Blog On The Road with PocketBlogger 1.0

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketblogger.net/' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketblogger.net/</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050310-PocketBlogger.gif" /><br /><br />Many of you may be familiar with <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29889">PocketBlog</a>, although development on it has been dead for quite some time. Well, don't despair. A new and free alternative has just arrived - PocketBlogger 1.0. This initial release will allow you to login to Blogger.com, read your blog, as well as post on it. This may be handy for many of you who maintain a blog, and would like the option to post on the go. For those of you who end up giving this a test run, let us know how it stacks up.<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> PocketBlogger has just been updated to Version 1.1. Head over to the <a href="http://www.pocketblogger.net/">PocketBlogger website</a> for more information.

[Kevin Daly]

This might be an opportune moment for me to mention my own modest offeringwhile: http://kevdaly.aspxconnection.com/PocketBlogWriter.aspx - it won't display your existing entries, it will enable you to post to Blogger, .Text, Community Server, dasBlog, BlogX or BlogSphere (all things being equal, the phase of the Moon being propitious and the wind blowing the right way)

8)

[hamishmacdonald]

YAY! That's funny: the last two days I've been trying again to find a way to do this (AvantBlog, PocketBlog), and not finding a workable solution.

This program is pretty basic. I couldn't see a way to read my previous entries, and it kinda defeats the purpose to have to be online to write a post, but it's a nice start.

I'll check out the other app mentioned here, too.

So the features I'd like:
- Offline entry creation for later posting
- Ability to edit existing posts (because I tend to post then do about five sets of quick copy-edits after re-reading it.)

[wocket]

Has anyone tried SharpMT (http://www.randyrants.com/sharpmt)

EDIT: OOPS! I'd messed up the URL a bit. I had to rush as I was called away in work..

[gregmills]

You can update Blogger by email. I use Inbox.

[Hugh Nano]

I blogged my initial response to PocketBlogger using PocketBlogger on my blog here (http://www.ehewlett.net/2005/03/at-long-last-i-can-finally-blog-from.htm). Summary of my response: :D :(

Good to see there's another solution available out there:

This might be an opportune moment for me to mention my own modest offeringwhile: http://kevdaly.aspxconnection.com/PocketBlogWriter.aspx - it won't display your existing entries, it will enable you to post to Blogger, .Text, Community Server, dasBlog, BlogX or BlogSphere (all things being equal, the phase of the Moon being propitious and the wind blowing the right way)

Sounds like Kevin's is in a slightly more mature stage of development - though it still doesn't support post-editing, which, it seems to me, would really be the only feature that would set one of these solutions above post-by-e-mail. Still, I'll have to check it out, of course. W?BIC! Thanks, Kevin.

[hamishmacdonald]

Yeah, Diarist (the other app) is quite nice. It has an icon, for starters! But PocketBlogger feels a bit more -- I dunno, Blogger-like. Also, Diarist posts the "title" as text offset by an H2 tag, so it's not really a blog entry title. But it does allow offline composition, which is a real plus.

So does the AvantGo channel AvantBlog:
http://www.dentedreality.com.au/avantblog/

...but that means using all that extra AvantGo stuff. Though the channel is accessible from the web.

If PocketBlogger is developed into a more robust application, it's something I'd definitely pay for. The Blogger website doesn't work from PIE, and mailing entries stopped working for me a little while ago, too.

[Hugh Nano]

Diarist posts the "title" as text offset by an H2 tag, so it's not really a blog entry title.

Really?! That's kind of annoying...

If PocketBlogger is developed into a more robust application, it's something I'd definitely pay for.

I'd prefer it stayed free, personally. :wink: Either way, it look as though, given the problems with post-editing built into the BloggerAPI that Kevin notes (http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/kevdaly/archive/2005/01/22/47239.aspx), the post-editing feature I was wishing for won't be seeing the light of day in either Diarist or PocketBlogger anytime soon. :(

[Raphael Salgado]

As I'm trying to migrate over to a totally PocketPC platform (believe it!) and want to be able to not rely on a desktop or notebook, blogging, email, and surfing are my most important elements.

So far, WebIS Mail is my full mail client solution, NetFront 3 is still in testing, and I've been back and forth between PocketBlog (http://www.pocketblog.com/), BlogsInHand (http://www.itweaks.com/staticpages/index.php/bihdoc), Pocket SharpMT 2 (http://www.randyrants.com/sharpmt/), and Diarist aka PocketBlogWriter (http://kevdaly.aspxconnection.com/PocketBlogWriter.aspx).

Pocket SharpMT 2 seems to be the most powerful, allowing to upload images, has got the formatting issues correctly, and has a more robust GUI. I'm currently testing it out on my site, BeyondTheTech.com (http://www.beyondthetech.com). The only downside is not being able to anything with recent posts. BlogsInHand would have been a good contender if it wasn't for the formatting problems (H2 tagging).

[Jonathan1]

:? Completely useless to me. Let me know when someone actually comes out with a livejournal client. And no I'm not talking the avantgo workaround thing. I want an actual client dang it.

[hamishmacdonald]

YAY! Blogs in Hand is amazing! I've been Googling around, and never found this.

It looks at first glance like it does everything I want. (Though it sounds as if it doesn't do the title-thing properly, either, but I can live with that.)

Unfortunately, it also does that same thing that TomeRaider does, with the fuzzy old-style text on my VGA screen.

I'm assuming that PocketSharp MT2 still only works with Moveable Type, so I can't try that out, since I use Blogger.

[armwood]

Pocket Blogger does not support copy and paste. This is a major flaw in the program. If I blog on my h6315 I want to first write it in either Phatnotes or Textmaker so that I can spell check it and see the post as a whole. Does anyone know of a pocket pc blogging program that supports copy and paste.

If so what are the settings for blogspot.com? Please help. :| :|

[Darius Wey]

Pocket Blogger does not support copy and paste. This is a major flaw in the program. If I blog on my h6315 I want to first write it in either Phatnotes or Textmaker so that I can spell check it and see the post as a whole. Does anyone know of a pocket pc blogging program that supports copy and paste.

Are you referring to tap-and-hold Copy/Paste functionality, or are you also referring to using the keyboard and performing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V? A lot of people tend to forget about the latter, although I've not tried it in PocketBlogger, so I can't confirm it works.

[armwood]

Control C and Control V did not work.

Do you know the blogspot settings? I coold not find them on their website.

[armwood]

I downloaded Diarist and it is pre-configured for blogger. It supports copy and paste. This is the program I needed. I now need to know how to insert link addresses in Pocket BlogWriter. Can anyone help me?

http://kevdaly.aspxconnection.com/PocketBlogWriter.aspx

[Phillip Dyson]

Just figured I'd put a summary of what I could glean from the thread.
I'm also trying to find a good one.

PocketBlog
http://pocketblog.com/
Development seems to have stopped.

PocketBlogger
http://www.pocketblogger.net/

PocketSharpMT
http://www.randyrants.com/pocketsharpmt/
Allows the uploading of images
Has got the formatting issues correctly
Can't edit existing entries.
Only works with Moveable Type

Diarist aka PocketBlogWriter
http://kevdaly.aspxconnection.com/PocketBlogWriter.aspxWon't display your existing entries
It has an icon
Posts the "title" as text offset by an H2 tag, so it's not really a blog entry title.

AvantGo channel AvantBlog
http://www.dentedreality.com.au/avantblog/
Depends on Avantgo infrastructure

BlogsInHand
http://www.itweaks.com/staticpages/index.php/bihdoc

[Hugh Nano]

OK, I've now tried most of the solutions mentioned in this thread. I've gotten PocketBlogger to work (though it's of limited value while it still doesn't support copy-and-paste - though the developer dropped a line on my blog indicating that he intends to add the functionality I've suggested), as well as Diarist, but neither of them support editing posts - a must for my blogs.

BlogsInHand looks as though it would be the best solution, but so far I haven't managed to get it to work with Blogger. Has anyone here done so, and, if so, do you have any tips that might help me get it working? I'm guessing I have the XML RPC URL wrong (whatever that is) - tried both http://www.blogger.com and http://www.blogger.com/api, but neither seemed to work.

[MLO]

OK, I've now tried most of the solutions mentioned in this thread. I've gotten PocketBlogger to work (though it's of limited value while it still doesn't support copy-and-paste - though the developer dropped a line on my blog indicating that he intends to add the functionality I've suggested), as well as Diarist, but neither of them support editing posts - a must for my blogs.

BlogsInHand looks as though it would be the best solution, but so far I haven't managed to get it to work with Blogger. Has anyone here done so, and, if so, do you have any tips that might help me get it working? I'm guessing I have the XML RPC URL wrong (whatever that is) - tried both http://www.blogger.com and http://www.blogger.com/api, but neither seemed to work.

It should be http://www.blogger.com/api, unless they changed their API in the last two days

[Jason Lee]

Woot! PocketBlogger has been updated!

Version 1.1
Changes in version 1.1

* ability to save username/password
* ability to paste into entry screens
* get recent posts (title and date) and then edit and delete

I tested it. You can now edit and delete posts! Very nice. However the link button only puts in the html code for a hyperlink and does not make a post link as if you were posting from blogger. So it just puts a link in the body of the post instead of making the post title a link and adding the little link tag a the end of the post as if you had filled in the link field when posting from blogger.

Still very nice. It does do the title correctly.

[MLO]

Woot! PocketBlogger has been updated!

Version 1.1
Changes in version 1.1

* ability to save username/password
* ability to paste into entry screens
* get recent posts (title and date) and then edit and delete

I tested it. You can now edit and delete posts! Very nice. However the link button only puts in the html code for a hyperlink and does not make a post link as if you were posting from blogger. So it just puts a link in the body of the post instead of making the post title a link and adding the little link tag a the end of the post as if you had filled in the link field when posting from blogger.

Still very nice. It does do the title correctly.

Looks as though the Atom API for Blogger has changed so that it supports titles as well. I think.

[Darius Wey]

Thanks for the find Jason. I've just updated the post.

[jlr1001]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions and comments. I'd like to add Finch to the list:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/finchpb/

What I'm looking for is a blogging app that will work with the MetaBlog API. Finch says it will, but it doesn't support categories, which I think might be why I can't get it to function properly.

Diarist looks like it will work with some MetaBlog API blogs, but not mine . . .

Any other options out there? Any that are commercial, and thus with more reliable tech support?

Thanks again,


jlr1001

[Phillip Dyson]

I'm running a blog that supports
BloggerAPI
MetaBlogAPI
AtomAPI

Which one is preferable?