18th May, 2013 RSS Central v1.1 for Windows 8 now available

A long-overdue update to the Windows 8 version of RSS Central is now available.

Version 1.1 adds many of the features that people have requested that were missing from the initial version, including import and export of OPML files to the local file system and via SkyDrive, category filters, and a fix to the feed search function.

You can find the update to RSS Central in the Windows Store now, with a full free trial as always. I hope you like the update.

13th May, 2013 RSS Central v2.9 for Windows Phone now available

Another update to RSS Central for Windows Phone is now available. Version 2.9 fixes the problem with importing and exporting the subscription list via Dropbox, and also adds support for viewing YouTube videos directly from the article previews, there's no longer any need to open the full web page first.

The update is available now from the Windows Phone Store.

8th May, 2013 Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development now available to pre-order

My new book, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development is nearing completion and is now available to pre-order. It is also part of the Apress Alpha Program, allowing immediate access to the current unfinished book content.

The book currently has an estimated publication date of June 26th 2013.

3rd April, 2013 Segoe UI Symbol Reference

If you're developing applications for Windows 8, you've more than likely encountered the Segoe UI Symbol font, which contains a bewildering number of icons and symbols.

To help make it easier to find the symbols you need for your application, I've created a Segoe UI Symbol Reference page, I hope you find it useful!

14th March, 2013 RSS Central in a world without Google Reader

Yesterday, Google announced that they are to close their Google Reader service as of the 1st of July 2013. Personally I'm a little surprised by this and I suspect it will cause upset for quite a number of people. Rest assured that this will not affect RSS Central in any way as RSS Central is not reliant on Google Reader for any of its functionality.

If you suddenly find yourself needing an alternative to Google Reader, why not give RSS Central a try? The trial mode is completely unrestricted so you can properly evaluate it and see if it meets your requirements. RSS Central is available for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

Transferring your existing subscriptions from Google Reader into RSS Central is fairly straightforward to do. You can find details on how to export your feeds to an OPML file in this article. Once you've done that, they can be imported into RSS Central via Dropbox (Windows 8 and Windows Phone) or SkyDrive (Windows Phone only for the moment, coming to Windows 8 soon).

Many people have requested the ability to synchronise the read/unread status of articles across the Windows Phone and Windows 8 versions of RSS Central. This is not currently possible, but is a feature that I am planning for a future release. I need to get my book finished first, but this synchronisation feature is the very next thing that I will be working on, so hopefully this will allow you to better manage your subscriptions in the future.

10th March, 2013 RSS Central v2.7 for Windows Phone now available

RSS Central v2.7 is now available in the Store for Windows Phone devices.

This is a quick bug-fix release. Its main changes are a fix to the date parsing bug when running with Italian regional settings, and the addition of some missing translations when configuring the SkyDrive connection.

As always, if you have any suggestions or find any problems with RSS Central, please contact me and let me know -- thanks!

3rd March, 2013 RSS Central v2.6 for Windows Phone now available

RSS Central v2.6 is now available in the Store for Windows Phone devices.

This version adds the most requested feature of all that I have received over the recent months: the ability to import and export your list of subscriptions using SkyDrive. It's been possible to do this using DropBox for quite some time, but now those of you that prefer not to use DropBox can have access to this feature too.

This new version also contains a number of small updates and bug fixes to help make the app smoother and easier to use.

2nd February, 2013 Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development details online

I have now put online some more details about my forthcoming book, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development. The book's page now provides a summary of the contents of the book, and also shows my progress through writing it, which I'll try to update on a regular basis.

The loss of XNA is fairly tragic in my opinion, and I'm very disappointed that Microsoft chose to drop the product. Having spent quite some time working with MonoGame, however, I am convinced that you will find it to be a worthy replacement and I hope that my book will be able to provide you with all the knowledge you need to be able to use it.

17th January, 2013 RSS Central v1.0 for Windows 8 now available

I am very pleased to announce the availability of RSS Central for Windows 8! This is compatible with all versions of Windows 8 and so will work on everything from your Windows RT tablet up to your desktop PC.

I have completely redesigned the interface of the app to take advantage of the increased screen space on tablet and desktop computers. The app makes use of all the available space to give you access to your subscriptions, articles and article content as much of the time as possible. I hope you like it!

Just as with the Windows Phone version of the app, the trial mode is fully functional, and the full version costs just US$1.49/GB£0.99/€1.19 -- please give it a try and see what you think.

RSS Central for Windows 8 has also had a graphical overhaul and sports a fresh new look, courtesy of the amazing Jonny Shaw -- thanks Jonny!

14th December, 2012 New book coming soon: Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development

I am pleased to announce that I have today signed a contract with Apress to write another book. This one will be entitled, "Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Game Development."

The book will focus on development in C# using MonoGame as a replacement for XNA. It will cover everything from getting started and setting up a development environment, interactive debugging, cross-platform development for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, all sorts of game programming topics, and will finish with distributing and selling your game through the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store.

Publication is currently expected during mid-2013.

I'll post updates on my web site once the book is well underway, or for more regular updates you can follow me on Twitter.