Read the FeedHow do you read blogs and news sites? Do you book-mark them and occasionally browse through. Do you use a search engine to find posts of interest, or do you use a Feed Reader?
I used to browse them with a huge bookmark list and still do sometimes because I can’t find a Feed Reader that works exactly as I want it.
There are a number of different types of readers about: I have sorted these from least visible (out of sight) to most visible (obtrusive).
- Some aggregate posts to a web site—there are personal ones you can configure yourself, or public ones that collect together posts on particular subjects, like the Planets, or with a slant, like Boing Boing. I use the public ones if I need to research a subject (or just waste a bit of time).
- Some, like FireFox live bookmarks, just keep the bookmarks refreshed so you can easily see what topics are available by mouse-ing over. I have set this up for Mary because it is a type of interface that she is familiar with. I think FireFox Sage extension is similar i.e. it tells you what is available when you ask for it.
- Some, like Thunderbird, collect the stuff in a similar way to email or an old Usenet news reader. I use this at home because I use Thunderbird email client anyway and I see the new items when reading my mail.
- Some, like FeedReader, collect in the new stuff regularly and notify you either by popup toast or an animated icon when there is something new to read i.e. it tells you pro-actively. FeedReader is fine but it insists on using IE to open the pages (and I think uses IE internally).
- Some run a ticker tape along the bottom or top of the screen. Our office one is like that (I think it was written internally) but it has the disadvantage of not distinguishing between read and unread items. It is also very distracting.
There are lots of other readers about but I just haven’t had time to try any more. Can anyone recommend one (with a description)?
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