To everyone who has given us feedback on Attensa for Outlook .97 - thank you.

Because we are giving bleeding edge access to our pre-releases, there are going to be times when features are missing and new features "just don't cut it".  To an extent this is intentional. There is so much we want to add to the Attensa RSS network, it is our hope that your feedback on these pre-release features will point us in the right direction on performance, fit and finish as we move toward a 1.0 release.

With the release of Attensa for Outlook .97 we focused on adding new capabilities rather than fixing known problems. We've been sifting and sorting the feedback and have come up with a prioritized list of fixes and features we are working on for the next release. We completely understand that everyone wants their specific issue addressed or feature request implemented first. In this case we decided to go with majority rules rather than the squeeky wheel axiom.

Here's our prioritized list of upcoming fixes and features:

• Tackle Outlook performance
• Publishing debug
• Adding "update now" control to manually update feeds
• Add auto update UI
• Next new feature - Categories/Folder Management

In addition to putting out .97 we've been working on a number of major projects behind the scenes. Between meetings with customers and VCs, we are working to bring up Attensa for Web, the free online RSS reader providing a personal and privacy protected Web page for reading and managing RSS articles and subscriptions.

Attensa for Web and Attensa for Outlook will use a uniquely scalable bi-directional synchronization system to keep subscriptions and articles up to date whether they are accessed from the Web or from Outlook.

With the introduction of Attensa for Web you'll be able to choose between using Attensa for Outlook as a stand-alone, using Attensa for Web or using both to take advantage of the convenience of being able to access your RSS feeds in Outlook at work and online from any PC and having your feeds and articles up to date.

There's more to come. We will be opening an controlled beta of Attensa for Web soon. Look for an invitation to participate.

The Podcast Hotel is coming to Portland September 6 - 8 and we'll be there. For three days in September Portland's very groovy Jupiter Hotel will be the Podcast Center of the World for people with podcasting passion.

Alex Williams gives a great description of the "unconference" in his Podcast Hotel blog. "This is not Panelfest. No boring panels. This is about the conversation."

Your feedback on pricing has been incredibly useful and has helped us clarify a number of issues. We are coming up with a pricing model that we think is fair and can be justified based on the wise council we have received from your comments. Stay tuned.

Now we'd like to get your ideas on a new breed of privacy policy that makes sense given
the unique nature of the RSS publish/subscribe model.  A new privacy policy must balance protecting the privacy of the individual (subscribers) with the value in sharing attention streams anonymously and in aggregate with publishers so they can they can deliver more relevant up-to-the-minute information and fulfill the promise that less is more.

Attensa can only succeed by earning the trust of our community and we can do that only if we:

• Adhere to the strictest code of ethics
• Are transparent in our privacy policy and behavior
• Are willing to undergo public scrutiny

Here are the principles behind the privacy statement we are thinking about

• A commitment not to sell personal information to anyone, ever.
• Complete transparency regarding the information we collect and how it is collected including the steps we take to protect personal information
• A multi-level permission based, opt-in system for sharing attention data
• A description of the type of information that may be shared with publishers to help them deliver more relevant content
• A description of the types of communication users can expect from Attensa
• A description of the precautions we take to safeguard data

The question is what are we missing?

As we continue the development of an RSS network based on attention streams to intelligently improve the relevance of information for everyone using RSS, our mantra is Less is more.

Brain power and energy are being devoted to the development of the Attention.xml spec through Dave Sifry and the brain trust at Technorati. We think it is just as important to start bringing consumers and businesses into the loop on how RSS and attention can deliver on the Less is More promise. Even the passionate and eloquent voice of Steve Gillmor can't don't it alone.

Craig Barnes, our CEO, has issued a call to action to establish an industry initiative to evangelize the inherent benefits of artfully using attention data to drive RSS to the next level.

If you or your company want to join us in this noble effort, send me an email.

We've just posted the first update since we introduced Attensa for Outlook at Gnomedex.

Download version 0.97 (it's still free) and give the new blog publishing tools a try. You can create blog posts from an Outlook email or RSS article and post it directly to your Typepad, Blogger or LiveJournal blog. You can copy text, even tables, from Word and other apps into an Outlook email and publish right to your blog with the formatting intact.

To use the publishing feature:

• Click on Options in the Attensa 0.97 configuration menu, and then select Publishing Settings.
• Enter your username and password for your blog.
• Select your blog service. Attensa for Outlook will take care of the rest with an autofill. If you have more than one blog you can select the blog you want to publish to.
• Click on the Configure Publishing Settings button and make sure everything is to your liking.

Then go to Outlook and give Attensa publishing a whirl:

• Select and highlight an article or email you want to post.
• Click the publish button in the Outlook toolbar.
• A new window with the article opens up and allows you to add comments or edit the post. The Subject becomes the post headline.
• Click Publish again.
• Go to your blog and see the results.

Then let us know in our forum how it works for you.

Version .97 also includes numerous fixes and cleans up some bugs.

• Creates a new PST file for your subscriptions with the installation
• Consistently launches the Attensa engine
• Better downloading and handling of enclosures
• Limits the feed update frequency to 5 minutes or longer

this made my day.

d3parture and Fr. Simon at Parish Life are finding hidden meaning (well, maybe not so hidden) in our toolbar icons for IE and Firefox.

Maybe we'll fix it. Maybe we won't because we're still laughing.

The good news is they like Attensa for Outlook.

From Father Simon -- "Hurrah therefore for Attensa which links with Outlook and delivers new posts to my chosen blogs in my inbox. It works well apart from the difficulty with UK date format, but I can forgive it that."

And from d3parture -- "I have been using Attensa for a while now to gather up all the news, info, talk ideas etc from websites and blogs into outlook for me. It's a great program and makes reading web based material a whole lot easier... less clicking."

Tom Peterson is a Portland retailing legend who has used the rallying cry "Free is a very good price" to drum up sales for his furniture and appliance stores for nearly four decades.

While we agree with Tom that free is indeed a great price, it's not the only price and it may not be the best price. Tom went out of business in 1992 and has been struggling to rebuild his "empire" ever since.

Since Attensa for Outlook is in beta we are frequently asked questions about pricing like this one from from EricB on the Attensa support forum - "Can you tell me approximately (ballpark figure  is enough) what the cost of the Attensa Reader for Outlook will be?"

As we continue to work on the fit and finish of Attensa for Outlook and work to bring Attensa for Web online, we are looking at a pricing model that will take into account different use models based on how customers will use one or more of Attensa RSS clients.

Right now there are three prices that need to be set.

1. Attensa for Outlook RSS reader

2. Attensa for Web - our upcoming online service that will allow you to read and manage your feeds and articles online.

3. Attensa for Outlook used with Attensa for Web - both access points will use the Attensa RSS engine and our multi-directional true-syncing capability to ensure that articles read, filed and deleted are treated consistently across all of the clients.

Before we go too far down the wrong path, we'd like to get your ideas on what a fair pricing model would be. How should we structure pricing?

I know, you're thinking there's not enough information here to be meaningful. My feeling is, if EricB. can ask for a ballpark figure so can we.

From Shunjie's blog...

"The new version of You Subscribe, named Attensa, is now available for download. You subscribe is a rss reader which downloads newsfeeds to Outlook. Pretty neat and very user friendly and most importantly, its free. Those who used outlook intensively should give it a try =)"

From the You Subscribe: RSS blog on the evolution of You Subscribe: RSS to Attensa for Outlook....

"I must admit to being more impressed for it. I've even recommended it to all my friends."

From Sara on the Attensa forum...

"I love Attensa. It's a really great product. I tried Desktop Sidebar, and several other things before stumbling on to this one, and I have to say I like it the best.

I like that I can read the news and my friends' blogs with my email.

I love the new publish and forward features, that allow me to share news and things with others. That will make things a lot easier."

Here's what people are saying about Attensa for Outlook since we posted it June 24th.

"I love what I have seen and used so far in this product. Having an Attensa toolbar in Outlook and IE is a great beginning."
- Robert B. | Microsoft Partner

"Attensa looks very promising."
- Webizen

"Goodbye Newsgator; hello Attensa."
- Michael Fraase