Sunrise Viewer - first details

[Alexander Turcic]

To everyone who is desperate to hear more about Lauren's upcoming Sunrise Viewer, here is a small FAQ that should answer the most common questions (thanks Laurens!):

What makes your viewer different from other offline viewers like Plucker?
The viewer has dedicated support for newsfeeds. Essentially, it's a crossbreed between an RSS newsreader and an offline web viewer. You can mark items as read/unread/flagged or copy/move/delete them between archives. You are encouraged to use newsfeeds as much as possible, but you can still view documents with a "normal" web site structure.

Will your viewer support offline reading only?
Yes, the viewer will support offline reading only. A future version might have the ability to retrieve and convert sites through a WiFi or Bluetooth connection from the handheld, albeit with limited capabilities compared to the desktop converter.

When will your own viewer be released?
The first public beta will be made available in May, with the 1.0 release to follow in June. These dates are, of course, tentative.

How much will your viewer cost?
The price has not yet been determined, but it will certainly not deviate much from the norm for handheld software.

Will the desktop converter support non-Windows platforms?
Initially, the desktop converter will only support Windows, but Mac OS X and Linux versions further down the line are a possibility. This depends on user demand. At any rate, support for non-Windows platforms will be introduced only for the commercial viewer. There will be no freeware Sunrise versions supporting Plucker for Linux or Mac OS X.

Will your viewer be called "Sunrise"?
No, "Sunrise" was always meant to be only a working title. The final name has not yet been determined.

Will your viewer support the Plucker format?
No.

Will the desktop converter support the Plucker format?
No. Plucker support will be removed entirely.

Will the Sunrise version that supports Plucker be open-sourced?
No. You can continue to use the existing freeware versions that output Plucker documents, however.