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Dumb question re Website Watcher

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jeromg:
Hi there,

It seems like several people are very fond of Website Watcher (http://www.aignes.com/), however I've downloaded the trial version, and I can't seem to find the right way to use it, even though it seems to be very powerful. I'd be interested to get some usage scenarios from people who are using it on a daily basis.
Personaly, I get most of my information through RSS feeds (I'm using Google Reader as my main rss reader). I'm just afraid I might be missing something with Website Watcher, advice welcome !

Cheers  /jerome

mouser:
I use website watcher every day.  But if you like RSS feed reading then you might not use it as much as I do.

Basically I use ww like a super-browser.  I have added hundreds of web pages, from blogs to cnn to nytimes, to software sites, etc.  WW will check for changes and show you a list of all web pages that have changed since your last visit, and then highlight the changes on each page as you visit.  I use it more than I use a normal browser.

Curt:
I have the UpdatePatrol, but was not able to configure it to my liking - it kept telling me about increase in number of members and such.

Did anyone compare WebsiteWatcher and UpdatePatrol, and have a say? :tellme:

rjbull:
I've been using WebSite-Watcher for quite a while now, registering through one of the DC Discounts   :Thmbsup:  (Thanks Martin!)

I like it and use it a  great deal.  Like Mouser, I have quite a few web pages set up.  Many of them are checked daily.  If, for example, you wanted to watch the online inventories of camera shops for particular items, you can be alerted when anything new appears.  You can set particular keywords, just as in some RSS readers, so you could check if a new version of a program is available by checking for the version number on its web page.

I've only scratched the surface of WSW.  One day I might aspire to something advanced, like using WSW to log in to my account at the county library and finding out if any of my reservations are ready to pick up.  The account is password-protected, and WSW can do the login automatically.  Or, you could use WSW to check low-traffic newsgroups .

At work I use it for competitors and customers web sites.  It checks the first time and says "OK;" a week later, or whenever, I run it again, it shows which sites have changed, and what the changes are.  They're highlighted to make them obvious.  That's a good way to spot new press releases and new products as soon as possible.  It keeps the before and after pages, too, so you have them on file until the next time you check.

Perhaps the key point for you is to realise that it works on pages that don't have RSS feeds, and in fact that seems to be most of the web.  I've only just started to look into RSS (with GreatNews) and so far, compared with WSW (which you can also use as an RSS aggregator, though I haven't) I'm not sure I know what the fuss is about   ;)  However, RSS is probably better suited to fast-changing and public things like blogs.

rjbull:
I have the UpdatePatrol, but was not able to configure it to my liking - it kept telling me about increase in number of members and such.

Did anyone compare WebsiteWatcher and UpdatePatrol, and have a say? :tellme:
-Curt (August 24, 2007, 10:16 AM)
--- End quote ---

Curt,

I've never heard of UpdatePatrol before.  But, WebSite-Watcher has a feature that might help you.  Many web pages show dates, which means that normally those pages would show up as "changed" each time you run WSW.  The fix is to invoke WSW's wizard that picks up such items, and automatically converts them into regexs which make WSW ignore them on future runs.  I think you have to run it at least twice so there is a change to be seen for it to run automatically  ;)

Paging Martin Aignesberger?  Martin?  I'm close to getting out of my depth!  ;)

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