The Death Of Google Reader And Finding A Replacment.

As you may have heard by now, Google has announced that as of 1st July they will be closing its RSS feed service Google Reader. I have been using it for a number of years now alongside Google’s listen app on my android  phone to keep track off my podcast subscriptions. It was the easiest way I had found to subscribe and listen to podcast rather than using iTunes and the various hacks that get that working on non apple devices. Anyway I am now like many others in the search of a new RSS reader and a new app to sort out Podcasts all preferably for free. So I’m going to look at suggestions and list them here for future reference and in the hope that it will assist others in their search. RSS Reader

• Feedly - Currently relying on google reader but apparently have a plan in place to switch to their own RSS service.
• Flipboard - A nice reader
• Newsblur- The most Google reader like replacement.

Conclusion Podcast Apps (Android)

• Double Twist —– This is an iTunes replacement it was pretty good when I used it last.
• Stitcher Radio —–  Requires login. Can use Facebook details. Nice interface and nice to use. Also Web based No import feature?
• BeyondPod — A paid for a “lite” version although you get 7 days worth of the full version for free. Nice interface. Allows import from google reader
• Podkicker —-  Theres a free and a paid for version of this podcast. Currently missing the import from reader on the free version.

Conclusion  for now I’m using BeyondPod it allowed me to import my podcasts from reader pretty easily. Depending on what happens in 7 days when the full version reverts to the “lite” version I’ll probably continue to use it. I would have loved to use Stitcher radio I really like the interface of the app but without an option to import feeds or import directly from reader it is a bit too much work than I’m willing to put in. (If it did have this option it would be my app of choice. I’m kind of hoping i just missed it in the options) Other

• Google Takeout  —- This allows you to export your google reader data to various xml files for easier transition

I will update this post as I find new replacements of course if you know of one or use one regularly that’s not mentioned or have views on something I have mentioned please leave a message in the comments or contact me on twitter @CTyxxxx

Update

A few weeks on and I think its due time that I told you what I got on with. I really liked BeyondPod but after the free trial was up and I discovered the price of the fully unlocked version I decided that £4 was a bit too much especially for someone who was looking for a free alternative.

I decided to search for another app that would fit the bill and hopefully be free and I finally stumbled upon one called PodcastAddict.  This pretty much did what BeyondPod did although not as smoothly or pretty but does what I needed and  the best thing is that its free.

12/12/12

Today is the 12th of december 2012 which means that its 12/12/12 

 

I think that in itself warrants a post.

There seems to be alot of posts around the world about the fact that its the last time that something like this can happen

 

Heres one with some intresting facts 

 

http://rt.com/news/features/december-12-marriage-doomsday-844/

How to solve a Rover 200 engine flood*

Some Background yesterday we had a really hard frost and I tried and failed to start the car. After a day and morning of stress trying to fix it myself we called out the AA and the AA man diagnosed the problem as a flooded engine. [This was probably caused by a bad battery in the first place and repeated attempts at a restart. We replaced the battery and it would still not start]

I had found some solutions to engine flooding online via the mighty google which basically said to clean the spark plugs and to remove the fuel pump fuse so that the engine management system didn’t continue to try and pump more fuel into the engine and flood it further.

The main problem with this is that its not possible in Rover 200′s to remove this fuse as its contained in a sealed unit with other parts of the engines management system. I also believe this to be the case in some other models of rover [such as the 400?]

 

So how to stop the fuel getting into the engine?

Well fortunately the AA man had a solution which as it turns out is pretty simple. He tripped the safety feature that cuts the fuel off should there be a crash the “fuel inertia cut-off” he simply tapped it with the base of his screw driver you can actually hear the spring release with a boing kind of sound.

He then removed the spark plugs being careful to make note of which of the HT leads went where and burnt off the excess fuel that was present on the end of them just by exposing them to the flame on the gas hob.

Once that was done he turned on the ignition for a while to clear any of the excess fuel and then reset the cut of switch by pressing it. He then turned it over again and after a few seconds the car burst into life.

After this he told me to take it for a drive to burn any of the remaining fuel that might be present in the engine and exhaust system.

 

*Important Note:- I am by no means a mechanic as you can probably tell.I am only relaying what the aa guy told me about how he fixed my car. Car’s are dangerous and should not be messed with by people that don’t know what they are doing. If you choose to follow or take advice from all or any part of this post you do so at your own risk and have only have yourself to blame for any injury or damage caused to yourself, property or other people 

Wow How Time Has Flown

I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I last posted something on here.

A lot has happened in the time period much more than i could ever have imagined.

Life is great, I moved to Manchester to live with my partner we then both moved to another part of Manchester into our own house. We decorated said house from top to bottom in a total time of about 3 weeks.

I have learnt so much not just about how to hang wallpaper [it's rather fun but frustrating] but also about life away from parents, stresses with bills and money.

I also managed to pass my driving test second time around and having a car and being able to get around has been such a godsend, I regret not learning sooner although that brings its own financial stress as well as mechanical which is something im going to mention in another post soon.

Learning how to deal with my partners 3 kids has also been an eye opener they are great kids and love every minute that i spend with them even when they drive me crazy but i would change nothing I love them all and am looking very much forward to spending our first Christmas together as a family.

My skills for cooking which I also enjoy are coming along quickly i have always been good at following instructions and methods its always my timing that has let me down this is improving a lot and although mistakes are on occasion still made I have not yet had a complete disaster in the culinary department.

So yes a very busy year its been a big adventure and there have been up’s and down’s and im sure several other cliché it also explains why i haven’t been posting on this blog as much as i had intended. Just haven’t had the time or inclination to do anything with it.

I do now though as life has started to get into some kind of “normal” routine have some ideas of what I want to do so keep an eye out. I’m planning to do at least one more post today which is completely unrelated to most of what is already on this blog but is more of a reminder for myself than anything else but I do hope that people will find it useful.

Anyway enough of the waffle.

SOPA & PIPA – A Day Of BlackOuts

As has been reported all over the world and internet today the english pages of wikipedia have gone black in protest of SOPA and PIPA . You can see just an  example of the coverage by following these links  BBC , SKY , CNN.

Now wikipedia is far from the only site to go black and the BBC has a slide show that shows many more and how the sites are supporting the cause, its well worth a view as once again there are some really interesting ways of showing their support. You can view it Here

Now you might be wondering what SOPA and PIPA actually are and why are people making such a big fuss about it, you may also be wondering why a law that is essentially american should affect us and the net as a whole.

SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act and PIPA Is short for Protect Interlectual Property Act.

They are basically both trying to do the same kind of things which as you can see from their names is to crack down on copyright infringement and illegal sharing. The problem lies in the ambiguous way in which these acts are going about doing this and in part whether the us government can be trusted to use the legislation in the way that it is meant for, Which as has been shown in the past with various governments in many different countries is unlikely. It will also give a lot of power  to an industry that again in the past has shown itself to be unscrupulous in the way it deals with people and the people who it accuses of violating even the current laws.

Now im not going to claim that i understand everything about these to acts but fortunately people cleverer than me have gone through the acts and places like the BBC have tried to explain them.

BBC Explanation – Here

EFF – Here

CNN – Here

Wikipedia - Here

There is also this video Which is currently on the Rock Paper Shotgun Blackout page

The reason that its important that people outside of the USA also take note of these ACTS is that not only will it affect websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia  other sites that are based in the US, it will also affect funding for sites that are outside of the US and whats more where the us leads the rest of the world will follow.

You can’t think that the company’s that support these acts such as Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), News Corp and Walt Disney among many others some of which you can view in this google doc file HERE will not turn their gaze like Sauron to Europe and the rest of the world.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy new year I know a couple of days late but still least its only 2 days.

This is a olyimpic year looking forward to that not that I expect to get to see much because I will be working during the same period that it’s on although with things like iplayer I will be at least able to catch things that I want to even if it’s not live.

Also going to be an interesting year in formula 1, 5 world champions on the grid and with the continuation of kers and drs it would seem the possibility of even more action than there was in 2011.

Last year I made a resolution to post more than I did in 2010 and to some extent I certainly did that still not really happy with the fequency but I guess I never will be and its better for me if I post when I feel like I have something to talk about rather than forcing it after all.

 

So as to the new year what are my goals

Well the first is to pass my driving test.

Then I hope to continue posting on my blog with at least a post per month

And I hope that I will get a new start with something ;P

 

So hears to the new year lets all hope that it’s a good one.

 

Projects – Update

Well its been a little while since I posted anything.

As far as my projects are concerned I havent really given it much thought. What with christmas and the cost of learning to drive as well as an increase in working hours at work I havent had the time money or inclination. I will probably pick it up again after christmas and new year.

I have however been asked by my brother to come up with a gaming pc for £800 – £1000

So that is whats going to keep me occupied for the time being.

 

Will let you know how I get on and please leave any suggestions below.