A quick and easy way to password protect a feed is to set your web server to require HTTP authentication for the directory where the feed and any enclosure files reside. Here are some instructions on how to set up this authentication with Apache: Comprehensive guide to .htaccess

Authentication Support

All the best RSS readers support this authentication including NetNewsWire, NewsLife and NewsFire. As for podcatchers, iTunes and Juice Receiver support this but iPodderX (renamed Transistr) needs the URL tweaked – see the workaround below. Also there are the online services: NewsGator supports it, Bloglines needs the URL tweaked (again, see below) but Google Reader didn’t support it at the time of writing.

Feeder supports HTTP authentication for downloading, reloading and previewing feeds.

Workaround

iPodderX and Bloglines can’t read a normal URL that requires authentication. The workaround is to include the user name and password in the URL itself. For example:

http://user:password@www.example.com/feed.xml

This URL also works in the other RSS reader applications mentioned above.

Updated September 15, 2006 – iTunes 7.0 no longer requires the workaround mentioned above.

I released Feeder 1.3 yesterday and while the release notes and news page give an overview of what has changed, a proper explanation of the major new features requires more than a single bullet point.

In a nutshell, this release is about making life quicker and easier for both podcasters and regular feed creators, improving publishing support so that it’s easier to understand while being vastly more flexible and revisiting almost all of the application to make it look, work and feel better than ever.

I plan to take a closer look at some of the major new features on this blog to explain more about them and mention some tips and tricks hiding in the app. I will also be setting up a dedicated feed for these and other such articles.

Lastly, I really couldn’t release Feeder with my web site the way it was. The old design was actually my prototype from July 2004 when I first launched the business. I did a mockup in Photoshop, sliced up the images and slapped on some hurriedly written text figuring I could do it again properly a couple of months down the line. It was the difference between constructing a site in a day or two rather than spending a whole week on it.

It is always the way in IT that workarounds and stopgap measures instantly become permanent features and it’s much harder to undo them later. The new version of the site is faster, more compact, much more standards compliant (still working on some minor issues there) and just more up to date. I hope to make this blog match the main site, but if that sounds familiar I wrote the exact same thing just over a year ago. So don’t hold your breath.

Update March 22: I did the blog redesign. Whatever next! 😀

Update: This has been updated for Feeder 3.0 and later.

There may come a time when you want to move your podcast feed to another server, another location on your server or start using a service such as FeedBurner.

In their technical specification, Apple suggests two ways to change your podcast feed’s URL. The preferred method is to set up a redirect to the new URL. This will cause both the iTunes Store and existing subscribers to use the new URL and will work for other applications too, including RSS readers.

Setting up a redirect is not always possible; Apple’s alternative suggestion is to use the <itunes:new-feed-url> tag to inform the iTunes Store that your feed has moved.

For this to work, you need two different versions of your feed: the old version should contain the New Feed URL and the new version must not. First duplicate the feed:

• Select your existing feed in Feeder and choose File > Duplicate from the menu.
• Choose File > Publish from the menu. Click the Settings button and change the settings as appropriate to publish the feed to the new location. If you are doing this because you wish to start using FeedBurner for an existing feed, you simply need to change the filename.
• Click Continue, then click Publish to upload the new feed.

Now test the new feed:

• Click the Links button in Feeder’s toolbar.
• Select iTunes Podcast and click Subscribe

If everything looks good in iTunes, you can now set the new Feed URL on the original feed:

• With the new feed still selected in Feeder, choose File > Copy Feed URL from the menu. You don’t need to do this if you’re moving to FeedBurner.
• In all cases, now select your original feed.
• Click Feed above the list of items.
• Select “iTunes Podcasting”.
• Scroll down to the New Feed URL field and paste the URL. If you are using FeedBurner, enter the FeedBurner URL instead.
• Publish the original feed.

Testing the New URL

You can test the New Feed URL by updating a subscription to your existing feed in iTunes and clicking the info button next to your podcast’s description. It should show the new feed’s URL.

The iTunes Store will switch to using the new feed URL the next time it checks your feed, and your iTunes-using subscribers will pick up the new URL the next time they update their podcast subscriptions. Apple suggests keeping the old feed around for at least two weeks to give everyone a chance to update.

These instructions are now defunct. See How can I publish my feed to Libsyn? in the Feeder FAQ instead.

Here are some Feeder tips for Libsyn users (updated for Feeder 2.0 and later).

Thanks to Don McAllister of ScreenCastsOnline for help with these tips.

Feeder 1.0 was released on February 9, 2005, which makes it 1 year old today. When I released that version I had no idea how things would turn out, nor could I have ever imagined the reality.

First and foremost I must say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has bought, plugged and supported Feeder. Without you, none of this would have happened and I don’t know what I would be doing now. But this blog post isn’t about me, it’s all about the birthday boy.

So, how has Feeder done in its first year? In the podcasting world Feeder is a big hit. I’ve often mentioned that podcasts such as TWiT and the MacCast use Feeder along with countless others on this blog, but how about that Tony Blair podcast by The Sun or Rolling Stone magazine’s Bono interviews?

The first podcaster I knew who picked up Feeder and someone who remains a huge supporter is Paul Figgiani of The.Point Podcast. Paul is amongst the few Feeder users I’ve been lucky enough to meet in person, along with Adam Christianson and Paul Saurini of Barefoot Radio.

Outside of the podosphere, Feeder is used by The Omni Group for their news feed, in ThinkMac’s Icon Store and by Griffin Technologies. Something different? How about the official Nine Inch Nails site or the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Interact pages. Big corps? Honda uses it for their world news feed and I’m told it’s used internally at Apple Europe and at mobile phone company Orange.

There are so many other Feeder users out there that I can’t possibly mention them all, but they include indie Mac developers, schools, universities, churches, photographers, designers, tourism sites, MUGs (Mac User Groups), clubs and societies, musicians and just people syndicating news stories that interest them for their friends and family. It’s amazing.

Feeder has also made various appearances in print. Feeder appeared in the Podcast Solutions book by The Bitterest Pill‘s Dan Klass and Reel Reviews‘ Michael Geoghegan. Its first review appeared in MacUser UK (subscription required), followed by Macworld UK, as a Mac Gem in Macworld US and SVM Mac (PDF link) in France. When reviewed in PC Magazine, Feeder was rated higher than two of its Windows-based counterparts with the only “con” being that it was Mac-only – and that’s got to make any Mac user smile (particularly this one).

A good start, I’d say. Happy birthday Feeder!