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Technology Thursday
28Sep
On Mac OS X RSS Readers
September 28, 2006 at 03:22PM Until recently, all of my attempts to enjoy RSS feeds had been in vain. RSS seemed like one of those hip technologies that people use simply to feel superior to those who don’t use them. However, I had it all wrong. I just wasn’t using the right software.
I tried Bloglines to manage my feeds, but I found it clunky (and—don’t tell anyone I said so—ugly). I also tried the Sage extension for Firefox. It was also clunky and ugly. Plus, I’ve stopped using Firefox altogether (you guessed it, clunky and ugly).
Anyway, I decided to give RSS feeds another try, and I downloaded pretty much every single standalone RSS feed reader available for Mac OS X. (I have no need for one based online, since I use only one computer.)
To be truthful, I didn’t like most of them, especially Newsfire, which I would have blown up if that were possible. The free trial had a frequent pop-up that would remind me that I hadn’t paid for it yet, and I never will simply because of that ridiculous reminder. Listen, Newsfire people, that is one of the stupidest things you can do with a small program like Newsfire. In a free trial, you want people to think that your software is useful, not an annoying program made by annoying people. It would be one thing if you didn’t have competition, but you do. Good riddance!
There were three feed readers that I actually liked. First, Vienna is a great program if you consider that it is free. However, it is a bit less polished than some of the others. Functionally, it is quite good. Second, NetNewsWire is okay, but for a few annoyances. For instance, it comes with a load of preinstalled feeds, and if I am not mistaken, they need to deleted one at a time. Pair that with an interface that I think could use improvement, and I just can’t see myself paying 30 bucks for it.
This brings me to what is my current favorite and the program I may purchase after the free trial is over: NewsMac Pro. It has, I think, an exceptional interface. It really doesn’t do much that the others can’t, other than communicate with Bloglines, but it just feels right. Here’s a screenshot (it makes great use of my widescreen):
I have only one concern with it, and that is its stability, or lack thereof. When I first started using it, it would periodically act strangely and require a relaunch to correct itself. Since I have learned the program better and my mouse-clicking has been less random, I have had better results. Still, it does concern me. Nonetheless, I will probably purchase it for the interface benefits alone.
Unless, of course, one of you know of a better feed reader for Mac OS X.
Most importantly, what I have realised from my testing is that with the right software, RSS feeds can save a person like me oodles of time and grief. Its like the difference between getting the newspaper delivered to my door, and driving 10 miles to pick it up. Furthemore, subscribing to RSS feeds makes it less likely that I’ll spend hours just surfing the web aimlessly, which isn’t that much fun anyway.
Here is a list of standalone RSS feed readers available for OS X. Please let me know if I have missed any.
I tried Bloglines to manage my feeds, but I found it clunky (and—don’t tell anyone I said so—ugly). I also tried the Sage extension for Firefox. It was also clunky and ugly. Plus, I’ve stopped using Firefox altogether (you guessed it, clunky and ugly).
Anyway, I decided to give RSS feeds another try, and I downloaded pretty much every single standalone RSS feed reader available for Mac OS X. (I have no need for one based online, since I use only one computer.)
To be truthful, I didn’t like most of them, especially Newsfire, which I would have blown up if that were possible. The free trial had a frequent pop-up that would remind me that I hadn’t paid for it yet, and I never will simply because of that ridiculous reminder. Listen, Newsfire people, that is one of the stupidest things you can do with a small program like Newsfire. In a free trial, you want people to think that your software is useful, not an annoying program made by annoying people. It would be one thing if you didn’t have competition, but you do. Good riddance!
There were three feed readers that I actually liked. First, Vienna is a great program if you consider that it is free. However, it is a bit less polished than some of the others. Functionally, it is quite good. Second, NetNewsWire is okay, but for a few annoyances. For instance, it comes with a load of preinstalled feeds, and if I am not mistaken, they need to deleted one at a time. Pair that with an interface that I think could use improvement, and I just can’t see myself paying 30 bucks for it.
This brings me to what is my current favorite and the program I may purchase after the free trial is over: NewsMac Pro. It has, I think, an exceptional interface. It really doesn’t do much that the others can’t, other than communicate with Bloglines, but it just feels right. Here’s a screenshot (it makes great use of my widescreen):
I have only one concern with it, and that is its stability, or lack thereof. When I first started using it, it would periodically act strangely and require a relaunch to correct itself. Since I have learned the program better and my mouse-clicking has been less random, I have had better results. Still, it does concern me. Nonetheless, I will probably purchase it for the interface benefits alone.
Unless, of course, one of you know of a better feed reader for Mac OS X.
Most importantly, what I have realised from my testing is that with the right software, RSS feeds can save a person like me oodles of time and grief. Its like the difference between getting the newspaper delivered to my door, and driving 10 miles to pick it up. Furthemore, subscribing to RSS feeds makes it less likely that I’ll spend hours just surfing the web aimlessly, which isn’t that much fun anyway.
Here is a list of standalone RSS feed readers available for OS X. Please let me know if I have missed any.
Update on September 29, 2006 at 12:15PM by
Andrew Stark
Andrew Stark
Geof has informed me that multiple feeds can be removed in NetNewsWire by shift-clicking the feeds and selecting File > Unsubscribe. I was right-clicking the selected feeds, and expecting a menu that would have that option (as was the procedure in most of the other readers tested).
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Reader Comments (5)
But I'm here to comment on the pre-installed feeds. Those are really easy to remove in one action.
Simply highlight them all by holding down Shift, then go to File > Unsubscribe. You'll get an alert warning that you're about to delete every single one. There's your fresh slate.
As for interface improvements, I don't like the standard setup either. That's why I choose another option at the bottom of the application window, Tyger, as it adds some more whitespace, etc.
If NewsMac Pro proves to be too unstable, NetNewsWire will be my next choice.