So now I hear Pluck is shutting down their RSS Reader(s). While I gave up Pluck and other client-side news aggregators in early September, I had used Pluck for a long time.
The rich feature set, ability to share my feed list automatically between multiple computers and browsers was its biggest draw. Also, I really enjoyed the format, where it plugged into your favorite browser as a side-panel where you could scroll through the list of feeds and click away reading easily through each category.
Since I’ve moved to Google Reader, I won’t be moving back to a client-side aggregator. I’ve got my feeds in one spot that I can access from practically anywhere. The “River of news” views, either by category or by date, has won be over. The ability to quickly scan the most recent conversations is a huge productivity boost.
Still I will miss Pluck, and I have to apologize to everyone that I recommended it to as they will now need to move on to another reader. My latest recommendation on that? Google Reader of course!
I’ve been trying the RSS reader in IE7, Onfolio, Firefox, and others for the last day or so. I keep coming back to Google Reader.
You can’t beat it’s simplicity, speed, and ease of use. There are more features in a number of readers, but all I need is to have an aggregator that simply lets me read the news that I’m interested in as quickly as possible. I also can manage one OPML list and access it from anywhere. Nothing else compares in the same way.
Combine GReader with hosted GMail, and Docs & Spreadsheets, and a common login. This makes all these features of Google work well together. Yes, they need more integration work, but that will happen over time.
I’ve yet to try the rating or sharing features, but will get to those soon. They look fairly interesting, and may be of use linked from my blog.
This post at The Wireless Report talks about Detroit leading the nation in wireline telephone replacement with wireless. It also points out that Minneapolis/St. Paul is at about the same wireless penetration rate for wireline replacement.
I’m not surprised, I’m one of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area residents that dropped wireline service about 5 years ago. While it seemed a little ahead of its time back in 2001, many of my peers, and more importantly, parents, have followed suit.
Both my parents and mother-in-law have gone wireless as well, in addition to my sisters, cousins, friends, and many business associates. Its rare to run across someone who has a home phone any longer.
Most people I know actually saved money by switching to a mobile phone plan in place of a landline phone. With the wide selection of minute plans, included long distance, roaming and such, a $50 cell phone plane for a single user is much more cost effective than a $35 phone plan plus add-on services line long distance, voice mail, caller id, call waiting, etc…
Moreover, most of my family is on the same carrier (T-Mobile) so we all benefit from unlimited calling between each other. Landline service can’t compare.
I’ve stopped using Pluck a few weeks ago, and finally have removed the last vestiges of it from my machines. Did IE7 cause this? Not exactly.
While the RSS/ATOM support in IE7 and Firefox contributed to this, it really is Google Reader that drove home the last nail in the coffin. The simplicity, performance, and accessibility of GReader just can’t be beat for my needs at this time.
So, it is with sadness that I am currently removing Pluck from my last machine before installing the IE7 gold release. I’ve used Pluck for 2 years and will remember it fondly.
This is one of those products that I believe will help move blogging into corporate America. With software features like LDAP authentication and enterprise-class support contracts, Six Apart is positioning it’s Movable Type blogging platform to fit into corporate-minded IT shops.
Corporate IT is usually religious in its zeal to secure and “normalize” any technology. Don’t get me wrong, the IT departments that do it right usually have less down-time and increased productivity from their IT systems. They just suck the soul out of a product in the process.
With a made-for-enterprise approach from one of the top blogging software purveyors, corporate blogging can begin to be rolled out in the traditionally controlled environments. Hopefully, MT will be able to bring even more conservative types into the blogosphere.
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
