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Google Reader

A number of you use Google Reader to visit and read the blog through the RSS feed, which allows you to subscribe to the site using a “reader.” Unfortunately Google Reader is going away at the end of this month. But don’t fret – there are other reader options, which include Feedly (which allows you to migrate your data and feeds easily), Newsfire, Blog Lovin’ (thanks, deb), and The Old Reader (thanks, commenters.) If you’re on an iPad or other tablet or mobile device, Flipboard is pretty nifty, too.

Another option is to have blog posts/entries e-mailed to you, which you can do by filling out the form at the bottom of this post in that gray box that says “Never Miss a Post.” Your e-mail address is never shared from there and it’s only used to send you blog posts, which you can cancel at any time. But why the heck would you want to? ; )

Twitter

I’ve had to disable the Twitter feed in the sidebar of the blog as Twitter has changed support for their API (which my web folks had to tell me because I have no idea what “API” is.) So the lovely widget that was designed for the site with the sweet little birdie perched on top is gone. So if you want to follow me on Tweeter (as the French say), you can do so at Twitter.

AOL

I’ve recently been getting bouncebacks from e-mails that I’ve sent to reply to folks who have written to me, who are on AOL. I’m not on the service so don’t know how it works, but if you sent me a message, it bounced back with an “unreachable” or “recipient is only accepting mail from specific email addresses.” So if you’re sitting by your Inbox, waiting for a reply, on behalf of AOL (who I have had no connection with since, say, 2001), I apologize.

I am not sure what the workaround is for that, but if any AOL users can tell me, that would be great because I have an Inbox of “Returned Messages” from that service – and a bunch of folks that think I’m a nitwit for not returning their messages.

Newsletters sent to AOL addresses have also bounced back. (A few thousand of you each month aren’t getting it – sorry!) Am not sure what the work-around for that is as well (if there is a “safe” list for your Inbox, try putting in it?), but the folks who run my newsletter company are working on it.

If you’re not getting my fun-filled, free monthly newsletter, with stories, pictures, tips, links, and an occasional recipe, you can sign up here.

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41 comments

    • Miquel Hudin

    Feedly does indeed work well. While not as clean and simple as Reader was, it is a pretty decent replacement.

    • OB

    I personnaly switched to Feedly, that have been improved a lot in the last few months.

    A good alternative could be the Digg Reader.
    You can subscribe to the beta test ;)

    http://digg.com/reader

    • Seba

    There is also NewsBlur, which is a bit more complex, but has some really awesome features that even GReader never had.

    • Sissy

    I’ve noticed another change recently to your site is the little advertising bar on the bottom of my iPhone that pops up whenever I am reading your blog. It has an x to press for removal but sometimes the x doesn’t work well. I press it and it sometimes doesn’t work or the bar pops up again and I have to get rid of it two or three times before it goes away completely. I know food blogs make money through advertising but the bar (for me) is such an annoyance that I never notice what it says. And if I were interested in what it is advertising I am always so annoyed trying to get rid of it that I refuse to respond to its message. Isn’t there another way to advertise without annoying your readers??

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Apologies for an errant ads that appear. I’ve instructed my ad networks not to have pop-up ads and apologize to readers when they do appear. Unfortunately since I live outside the US, I don’t see them so can’t pinpoint which network is responsible (I have two) – a few readers were kind enough to send me screenshots so I could figure them out and let the networks know when they appear. It appears to be resolved now. Hopefully…!

      As someone who is primarily a baker, I’ve been struggling with the growth of the site and the technology that it takes to run it, which takes me a lot longer than I wish to spend on it. (I have web folks that help, but they don’t oversee all the intricacies of the site, like uploading photos, writing, editing, etc.) So I ask for patience when trying to overcome some of the obstacles, such as the ads, which I try to keep as ubobtrusive as possible, but are necessary because of the amount of time I put into the site (which I love doing, btw!)

    • sissy

    Thank you David, the ads appear only on my iPhone and not on my desktop, and I don’t know how to take a screen shot from my iPhone. The latest pop up is a ChickFilA ad… If you know how to do an iPhone screen shot plse let me know.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks Sissy, I certainly don’t want those ads appearing (!) so will get on that one.

      To take a screen shot on your iPhone, hold down the rectangular power on/off bottom on top, then press the ‘home’ button below the screen and it will take a screen grab, for future use : )

    • Sissy

    Got it — thanks David — just sent them. Your blog is fabulous even with popups :)

    • Sheila

    David & crew,

    I gave Feedly the elated boot after finding RssDemon after a wide search for a clean, simple, functional reader. I love, love, love it!!!

    It is a free download from the Android marketplace if you have an android phone. Or, check the website to see if they have other versions.

    Thanks for the reminder, David.

    • Hillary

    I second moyenage’s recommendation of The Old Reader – if, like me, you are a creature of habit and can’t get used to a new feed reader interface (I hear so many good things about Feedly, and I’ve tried it, I just can’t get into it…), The Old Reader is designed to mimic Google Reader as much as possible – the developers are also responsive to user feedback and have recently rolled out some tweaks that make the experience even more like using GR.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks. I added them to the post as well. Some websites have done round-ups of readers with reviews and screenshots, so folks can scoot around and find one that suits them best.

    • sally mcdermott

    love your site… the trips you take, marvelous…just saying..
    years back had some nougat in the south at an open market… tried but failed to recreate do you have a recipe..??? ..
    longingly…. thanx

    • Linda yuen

    Hi David – re perfect scoop- what are the cup measurements for your recipes. What does 2 mangoes mean in cups? Thanks, Linda

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      All the recipes are in metrics as well as in cups/tablespoons, in the US version of The Perfect Scoop. In the Uk version, there are no cups as people don’t generally use them. In the mango sorbet recipe, there is the weight of the 2 mangos in pounds and kilos; I don’t know what the yield per mango is. The National Mango Board website gives more information on yields, including those of various varieties.

    • Parisbreakfast

    Thanks David,
    Very, very helpful. I Have to do this..ugh
    I’m having the same problem with emails sent to AOL getting returned.
    What’s up with that?
    Carolg

    • Carolyn

    On a related note, is your David Lebovitz ap discontinued? Mine cut out after the yogurt cake post and I wondered if it was me?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      The davidlebovitz.com app is no longer supported because it was too much to keep it all going, but my site is mobile-optimized and if you want to use the mobile version of the site, simply add it to your homepage screen as directed by your mobile device, and it will create a custom icon on your screen for you. (On an iPhone, when you’re on my site, just hit the square with the arrow in it at the lower part of the screen, which will ask you if you want to “Add to Homescreen”, and hit that icon.)

        • Carolyn

        Thanks for the speedy reply!

    • melissa

    Re: the twitter widget – Twitter updated its API recently but they have a replacement widget you can embed into your site. Go to https://twitter.com/settings/widgets and set it up again.

    And thanks for mentioning this – I hadn’t realised my old-style one stopped working on my site, either, but I’ve replaced it now!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I did try one of their widgets, but it looked kind of big and clunky, so I’m going to wait and see if they come up with others. Thanks!

    • Elaine Lewis

    Please notify me by email.Thank you.

    • Angela

    I don’t know about everyone else, but whenever I have a question for David I always send handwritten letters with beautiful stamps on them. He courteously responds promptly and includes recipes as well as news and photos of friends and family.

    So, if you are relying solely on electronic mail or feeds of one kind or another, may I suggest an engaging letter? By the way, the stamps from France are lovely.

    All in good fun….(and of course, not true)

    Angela,

    Santa Barbara, CA

    P.S. David, if you are ever coming this way, we have great weather, scenery, wine, and terrific local, organic produce year-round!

    • Sue Spiersch

    Concerning the AOL thing I also send out a mass e-mail mid-week bulletin (400 people) for our church., I send them out BCC but invariably have problems with AOL bounce backs. The way I get around that when people sign up for my bulletin and they have aol I tell them to put my e-mail address on their allowed list of recipients. That’s helped but there are always a few who don’t do it. At that point it’s their issue not mine.

    • Carolyn Z

    I’m a Mac OS X user and I switched to NetNewsWire for RSS feed use. There is a free version with ads. The version without ads is only $15, and it is easy to switch over.

    http://www.netnewswireapp.com

    • Kathleen Keenan

    I would like the blog sent to my email. Thanks

    • Liza in Ann Arbor

    Well, I for one am relieved that I never really understood the concept of a “reader”, so therefore all my favorite blogs come by email. Now I know I will not be affected! Thanks for clearing that up for me.

    • Pam Stewart

    Thank you David. Great tech work.
    We were just in Paris and used your
    pastry app; loved it!

    • PMG

    Please send the blog to my email. Thanks.

    • Cynthia Booker

    David, you may struggle with the growth of the site, but as someone who is a baker and not a tech person, you do a marvelous job with it. From the answers you posted above about the various kinds of blog delivery, it shows how much effort you must put into this. Thanks very much. It never occurred to me that there is so much more to a blog than just taking nice pictures and writing up something clever, intelligent, and entertaining (which you do oh so well!)

    • Gville

    Thank you for the nudge and suggestions on the readers. Looked closely and picked Feedly and made the switch. I don’t want to miss any of your entries. :)

    • Stuart

    For those interested in keeping the clean, simple qualities of Reader, a friend of mine has built a replacement since he personally was unsatisfied with the other options.

    Check out http://www.altfeedreader.com/

    • Andrea

    please send blog, david. thanks!

    • Amber

    Just wanted to say that just now – 10:25 pm Oregon time on June 27, 2013, I noticed a Chick fil A pop up ad just as I came to this website – and I am on my iMac desktop. In case you are trying to get rid of that company in particular. :)

    Love your blog. Keep it up.

    I spent the better part of the day yesterday working to get the pop-up ads removed and eventually had to move on to taking care of other things, but BlogHer, the ad network did disable the ads although they sometimes take some time to go away. Thanks! -dl

    • David
    David Lebovitz

    Andrea and PMG: In order to have posts emailed to you, you need to enter your email address in the field at the end of the posts (or in the upper right hand corner of the site) – you will then receive an email that will ask you to confirm. It’s an opt-in system designed to prevent people from sending spam.

    Cynthia: Thanks! : )

    Pam: Glad you liked using the Paris Pastry App. I’m heading out next week to a bunch of the new places, and to revisit a few, for updates. That’s the best part of the “job” ~

    • stanley warmbrodt

    keep writing and traveling.

    • Ruth Privetr

    Please keep me on your email/blog. Absolutety love it. Like everyone else! You add so much to our lives between Paris AND food. How much more could we possibly want!

    • Jyoti

    David,

    I am on the Orange network in Switzerland- but I have always accessed your site using Wifi – and I used to get those pesky ads too on my iPhone..Lo and Behold..No ads today!! So something sure worked! Thanks for fixing it! And if I had to ever send you a screen shot,where does one send it? In case “they” *using sinister tone* come back on??

    On a different note, I remember you saying most people go on holiday in August in Paris..so is it a good time to visit or a bad time? Considering closed chocolatiers and bakeries!! Mein Gott in Himmel..its unimaginable for me!

    Have a lovely Sunday!
    Jyoti

    • Anne

    I have gone over to Bloglovin that lets you migrate your Google reader blogs over too, not sure which is best Feedly or Bloglovin ,

    • Dan

    I heartily recommend The Old Reader – theoldreader.com – when Google first announced they were dropping Reader someone suggested this to me – it’s a very similar interface and operates using the same keystrokes.

    • Pat

    I haven’t read all the comments, so maybe this has been covered, but AOL has an unreliable spam filter. Your mails may be bouncing because it’s triggering that filter. Spam still gets through, but legitimate messages also get flagged as spam or rejected too.

    On the reader front, I’ve been testing out a few and like the Mac-specific Vienna reader best at this point.

A

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