Well I totally hosed Surfpack. In adding an RSS feed, I managed to corrupt the desk.xml file. I then ran into several uninstall and re-install problems.
First, like a lot of software, Surfpack does not do a complete uninstall. Some files remain, mainly files that determine user preferences. Reinstalling without deleting the folder, brings back all those user preferences. I suspected my problem was a malform RSS feed that Surfpack didnt like. Well that feed kept coming back and screwing things up until I deleted the main folder.
Even after the main folder was deleted, there were a few reinstall issues. Upon installation Surfpack leads users through several setup screens. Clicking Finished should bring up the main Surfpack screen. However, it looped me back to the initial setup screen. I had to do the setup two to three times before I was returned to the main surfpack screen.
Adding an RSS feed after reinstalling produced more errors. Obviously there was something out there that was hangin up Surfpack that did not get deleted upon the uninstall.
My initial enthusiasm has dampened. If I can get it working right again I will post more.
As I read reviews of other RSS Readers, there is a common thread to getting a positive review: “It works.” This doesn’t say much for the creativity that is going into the development of RSS Readers.
About the Author
Paul Flyer loves to research the web and find resources and tools for building, maintaining and promoting websites. Based in Saint Louis, MO, he works in management and spends his free time sharpening his web development and copy writing skills. Feel free to contact Paul with any questions, comments or ideas. He is also available to help you with your own website.
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[...] d feeds. 4) Great way to organize ALL web based content in one place on your desktop. See Update. 05.27.2005 @ 12:08 PM by paul @ rwt ̵ [...]
Hello Paul,
sorry for such a bad behaviour of Surfpack – it looks like we rely too much on XML. I’ve forwarded your comments (both positive to heat an enthusiasm and negative to make him work
to our developer responsible for all XML core parts, hope we’ll release more inpedendent from XML limitations version soon. Thank you for all your comments, they’re especially valuable on this early stage of the Surfpack’s life.
(Editors Note: I had to reenter Jury’s comments. For some reason the WordPress Spaminator does not allow anything in the name field under 6 characters.)
Moreover, I’ve later reposted it with “Jury Gerasimov” in the name and it still resisted. May be some IP range or similar problem ?
BTW, if there’s any issue with Surfpack, please email me at jury at softshape.com, we’ll try to solve it as soon as possible.
PS. If Spaminator stops my comment, don’t bother to reenter it again, it’s mostly private anyway.