Please help me understand RSS Feeds

[stlbud]

I've been using AvantGo since my Cassiopeia (Windows CE 2.0). I enjoy the fact I get complete articles I can read any where-any time. I don't like the fact they have dropped automatic sync. so I'm looking for a new source of news.

I've been looking at RSS as a replacement for my on-the-go news but can't seem to get the same functionality as AvantGo. What am I doing wrong?

I have tried a couple of readers on my Pocket PC and desktop PC. Currently I'm trying pRSSreader http://pda.jasnapaka.com/prssr/. I get the headlines and introductions fine from places like cnet.com and nytimes.com but can't seem to figure out how to get the article.

I've searched the forums but can't seem to get an answer that makes sense.

Any help you can offer will be appreciated.

Thanks,

[schmenge]

I've been using AvantGo since my Cassiopeia (Windows CE 2.0). I enjoy the fact I get complete articles I can read any where-any time. I don't like the fact they have dropped automatic sync. so I'm looking for a new source of news.

I've been looking at RSS as a replacement for my on-the-go news but can't seem to get the same functionality as AvantGo. What am I doing wrong?

I have tried a couple of readers on my Pocket PC and desktop PC. Currently I'm trying pRSSreader http://pda.jasnapaka.com/prssr/. I get the headlines and introductions fine from places like cnet.com and nytimes.com but can't seem to figure out how to get the article.

I've searched the forums but can't seem to get an answer that makes sense.

Any help you can offer will be appreciated.

Thanks,

I am nowhere near an expert on RSS but from what I understand that source (let's say PocketPCThoughts) and the reader both need to be able to provide full articles. Normally the source does not do this. To see the full article you need to have an Internet connection and then you can see the whole article by clicking on the provided links. AvantGo, as you know, was good for offline reading, but RSS (in my experience) needs a connection.

[stlbud]

That's disappointing. I was hoping it would be more complete. I guess, for some, it's useful to be able to scan titles and introductions but, I want to be able to read the whole article while sitting on a bus or while eating lunch in the park (no WiFi in this area).

I guess I need to approach the people who are providing the feed and ask them to offer a more complete alternative.

Seems strange to me in this day of audio netcasts (podcasts) and even videocasts that it is difficult to get the whole story in text form from some sources.

A last thought, does anyone have a program that can grab the articles. Microsoft used to offer "Channels" but that was only good for one page at a time. I'd like to get the front page and the articles from selected sites in one, automated, stop.

Thank you,

[JesterMania]

Last I tried, I think Spb Insight was one of the few - if not only - program to be able to download RSS feeds along with the entire article. You can get a trial version from Spb's website. Give it a try, it's a nice program...

[Cybrid]

As jestermania said: some RSS readers can be configured for fuller feeds.

[psyjohn]

I had the same reaction when AvantGo changed their program and dropped the automatic sync. I downloaded and tried many different readers including the often recommended SPB Insight. Eventually, I realized that none of these other programs could give me the same information service that AvantGo does. I've gotten used to having to tap the screen a couple times to start the sync, and I like the fact that it's easier to do a sync with WiFi when it's available.

[rookcnu]

I use Spb Insight (which I love) and I am subscribed to about 30 different feeds. I would say that 50% show full article, 25% show the title and first line or two of text of that article and then the last 25% just show the title of the article.

All have a link to the full article if needed, but the objective is to be offline when reading this stuff.

I don't believe this is any fault of SPB or any reader for that matter. Has to be the supplier of the feed,... right?

[Sven Johannsen]

What a pain in the butt. I was just about to suggest setting up Mobile Favorites for Off-Line viewing. You could select mobile favorites and set up schedules to download pages, set depth of links and if you wanted pictures. Your PC would download whenever, and when you sync'd, your mobile favorites and the downloaded content would be transfered for on line viewing. Worked as well as Avantgo, except that Avantgo pages were set up for PDAs so they looked good. If you used Off-line favorites with PDA friendly pages, they were just as good.

Thing is I couldn't find the option to turn on off-line, so I used the help, and guess what

The offline favorites feature has been removed from Internet Explorer. If you want to read web content when you are not connected to the Internet, here are a couple of different ways to do it:

Subscribe to an RSS feed. Many websites offer content as feeds, which can be downloaded and read offline. For more information about feeds, see Using feeds (RSS).

Save a webpage as a web archive (MHT) or HTML file. For more information, see Save a webpage as a file.

Horse Pucky, just because the entire Redmond campus is blanketed with WiFi, doesn't mean the rest of the world is...Oh, wait, to them that is the world.

In any case, we have progressed to another loss of capability. Don't have a great answer, but SPB Insight needs to be looked at. The key is in whether a particular site is configured for Insight use. Those have significantly better usability and depth, than those that are just stock RSS feeds. Don't know if you talk to SPB or the site, if you have one you want supported.

[anandas1m]

RSS is about pulling summaries from websites - it isn't concerned with offline arrest. It is up to the author of the feed whether they want to offer only summaries or a full copy of the original. Of course, a hyperlink to the original is always there. the RSS reader is not obliged to download the full original. It you want to suck down webpages for off line browsing I used to use World Off Line (https://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=24E2C619432AE417X13A4923D6A34X5X&language=english&platformId=2&N=96806&Ntt=world%20off%20line&R=48703&productId=48703#screenshots2)

[erinsabs]

I too liked AvantGo, now I use MobiReader, http://mobipocket.com/en/eNews/default.asp


The earlier versions of MobiReader were awful. Updated version is so much better.</p>

It does a lot more than what you probably need. Still it's free and I get full article download with images. There is even a free dictionary available for it, PocketDict. </p>

[anatolyv]

RSS is about pulling summaries from websites - it isn't concerned with offline arrest. It is up to the author of the feed whether they want to offer only summaries or a full copy of the original. Of course, a hyperlink to the original is always there. the RSS reader is not obliged to download the full original. It you want to suck down webpages for off line browsing I used to use World Off Line (https://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&amp;jid=24E2C619432AE417X13A4923D6A34X5X&amp;language=english&amp;platformId=2&amp;N=96806&amp;Ntt=world%20off%20line&amp;R=48703&amp;productId=48703#screenshots2)

There is a reader that offers FULL-LENGTH articles offline. I am using mDigger. They create channels from regular websites and download entire articles and images to the phone that you can read off-line. I rarely do RSS feeds because many of them either have only headlines or very short stories. But here I have everything I need. And best of all, IT'S FREE. www.mdigger.com