Giveaway: NetNewsWire
There are tons of RSS readers for the Mac. However, most of them ship with basic features and are almost powerless. Introducing NetNewsWire, a powerful and robust RSS reader. NetNewsWire has a familiar three-paned interface, similar to Mail.app, and can fetch and display news from thousands of different websites and weblogs, making it quick and easy to keep up with the latest news. Besides reading articles and news, you can download podcasts and audio files and have them sync to your portable audio device. The app now synchronizes with NewsGator Online and the rest of the NewsGator RSS Suite.
And best of all, we have 5 copies to give away! That’s right, 5 full licenses! To win, just post an answer to this question:
Q: Would you like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com?
Good luck! If you don’t win, but like the sound of NetNewsWire, you can get it for $29.95 from NewsGator.
Yes, I would like to see some forums where we can discuss the stories on MacApper and everything Mac in general.
Sure it’s a good idea!
Go for the forum!
I’m a regular MacApper reader, but I’ve never posted before.
I think some forums would be a great way for users to discuss to latest mac apps. Plus, I know I always run into problems, and a user discussion would be a great place to get quick simple answers.
Sure, if you’ll give me NNW I’ll take it…
Discussion forums on MacApper would be a great addition to the site.
Of course! Its a great idea.
why not ? I think it will a great plus for your site !
I think it would be a great addition
Forums all the way baby!!! let them have rss feeds too
Hi,
I’m new to Mac Univers and have a loads of stuff to discover. So thanks already to your site for nice apps reviews, which helps newbies to choose the right software and navigate throught the masses of Mac stuff. So the forum is super good idea as to ask the HOWTOs, tips and tricks and get help on various Mac subjects.
Don’t think I would have much use for a forum. That being said, I would be curious how NetNewsWire compares to NewsFire, a question that could easily be addressed by a forum. Go figure.
I think not. There are too many mac forums everywhere…
I don’t think that I would read a forum on this site. Sorry.
absolutely. miles should integrate this to macapper. However, Alec Feld, our editor has setup an irc hangout for macapper’s readers for some time now: #macapper-hangout on irc.krono.net
By the way, NNW is testing out version 3 and you can get one here: http://urltea.com/28y
Yes discussion forums would be great. I think it’s fun to talk about exciting soft- and hard-ware related to mac.
Forums? No. Better commenting functions? Yes. Would love the possibility to reply to specific posts and get a threaded view.
There are a lot of great mac forums out there so i’m not sure whether it is necessary to have just another forum out there. I think macapper should concentrate on presenting cool little helpful mac apps and should be a platform for developers to present theire products.
I think macapper is a great mac site… thanks for all your work.
agree.
i don’t really think a forum would be necessary…
a better commenting function would be great though. perhaps even the possibility to rate the mentioned apps?
Does the Mac community really need another forum?
A well-established forum would help the writers see more of what the readers are interested in reading and perhaps be another place to spur on ideas and exposure for software. My 2 cents.
-Rebby
It’s a perfect idea, since we cannot rely on comments forever to communicate.
Discussion forums would be great!
I also agree!Not another forum…better commenting maybe.Just my personal opinion of-course.
I use mac-apper for the reviews basically!
A copy of NetNewsWire would not hurt me at all
yes please!
Sure, a discussion forum is a great idea.
I’m a huge fan of NNW, and use it almost perpetually. I consider it to be one of the cornerstone 3rd party apps for OSX.
In response to #10 above: I used to use NewsFire, and found it to be a great app. In terms of UI, it is better than NNW. However, it doesn’t seem to handle large numbers of feeds gracefully (think more than 100+) without slowdowns.
I’m not sure of the need for a forum here. There are many Mac-relate forums, and making another one here might be redundant. That being said, I do much agree with the above suggestions that an expanded story commenting/ranking system would be nice.
Yes.
Yes, I think a discussion forum would be a good additon to the site. I really like what you have covered so far, please keep it up!
No, MacApper is a blog and should stay a blog.
I think a better commenting ability is a better idear.
Because a forum would be to messy with question about too many programs
No.
I don’t think this website really needs a forum, but it would be a nice extra. The reviews here have been very useful and it would be great to hear some more hands-on experience with certain apps from other users.
I don’t think this blog needs a forum; enabling comments on every post is good enough
Wouldn’t make a difference to me.
There are already quite a few (big) Mac forums, I don’t think one is really needed. Personally I think the site would be better off staying a blog and keeping its focus.
Forums would be a great way to discuss new apps and new uses for old apps. I say, DO IT!
yeah! forums would be an awesome way to communicate about new emerging apps and tops&tricks. doo itt.
Yes!!!
I think it would be a great idea to have the readers of MacApper mingle and “make nice”. Also, if writers were allowed in, it would strengthen the bond between writers and the readers of MacApper.
I woud vote yes.
Yes.
I don’t know how you guys did it but you have established a place for yourselves amongst the abundance of white noise out here in Internetland. Your site attracts those “Macappers” with a certain bent way of seeing things. I think there are some great conversations to be had if you see the positive in this.
Of course, we could also have the 20-ton weight fall on us from out of the sky and the bleedin’ colonel walking around calling us “Silly!” But then them’s the chances you take.
mb
I think it’s an amazing idea!
Definitely “no” to the forums. There are plenty of them already. Besides, people commenting on the articles provide enough discussion and feedback on the specific subject as well as anything related….Keep It Simple.
Nah – I probably wouldn’t read it – maybe instead have a Ask MacApper where people ask questions during the week and at the end of the week you guys pick some good questions and go through some solutions…
eh?
I would really love some forums….you guys are doing a great job so far with this blog!
I would really like NNW…
Would you like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com.
I would too, the only problem is getting the news out that we have one, and that we need to add a button to the forum to alert new users to MacApper to see the forum.
This is all needed to get a good website community up and running.
I prefer comments over forums. Forums are great, but there’s so much “internet tough guy” going on in most forums that it turns me off.
Forums sound like a great addition to the site… But honestly I’d probably never visit, I’ve got to many forums to juggle as it is
I’d like to see forums on any of the apps reviewed/posted here.
Yes I would, a forum about mac apps
I’d love to see some forums on here.
I’d love to see a forum. newsfire vs nnw flame wars would definitely appear.
Hmm…I don’t think a forum would be necessary or that useful on here IMO.
Because the topic your site is based on, software, is so laser-precise in its focus, I don’t think it would offer much more beyond what people can get from the comments. If you wanted a place for off-topic MacApper conversations or extended convos or whatever, I think a lightweight (maybe Vanilla-based?) forum wouldn’t be too much to handle.
Wow you guys are a really divided. I think it’s important to ask these questions…
Thanks for the comments everyone. We will take all of these opinions and form a strategy that hopefully should appeal to everyone
Hey, I’d love NetNewsWire. About the forums… I don’t think it’s necessary, because the comments are specific to each app, so I don’t think we need to move them. It could be interesting for app suggestions and such, but honestly, don’t create another forum I just *need* to visit each day! My hands are full
That’s a ‘no’ on the forum front for me.
Like already mentioned, there are already so many ‘mac-related’ forums on the net.
Maybe do something a little more unique? For example, maybe integrate the Wordpress Review Plugin (http://www.dangrossman.info/wp-dg-review-site) which will allow your readers to submit their own opinions of the software you review.
This would allow for a professional and public criticism of each product.
I’m not a fan of discussion forums, but that’s just me. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to set up a forum and see how visitors take to it.
I agree with the points about staying focused on what makes this blog great and letting the other hulking forums do their job.
As long as the focus is kept on the Apps, then I like the idea, while there are other Mac Forums out there, they’ve all been there for a long time. A fresh look at the subject by different people might actually be worth something…
Forums would definitely enhance the site. My suggestion would be to have categories set up for all the different variety’s of Mac Software, eg video editing, photo editing, etc and then people can discuss there.
Not a big fan of discussion forums. They can be useful for figuring technical things out. They might be helpful here in allowing people to ask what kind of app to use for a specific task.
Q: Would you like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com?
I think there are few websites that can’t be improved having a healthy forum community, definitely would be a cool thing to see. Of course focus is one issue, and another is finding someone with good enough judgment to moderate it. All forums will have idiots.
Yes, put up some discussion forums, those who like them will use them. Moderating them will be necessary though.
I think having forums would create a great sense of community. It especially opens the door for greater involvement of people who regularly visit the site and can help in the development of other stories
I think it would be interesting, as it would be impossible for the MacApper authors to cover every single app out there, and I’m always on the lookout for new or better apps (hence why I’ve subscribed to this blog
).
I think it would also have to be moderated, though. If you guys are willing to commit to the time-consuming practice that is forum moderation (or find someone who will for you), then I welcome the idea.
I think part of me would like to see discussion forums because it would bring a more fuller community aspect to macapper.com. On the other hand, keeping the website in the blog format can focus in on the apps that the developers of the site wish to cover, all the while letting visitors comment on what they read. I think what makes this site unique is that there are no forums. This aspect helps both the web developers and readers focus in on particular products. Obviously, if readers wish a review of a favorite app, they should be more than welcome to submit the suggestion to the developers.
Forums sound great. The more recommendations and advice are a plus for everyone.
I actually think that the forums would make this more of a comunity than a blog. In some situations thats good, but I think for mac apper the kind of impression of consumate indy mac app bloggers is one of this sites biggest strengts. I read mac apper every day, but I wouldnt bother with discussion boards. Keep it up.
I would like to see discussion forums, as it would tie the community together. We all have similar interests regarding Apple and technology, so it would be a nice hub to share our thoughts about new Mac products, as well as the articles written on the site.
Q: Would you like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com?
Yes, it could be interesting to have corresponding discussions to each post in the forums alongside the normal trappings of discussion forums.
Absolutely. It’ll be easier to socialise and share more fun mac apps.
Q: Would you like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com?
Absolutely. I’d recommend BB Press (http://bbpress.org/) if you’re running this blog on Wordpress.
No, I would not like to see some discussion forums at MacApper.com because than it would seriously become “just another Apple blog.â€
Though having some discussion forums in general is nice, I doubt macapper.com need one. The blog form serves the purpose well, and I probably won’t want to check the forum at all…. So my answer to the question is, probably no.
I’d love to see disscusion forums on MacApper. Discussing the ins and outs of using the apps you guys review could be helpful to your users.
Nope. There’s no need, and without Hijack I have no way of keeping track of so many forums. RSS isn’t the right medium to keep track of this.
I like forums
I think fourums are well and good, but I just read through my RSS reader, (Which will hopfully soon be NetNewsWire, :0) so it seems as though it would be tough to keep up on for me.
I guess a forum wouldn’t hurt, but i’d rather see an IRC channel.
I think having a forum would be a great addition to MacApper. Having fellow mac enthusiasts to discuss apps with in real time would be super useful!
Sure a forum would be nice for those who like it. I would like an area for people to introduce apps they found. I wouldn’t mind an IRC channel either, like Deamer said.
I myself is not overly fond of forums but it might be nice for those who are. However, if you do decide to have one, be sure to make it better than anything currently out there so that all mac-enthusiasts rally up and get together at the one spot so that we don’t have to scour all over the net in order to get to the most interesting discussions.
No, stay with your good postings and under them there is enough space for discussion in the comments
I have to agree with those who say discussion forums aren’t really needed. As long as people keep the comments coming through I think that’s all this site really needs. Creating a discussion forum would only draw attention away from the main page I would think. But that’s just my 2 cents.
(count me in on the NetNewsWire drawing too
)
Nea.
I like macapper for all the cool applications i never heard of before, so i will probably not read the discussion forums.
I am not sure about the discussion forum.
Maybe reviews of some apps would be great. With comments enabled on those reviews.
I don’t necesarily think that a forum would be something I would fancy on MacApper. There are, as already mentioned, so many good forums out there. However, if the forum was solely focused on the apps you review and describe then maybe that would work.
I support anything that promotes the notion of “community”. In other words, YES, a forum would be great!
I think forums would be good. I’ve always appreciated being able to state a need and get feed back from others in the same boat.
Yes. Forums would be nice. I like Glenn’s forums. But I see they are gone now… =[
No, I think a blog about awesome Mac apps is just great, lets not mess it up with forums. There are many forums out there for Mac and Mac Apps
Oh please no forum! This site is wonderful”as is”.
I love Macapper’s reviews and find it much more useful than a forum could be. I have enough forums I try to keep up with and wouldn’t use it; but I do like the comment threads.
I think a forum is would be a great addition, as long as it doesn’t take away from the amount of post.
If the site remains the same, with the same quality posts, than alright, but it’s not needed.
I think forums would be a great idea
Appsolutely.
Yes, forums definitely sound interesting.
Forums would be a cool way to exchange experiences with the various apps you introduce and to suggest new ones you may not know of.
Greetings
It’s definitely cool to have a forum! phpBB?
I don’t know…
Wouldn’t want to take any activity away from the blog based discussion.
It would help the site develop more of a community, but I’d say stick with the excellent bloging and comments.
Nah.
There are enough Mac forums out there.
There are enough forums out there, and I mostly just check your blog to find good new apps, I go elsewhere to engadge in Mac discussions. Perhaps a partnership with an existing, popular Mac forum would be a good solution?
I would love to see a forum to discuss apps that could be overlooked by the team, up to the minute news and more points of view from the mac community.
Yes! I think forums would be cool.
*hops up and down in circles chanting “Me! Pick Me!”*
Sounds good to me. A forum would be pretty cool.
Well, I dont think macapper should have a forum. There are plenty of these, macapper is a (brilliant) blog and should stay like that.
No forum need, just keep up the great work.
I think discussion forums are great to have. Even though it seems like MacApper it perfect as it is, I would be quite interested to post in blogs too. Blogs help for seeing other peoples opinion’s on things, so it is a great idea to see a lot of opinions on mac related topics.
Sure! MacApper is a good place to see reviews and discuss about mac applications! Forums? Bring them on!
I think discussion forums would be really cool!
Sure I love forums! especially when there are experienced users who are willing to help people.