Rss reader is a very convenient software if you have a bunch of blogs that you want to keep track of. It will let you know when the blogs are updated.
I am not so keen to reading on rss readers. It takes away the individual website design. Unless the site is terribly designed, I think it's more fun to go to the website.
Nevertheless, it's a good way to keep track of websites and blogs. You'll get notified if they are updated. So you don't have to surf the net in vain.
I spent several hours looking and testing several rss readers. In a quest to find a simple, effective, and well-designed rss reader. My standard here is to find a easy to use, easy for the eye and not a stand alone program. I prefer to have it integrated with the browser or an email client, so I don't have to have one more program running on my computer all the time.
Sage turns out to be the best one for me.
You need to be using firefox browser. Install Sage extension. It will then open on the sidebar of the browser with only a click. So far, there're 30 different styles you can download to customize the display. When visiting a webpage, it can search for rss or atom feed automatically. You can easily add feeds to the list.
What if when you are not able to access your computer? There are web based rss readers too.
Google reader is the one I most preferred. It's very simple. I like the magnifing on a single post interface design. And the import/export of the rss feeds are very easy. I exported the OPML file from Sage, then imported it to Google reader. So now no matter I am on my computer or at public pcs, I have the same settings.
The other web based rss reader I tried is Bloglines. It seems to have a lot of users. I applied for an account and set it up. After trying it 20 minutes, I found it complicate and too ambitious. The way it set up to pull hundreds of news feeds just add to my information anxiety. Besides the interface was also confusing. I gave it up.
One other find I thought is very interesting and worth a mention. Which is a messenger like rss reader called Nutshell. It sits on your desktop like a messenger and informs you new updates and headlines with a ticker bar on top of the screen. It's highly customizable, versatile and beautifully designed for the look.
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