Need a *good* RSS reader

H

hatter

Skilled
Though no application is perfect, some can be good. And when it comes to RSS readers, I found SharpReader *good*

But this application was abandoned by its developers in 2006. So, I am in need of a replacement that is updated frequently and has better and modern UI.

What I need in the RSS reader:

* Simplicity. Very very important. SharpReader was great in this aspect. nowadays most RSS readers are cluttered, full of features that are mostly included for sake of tickbox :no:

I just want to read news with RSS reader... nothing much. I don't want to search with it, I don't want to stream media, I am not keen on synchronizing my feeds across multiple PCs or Web, I don't want to post comments, tweets, blog items using RSS Reader, I don't want to play songs with it and I don't want it to feed my dog.

I prefer three pane view... feed list, story lists and summary. Nothing else. I prefer to open the items that I want to read in web browser and not inside the RSS reader. I hate the readers that download full posts inside one of their panes.

I like to go through feeds quickly and on an average there could be over 300 to 400 news stories that I may have to go through, sometimes within a couple of hours. RSS readers showing full posts in one of their panes make me slow :mad:

Is there any good RSS reader for me on the internets or should I just get the FeedDemon and learn to live with it :(
 
is there any particular need of a standalone application? because if not, check out google reader. it has all the features you don't want and need, but it's also highly versatile so you can customize it to your heart's content and have only the basic functions. only difference is launching a browser is required instead of launching an app.
 
^^ I gave google reader a spin long ago but again I don't find navigating through the stories and managing them too convenient.

Navigation speed is essential for me, and that's why I want to stick to standalone application... but may be Google reader has changed now. I will give it another try.
 
Google Reader kicks the pants off any other feed-reader I've used, online or desktop, and I used to be a die-hard Bloglines user.

Back when I was still using desktop aggregators, I used something called Abilon all the time. Abilon.org - site looks spammy, but the software is pretty solid. Claims to have a built-in blogging tool, but it never really came in my way. Clean interface, no bling - simple 3-pane (although I used a 2-pane view - I didn't care for the story list pane..)

I had also used FeedDemon for a bit when it was still being maintained by this Nick Bradbury dude. His company Bradsoft was then bought out by Newsgator who made the app a bit too 'feature rich' for me, so dumped in favour of Abilon..

(p.s: check out some of the software by Nick Bradbury - great guy, super apps)
 
On Linux, the one true Gnome reader is Liferea. Nothing like it. Simple, easy to use and scriptable. You can also ask it to autoload items in the browser when you select the corresponding headline in the list pane. Worth seeing if it's been ported.

I'm not too sure what you mean by not loading the whole post but Liferea will display the entire feed item in the pane. On most Wordpress blogs this means that you will get the entire post with all its images sans the styling. With other feeds like the NYT, you will only get the preview because that is all that the feed contains.
 
My vote goes to google reader last 2 yrs of use & I am kept informed where ever I am, all I need is log into my gmail account anywhere in the world.
 
Hmmm... so nothing much interesting so far. I will give Abilon a try but I am not too sure. So far, Google Reader seems to be the best. But let the suggestions keep coming... :)
 
+1

Another suggest for Google Reader, its awesome specially after adding those community/social features like you can know what your friends are reading:eek:hyeah:
 
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