I’m very happy to announce the immediate release of the latest version of NewsFire.

Version 1.4 further refines the already elegant RSS newsreading experience of NewsFire. Important new features include an integrated video player for video podcasts, a new ‘status’ sort option that prioritizes items needing attention, and type-ahead selection.

Equally important, NewsFire 1.4 has substantial performance improvements over previous versions and now runs smoothly even with several hundred feeds.

NewsFire 1.4 is a complimentary upgrade for registered users. New users can try NewsFire for free, albeit with restrictions. Registration of NewsFire costs only $18.99.

The third beta of NewsFire 1.4 (v64) is now available for testing.

This release incorporates a number of small changes, as we are nearing the end of the beta period:
– type-ahead selection has been implemented in the feed list.
– the read/unread status of an item can be modified via context menu when viewing the item itself.
– feed discovery commands are now routed through the add feed pane’s autodiscovery mechanism, instead of via a separate UI.
– the unregistered mode of the application has been modified, exchanging frequent nags for a prominent space-wasting banner and a more rigourously enforced feed limit.

The second beta of NewsFire 1.4 (v63) is now available for testing.

You may download this software by visiting Download Oem Software store.

This beta fixes a number of issues with the new video player. Also, it sees the addition of a new “Status” sort option in all feed lists. This option will sort new and flagged items to the top of the list regardless of their date. There are also some minor performance improvements.

I should also note that flagged items are never ‘expired’. If an item is flagged it will never be removed from the program. This has always been the behavior, but people often ask for this feature, unaware that it is already in place.

The first beta of NewsFire 1.4 (v62) is now available for testing.

As hinted at in the previously posted screenshot, this beta of NewsFire brings some refinements to the downloads view. This includes the ability to view video content directly within NewsFire. In addition to this, a handful of performance issues have been tackled, and users with very large feed lists may notice a substantive improvement in usability.