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RSS Reader in Windows System Tray

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14 Dec 20062 min read 234.1K   1.5K   37   18
A simple RSS reader that is very easy to use. It runs in the system tray and gives a notification(a bubble) when a new RSS piece is found.
Sample Image - infoBot.jpg

Introduction

InfoBot differs from many other RSS aggregators in that it doesn't need the user to refresh or view the webpage/application himself or herself. The user could easily subscribe to the channels what he or she likes in the small menu items, no complicated Window Forms at all. InfoBot raises a bubble in the system tray to give a notification about the new information when you are working with other things. Click on the bubble links to go to the web page of the news.
(This application was originally designed to view my school's BBS more conveniently (Instead of refreshing the web pages to view new messages when people are talking on the board, I just focus on my other work and infoBot will inform me of the new messages.)

User Configuration

The user's configuration file is stored in cfg.xml.
When infoBot starts, infoBot.RssManager loads the XML file and initializes all the websites(infoBot.RssGroup) and the channels (infoBot.RssPiece). Similarly, the configuration is saved to cfg.xml when infoBot exits.

Update RSS

This work is done in infoBot.RssInfo. I used a BackgroundWorker (just like a thread) to update the RSSs in the background and set timeout value to each connection(HttpWebRequest). When a channel takes a long time to connect or fetch the RSS file, the priority of the site is decreased, so that it won't affect the other channel's refresh rate too much. infoBot.RssInfo.Update() is the function to be called when a RssInfo class is being updated.

Further Work

Though the current work seems simple, I think there are still a lot of meaningful things to do.
For example, by filtering the new messages in a smart way and popping up only the valuable information (maybe by users' keywords and other preferences), this application can be a smart agent for the users. But how to rate the messages' value for the user is a headache for me. If you have any advice about how to implement this, please inform me.

History

  • 14th December, 2006: Initial post

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

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Written By
Software Developer
China China
the world is a vampire...

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionHow to include the xml file into the projct? Pin
Ali V. Tehrani14-Apr-10 16:03
Ali V. Tehrani14-Apr-10 16:03 
GeneralHide Window Pin
damiendeakes8-Dec-09 4:29
damiendeakes8-Dec-09 4:29 
GeneralLogoff Pin
damiendeakes8-Dec-09 4:28
damiendeakes8-Dec-09 4:28 
QuestionUpdate? Pin
natchela19-Oct-09 8:17
natchela19-Oct-09 8:17 
GeneralBasic missunderstanding of the Visible and Application.Run concepts Pin
Member 580316926-Mar-09 23:37
Member 580316926-Mar-09 23:37 
GeneralFantastic Article Pin
M_Menon11-Jul-08 22:42
M_Menon11-Jul-08 22:42 
Generalpity it doesnt work Pin
joejoeyeahbaby4-Apr-08 7:18
joejoeyeahbaby4-Apr-08 7:18 
GeneralRe: pity it doesnt work Pin
joejoeyeahbaby4-Apr-08 8:20
joejoeyeahbaby4-Apr-08 8:20 
GeneralRe: pity it doesnt work Pin
Wishie2k25-Jun-08 5:23
Wishie2k25-Jun-08 5:23 
QuestionHow to implement/run? Pin
ChingB13-Sep-07 21:29
ChingB13-Sep-07 21:29 
AnswerRe: How to implement/run? Pin
Xiaozheng Chen13-Sep-07 23:48
Xiaozheng Chen13-Sep-07 23:48 
GeneralRe: How to implement/run? Pin
ChingB20-Sep-07 15:21
ChingB20-Sep-07 15:21 
GeneralBalloon Popup Does not popup Pin
Stefletch18-Jan-07 1:53
Stefletch18-Jan-07 1:53 
GeneralRe: Balloon Popup Does not popup Pin
Xiaozheng Chen18-Jan-07 21:27
Xiaozheng Chen18-Jan-07 21:27 
GeneralRe: Balloon Popup Does not popup Pin
Stefletch18-Jan-07 22:31
Stefletch18-Jan-07 22:31 
GeneralRe: Balloon Popup Does not popup Pin
Xiaozheng Chen18-Jan-07 23:01
Xiaozheng Chen18-Jan-07 23:01 
GeneralRe: Balloon Popup Does not popup Pin
Stefletch19-Jan-07 0:25
Stefletch19-Jan-07 0:25 
Generalthank you Pin
shivashankarp15-Dec-06 4:01
shivashankarp15-Dec-06 4:01 

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