Sunday, June 30, 2013

Good Bye, Farewell and New Beginnings

In March Google announced that by 1st of July Google Reader will cease to exist. I am sad to say this, but after half a decade so will NewsRob - as we know it today.

My day job and my health don't really allow me to spend enough time on NewsRob to keep it going forward. Because I didn't want to let the NewsRob community down for some time now I fooled myself into believing that there is a practical way to keep things going forward, but this is just not the case and you and I have to acknowledge that. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience it causes you. 
And thank you for staying with me and NewsRob for so long. I know a few users by name who used NewsRob since the beginning of 2009 until now and we meanwhile know each other on many different levels. 

So alongside Google Reader the name NewsRob will disappear, as will the apps on Google Play. A little later this blog and the mailing lists will go away too, but I will keep them open for now as point to coordinate follow up activities.

However after unpublishing the app and letting go of the NewsRob name, something new and more exciting may be around the corner. 

I published the source code under the MIT open source license. At some point a new RSS reader may emerge as a whole. Or some features will surface again in other RSS readers. A likely candidate for this would be the offline capabilities, which are pretty well encapsulated.

In the same way that Google pulling out of the RSS reader market may likely turn out to be a blessing in disguise, so will me letting go of the code that was NewsRob hopefully result in other people taking over. People who will give it the attention that it deserves and that I can't devote at this point in time. 
I am really looking forward to this, as I haven't found a good replacement for my own news needs yet ;)

Travis already works on an integration of NewsBlur and published a functional beta. He agreed that his contribution is also part of the code repository I linked too.


If you want to have a look around what else is happening in the RSS arena, you may find this article useful as a starting point.

110 comments:

  1. I have used NewsRob for years now and it was the best 5 Euro I ever payed for my smartphone.

    Also for years I have waited to read something on this blog again ;)

    Anyway: Good luck for the future to you and please use this blog to post again once there is something new about the developements you mentioned.

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  2. I know that I have used the best reader in the world. Farewell and thank you.

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  3. NewsRob is one of the first apps I ever installed on my G1 in 2009, and I've used it every day since. I go through 600+ articles per day from almost 200 sources, and I want to say that NewsRob is still the best reader app. Thank you for releasing the source code, so that we can all learn from your experience. Wishing you good health, happiness and success.

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  4. Thank you for your job. I use RSS on mobile devices since Windows Mobile era, I tried more than several dozens on clients, but NewsRob was always the best

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  5. Thank you. I have been using NewsRob for many years and by far the best app purchase I have ever made. Best of luck on your future endeavors.

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  6. Thanks for everything, great work which satisfied my news reading the last 4 years. Sad to see it end, but wish you and your source code all yhe best for the future :)

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  7. NewsRob has been a great app from the start. We can attribute that to a great developer who tried his best to give everyone a great product with features that everyone wanted. I am sorry to hear that we have reached its end, but I wish you all the luck in future endeavors, both public and personal.

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  8. Thank you for all the work you have done for the community and my best wishes for your health.

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  9. Thank you for a great app that I have used nearly every day since 2010 or earlier. I wish you all the best. For my needs, Feedly and Google Currents are pale replacements.

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  10. Thank you for the NewsRob app. The Pro version was the first app I paid for, the only app that I used consistently every day since installed & the best way for me to keep informed, wherever I was, even over the last year with my own health issues.

    I cannot thank you enough for releasing the source code under an open source license. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised with the results & will be releasing donation version sooner than you expect.

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  11. Damn I will miss it.
    Thanks to Newsrobs offline features i was able to keep my mobile data down to 30 Megs a month despite of 130 Feeds.
    gReader is a poor Substitute i'm using now.

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  12. Mario, thank you. I've loved and used NewsRob daily for several years. I worked at NewsGator in the glory years of RSS and still use NetNewsWire and FeedDemon, so I'm hoping Travis, et. al. will be successful. I've joined one of the lists those lists and I'm looking forward to PhoenixNewsRob rising from the ashes!

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  13. Hi. I loved it and it was my number one must have app on my Android devices.

    Thanks and best wishes.

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  14. Hi. I loved it and it was my number one must have app on my Android devices.

    Thanks and best wishes.

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  15. Thank you for all your work on NewsRob through the years. It was one of the first apps I ever paid for and am so glad I did. I will miss it dearly as I used it on both my tablet and my phone every day.

    Darn you, Google...

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  16. 残念。。。the best app ever I had on my Android devices.

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  17. Thanks for NewsRob while it lasted. This was the only android newsreader that would sync with google, work offline, and give me a single feed in age order.


    I am so glad you are releasing the source, I am sure someone will pick it up and keep it alive somehow.

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  18. My go to must have app on ny phone. Thanks for the great app.

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  19. Thanks for Newsrob -- great app. I was so satisfied with the basic version that I never needed the Pro version

    Still, I would like to send the $6.00 your way. If you're no longer taking payments via Google Play, please put up a Paypal or Google Wallet link -- I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to send some money your way.

    Thanks and all the best!

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  20. I'm going to miss NewsRob, no other reader matches it's features and simplicity. Please do let us know if you hear about other projects using your source code. For now, I'll have to settle for gReader.

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  21. Gracias por todo este tiempo, el mejor lector con diferencia ;)

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  22. Please give the beta a try and let me know your thoughts. I am planning to continue the open source effort and hope to see more activity. There are a few gaps, but I find it functional for the main uses.

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  23. Many thanks for all the hard work over the years. Newsrob was an early, stellar reader that was never truly surpassed. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.

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  24. Was a fantastic app for years. Sorry to see it go but I understand things change and sometimes we can't keep up with every wrinkle. Thanks for the great work.

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  25. Thank you for the fantastic app - it has been an integral part of my day for years now, and I'll be sad to see it go. Thanks again!

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  26. This sucks, I'm going yuk miss newsrob it's been a part of my daily life for years...., Feedly sucks.

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  27. This sucks, I'm going yuk miss newsrob it's been a part of my daily life for years...., Feedly sucks.

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  28. Thanks for such a fantastic app. I salute developers like you who selflessly devote their time and talent to build a great app and give it for free!
    Wishing you all the very best with your health and your future.

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  29. Best app ever. I'm reluctantly getting used to Feedly but I will always miss NewsRob.

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  30. Thank you so much for NewsRob and for doing the right thing with the source.

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  33. Such a shame! Like others above, I have used NewsRob for years, it's one of the first apps I install after loading up a new ROM, it's one of the few apps I have a shortcut to on my homescreen and it is probably my most frequently accessed app! To hear of its demise is the saddest news I've heard in a while :(
    Thanks for your work to get it going in the first place and got making such a great app. Hopefully we hear from you again in the future!

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  34. Thank you very much. The application I used for reading feeds since 2010.I will miss it.

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  35. Newsrob is the best rss reader.
    Thank you!

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  36. Been using Newsrob since I first installed it on my G1. Simply the best.

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  37. Been using Newsrob since I first installed it on my G1. Simply the best.

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  38. Thank you.

    Wish you could have kept it going. All the best.

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  39. NewsRob was one of (if not the) first application I paid money for. Thank you for all the years. NewsRob was the reason I switched from email driven RSS to Google Reader in the first place. Thank you yet again.

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  40. Being the IT guy that I'm I seldom have emotions with regard to pieces of software. Seeing NewsRob die (or "hibernate" at the very least), however, makes me sad.
    On the one hand I'm sad for NewsRob; though I known that nothing lasts forever. It's been *the* functional newsreader. It's not trying to be pretty, trendy, shiny, but it has worked 100% over the years and has always helped me to complete what I was after: get the content (that's what RSS is supposed to be about anyway), and be on top of it on my mobile. In that it created a new level of standard; one that IMHO others have not been able to meet and lagging far behind.
    And that leads to why I'm sad for myself: I've not found any worthy replacement either. Stopping RSS support is yet another nudge from Google for me to look at the Apple infrastructure(!!!). (BTW does anyone know what's out there on iPhone to be a worthy replacement of NewsRob?)
    Thanks Mario and I'm looking forward to NewsRob's revival (independently or inoculted into some other brand).

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  41. I agree with the comments above (and below). I will miss NewsRob. I'm trying Feedly, but it's just not the same.

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  42. Thank you for all your work on newsrob. It's a great app and I've used it daily for years. I'm looking forward to checking out the source. Thanks!

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  43. You may not know me by name, but I've been one of the most ardent supporters of this app. Newsrob was always one of the first apps I would download on my new os. It kept me entertained and informed for about 3 years.

    May the app rest in peace.

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  44. You may not know me by name, but I've been one of the most ardent supporters of this app. Newsrob was always one of the first apps I would download on my new os. It kept me entertained and informed for about 3 years.

    May the app rest in peace.

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  45. Thank you for the years of support. Good luck to you, your health and family.

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  46. Thank you for the years of support. Good luck to you, your health and family.

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  47. NewsRob was one of the first apps I actually purchased when I moved to the Android world 3 years ago. I go through hundreds of feed entries a day, and I always appreciated the functionality and information density that NewsRob offered. Thank you so much for releasing the source code so that the legacy has a chance to live on, and best of luck in your personal life.

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  48. Thanks Marino, I've had many happy years using your great product. I hope the new beginning works out well for you and your health.

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  49. Thanks Marino, I've had many happy years using your great product. I hope the new beginning works out well for you and your health.

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  50. NewsRob was the first app I've purchased on Android and I did it not because I needed any functionality from the Pro version, but because I thought it was right.
    It was the only app that I was opening multiple times a day.

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  51. Thanks for your great job. It really help us a lot! Thanks again!

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  52. I was not too sad about Google reader death but the thought of not using NewsRob made me feel sad.

    Thank you for an excellent app and enjoy your retirement. :-D

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  53. So sad, like suddenly not seeing a friend daily and never will again. Thank you for all your efforts. Best wishes upon your retirement.

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  54. I have been using your app since 09 and have probably averaged 1,5h/day. That's 91 consecutive days of using your app. I would say that my five dollars spent were well spent.
    Thank you so so much. I'm going to miss NewsRob very much.

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  55. I guess to an extent we were all fooling ourselves into thinking that this could go on forever. It was a great run. I am one of those started early days of NewsRob. I have used the daily. It was the best dollars spent on Google Play. much success to you on your future projects

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  56. I guess to an extent we were all fooling ourselves into thinking that this could go on forever. It was a great run. I am one of those started early days of NewsRob. I have used the daily. It was the best dollars spent on Google Play. much success to you on your future projects

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  57. Mariano, no way you'll be able to read all these notices, but want to add my best wished for the future.

    You have no idea how much you added order to my life, the addition of NewsRob to my chaotic search for news was an amazing transformation.

    And I believe it was my query to you that gave the impetus to your "Why go NewsRob Pro" summary.

    And once, when I upgraded and foolishly changed two default settings, thereby making NewsRob almost unusable, you were all over it (despite my ineptness) and I'll never forget your "I GOT IT" when you figured out what I did (and of course got it working again).

    Thanks for all exceedingly hard work and I agree with all, much success to you on future endeavors.

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  58. Thank you very much for your very good job! Newsrob was every time I set up a new mobile or a new custom rom one of the first applications I've installed. It was also one of the first apps I've paid for - a really, really good invest! It was THE important app on my mobiles... Thanks a lot, vielen Dank, Merci - Carsten

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  59. Thanks for making reading my feeds such a pleasure. Wish you all the best.

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  60. Thanks for making reading my feeds such a pleasure. Wish you all the best.

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  61. Thanks Mariano. Like for so many others here NewsRob was one of the first Android apps I paid for and I have used it constantly ever since. Nothing else has replicated the simplicity, offline reading and swipe to mark as read as effectively. I am looking forward to the reincarnation.

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  62. Bwaaaaah...yes, I'm crying. As others have stated, this app was awesome. One of the first things I'd download with a new phone and used it as much as any app on my phone. Have yet to find a suitable substitute. Thanks and good luck

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  63. So sorry to see this go. I started every day with a coffee and Newsrob. Awesome app.

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  64. For a short period I switched to a windows phone and one of the biggest draw backs was not having NewsRob. I was so excited when I came back to android android and came back to NewsRob. Now I'm sad to see it go.

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  65. It's a shame to see such an amazing app leave us after so long and I will miss it a lot. More importantly though is my hope that Mariano feels better.
    The inconvenience is nothing compared to the importance of Marianos own health

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  66. Your app was the first app I paid for and the app I used the most. Thanks and good luck

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  67. Dude, how did you manage to have no bugs in the code? I did not see any in NewsRob in years! Unit tests?

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  68. Dude, how did you manage to have no bugs in the code? I did not see any in NewsRob in years! Unit tests?

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  69. Very impressive program, and consistently worked well.

    The offline functionality has been awesome when working with pricy mobile data.

    One of the first programs I bought, and well deserved money. Will be dearly missed.

    Best of luck on your endeavours!

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  70. Very impressive program, and consistently worked well.

    The offline functionality has been awesome when working with pricy mobile data.

    One of the first programs I bought, and well deserved money. Will be dearly missed.

    Best of luck on your endeavours!

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  71. I arrived at the NewsRob party extremely late (just a few months ago) and was delighted to find an app that shows feeds in a fast, friendly, uncomplicated way. As this is the end, I just want to say thanks for all the effort you put into it, and I will miss NewsRob's elegance.

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  72. News rob was my day to day favourite apps. I hope you the best for the future and expect your apps will give a good inspiration fir the others . Thank you for everything.

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  73. News rob was my day to day favourite apps. I hope you the best for the future and expect your apps will give a good inspiration fir the others . Thank you for everything.

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  74. Thanks for all your efforts and all the best. My favorite app since my first android in 2010

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  75. I've been using NewsRob daily for years now, and I will miss it. Thank you for all your hard work, and best of luck in your new endeavors!

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  76. Thanks so much for all your efforts. NewsRob has occupied a prime piece of real estate on my Android for years and has been one of my favorite apps, especially the off-line feature.

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  77. Thank you so much for providing this very useful app for all of us. All those other apps either miss some features like offline support or concentrate on irrelevant wobble effects. I hope that the open source approach is working out (I checking out the beta right now).

    Wish you all the best.

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  78. Sad day to be sure. Thanks for Newsrob.

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  79. Good luck with your health, and thanks for a well done job.

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  80. The best app ever I had on my Android devices.
    Thanks man, and good and healthy luck! :)

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  81. BEST APP EVER! AWESOME WORK. The app makes my daily commuting productive. I cant find any use of my tablet since yesterday.

    Thank you so very much. If so happen you come to Segamat, Johor, drop me an email. I will buy you the best mee goreng kicap and soto. Ohhh and the durians as well. All the best.

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  82. Thanks a lot for your efforts. NewsRob was the first app that I payed to get pro. It was well spent money. Best wishes!

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  83. I want to say thank you so much! from Japan.

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  84. Like all others who have said earlier "This was indeed a very good app. I used it really long and would like to thank you very much"

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  85. Thank you for one of the essential android apps, Marino. Trying to get feedly+greader to work, but it is nowhere as smooth as newsrob.

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  86. Thank you, I didn't spend the 5 dollars... but maybe I should have. Please let us know of good replacement through this blog.

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  87. Thank you, I didn't spend the 5 dollars... but maybe I should have. Please let us know of good replacement through this blog.

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  88. Thank you. The first thing after I bought my first android - milestone was buying newsrob, and I never used another feed reader app on android besides it.

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  89. Thank you for being with us.. i will miss u, a great reader app..

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  90. Muchas gracias, es el único lector de rss que he usado lo echare de menos, mucho.

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  91. News Rob rocked!!!!!!!!! I moved to Feedly Cloud connected to gReader Android app, which is close, but goes to show how much I miss NewsRob because EVEN CLOSE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH AND I MISS NEWSROB!

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  92. Nach dem Mail Client war NewsRob die wichtigste App am Handy, man kann dir wirklich keinen Vorwurf machen wenn ein Konzern wie Google uns die Basis entzieht. Vermutlich sind die User die nicht rund um die Uhr online sind im Aussterben andernfalls gäbe es Alternativen mit denen man Nachrichten auch sinnvoll im Wlan synchronisieren und offline nutzen kann. Alles Gute und Danke für die Zeit die du in diese tolle Software gesteckt hast!

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  93. Thank you so much for your work during all these years. NewsRob has been a wonderful app for being in contact with the World from within several Android Devices.

    And congratulation for your clear mind in not giving us false hope after Google Reader'End, and for puting your work under an Open License. God bless you!

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  94. Thank you. It had been one of my daily apps since 2009. Thank you for this experience.

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  95. Thank you. It had been one of my daily apps since 2009. Thank you for this experience.

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  96. Vielen, vielen Dank für all die Zeit, die Du in NewsRob gesteckt hast. Ich habe die App etwa zwei Jahre genutzt und geliebt. Sie war schlicht, einfach und funktional und hat mir immer meinen persönlichen Nachrichtenmix geliefert. Ich bin traurig, dass es sie nun nicht mehr gibt. Danke, Google :(

    Ich wünsche Dir für die Zukunft alles Gute. Hoffentlich verbessert sich Dein Gesundheitszustand wieder, das ist das Allerwichtigste. Als jemand, der schon einige unschöne Erfahrungen mir Krebs gemacht hat, drücke ich Dir ganz fest die Daumen!

    Grüße aus Berlin!
    Alex

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  97. Thank you very very much for a terrific app. I've used it daily for a looong time.

    Hope to see it resurrect soon, supporting other rss sync providers.

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  98. Thank you for newsrob. Hope the new one will come in time. Hat's off to you man

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  99. Thank you for the app. I used it for several years and I am only uninstalling it now. I used the free version first and later the pro version when it became clear that newsrob was exactly was I was looking for in a mobile rss reader.

    It is also awesome that you decided to open its code. I plan on learning android development in the near future so it could be a good learning exercise to look at your code.


    Thanks again for the app.

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  100. Thank you. Was sad to let News Rob go. Was best news app I ever used. I pray your health betters. Thanks again.

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  101. Happy to join the chorus. Thank you!

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  102. Still missing your app after all these months.

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