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To some extent I agree with the article... (apart from the finding the feed link in the page, as most RSS readers do this automatically)

Where I do have issues is why a lot of news, blogs and article sites fail to actually use them, or even use them in a inconsistent manner. I've rolled my own feed reader ( https://dragonc.droppages.com/ - dedicated to Boardgames) because no reader has actually managed to lay things out as I wanted. But in making my own I found there is so much inconsistency in how it's implemented. Well yes, there is a standard but it seems that a lot of vendors don't even bother handling things because RSS just isn't accepted in general use. Some sites don't even bother putting the title of their site in their feed.

Everybody rolls their own RSS feeds these days. yes, some Blog style sites have it automatically as a by-product of the platform. Yet other news sites just don't even bother assuming that you'll be reading their site anyway. And for those, you have to do some creative grep/sed/awk processing to get out the interesting articles for your feed reader.


I created a simple little Boardgame News site. It pulls all the stuff I'm interested in into one place which is now a fixed tab on my main browser.

https://dragonc.droppages.com

Never marketed because I hate ads as much as the next person, and also because I kept getting messages such as "use a news feed reader." I just wanted everything together in a readable timeline.


And this is exactly why I built my "Hack the Planet" website. http://dragons-tech.blogspot.com/2021/07/subscribe-to-newsle...

HTP is an internal project for the company I work for, but it could be spun up to match any topic. I called it "Planet" in honour of the old Planet software which I really miss.

The big issue I see with feeds is that you are forced to accept whatever is generated from the feeds. HTP, although it reads all the feeds, checks to see if the feed matches certain requisites before displaying it. So personal blogs (like mine) won't be included in the end result if I'm just talking about my breakfast and the cat. But it I mention something that is topical, then it will. It's an additional layer of processing that keeps everything relevant.

Add to that the ability to pick out trends and themes and allows you to focus on just those topics of interest and it starts to get really useful. In fact the Internal site was the primary source of news and details for the PrintNightmare and Log4j issues.


In a word, yes. I use QuiteRSS as my reader of choice for news articles. As well as monitoring feeds for some of the websites and servers that I run. The reason I like RSS is because it is focused on exactly the information I need with no distractions. No extra popups, menus, offers to subscribe to mailing lists and most of all, no adverts. All in one place in a common format that is easily parsed.


Seems possibly useful, except it's extremely limited.

For example, how do you control positioning? For example in the Graphs option, say I have a Central entry that requires 4 exits to Up, Down, Left and Right. there doesn't seem to be a way to handle that as it quite arbitrary allocates position, I think, alphabetically.


For those who wish to see it on Google Maps... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.3095596,1.5174271,3a,75y,2...


Hmmm. I think we're in a timewarp. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17117896


Not to rain on the parade of MyNoise, but my preferred ambient audio experience is https://tabletopaudio.com


I've used my contacts systems for years. Earliest entry I can find is 1996.

It's easy to search. Incredibly easy to use. Works on Desktop, Web and Mobiles (Android, iPhone and for me, BlackBerry) and synchronises across all of them. Anniversaries and Birthdays appear in Calendars. Integrates with my email system. Info stored in it is fully encrypted. Allows for groups. Both for mailing, SMS messages and other contact apps.

Oh, it's name? Lotus Notes. (And no, I'm not joking. It is by far the best system I've ever used. Get over it.)


I have been laid off 4 times over the course of my career. And to tell the truth, it has been the best of times.

Each time it galvanised me into action to further my portfolio of skills. As a software developer for the majority of my life, it showed me how much the landscape has changed over the years. You have to keep on learning new things, languages, products, just to stay on top of everything. Each time I was laid off I spent a few weeks learning new tools and languages ready for the next stage of my career.

Mind you, the last time I was laid off I only spent a week "unemployed" waiting for my next job to start. At a certain point you learn so much that you can adapt on the fly and my current employer saw that I had a shed load of skills that the fought off other companies who wanted me.

On another plus side, each time I got laid off I was paid a handsome tax-free payoff. I now have no debt (not even a mortgage) and have enough savings that I could retire now. Mind you, I only have a few years to go before it's my official retirement age.

Getting laid off is not the bad thing many people see it as. See it as a change for the better. It's gives you a new focus and purpose, and hopefully it's better for your wallet too.


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