This release is all about synchronization. But wait, you say...didn't we have synchronization in 2.0? Well, yes...but there were some limitations. Big ones.
With 2.0, with sync turned on, when you downloaded something into Outlook, it would marked as "read" in NewsGator Online. Even before you read it in Outlook. Even if you never read it in Outlook. The mere act of downloading it marked it as read. Also, folder hierarchy wasn't synchronized between Outlook edition 2.0 and NewsGator Online.
This is all changed now. Read/unread/deleted status of individual items is now synchronized between Outlook edition 2.5 and NewsGator Online (and all other applications using our system - more on that in a bit). Folder hierarchy is now synchronized between Outlook and Online. It's all as it should be. As someone on the beta said, "it all worked exactly as I expected it to." Nice.
How did we do all this? We've developed what we have called our 3rd-generation synchronization API. NewsGator Online implements this API, and Outlook edition 2.5 uses it for content sync. The upcoming FeedDemon 1.6 uses this same API for sync. And we're opening up and documenting the API for you to use, too. Watch for more about this in the next couple of days - as soon as we iron out a few things, we'll publish the docs and sample code, and we'll tell you about some folks who are already working with it.
[ Incidentally, NewsGator Enterprise Server implements this same API. Hmm! ]
There were a ton of changes under the covers in this version...but it's now at a point where it's integrated tightly with our online platform so we can easily add new features to the product, and we intend to do so quickly. We have a long list of features we want to add to the product...and I'd love to hear any ideas that you have for it. It's been 13 months since we did a release - but I promise it won't be nearly that long until the next one!
Best of all, this is a free upgrade for existing users. Here's the scoop:
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