The Old Reader saved by mystery backer, improvements promised

By Trevor Mogg August 5, 2013

the old reader saved by mystery backer rss — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Last week it appeared the end was nigh for the public version of popular RSS service The Old Reader. A blog post over the weekend, however, indicates that someone has stepped in to save the day, meaning thousands of users have been saved the hassle of once again having to hunt around for another place to park their feeds.

“We’re pleased to announce that The Old Reader will officially remain open to the public”, Ben Wolf, who presumably is part of the takeover team, wrote in the post.

Recommended Videos

According to Wolf, The Old Reader now has a larger team and “significantly” more resources to deal with the influx of users that followed the shuttering of Google Reader at the start of last month.

Long-time site developers Elena Bulygina and Dmitry Krasnoukhov are set to stay with The Old Reader, Wolf said.

It was Bulygina and Krasnoukhov who last week said they had become overwhelmed by the work required to keep the site up and running – calling it “hell in every possible aspect we could imagine” – and as a result had taken the decision to slash its user base by closing the site to those who joined in the wake of the demise of Google Reader, and instead run it for friends and others close to the site.

Future

As for the future, Wolf said that far from simply managing the current set-up, the team will be working on improving the site with a number of new features. He also said plans are afoot to grow The Old Reader’s user base and as a consequence the site will be transitioning to “a top tier hosting facility in the US” in the coming days.

“It’s going to require some downtime and for that we sincerely apologize, but it’s also going to mean a lot more servers, 10x faster networks, and long-term stability,” Wolf wrote. “We realize that doesn’t make the downtime easy but rest assured that things are looking up.”

Wolf declined to reveal details about the group or company that has apparently saved The Old Reader, but promised to introduce the new team in the coming weeks.

[Image: Palto / Shutterstock]

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.