Apple creates iPhone-only RSS reader

“Apple has developed a web app at reader.mac.com that will bring RSS feeds to the iPhone,” Think Secret reports.

“Users will be able to add the addresses of news feeds and check on headlines through the Apple-designed RSS aggregator,” Think Secret reports.

More notes about Apple iPhone in the full article here.

46 Comments

  1. Are you f*cking kidding me??

    This is infuriating. In one breath, Jobs shouts about how you can develop for iPhone through Open Internet Standards and all the apps you create for iPhone will automatically be cross-platform because they’re all Web 2.0 standards!

    In the next, they launch a web applet that’s iPhone-ONLY!!?

    What’s that you people are always saying about Apple & Choice? 🙁

  2. >>This is infuriating. In one breath, Jobs shouts about how you can develop for iPhone through Open Internet Standards and all the apps you create for iPhone will automatically be cross-platform because they’re all Web 2.0 standards!

    In the next, they launch a web applet that’s iPhone-ONLY!!?

    What’s that you people are always saying about Apple & Choice? 🙁

    Yes, because a web based RSS feed that takes up only 1/3 of your computer screen is so useful for non-iPhone users. Is that really what you’ve been waiting for with bated breath?

    </eyeroll>

  3. Just because the iPhone can view full webpages doesn’t mean that fullsize pages are the best way to view the web. There’s nothing wrong with having things tailored for a particular function. Although it would have been cool if they could have had it work across the board then display appropriately for the iPhone using stylesheets based upon the appropriate id.

  4. Jamie: Yes, because a web based RSS feed that takes up only 1/3 of your computer screen is so useful for non-iPhone users.

    Think before you type. Not for a desktop computer — for other mobile devices.

    But for that matter, why NOT for a computer? If it’s a good applet, and it’s based on internet-standards, there is absolutely no reason to lock out the rest of the world from the app. Except that they dont actually practice their own religion. Jobs tells his stories & lies, then ignores them to suit Apple.

    A fine business practice, but not if you’re gonna chastise others for doing the same thing. It’s the same story over and over. Apple’s the ONLY game in town who’s crying that others don’t use standards and others don’t embrace open-source, and they’re the ONLY game in town who’s consistently ignored standards and open-source to protect their own revenue.

  5. PC Ap
    You have to admit…Jamie is right. Plus it’s Apple’s device and clearly they (generally) make better, more stable software. iMovie and iDVD are still better than anything on the PC…(especially at the price)..and if you look at the full range of the software they produce from Final Cut to Logic most of it is pretty damn amazing.
    They clearly have one of the best software shops in the world.
    Why would you WANT or CARE about a tiny RSS reader? It’s just a reader for goodness sake. The direction web development is headed toward open standards but that’s not to say that SOME proprietary software should NOT be developed. It’s their playground…they built it…they have a right to make whatever they want. If someone comes along and builds a BETTER RSS reader that works on the iPhone…it will likely be the dominate tool for that purpose. Till then… Apple can and will do what it wants…at the expense of no one (heh heh…sort of!)

  6. We’re not talking about applications — we’re talking about INTERNET STANDARDS. Web 2.0. That’s why (according to Jobs) there’s no Flash or Java support — they’re not web standards. That’s why–according to Jobs–there’s no SDK for the iPhone. And that’s one of the thing’s major features. Web 2.0-compliant applets are automatically cross-platform because they’re written using STANDARDS.

    Yes, there’s an RSS reader in other computers. I’m talking about using it on other mobiles. You know.. compatibility across platforms. Like Apple said.

    Now they pull this stuff. I’m not trolling for anything. I’m just angry (again) with them for saying one thing and doing another, and I’m disgusted with the Apple user community for putting up with it.

  7. *AND* for crying out loud, this is the very same forum where people are screaming bloody murder because “the IT industry” isn’t going to accept iPhone because their environments don’t support internet standard weak e-mail protocols.

    MDN has written a dozen hit pieces on this subject in the past 6 days, and everyone bleated right along with it. Now that Apple’s on the other side of this BS, suddenly it’s fine?

    Seriously? I’m the only one who thinks this is crap?

  8. If Safari on the iPhone has a particular user agent unto itself, that could be the reason we see that page. Now, if this theory is correct, one could imagine that in the official release of Safari (Mac/Win) would have a “Test Page for iPhone” switch, which would really just switch the user agent properties and reload the page. Now, we are still using open standards here, but we can develop web applications that look for the user agent and adjust our output accordingly. This iPhone user agent can actually be added to other browsers that have the ability to switch user agents as well. All are happy! ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

  9. PC
    No need to be angry…they just built a tiny app for a phone. They have built (like Busting says) many things that don’t run on other systems. Microsoft (and others) haven’t adhered to web standards for years. I remember when I was in a developers meeting for IE 4.0 and they basically said they were going to ignore what the WWC was saying, and ignoring what Sun was doing with Java and build their own Java Virtual Machine. They employed DHTML in a way that was not standards compliant and have continued to thumb their nose at truly cross platform compatibility (can you say Windows Media Player?)…

    So…getting upset about a tiny piece of software like this, released almost as a courtesy to users (and clearly as a way to ameliorate any complaints about speed on the Edge Network in advance)…being upset… is out of proportion. Your points are well taken…but the emotional tenor of your expression is over the top.
    As I mentioned before, someone is likely to create a BETTER RSS reader soon enough…so…stay calm…

    Peace…PC…Peace

  10. PCA: You have somewhat of a point. But I’ll take Apple’s way anytime–they don’t pervert the standards, but they keep it an exclusive club.

    Microsoft invites in the world, and then “embraces and extends” web standards to pervert them for their own purposes.

  11. @ PC Apologist, you’re pretty upset about a single page that’s not even functional yet. I read last night that someone changed their user agent and loaded a blank page.

    This “Reader” hasn’t been announced. It’s hosted on .Mac. We have no idea what the plan for this “reader” is yet. It may be a part of a revamped .Mac. It may be just one page of a larger RSS effort by Apple. It may be only a test.

    One point doesn’t make a line. Wait for the second point to reveal itself.

  12. PC Apologist,

    Web standards don’t codify that a website must work on all platforms. Instead, they lay the ground rules for how code should be written and how browsers should show that code to the user. In all likelihood this RSS aggregation site was written to be standards compliant. Requiring an iPhone to access it isn’t in violation of any standard I can find. Maybe you know something I don’t?

    Besides, I think you’ve grossly misinterpreted what’s going on here. Apple has offered javascript and html as an application platform for the iPhone. They argue that this is an attractive option because lots of people know how to write web applications. This RSS app is going to demonstrate that a client-side SDK isn’t necessary in order to make interesting apps for the iPhone.

    There has never been ANY talk that iPhone apps would be compatible with other phones or platforms, only that a developer could expect her iPhone app to render in a certain way on the device because the it uses a standards compliant browser.

    And by the way, unless you want to continue to reveal how little you know about web development, I would avoid using the word ‘applet’ in the future.

    -Alex

  13. I would imagine that the “propretary-ness” of the RSS app has everything to do with specific iPhone functions/interface. No other phone comes close to having this sort of functionality, and it would not be possible to make the app “cross mobile platform”. Though this app is accessible via a web page, it is essentially not a web page in the usual sense, but rather a delivery mechanism for an application. And besides, why is Apple obligated to design apps for other phones. F**k the other phones. Most of them have never done a halfway decent job of syncing with Macs, so as far as I’m concerned, they can take it up the a** now.

  14. @ PC Apologist

    ” internet standard weak e-mail protocols.”

    Stupid shit. What does “weak” mean?

    There’s nothing “strong” or, more to the point, particularly good, about Exchange ActiveSync. It’s just a very poor proprietary copy of RIM’s proprietary methods. And even with inside knowledge of Exchange Microsoft can’t do it as well as RIM.

    Better everybody gets out of the game, stops paying MS the equivalent of protection money, and starts using IETF IMAP-push.

    PC Apologist? Apologist for a convicted monopolist and industry bully-boy, you mean. Monkey Boy’s monkey.

  15. You know, does this thing have an alarm clock? I haven’t read anything about an alarm clock. Is it proprietary or based on open standards? If it doesn’t have an open standard(s) alarm clock, then this thing really sucks. Sheesh.

    MDN Word: George: as in Monkey Boy must be freaking.

  16. PC Apologist – You seem to be confusing Apple with someone else. The Electronic Frontier Foundation perhaps? Apple uses and promotes standards (and open source) in specific cases where they are a good solution, and stand to benefit many parties (but first and foremost Apple, of course).

    Apple has NEVER claimed that they ALWAYS use open standards or open source, nor that these are ALWAYS better than a proprietary solution. Furthermore, Steve Jobs never said that the iPhone doesn’t support Flash or Java specifically because they are not standards.

    This is what we call a straw man fallacy. You are setting up an Apple that doesn’t exist in order to knock it down. Now I will grant you that Apple fans also tend to set up a similar Apple, that doesn’t exist, in their minds – an angelic, saintly Apple that is carrying high the banner of choice, standards, whatever.

    The Apple I appreciate is a tough company that can fight hard when it needs to in an industry that is rarely fair, a company that has suffered many times from hubris and error, but that in the end makes some of the best, most enjoyable products on the market and that has an uncanny sense for what people need.

  17. Yeah, you’re all right. I’m gonna stop drinking so much coffee in the mornings.

    Still, pretty uncool.

    SarcasticDave – actually, that’s a really really good question. (not sure if you meant it or not) Does it have an alarm? Does anyone know? ‘cuz it ought to…

    Alex – I know nothing about web development. I wasn’t hiding it and I don’t mind revealing it.

  18. Yep, it was a real (sarcastic) question. Don’t know the answer – but was assuming it has that feature. However, I don’t really care if it’s open or proprietary, as long as it works. Anyone?

    I was just wondering because it’s about the only other feature I use on my current cell phone besides making calls. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Peace.

  19. Hmmm. Did someone else hijack PC Apologist’s username, ’cause that really doesn’t sound like the same troll.

    MDN word “else”, as in, “why else would he suddenly capitulate?”

  20. I think PC Apo has a bit of a point. Apple’s iPhone-only web-based reader is not a very surprising move but I would’ve kinda thought they would’ve made it Safari-only, to help push people to use Safari on Windows. Doing that would’ve also made it more difficult for the non-iPhone mobile devices to utilize these specialized pages, thus further separating them from the iPhone.

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