BitsCast for Windows

Used BitsCast for Windows?

Editors’ Review

Download.com staffJuly 24, 2015

This RSS newsreader aggregator arrives preloaded with a variety of feeds, including podcasts, making it attractive to nearly all newsreader users.

BitsCast has a familiar, functional interface--similar to e-mail clients like Outlook or Thunderbird--that will prove reassuring to novice users who may be intimidated by the cluttered appearance of some other newsreaders. The row of icon-labeled buttons along the top of the BitsCast interface include pop-up helpers that easily guide a user through adding feeds, archiving feeds, exporting playlists to your system's default player, and so on.

The preloaded feeds come from a plethora of sources. News sources include BBC, CNET, CNN, InfoWorld, New York Times, and Washington Post. Podcast sources are ABC News, CBS News, CNN Marketplace, Rocketboom, The Wizards of Technology, and a number of YouTube topics. BitsCast also features a BitTorrent downloader.

In our tests, the program performed quickly and reliably, except in one case in which BitsCast crashed while we were adding a podcast feed. Afterward, the app responded with no problems, and we found that BitsCast had indeed saved the feed in question. Users at any level of expertise should find this free newsreader reliable and simple to employ.

What’s new in version 0.15

Version 0.15 includes Major bug fix for database lockup on multi-core CPU system and brings libcurl/libtorrent to the latest.

BitsCast for Windows

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: April 9, 2009

Latest update: July 24, 2015

Version: 0.15

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Windows

Operating System

Windows 10
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 2003

Additional Requirements: None

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 14,355

Downloads Last Week: 1

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Last Updated

User Reviews

4/5

4 User Votes

Stuff NewsGator/Google, BitsCast is a better choice.
phatso0August 1, 2009
Pros
Installation was simple. Once app loads it comes with a swag of feeds, and some are actually useful. Imports OPML files just fine, I had trouble with most other readers. The interface is easy to folllow. It is a nice user friendly package.
Cons
Really the only fault I could find, but I am sure that others will find more, is that download speeds are slow and if there is a lot of content it will slow down your link while working.
Summary
In a nushell, download and use it. You will not be disappointed, and it is free. Forget FeedDemon or NewsGator with their Google handshake, their product is not that great when you have to pay. A content downloader that handles video of various types would be nice but it is easy to work around by copying the URL then pasting it into Mozilla and using DownloadHelper to grab the file. I like it, it is nice.
RSS news/podcast/BitTorrent 3-in-1, the best of the breed
alicec65May 20, 2006
Pros
Combine RSS news reader with podcast in a single user interface, and support RSS BitTorrent attachment are two of the many features offered. The archive feature (store the actual feed link/attachment) make it a good online library tools. The news watch feature (allowing user to store keywords to automatically search through the subscribed feeds for relevant information) is something offered only in commercial offerings. The streamlined podcast and video blog (vlog) preview is truely amazing.
Cons
Summary
RSS news/podcast/bittorrent 3-in-1 application, the best of the breed
alicec65May 14, 2006
Pros
This is one of the best RSS freewares offering, combining RSS news reading, podcast/vlog, and bittorrent downloading. Some of features offered exist only in some commercial RSS readers. For example, the keyword based news watch. The podcast (audio and video alike) preview is very impressive, and the podcast playlists used to sync with mp3 devices work very well.
Cons
The graphic user interface looks a little old-fasioned. A upgrade to XP scheme would be desirable.
Summary
Truely Awful
jimjam23456February 25, 2006
Pros
Well it was free....
Cons
Very basic software, very little indication of when its atually doing anything, you usually have no idea if its downloading or not - it never tells you! There is a download manager function, but there really should be some indication that it is actually doing what you asked without having to open this (often it just ignores you, depending on the sate of the podcast server you are trying to download). This was the first podcast software I tried, it lasted about 3 days and then I realised there are so many better examples out there!
Summary

Developer’s Description

Read and organize various RSS feeds.

Bitscast is an RSS reader/database/aggregator and a podcast receiver/player. It handles all news feeds in RSS 0.9, 1.0, 2.0, ATOM 0.3 and 1.0; provides advanced supports for multiple channels, subscription lists, and channel/list management; supports OPML import/export and RSS feed auto-detection. Bitscast also includes media (audio/video software image) auto-downloader and local cache management; podcast/video blog playback/cache, BitTorrent attachment downloader; and database query tool, supported by Microsoft JET engine.

Version 0.15 includes Major bug fix for database lockup on multi-core CPU system and brings libcurl/libtorrent to the latest.