The world is full of feed readers. Portable FeedReader's claim to fame is its portability, obviously, but there's more to like than just being able to cram it on your USB drive with room to spare.
The program offers a standard RSS feed-reading interface with three vertical panes. One lists the feeds, the second shows the titles of the selected feeds stories, and the third serves as a viewer. Although the panes' width can be changed by clicking and dragging, the viewer pane is a bit narrow to comfortably read a typical Web page story. Portable FeedReader offers at launch selections from preloaded feeds, and adding a feed is a simple process.
Occasionally, the reader didn't respect the default browser settings and opened a new browser window instead of a new tab, but that's largely a minor quibble. Whether a novice or an expert, Portable FeedReader is worth trying out. And the price can't be beat.
Looking for a simple-to-use, quick-performing RSS feed reader? This pared-down freebie may fit the bill.
RiverGate RSS Reader isn't fancy and lacks extras that, admittedly, some of its free competitors offer. So why bother with it? For one, using it is as smooth and zippy as other readers can be sluggish. It offers the basics in the familiar three-pane e-mail client interface that so many feed readers rely on. It comes preloaded with a variety of security-related feeds, plus one innocuous celebrity gossip/newsfeed, but adding feeds was a simple process in our tests. The reader responded quickly and performed well for us.
Besides performing well, the simplicity of RiverGate is appealing. RiverGate RSS Reader is a good place to start for RSS novices, and for anyone who wants just a basic reader without a lot of confusing extra features and options.
I regularly visit tons of Web sites every day for the latest software updates, blog posts about cool gadgets, and other news sites. But instead of clicking through bookmarks in my Web Browser, I like the ease and convenience of a RSS reader. I recently put together a collection of RSS readers for Windows, but I just found out only a few days ago the developer of one of the best RSS readers for Mac decided to release its product for free.
Once you've set up your feed list, getting the news is extremely easy
(Credit: CNET Networks)NewsFire is a full-featured RSS reader with an easy-to-use interface so you can get your news just how you want it. Simply hit the "+" key in the lower left of the NewsFire interface and type in the address of your favorite news site. NewsFire will quickly scan the site for a feed link and add it to your list. Once you have all of your favorite sites listed, hit Shift-Command-R to refresh all feeds and NewsFire will gather all the latest stories and posts for you. Now when you want to read the latest news, all you have to do is launch NewsFire and click through the sites on the left to bring up all the available stories on the right. What could be easier?
Look under Open Web Browser to switch the browser window behavior.
(Credit: CNET Networks)My one complaint about NewsFire is a small one, but it's easily fixed. When you click on a news story, the page is launched in your default browser behind the NewsFire window. Ideally a newsreader will offers its own window to display stories without leaving the interface, but the way NewsFire launches in the background is not my idea of intuitive. To make it launch the browser window on top of NewsFire when you click the link, go into the NewsFire preferences, click on the Interaction tab, and click the radio button below the section Open Web Browser, which reads "In front of the NewsFire Window." After setting this up, once you find a story you want to read, clicking the link will bring you right to the article.
Though you can get away with browsing through your bookmarks, using a newsreader is far more efficient for getting the information you want. Now that some of the biggest names in Mac newsreaders, like NewsFire and NetNewsWire are free, you should really check out how easy getting your news can be.
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CNET Networks)
Whenever I'm setting up on a new computer or test machine at work, or even after I've downloaded my must-have programs on a new home machine, one of the first things I do is grab an RSS newsreader. Though you can use Web browser favorites to hit and save your most visited sites, newsreaders have a few advantages that make getting all the latest updates even easier.
With a good newsreader on your machine, anytime you see an available RSS feed at a Web site (usually with an orange RSS or XML label), you can have all the latest news from that page delivered to you. Think of it as having your own digital paper boy. Once you've loaded up your RSS reader with feeds from your favorite blogs, news, and technology sites, the latest posts show up in your newsreader automatically without you needing to seek them out.
The newsreader category runs the gamut of interface diversity so you can get your feeds in a lot of different ways. There are news tickers like the Mighty Ticker, which show headlines you can open as they trail across your screen; unique toolbar-like apps like KlipFolio, which sit as a stand-alone widgets on your desktop; and Web-based apps like Google Reader (for those with a Google account) that offer a strong browser-based alternative .
To keep it simple, I've narrowed my selections down to newsreaders you can download right away with the most intuitive and commonly used interface. I just want to point out, when you're ready to explore some of the other methods of getting the latest news, there are plenty of options available. As always, if you have a favorite newsreader that's not featured here, let us know in the comments!
When you find a story you like, you can open it full screen.
(Credit: CNET Networks)RSS Bandit is a free newsreader offering the standard three-pane interface with your feeds on the the left part of the interface, headlines on the upper right, and story summaries on the lower right. Clicking on a story opens the story in full-page view like a browser. With this type of setup, you can click through your feed list quickly and browse through the stories you want to read without shuffling through a bunch of browser bookmarks. One of the best things about RSS Bandit is the ability to detect feeds on a page. So when you find a site you like, you can use the Wizard to discover all available feeds before making your choice.
The basic three-pane design makes it easy to find the information you want.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Snarfer is another great free newsreader with a similar interface layout to RSS Bandit. This one comes with several feeds already set up for you to browse, but it's just as easy to add them on your own. What makes this app interesting is it includes a wizard you can set up to do complex searches on Craigslist and eBay so you'll be the first to know when a specific item becomes available. I also like how it offers a tabbed interface so you can get important stories on screen which you can browse when you're ready.
The multitude of viewing, sorting, and discovery options sets FeedBeast apart
(Credit: CNET Networks)FeedBeast is a shareware alternative (usually $18.95, but $5 for a limited time. Check the developer site for more info) which offers the standard three-pane interface, but is a bit more polished than the free offerings. Features like e-mail synchronization to get important news to your in-box and Word Watch, which lets you search for news via keywords, are handy additions. It comes with numerous sorting options so you can get to the exact information you're after. Also, getting new feeds from your favorite sites couldn't be easier with FeedBeast's one-click subscription feature.
If you're a news junkie like I am and you're sick of drowning in bookmarked favorites, download one of these apps. You'll quickly realize how much more efficient your daily news and information browsing can be with a good newsreader.
Checking Web sites by typing in the URL feels like firing up a rickety 56k baud modem and logging on to CompuServe. It gets the job done, but really should only be used under extreme duress or nostalgia. Syndicated feeds bring the Web site to you, and when NewsGator made all its RSS clients free on Wednesday, they suddenly made a top-notch suite with tools for Windows, Mac, mobile, the Web, a podcast manager, and a Microsoft Outlook extension incredibly appealing. And by appealing, I mean you might not be able to imagine feeds the same way afterwards. It's that good.
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