yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
@libor_m: hmm, it's a real nuisance that you can't upgrade or purchase the app! The failure of trial apps to upgrade is, as far as I'm aware, a general problem with the O/S, I'm not personally aware of any apps (other than free apps) that successfully upgrade without being purchased first. There's no indication that this will be fixed in the NoDo update either. :-(

It's not really possible to perform an on-device backup, as all of RSS Central's data is lost when you uninstall prior to downloading the new version. However, I do have an import/export function on my To Do list, which would let you send your subscriptions out to a file in DropBox before upgrading, after which point they could then be imported again. Perhaps I'll be able to get this in place for v1.4...

Also I've not forgotten the localisations, but these are a little way down the list at the moment as they are going to be a lot of work to implement. I'll keep you posted as and when I make any progress with them.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] libor_m:
Adam, thanks for your concern.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
I've installed v1.3 yesterday and am very pleased with it.

I cannot think of anything to improve except for the monochrome icon you've mentioned some time ago :p
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi skycamefalling,

Glad you like it -- please do let me know if you have any other ideas. :-)

I still have the choice of icon on my To Do list, maybe for v1.4...
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hello everyone,

RSS Central v1.4 is now complete and available from the Marketplace. This includes the following new features:

Additional content is displayed when viewing articles for certain feeds.

RSS Central can now be configured to run under the lock screen. This will not only remove the delay resuming the app after unlocking the phone, but will also allow it to continue refreshing feeds when the phone is locked while a refresh is in progress.

Added support for Windows-1251 encoding (and for the people that gave me 1-star reviews on the Marketplace due to this not being supported -- you only had to ask!)

Added support for ISO-8859-2 encoding.

When a feed URL is provided that doesn't actually return a valid feed, a more informative error message is displayed explaining why the feed cannot be retrieved.

Added a "welcome" page that appears just once the first time each new version of the app is opened. This alerts people to the fact that it is a new version, and details the changes that have been made. After continuing past this page, it won't appear again until an updated version is installed.

As always, the trial version is fully featured apart from an occasional nag screen. Please give it a try and let me know what you think!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
RSS Central v1.5 is now available for download. New features are as follows:

Added a "tell me later" button to the Welcome page. If you're in a hurry and want to read the Welcome page later, this button will re-display the page next time RSS Central is launched.

Added "Send to Instapaper" menu items to send the details of interesting articles to your Instapaper account.

Added a new option to automatically refresh the subscriptions each time RSS Central is launched.

Added a "delete all subscriptions" option to the subscription management page.

Further improvements to RSS feed compatibility.

Fixed a potential startup crash bug.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] derausgewanderte:
can't live without this. great rss reader. thanks for making it.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
Very helpful, thanks :)

Rss Central has always been stable as a rock for me, but I'm glad you're improving it all the time.

So, just waiting for a discreet icon and live-tile (for some movement on the homescreen) now ;)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
You're welcome, glad you like it! :-) If you feel like leaving a review on the WP7 Marketplace (if you haven't already) I'd be very grateful!

I know, I know... :-) I'm currently considering yet another logo/icon for it, and I'm pondering on how the live tile implementation could be put together. It's certainly possible...
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] Savage1969:
Best RSS reader currently in Marketplace (imho). I can't tell you how much I appreciate how fast you respond to any issues found and submit updates. Easily worth the humble price point of the app. Thanks again Adam.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] nanohits:
Its no use to me without Google Reader Support. Too bad because you will get a a hellava lot more sales from it than just basic enter your own RSS feeds. Looks promising but all my feeds are with Google Reader and most RSS have this.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
I'm still considering Google Reader support, but for the moment it is what it is.

I do intend to add the facility to import feeds from Google Reader into a (near-) future version, but initially it won't go any further than that, there won't be any synchronisation between the articles that are read. This may well follow on in the future though as an optional feature for those that wish to use it.

My current priority however is getting it working fast and well as a stand-alone app.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] sHAYM4N:
Excellent App! Again only thing that I think dragsir down a little presentation wise is the icon and splashscreen. I do a little design work here and there so could post some alternatives if that was ok by you? :-P
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi sHAYM4N,

Glad you like the app! Comments about the graphics are definitely becoming a bit of a recurring theme... :-)

If you'd like to put some ideas together for an alternative then I'd love to see them! I should mention that I already have approached someone with a view to getting a design so please don't be offended if I decide to use someone else's design instead... If this doesn't put you off then please go ahead! I'll be more than happy to credit you for your work if I use it but I won't be able to offer any payment I'm afraid (RSS Central isn't quite at the point where it pays the mortgage, unfortunately!)

Many thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it!

Thanks,
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] Laquox:
Hey Adam,

I have been looking for a good RSS reader and have been toying with the free trial of RSS Central and it looks like exactly what I want. Problem is (and maybe I am just slow) I can't seem to figure out how to delete the pre-configured RSS feeds built in. Is it a limitation of the trial or am I missing something? I have the lastest version on the market place. Thanks!

Edit: Nevermind I figured it out after reading through the documentation. Manage button for new users to windows phone 7! Awesome app!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] sayousaf:
Thanks

Hi,

One of the most used apps on my previous phone was indeed RSS Hub, and after using RSS Central for a couple of days, it's my first paid for app! (Mind you I have only just recently got hold of a WP7 phone ;-) )

Looking forward to future developments, keep up the good work.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] sHAYMAN:
Icon/Splashscreens

Hi Adam

No of course that's fine if you don't want to use them, it's all practice for me anyway :) had a go this afternoon at a first concept.

Live Tile Concept...

Logo & Splashscreens...
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] _calum_:
Nice icon man :)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi sHAYMAN,

Gotta say, I do really like those images -- many thanks for putting them together. The basic icon has everything I want (colour scheme and basic RSS image, also incorporates the "central" concept too which is nice) but also makes it look distinctive (there are so many apps that just use the plain old RSS logo and I think it's important to make RSS Central stand out -- your circular icon does so very well IMO).

The splash screens look great too, I think I probably prefer the blue one as it provides a bit of a contrast. I hope Microsoft will be happy to certify it with their WP7 tile graphics in the background.

Could you attach a plain 173x173 version of the image so that I can try it out pinned to the front screen, please? Similar to the tile you have in the "live tile concept" but without the live tile number or the surrounding phone imagery, and also in PNG format rather than JPG.

I'll get in touch with the other artist that I have asked to look at this and see where he has got to, and if he's got something in the works I'll choose between the two, but I really do like what you've made here.

Anyone else like to express an opinion? I liked the old logo and clearly everyone disagreed with me on that! ;-)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] _calum_:
Go with that logo Adam, looks heaps better than most of the app logos out there... TBH I'm a bit jealous ;)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
That icon is awesome :eek:

It's so beautiful that I wouldn't even mind that it doesn't fit the overall tile colour :D

No, really...I would appreciate it if it would be possible to have the overall tile colour background without destroying the beauty of the icon. But I would be fine with the draft as it is too :)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi sHAYMAN,

I sent the images you've put together over to the other artist that I had asked to put an icon together, and he said that your images were much better than the ones he had been working on and that I should use yours. So it looks like a unanimous round of approval there! :-)

I'm currently working on RSSC v1.6, which I hope to have ready some time next week, and I'd love to get your imagery included in this update. Before I can distribute it, I'll need the basic icon (as you have it in the "live tile concept") at 173x173 pixels (for when pinned) and at 62x62 pixels (for when in the full app list). I'll also need a version at 200x200 pixels for submission to the Marketplace. These will all need to be in PNG format so that there are no compression artefacts.

The splash screen image that you already posted is perfect, no need to do anything more with that.

How would you like me to credit you in the app? I'm happy to include your name, email address, web site, twitter, whatever you like really. :-) Just let me know and I'll add it to the "about" page.

Many thanks once again!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] sHAYMAN:
I've put the icon shape as bogstandard against the default colour schemes as above for a test, should it be implemented this way. I haven't had chance to look into the requirements for a tile (ie Alpha settings - does WP7 allow Alpha levels?)

The Market submission file? Does this also have to be PNG? I could 'spruce' it up a little if you'd like for promotional value - seeing as this file wouldn't need the Alpha data?

I'll email you the files needed in a few tics. If you encounter any problems - please let me know! Like I say I haven't seen the precise requirements for WP7, so working a little blind at the moment. Will always be happy to update/rework as needed.

Credit, I don't really mind Adam - if I could feature it in my portfolio too that would be handy? If I should ever get round to finishing one! :p My twitter is @digilocker, if that manages to fit in there, but no worries if not.

Going to have to get ready for the dayjob now :( but will be able to work on in a morning until your submission date as needed.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Fantastic! The 173x173 tile does support alpha, and the alpha will fade through to the user's accent colour. The tile image should therefore be just monochrome white on transparent with varying alpha levels for each of the circle segments, that should look great (I'll send you a screenshot once I've got it in). If you could let me have a plain 200x200 pixel version the basic logo with the alpha channel too (exactly the same as the 173x173 image) then that would be good too as I can size that down to whatever size I need then.

The Marketplace files should all be PNG too to ensure that there are no JPEG artefacts. They can't use transparency though so feel free to spruce away! :-)

Oh, and I'm perfectly happy for you to use it in your portfolio.

Many thanks again,
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Here's the new icon running on the phone:

Does the pinned icon look OK like this, or should I scale it down so that it doesn't overlap the application text?
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
No, it's not...at least not for me :p

I think you've linked to a protected webspace -I get an "access denied" error when trying to open the path.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
[sigh] Oh well! :-) I've re-uploaded the images to another location now, hopefully they will appear this time.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
Now they are showing up. I'd leave it as it is because it fills the tile so nice. That it overlaps the letters just adds to the design.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] jmerrey:
That new tile looks very nice!

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] aussiedog:
At first glance I was thinking that it needed more color or a slightly smaller 3D version of your existing icon (kind of like SurfCube's tile) so that it would stand out more on the homescreen. (examples of 3D icons)

Having said that, I really like sHAYMAN's version as it follows the Metro design and should appease the majority of users. I feel that the size is fine as is and should not require a scale down. It gets my vote.

P.S. I love your app, best one out there!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Thanks for the feedback aussiedog and glad you like the app!

Seeing the new icon on my start menu has taken me by surprise a few times but I think that's just because it's different -- I'm used to it now and think it looks really good.

I certainly agree that it fits in with the Metro design and that seems to be the major negative point that I received over and over again, with people telling me it made their menus look ugly. Shouldn't be a problem any more. :-)

I have one more feature that I want to get finished and then I'll release the update that includes the new images -- hopefully later this week.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] BigwaveMx:
Hi Adam. I Just bought the full version of RSS Central and i'm excited for the comming updates. And about spanish traslation, i'm ready to help you at anytime. Thanks for this nice app.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] jabtano:
I like the live tile Idea. it's a great feature on WP7 would be nice to see say top 3-6 feeds, somehting along that I dea would be very usefull.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
RSS Central v1.6 is now available to download from the Marketplace.

New features include:

Added new 'keywords' feature. This allows you to set up keywords which RSS Central will search for in your subscriptions. Each article found with a matching keyword will be displayed with a custom icon of your choice to bring it to your attention. You can sort keyword matches to the top of the list, or even set a subscription to only show those articles that match one of your keywords.

Added import and emport functionality using DropBox. RSS Central uses standard .opml files for this. The function is fairly basic at the moment (I'll improve it in later versions) but does finally allow you to import feeds from elsewhere and to make backups of your feeds.

A new setting allows you to have your subscriptions automatically sorted into alphabetical order.

And of course, sHAYMAN's new graphics. :-)

Hope you like it!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
@BigwaveMx -- thanks for your message, really glad you like it :-) It would be really great if you could leave a review in the Marketplace!

Thanks for the offer of help with translations. I'm still working out the best way to approach this, but hopefully I'll be able to get this started some time soon...
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] _calum_:
Hi Adam,

get in touch if you want any help with multilingual WP7 apps. I've got a pretty low-maintainence solution.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] skycamefalling:
I've downloaded the update today in the morning and the graphics look really nice. A great improvement of the homescreen:)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] Oscardog777:
I was editing some of my feeds today, and I started thinking how the feeds are displayed. Currently you are able to have different categories for different feeds, such as news, technology, etc. What if instead of just a category such as Technology, you could make it an option where one feed, for example Engadget, with all the articles displayed underneath; swipe right, and have another technology feed, like Ars Technica for example, and so on. Just a thought.

Also, I love the new icon! Keep up the great work!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] Brav0:
Great app! I would certainly love to have a live tile though!! With number of unread feeds for each category, or even better would be if you could select favourite feeds and have an unread cound on those! Anyways great app, a joy to use!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Thanks for the offer, Calum, but the technical side of the localisation isn't the bit that really concerns me; the bit I'm more worried about is getting all the translations ready before I can release each new version.

Each version will require a pile of new translations to be made, including the "what's new" page which is the very first thing that anyone sees and so it's essential that it gives a good impression (which poorly machine-translated text won't achieve). The more languages I add, the harder it gets for me to get all the translations in place for each release, especially if my translators are unavailable or unresponsive for some reason...
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] _calum_:
Yeah, never really thought of it like that... I just stick to the two languages I'm fluent in... and my wife corrects the german grammer ;)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] DioNNiS:
I think it's a one of the most useful app for WP7. Good job!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] dkp1977:
I've been testing a whole lot of different RSS readers for WP7. Flux, Wonder Reader, tiny gReader, feed me and RSS Central of course. The latter is by far the best in my opinion. That's why I finally purchased it yesterday. Great job, Adam. Thank you very much. :)
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] eeldivad:
images?

can you add images in the list/browse view of the articles? that helps me alot when trying to decide if i want to view the article or not. i know you show the image when i read the feed but it would be more useful before i have to click into it. weave has this already, but i would prefer buying your software cuz they seem over priced.

can u also make this an option in the settings to display the image in the list view or not? i know some ppl rather not since it takes up more room. and if i'm roaming i definitely don't want to download images but wouldn't mind getting the text.

let me know if it will be added in the next version, then i'll go ahead and buy it and wait for the new feature. thanks
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] eeldivad:
suggestions

just some minor suggestions after playing with it some more.

1. keyword highlighting so when i read the article i can easily see them

2. a new predefined group called Keywords that lists all articles that have my keywords found in them. since this would be meshed from different feeds then please also include the feed name somewhere in each item of the list view

3. images in list view with setting options as mentioned in last post

4. search all feeds. right now we can search a single feed only.

5. pin an article as favorite that is saved and always remains until we unpin it. also create a new predefined group for favorites

6. different views. i love how dark rss reader has different views we can toggle from. the grid view with image overlayed by title is my favorite. i know this could be alot of work, but i'll be very happy if you can get suggestions 1-5

thanks and awesome work so far! let me know if these changes can make it in the next release.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] alwaysanon:
Thanks and suggestions

I tried a few of the RSS apps before settling on this and it is the best. I purchased it and would have paid more actually.

I just have two requests. The first is it would be nice to have a consolidated view of the items rather than having to go through each feed. I have been using the official RSS reader on my work blackberry called Social Feeds and it gives you the option between a feed and a consolidated view and it is great to be able to go back and forth between the two.

The second request, also present in that Blackberry App, is to post a link to the item to Facebook or Twitter from the RSS app. I am not sure whether the APIs are there to allow for this on WP7 at the moment but if this is ever possible I'd love to see it too.

Once again great work.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi guys,

I just wanted to say thanks for all the suggestions that you are posting, and to let you know that I am reading them even though I've not replied.

I've had a few quiet weeks this month but hope to get things back up and running again shortly.

The feature request that has come up over and over again during the last couple of weeks is for a consolidated feed view where all the feeds in a category can be displayed in one single view. I hope to make this the main feature in the next version. As always I'll post details here when I have made some progress!

Thanks again for the support, I really appreciate it.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] jabtano:
After checking my mail and hitting the weather app RSS Central is my next click.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
I thought I'd post a quick update for anyone interested to let you know that RSS Central v1.7 is now available to download from the Marketplace.

The main new features in this release are:

Added a new (and slightly experimental) feature that allows you to view all articles from subscriptions that share a category in one single list. To access it, swipe from the main page into one of the categories (news, entertainment, etc.) and then select the "All articles" item at the top of the subscription list. Please let me know how you get on with this feature, particularly if it causes any problems.

Fixed the Instapaper function which was intermittently failing to upload in RSS Central v1.6.

When viewing articles, those that have an author name will display the name at the top of the article text.

The trial is fully featured as always and the full version is just $1.29/£1, please give it a try and let me know what you think.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
RSS Central should (I hope!) now be available in the 19 new markets that Microsoft added support for in their update a few days ago:

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan.

If you're in one of these countries and decide to give RSS Central a try, please let me know how you get on!
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] BigwaveMx:
Hi Adam. I just wanto ask if there is any chance to include a backup of the feeds. This because i already restore my ROM many times and in every one i need to add manually every single feed (i have almost 15 feeds). Thanks.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] AdamDawes:
Hi BigwaveMx,

RSS Central has Dropbox support built in and will allow you to export and import your feeds to/from your Dropbox account in .opml format. It doesn't back up absolutely everything (you'll lose your categories and minimum refresh intervals) but it's still a lot quicker than re-entering everything by hand. I may well add a full backup feature to a future version.

Give it a go and see how you get on -- you'll find it by going into the subscription management page, and then selecting "export to dropbox" from the menu.
[Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games] BigwaveMx:
OMG, never see that function before. Thanks Adam. I promise i will read more carefully all the logs and the features :o