Chrome Attempts to Resurrect RSS With a New-Tab Feature That 'Follows' Your Favorite Sites (gizmodo.com) 16
It's kind of like an RSS feed — and kind of not. Google now lets you "follow" your favorite web sites with Android versions of Chrome, reports Gizmodo:
The feature has a similar effect to following an account on Twitter or Instagram, except you get content updates through Chrome on the new tab page.
The ability is widely available to anyone on Android running the latest version of Chrome 94 that was pushed out to the Play Store at the end of September.
Google introduced the ability earlier this year through the experimental Canary version of Chrome on Android. A Google spokesperson said at the time that the company planned to return to surfacing content through RSS feeds so that it could populate the aforementioned Following section for its users. The ability shows up in the overflow menu on the stable version of Chrome for Android. But since it's still rolling out, you might need to enable it manually. In Chrome for Android, type in chrome://flags in the link bar to reveal the browser's hidden settings. Then, search for web feed and select the singular enabled option to turn it on....
Chrome's director of engineering Adrienne Porter Felt tweeted on Friday that iOS users should expect the feature sometime next year.
The ability is widely available to anyone on Android running the latest version of Chrome 94 that was pushed out to the Play Store at the end of September.
Google introduced the ability earlier this year through the experimental Canary version of Chrome on Android. A Google spokesperson said at the time that the company planned to return to surfacing content through RSS feeds so that it could populate the aforementioned Following section for its users. The ability shows up in the overflow menu on the stable version of Chrome for Android. But since it's still rolling out, you might need to enable it manually. In Chrome for Android, type in chrome://flags in the link bar to reveal the browser's hidden settings. Then, search for web feed and select the singular enabled option to turn it on....
Chrome's director of engineering Adrienne Porter Felt tweeted on Friday that iOS users should expect the feature sometime next year.
What's wrong with RSS? Seems fine to me (Score:5, Insightful)
Other than nobody has figured out how to monetize RSS and inject ads and trackers into it. ... OOOHH
Re: What's wrong with RSS? Seems fine to me (Score:3)
nobody has figured out how to monetize RSS
This.
But I expect that Google will find some way to become the intermediary between various sites and your Chrome tabs. Where they can collect some money from those sites and information about you. Needless to say, this will involve the RSS-serving sites to use a proprietary plug-in rather than actual RSS. Or users could just use other RSS capable apps and side step the Google graft machine.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
You can still run your own rss reader, e.g. https://tt-rss.org/ [tt-rss.org]
Google news still sends rss updates. I read google news, amongst others through my own tt-rss instance.
It has a web ui and there are ios and androis apps.
Re: (Score:2)
and imagine some 3rd party like google deciding what's important and "headlineable" on your favorite site, unlike RSS which lets your favorite site decide. The internet and the major browsers are circling the drain regarding usefulness to user, it's kind of like letting a band of pimps be in charge of all your interactions with women, you're gonna get whores and whoredom.
Want to *actually* resurrect RSS? (Score:5, Informative)
Use https://feedly.com/ [feedly.com]
When Google killed Reader, I did, and never looked back.
Re: (Score:1)
I've been using Feedly since then, too, and have been quite happy with it.
Google previously had a great RSS app with Reader until they abandoned it. Why would I want to go back to them for RSS?
SizzleFox (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Same.
But with that RSS still works just fine. I don't need Google to "resurrect" something that I use every day.
Pointcast (Score:2)
Once upon a time, before The Google and The Book of Face, there was Pointcast. Now residing in the annals of Wikipedia, it was as it should be.
`diff` ! (Score:2)
Personally, I just use `diff` on files from a script that -dump`s text of webpages I follow. Some sites don't work with lynx/elinks2 but I haven't found any worth following.
We already have RSS (Score:2)
Hmm. I "follow" my favorite web sites right now using RSS. In fact, it was my RSS feed where I discovered this article. How is Google's new thing better? I assume the answer is something about supporting advertising.
Thought RSS was dead (Score:1)
Vivaldi has RSS built-in (Score:2)
The Vivaldi browser has an RSS reader built-in to it. I've been using that for sites I don't want tracking me and also works great for YouTube feeds without needing to subscribe.
https://www.vivaldi.com/ [vivaldi.com]