Infoscape for Windows

It doesn't take up a lot of desktop real estate, but this freeware feed reader relies heavily on manual input. Infoscape's multitabbed configuration menu is the program's prime interface. This app could use a wizard or manual to help novice users with program setup and special features. Experienced users will get through setup with minimal fuss.

Infoscape displays feed headlines and a short paragraph in a small pop-up panel. Two configuration sliders make it easy to set the pop-up display interval and time. Adding feeds isn't as easy as with many readers. Without an autodiscovery feature, you're required to input a feed's exact address. Anther simple slider sets how often the feed is polled for new posts. Two pull-down menus make it a snap to change the pop-up display background color and icon for each feed. Double-clicking a pop-up opens the post in your default browser.

Inforeader's pop-up approach makes it a good program to display news headlines without taking up too much space. The initial setup might take less experienced users more time than other feed readers, but it's a decent choice for any level user.