiring to the style and tone of E. Nesbit and Edward Eager). I'm really enjoying the process and I think, a few chapters in, that I have the makings of a good story.

What I really want at this point is objective feedback. For some reason this hasn't been an easy thing to come by, and thus I am turning to you, Writers of MetaFilter, for advice. Are there online forums whose communities are good at this kind of thing? Which ones? Is this a service one pays for? Or do writers simply have friends with good writerly sensibilities? (Which I don't. Have friends, that is. Er, with good writerly sensibilities, I mean.)

Or am I going about this all wrong, cart before the horse and all that? Please tell me! Your advice is much appreciated.

Transparent DRM

benzenedream — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:33:25 -0800

I'd like to make certain documents at work (mostly PDFs) only openable to logged-in domain members based on group membership. Watermarking with account credentials would be a plus. I'm looking for the cheapest option that will prevent accidental leakage of some docs (e.g. Reply-All bombs), PDFs for the most part. I know we could accomplish this with PDF passwords, but they will be a pain to maintain in the long run. Ideally this would be integrated with Active Directory so group membership would determine accessibility. Commercial options from a brief google are LockLizard, FileOpen, and a few other plugin vendors, many of which are overbuilt for DRM ebook distribution, not a SMB situation. We've got a mixed WinXP/7 domain with 2008 DCs. Watermarking with accountname etc. is a nice-to-have. Is there anything built into Adobe or Windows that will do this? This only has to work at a single site.

Please no lectures on how DRM doesn't work. I know it's impossible to fully control documents. We're only trying to deter casual/accidental leakage.

Straight to readable text?

Juso No Thankyou — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:35:39 -0800

Is there an online RSS feed reader, with a Readability-like feature, that takes me straight to formatted text when I click on a news item? No extra clicks on readability or instapaper buttons please. Currently I'm using Netvibes as my RSS feed reader. I use it with Readability to strip articles of general cruft and to make the text more legible. It's a nice approach, but it's not ideal. My google-fu has failed me, as has my search of previous asks.

Firstly, I have to click to get the article to display in Netvibes. Another click and it pops up in another tab. One more click on the Readability button and finally I'm ready to go. For one or two articles, that's fine. But when I'm wading through a whole bucketload of articles - not so good.

To be clear, I'm looking for an RSS reader - preferably online - that supplies me with formatted text (like Readability offers) inside the reader. I don't want to have to go to the original article page, nor do I want to have to use extra clicks. If only a software reader will do the job, it will have to run in Linux, or (if a browser addon) Firefox.

If you don't know about such a reader, but have a better method, please tell.

I should add that I want to read my articles at my main pc, and I'm not interested in any of this "read it later" lark.

Getting AACs in bulk to become MP3s to better be played with SDs.

rileyray3000 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:21:51 -0800

What's the best - and ideally free - way to get a LOT of AAC's onto a memory card that will play in my car? So I have a new VW and one of the cool things that comes with the car is an SD slot that plays music. Unfortunately, as part of the cult of Jobs, I stopped buying anything except iTunes a long time back. And after testing it out, I see the SD reader is playing the Mp3's and skipping the AACs.

The question is what now?

I know I can do one song at a time with the MP3 encoder in iTunes. But that's not really helpful for my purposes. It'll play an 8 gig card and I'd rather not make 8gigs of song re-encodes one song at a time. So what's the best (and ideally free) way to do this in a batch and keep all the metadata that goes with it so it'll show up in the listings when it plays in my car?

Google Reader: "You don't have permission to view this feed." Why not?

kaboomer — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:03 -0800

Google Reader seems to be permanently displaying an error message when I first try to access my feeds. To recap the specifics of my problem, here's what caused it to come up in the first place, and what I've done to try and solve it. 1) Imported all of my feeds from another Reader account. 2) Attempted to access my new Reader account, which always results in the "You don't have permission to view this feed." error message. I can then click on "All Items" and access my feeds, but this extra step is really annoying (it's the internet, don't make me click twice ;). 3) Checked to see if the address is "https" and not "http". Yes, it's "https" 4) Tried deleting all of my feeds, starred items, etc, and then subscribing to a brand new one. The problem remains. Anyone know what might be causing this? Can I just delete this Reader account (w/o deleting my Gmail, GPlus, etc.) and start again? Also, yes, I asked this question on Google's forums months ago and haven't received any useful advice there. Probably because Google doesn't really care about its users. Oh, and this is on all browsers and all different computers.

How do I get a job recording audio books?

BradNelson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:03:08 -0800

How do I get a job as a "voice" for audio books? I've had a passive interest in doing this for a while and think I have a good voice for it. Assuming that I do, how do I go about getting into this business. Word is that it is a constantly growing market, so there is always a need for voices/readers/"talent".

There are some things like this that promise to tell you all you need to know, but this just screams scam and I don't want to waste $80.

I live in Minneapolis and can't justify moving for the sake of this, but I'd really like to get into it, even if just on an occasional or part-time basis. How feasible is this?

"I'd listen to them read the phone book"

SampleSize — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:39:04 -0800

Who are your favorite audiobook readers? My favorites so far have been Stephen Briggs (reading Discworld, Terry Pratchett) and Lenny Henry (reading Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman). I really enjoy readers who do great, distinctive character voices. I tend to prefer the male voice, but I'm open to trying female narrators as well. Suggestions?

Perfect e-book reader

pulled_levers — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:31:41 -0800

Wanted: a large e-book reader with e-ink and PDF support. Does anyone know of such a product or if one is in the works? The Kindle does not have PDF support, as in you cannot manipulate the PDF and zoom in with say, your fingers like with an iPad. But the iPad is also out of the question because it doesn't have e-ink.

Surely I cant be the only one who wants something like the e-book reader in my description. I think that many academics would probably be interested too.

Does anyone know of anything out there that matches the description or is in the works? Thanks!

Recommend books on boxing for non-readers.

devious truculent and unreliable — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:59:08 -0800

My nephew is 20. He's starting college again. He doesn't read, so his essays are poorly written. The information is in there, but it is poorly structured, Capital letters appear for no Apparent reason, etc. If he read anything, ever, his writing would improve. But he won't. He likes boxing. Can anyone recommend a boxing book which would entertain him and is simple enough for him to understand ?

Ebook reader with good PDF support?

daniel_charms — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:20:39 -0800

What's the best ebook reader for reading PDF-s, specifically academic papers? With the number of papers and books I read in digital form constantly growing, I've recently started looking into buying an e-reader, since reading them on an e-ink screen would seem to be easier on the eyes than staring at a computer screen all day. Some of the more popular models, however, don't seem to work for me, since they either only have very basic pdf support, no way to make annotations, or both. I've read and watched tons of reviews of different readers, but they really don't tell you much about the (day to day) experience of using such a device for this purpose, so I'd like to hear about yours.

Popup footnotes in an e-book app

backwards guitar — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:54:10 -0800

Are there any iPad e-book reading apps that implement footnotes as a popup? I've been spoiled by the Instapaper app, which now shows footnotes in a popup on the screen. This is a more elegant solution, in my opinion, to the endnotes view-then-click-to-return method that iBooks uses.

I'm contemplating reading Infinite Jest on the iPad, and I'm worried that I'll be bouncing back and forth over the hundreds of footnotes, so I'd prefer a popup solution.

A universal app would be nice, but iPad only is fine too.

Serious Problem with the New Google Reader

SocialPsiTina — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:26:15 -0800

Is there a way to post stand-alone websites to the New Google Reader? I used to do it with a tool in my bookmarks toolbar called "Note in Reader", but that no longer works. I simply don't see how to do it. I really like to keep a web-file of my favorite articles. Can I still do it in Google Reader? I hate to go to an alternate source to create a webfile, but if you have a suggestion, and I could consider that too, much as I hate to.

Google Reader Diaspora

kidsleepy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:32:32 -0800

Google Reader's social features just went dark. I'm distraught. What are my alternatives? Google Plus doesn't work, since for many of us, it's blocked at work. We can still read our feeds, but how can we share? Can we use the "Send To" feature to somehow funnel everything to a shared blog, which we then can all subscribe to via RSS? And what about commenting?

I'm seriously in tears over this. Hope me, MeFi.

What's the best e-book reader for iPad2?

chavenet — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:40:57 -0800

So last night I upgraded my iPad2 to iOS5 and discovered that my favorite e-book reader app, Stanza, doesn't work anymore. The ´net seems to think it will no longer be developed, so now I need to find a new reader. Dropbox connection is essential. I have (just now) settled on Bluefire, which is OK but laggy compared to Stanza. Any better suggestions for e-book reader apps for iPad2?

I'd like a lottery playing machine. And now that my grandma is passed, I need it to be electronic.

rileyray3000 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:42:12 -0800

I'm looking for some software to play the lottery. Does this exist? I'd like to try something as an experiment. I'd like to spend 100 dollars a month on lottery tickets for two or three of the big lotteries (power ball, megamillions, the big state ones). The problem is, you get 100 quick pick tickets from different sources, you gotta check 100 tickets to different sources.

So my question is, is there any kind of USB reader with software that's designed for this sort of thing? Like those card scanners you put your business cards into that strip the info out and put it into your address book. Does anyone make anything like that for lottery tickets? Or is there some sort of software that makes things easier? Basically I'm looking for way to make this as easy as possible. Or at least as thorough and effective as my late gambling addicted grandmother.

Ideas?

RR

Why Isn't This Easier?

miss tea — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:56:45 -0800

Can anyone recommend a plug-in that allows adobe acrobat to sort pages by page number? I inserted page numbers into a document; extracted certain pages into separate files, and then combined them again; the page numbers were off as a result (and there are some dupes). I'd like to make them resort by page number. Any ideas?