March 14th, 2013Top Story8 Google Reader Alternatives That Will Ease Your RSS PainBy Eric Limer Google Reader is on its deathbed, slated to meet its end on July 1st. Its demise has been looming in the distance for a while, so this should come as no surprise. And while this is certainly a time of mourning, there's the unseemly business of finding a replacement. Here's a list of platform agnostic alternatives that should help make the transition as painless as possible. We're sorry for your loss. Feedly Feedly's one of the best options who need one reader on all their devices. Desktop-wise it runs in Chrome and Firefox via extensions and in addition to standard Android and iOS apps, you can also find it on Kindle. Loyal Google Readers will find its interface a little weird though. It's well designed, but it's far more like a newspaper than the constant-flow-of-feeds-to-my-faaaaace Google Reader. But it's free, and Feedly has been out there saying a transition from Google Reader will be "seamless." NewsBlurNewsBlur's got a solid, Google Reader-esque web app you can try out on the spot if you hop over to their site. And, if you're a mobile user, it also has an Android app as well as iOS versions for the iPhone and iPad. Free accounts max out at 64 feeds, which won't be enough for a real power user, but a real, unlimited subscription is only $1 a month. The Old ReaderThis basically is Google Reader; the interface is practically identically. And you can login right with your Google account import feeds that way, though The Old Reader claims it's flooded at the moment, and won't let you. The downside here is that there are no apps (yet) and social integration is only available by connecting through Facebook. But it's great as a bare-bones replacement for web-use. NetVibesNetVibes is a web reader with some powerful customization options. Like any good RSS reader, you can resort to a pure feed approach, but NetVibes also has a dashboard setting that allows you to create and organize "widgets" for specific feeds and folders and move them around. The downside is that there aren't any mobile apps, so you'll be tied to your computer. PulsePulse (Android) is a flashy, stylish reader that supports the use of multiple columns to organize. And it looks as stunning on your Nexus as it does in your browser. While a mobile app an never fully fill the hole Google Reader leaves in your desktop browser, Flipboard (Android, iOS) is another great, magazine-like mobile option for folks whose feeds are image-heavy. It's so pretty you might just forgive it for not living on your laptop. ZiteZite (Android, iOS) boasts a clean newspapery look with an option for straight-up feed view. Perfect for people who keep their RSS on a second screen. Twitter?It's by no means a perfect replacement, but it might be able to fill part of the hole depending on your use-case. Twitter doesn't have an "unread" state, so it's only good for here-and-now developements, but many outlets user their Twitters a glorified RSS feeds anyway, and there's no shortage of mobiles apps, for now anyway. If you're a light RSS user, and a heavy Twitter user, you might be able to work something out. Maybe. |
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No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more that pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto. --- W. Clement Stone
Thursday, March 14, 2013
8 Google Reader Alternatives That Will Ease Your RSS Pain
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