Updates

March 7, 2022

Thumbnail archiving

Pages can take some time to load as the GrubNews algorithm is pulling what it believes to be a website's thumbnail. However, not all pages use a standard thumbnail in their meta tags. Most of the time pages will use a META element like "og:image" that points to the thumbnail of the page. Other times, it's hidden within the content itself. This is not foolproof, unfortunately. The image that the GrubNews robot finds can be very large, which can cause pages to load much slower because the file size is larger. Additionally, it's actively seeking each page individually. Although GrubNews is periodically cached, third-party websites are not always included in that cache. Starting today, GrubNews will shrink the found image to a small png and store it locally.

Average image size Before: 548kb
Average image size After: 6.9kb

On a 20 Mbits/s internet connection this will save 4 seconds.
Next on the roadmap: archiving pages to get around the pay sites.

February 2, 2022

Increased security and search enhancement

Improved security to prevent any injection. The search feature has been improved to build a score (like Google) related to what you enter and show the top score first. Previously, it was looking for a likeness of article titles.

30 Dec 2021

Signifying locked/premium articles

News sites that typically require a subscription will be noted with a moneybag symbol (💰). Usually, it's only after viewing five articles or so. If a news site may require an account before you can read the article, it will be noted with a lock symbol (🔒). In both situations, neither an account nor a subscription may be required, but I wanted to highlight the possibility. I will be working on an archive system to get around those subscriptions.

21 Dec 2021

Uplifting News - Quick link to phone

I decided to retire "Not The Onion" articles and place something more happy: Uplifting News. Enjoy happier news articles!

I also added some guides on adding the link to the site on the phone. I don't think there's a need for an app, but you can certainly use your favorite browser to view GrubNews.