CNET Editors' review
We are big fans of Google Reader, the RSS aggregator that gathers all our favorite blogs and news sites in one place. We never gave much thought to Google Reader's interface, with its long list of unread articles; it neither impressed nor annoyed us, though it could get a little overwhelming at times. But then we discovered Readefine Desktop. This sleek program totally changed the way we use Google Reader, and we're not sure we'll ever go back.
It was easy to get started with Readefine Desktop; all we had to do was log in to our Google Reader account and our feeds were automatically synced. The program has two layouts, Magazine and Classic. Magazine displays article titles and introductions in a magazinelike grid; you can view all the items in your feed or, if they're organized into groups, all the items in a particular group. Clicking on the article title displays the full article in an attractive, print-style layout. The Classic layout functions similarly, but all the user's predefined groups are accessible in a sidebar for easy navigation. We admit that it took us a while to get used to the way that Readefine Desktop works--moving between different groups and different feeds wasn't totally intuitive at first--but once we got the hang of it, we loved it. The program is really nice to look at, with all articles displayed in an easy-to-read serif typeface. It gives the feeling of flipping through a magazine, but it retains typical RSS reader features like the "Mark All as Read" button. A built-in Help file gives an overview of how Readefine Desktop works. Overall, we think that Readefine Desktop is a great choice for anyone who misses print media and wants a more elegant way to read RSS feeds.
Readefine Desktop installs and uninstalls without issues.
Publisher's Description
From Readefine:
Readefine Desktop beautifies RSS, Google Reader articles, text and HTML content by laying text in multiple columns for easier reading. Apart from being an alternate Google Reader client, it can load content from the web, a file on your computer or via copy-and-paste. Readefine supports content in RSS, HTML or plain text format. Tweak settings like justification, column width, line height and font size for that perfect look. Ideal for long-form reading on the web and your desktop.
What's new in this version: Version 2.49 remove like, share, share with note (API discontinued by Google).
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All versions:
4.8 starsout of 6 votes
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Current version:
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Results 1-6 of 6
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"Gorgeous, functional"
Version: Readefine Desktop 2.45
Pros
Very classy layout, easy to use
Cons
No complaints whatsoever
Summary
Great reader, reliability + sex appeal = total package
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"Exactly what i was looking for! Just beautiful!"
Version: Readefine Desktop 0.90
Pros
Powered by flash! Lightweight, syncs with google reader but lives as a stand alone application. A simple, light and elegant way to read rss, news and blog feeds.
Cons
Go to the publishers website to download, from Adobe Air marketplace ( free)
Summary
Sync your own Newspaper!
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"Simple, challenging"
Version: Readefine Desktop 0.90
Pros
Simple, faat paced, challenging
Cons
Monotonous
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"The latest version as of 11 Jan 2010 is 0.90."
Version: Readefine Desktop 0.88
Pros
0.90 Handles blockquotes, better HTML parsing.
Cons
Has a server-side dependency for cleaning up HTML files.
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"Read blog feeds or newspapers on the web? Readefine it."
Version: Readefine Desktop 0.87
Pros
What I like most is the typography, multi-column layout and the pagination. I like the desktop version built on Adobe AIR more because I can read offline.
Cons
a) The nav bars can be hidden individually. Want a single click to get to a full-window mode, where I just want to read, share and star.
b) PageDown and Page up works within an article. How about keyboard inputs for previous and next articles?Summary
Some feature suggestions:
a) Allow me to tweet/digg articles as I read them or share them on Facebook pages
b) In the desktop version, also allow me to compose comments for blog posts that I read (even when I am offline). When I want to publish my comments, I should be able to review the original blog (if possible with its comments) and then post mine.
c) You could also allow me to author a blog post inspired by what I am reading and post it on my blogs
d) Can you give me a mode where I can see all my "starred" articles and sequentially go through them? Then I could "star" something for commenting and then write all my comments offline and publish it -
"Truly readefines the google reader experience"
Version: Readefine Desktop 0.87
Pros
- blazing fast
- nice cleanly laid out ui, excellent reading experience
- supports google reader keyboard shortcuts! :)Cons
- cann't play videos in the blog post
- cann't make coffee :)
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