I have spent the last couple of days playing with a few web based news readers/aggregators. My reason for this? Well, I use NetNewsWire and am very happy with it, but Id like to be able to read my subscriptions anywhere and not have to deal with re-reading stories. To that end, what follows are my potted reviews and experiences with some of the options I found, in no particular order. All feeds were imported from an OPML file created by exporting my feeds from NetNewsWire with groups entact.
Rojo
This has a very nice clean interface, vaguely Web 2.0 looking with minimal clutter and ads etc. Everything is laid out clearly. Sadly no NetNewsWire integration that I can see. I found myself not really liking the way this works for some reason. Why Im not really too sure, but I just wasnt comfortable with clicking arrows to read stories and i just didnt settle on it really.
Newsgator
Again, nicely laid out with a clean interface. However, I had problems trying to reset my read posts with this one, and try as I might, I couldnt find a way to mark all the posts as read so that new ones were pulled in. Atleast for all my hitting of the 'mark all posts as read' button, nothing seemed to happen, all the groups on the sidebar still showed unread posts. I couldnt find any NetNewsWire integration with this one either.
Gregarius
Seemingly very nicely designed aggregator which you have to install on your own server. Installation was a dodle, but this was another which I had problems marking all posts as read and simply found a bit finickerty to use. It has a theme for accessing the site with a mobile phone, however the theme is active if youre using a mobile or not. Also no NetNewsWire integration.
fofredux
Or Feed on Feeds Redux, I have used Feed on Feeds before but found it very slow, so I thought Id give this a go. This is another which you install on your own server and again, this was simple. The interface is very basic but the different view options allow you to choose the way you work best. FOFRedux didnt import the groups from my OPML file, but apparently categories are there and tags are on the way. This may work on some mobiles, but not on mine. No NetNewswire integration.
Feedlounge
This is still in private beta sadly, so theres not alot I can say asides from Ive applied to be betarised and it certainly looks very promising from screengrabs on the site. No NetNewswire integration, mobile phones and what not, but mobile is on the vote list. *Now open for sign up, this is a pay for service.* The 3 hour tour is also now available. This is the best online feed reader Ive found (but then its the only one which costs money).
Bloglines
Clearly laid out, but with maybe a few too many fussy little lines and buttons. I initially had problems finding how to create a new folder as it was in the edit feed option where you can move the feed to folders. Maybe its somewhere sensible too, but I couldnt find any other way. This has a mobile option and integrates with NetNewswire but maybe not in the quite expected way. Basically if you add Bloglines to NetNewswire it seems to download the new articles and then mark them all as read on the server. Not so bad you might think, but if you download them and read some then have to leave your Mac for some reason and want to read the rest elsewhere via the web (or indeed anotehr copy of NetNewswire), you cant because theyre all gone.
The long and the short
Well, for better or worse Ive gravitated towards Bloglines, the NetNewswire factor, whilst nowhere near perfect, is better than nothing and slightly fiddly kind of way. Im certainly interested in seeing more of Feedlounge and intend to keep an eye on fofredux. These are in no way in-depth reviews (clearly) so Id suggest anyone else looking for a decent web aggregator try out a few options, and post any comments on these or any others they find. Id be pleased explore a few more systems.
Update: I have been using Feedlounge since it became active and am very pleased with it. It could be considered quite expensive considering you can buy the likes of NetNewsWire for life, or at the very least a few years for roughly half the per annum cost of Feedlounge, but then of course we each have to consider if we feel Feedlounge adds value with its access anywhere feature of being on the web. For my part, Im still unsure.
Feed for this Entry
FeedLounge is now open. :)
cool!
Damn, a free 30 day trail would be a very nice addition, Ill give it a try, but If dont like it on first try then I feel a bit miffed about the $5. Yes i realise theres a 3 hour tour.
You could maybe insist on paypal details, but only charge after 30 days if someone doesnt cancel.
oh yes, and any details pn NNW integration? I really like the bloglines thing with NNW and its a major factor for me.
Perhaps I could answer these questions for you in the FeedLounge forums? Other folks don't know to check there for the answers.
no problem
Hi Matt,
Great post! I look for posts like this everyday, and I will definitely bookmark this for future use. I've been using NetNewsWire for about 2 weeks now and I absolutely love it. I only wish there was a way to export my entire configuration and import it on another computer (not just feeds, but folders, etc...). It's definitely the best application I've used for reading blogs and news. In fact, I didn't even like the idea of using RSS to keep myself updated on news until I tried NetNewsWire because it's got the awesome option of opening up the web site within the application (presumably using safari as the engine). This is ultimately what I was waiting for in a news aggregator and NetNewsWire delievered.
However, I also see your point about being able to read your news/blogs from wherever you are. After reading your post it seems like the best thing to do is just wait longer. And as far as FeedLounge is concerned, I'm the first person to lay down cash for a good applicaiton, but I'll never give up money to use something sight unseen. They must be out of their tits. So if you end up trying it out, let me know what you think of it.
-Theron
We don't expect people to sign up sight unseen (though we aren't going to stop them either, and some are quite happy they did).
I think we're merely a few hours away from having the free tour ready for launch (the plan was to launch it midday on the 17th), unfortunately real life got in the way.
Ive paid my $5 Theron, but I consider the first month a trial really. I would recommend giving it a try for a month. No disrespect to Alex and everyone working on feedlounge, it is great, but very difficult to justify the monthly $5 when theres so many free options out there which arent really that far behind feedlounge. I could quite happily use bloglines as it stands, but Id like to see if feedlounge progress over the next few months or if it stalls (like flickr has). Not forgetting one-off payment options for applications like NNW, though of course they dont offer the flexibility of checking anywhere.
I agree with Matthew. Theres so many free options. I don't really want to pay $5/month for a service I could get elsewhere. I've tried many different web based feed options and always end up back at bloglines. It just seems like less of a hassle for me. I hate the interface but it gets the job done at no cost to me.
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Hello guys,
Nice post. I would like to add Rezzibo.com to the list. Check it out and let me know what you think of it. English homepage available here.
Rezzibo certainly looks interesting. Sadly, combined with my lack of reading Spanish and its faliure to import my OPML file, I havent got very far with it.
Hi, just ran across your post on a 'fofredux' google search. I'm heading up FoFRedux development - and I'd like to find out more about NNW integration. Is there any documentation out there on what NNW 'integration' is like?
Ideally, there should be an open RSS sync protocol for syncronizing feeds (ala OPML), read/unread, tags, etc. across multiple feed readers.
Ive no idea, Im just a humble user.
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