[ObiWandreas]

addicted44, on 18 February 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

It will take a little getting used to, but using something like NetNewsWire for RSS will show them just how inefficient they were being.

How exactly is it inefficient for a list of new webpages I want to read to appear in my web browser?

In Safari, the folders on my bookmarks bar display a number which tells me that I have unread articles. When I click on a feed, I get a list of every article, highlighted if new, with previews of a size that I can control myself. I can then open a all the pages I want to read in the background, or simply add them to the Reading List if I don't have the time to read them now. Everything is categorized and seamlessly integrated.

I've been trying to make NetNewsWire work. But having to click on one link at a time and bounce back and forth between two apps is frustration on a stick. I want my web browser to tell me what webpages are new. I don't want a "news reader" any more than I want to go back to the days when I carried a cell phone, pda, and iPod.

[Serenity]

Extensor, on 18 February 2012 - 05:58 PM, said:

Reader does not " highlight the text". Emphasis? Feature? Focuses on? When I think of highlighted text, I think of a florescent marker.

Ha. When used as a verb, highlight means "to pick out and emphasize," which was more what I was going for. But I can see where you got the impression!

[HailCaesar]

withrowspujcl, on 18 February 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

I read constantly online and I never, ever, for any reason use RSS. Glad to see it go.

I agree 100%.

[billyok]

withrowspujcl, on 18 February 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

I read constantly online and I never, ever, for any reason use RSS. Glad to see it go.

Well gosh, since you don't know how to utilize it, none of us must, right?

What a narcissistic mindset you have.

[kendallpb]

Of course RSS has a place in a web browser. Just because you find some external reader better doesn't mean it's a good thing to remove functionality that many people prefer (as well as depend on). An RSS page is like a web page in many ways, plus of course click on the link and the best place to read the web page the link goes to -- certainly the one many probably prefer -- is, of course a web browser. some of us don't want the bother or overhead or switching back 'n forth of a separate program. And I've been quite unimpressed over the years with the so-called browsers built into them, though no doubt there're some out there that get it right...presumably leveraging Safari...leading me back to "if I'm browsing, let me stay in my, you know, BROWSER. ;-)

It's odd how some people feel that just because they use separate programs, this means everyone else is "doing it wrong" and has to use 10 programs for what're really, essentially, 4 things. Talk about "how inefficient"!

That said, I DO agree with @addicted44that To Do and Notes (and, heck, freaking RSS, while we're at it) have no place in Mail....

[TerrenceNewton]

withrowsp, on 18 February 2012 - 11:07 AM, said:

I love the single search bar.

me too. it's one of the main reasons I don't use safari, but perhaps this will push me back towards it. I hope the feature makes its way over to iOS.

[charlituna]

Given how lousy RSS support has been in Safari and Mail I say it is past due to be removed.

[cycomachead]

Why doesn't RSS belong in a web browser? I use it to get my news. It's a simple way to see all the stories from all the sites I follow. That screams web to me. If you didn't use RSS in Safari, then it's not like the feature was a bother, was it? I mean, there was a tiny RSS button, but that's it.

I perfectly understand simple apps, but just because something isn't a primary goal of an app doesn't mean that it doesn't belong. By that view, PDF viewing doesn't belong in Safari. Most of the extensions don't belong. Photo editing in iWork doesn't belong, sharing features in photo editors don't belong.

Mail is an entirely separate app, and that one will never go to rest. Notes and To Do's feel weird in Mail, but much less weird than RSS did…. but I suppose it's all how you like to reed and work.

For the record though, Apple does have a HUGE problem with RSS feeds. In 10.8 if you have no other RSS reader and you click on a feed you get a page of XML code. I haven't encountered pages of unformatted XML code in a very long time on the web (unless I was looking for it), and it's a horrible user experience. It essentially removes RSS support from the Mac out of the box, and that just makes no sense.

[salvodan]

addicted44, on 18 February 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

RSS has no place in a web browser. Just like Todos and Notes have no place in a Mail reader.

Apple built these in based on technical/advertising conveniences (the notes/todos were for technical convenience, because a fake IMAP folder was the best way to sync it across devices, and I imagine they built RSS into Safari so the mechanism would gain greater popularity).

I am glad to see Apple fixing these major incongruities. Unfortunately, over the years, people have designed workflows that depend on these. While they have legitimate complaints, it will be better for all (including those who have built workflows around this) to use these mechanisms appropriately (i.e., not in Safari/Mail). It will take a little getting used to, but using something like NetNewsWire for RSS will show them just how inefficient they were being.

I am a heavy user of RSS in Safari and I have to agree with you- RSS support in Safari is buggy and slow. It's half-baked and inefficient. A dedicated Feed Reader would be great, but despite Safari's flaws, I haven't found one that suits my Workflow.

Maybe MacWorld needs to put together another review of RSS readers for iOS and OSX.8 Mountain Lion.
Maybe a Developer can find a market for a fast, efficient pair of RSS feed readers for iOS and OS X which utilise features like iCloud to keep synchronised.

[k88dad]

cycomachead, on 19 February 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

For the record though, Apple does have a HUGE problem with RSS feeds. In 10.8 if you have no other RSS reader and you click on a feed you get a page of XML code. I haven't encountered pages of unformatted XML code in a very long time on the web (unless I was looking for it), and it's a horrible user experience. It essentially removes RSS support from the Mac out of the box, and that just makes no sense.

That will need to be addressed. The lack of a "helper application" has to always be handled gracefully.

[flybynight]

untitledfolder, on 18 February 2012 - 03:24 PM, said:

jscottk, on 18 February 2012 - 12:57 PM, said:

Is there a preference for disabling the unified search/url bar or to make it so that the default is "what I'm typing is a URL, NOT a search request?" I noticed that the screen shot implies that Safari assumes that typing a URL into the URL is nearly the last thing on your mind.

I realize a lot of people like that kind of behavior, but I find it extremely irritating. Really, really irritating. Especially when web browsers "search" for the URL I just typed rather than just, you know, going there. ("What, you didn't want to search for www.macworld.com?")

If you type a URL, it works as expected. It only performs a search if you don't include .com, etc., or include a space.

But that's one of the things I LOVE about Safari now... if I type "macworld" and hit enter, it knows that I'm looking for www.macworld.com. I've always seen this as a big advantage over other browsers, and I get really frustrated if I'm on someone else's computer don't have this feature. Like jscottk said, I don't want to search for a website, I just want to go there. It would be nice if you could set the preference for the preferred order of these things. Or have it assume you want an URL if you don't type any spaces.

[Swift2]

Don't mind RSS going -- I never use it. But the separate fields for search and address will be missed. If there's one thing I hate about Chrome, it's what so many others seem to like. There should be a clear way to erase the url first before typing in a new search. I get errors in search frequently because Google seems to try to anticipate your search, and it does it about as well as auto-correct corrects your spelling by spelling the wrong word correctly.

[ibrewster]

untitledfolder, on 18 February 2012 - 03:24 PM, said:

jscottk, on 18 February 2012 - 12:57 PM, said:

Is there a preference for disabling the unified search/url bar or to make it so that the default is "what I'm typing is a URL, NOT a search request?" I noticed that the screen shot implies that Safari assumes that typing a URL into the URL is nearly the last thing on your mind.

I realize a lot of people like that kind of behavior, but I find it extremely irritating. Really, really irritating. Especially when web browsers "search" for the URL I just typed rather than just, you know, going there. ("What, you didn't want to search for www.macworld.com?")

If you type a URL, it works as expected. It only performs a search if you don't include .com, etc., or include a space.

so if I just type "macworld", it will do a search, rather than the current behavior of automatically appending www. and .com? If so, Ugh, that's a step backwards. I NEVER want to see a search page when I type in the URL bar. If I make a typo, I want an error page, allowing me to simply fix the typo and move on. I like the fact that I don't have to type the .com or www. at the moment.

[whiteymcbrown]

billyok, on 18 February 2012 - 10:00 PM, said:

withrowspujcl, on 18 February 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

I read constantly online and I never, ever, for any reason use RSS. Glad to see it go.

Well gosh, since you don't know how to utilize it, none of us must, right?

What a narcissistic mindset you have.

That's ridiculous. He has every right to campaign for the exclusion of features he views as extraneous as you campaigning for their inclusion.
I don't want RSS in there either. Is it less narcissistic that you want this feature included? You certainly want it because YOU like it.

I use pages because I don't need or want the added cruft of Microsoft Word. Each feature we don't use adds clutter when it's included and software shouldn't be all things to every person.