About 3.5 years ago I changed my web surfing habits and went totally into “RSS Aggregator” mode. Initially I was using the Sage RSS reader, a Firefox plugin. It worked well, and with Google Browser Sync I was able to sync my views. Or so I thought.
The syncing of my feeds never actually worked too well, so if I finished reading articles on one machine, when I sat down at the other, I couldn’t be sure if the ’18 new articles’ really meant 18 new articles. Also, Google Browser Sync is being end of lifed, so I need to find an alternative.
For a while, I switched to using Akregrator for KDE. All in all, I found it a fantastic tool, very fast, easy to use, and well integrated into KDE. Alas, I don’t always sit at my desktop machine, and really started pining for a way to stay synced on my feeds while out and about, while still being able to read at home.
After denying the inevitable for so long, I’m now working with Google Reader, which appears to do everything I need in an RSS aggregator, and is not localized to one specific machine. I’m slowly migrating my vast array of feeds (somewhere around 200) into it, and organizing them into folders by subject.
So far, I’m reasonably happy with it. It works, it’s fast, it’s ubiquitous, and, well, it’s Google. I have some real issues with how Google is overly dependent on their AJAX magic to get things done, though Reader doesn’t seem to too overboard with it (unlike, say, something like Picasaweb, which I loathe).
I’ll give it a few weeks and see how well I like it. Fortunately, it hasn’t required a major investment in time or configuration to set up. About an hour of basic twiddling and I’m up and running. Stay tuned!
About Dave Shevett
A wandering geek. Toys, shiny things, pursuits and distractions.
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Been using Google Reader for ages, well OK since I started doing RSS. I don’t have much experience with anything else, but as you point out, ubiquity and mobility make it really handy. Looking forward to using it on my iTouch. 🙂
Pick up the ~/.kde/share/apps/akregator/data/feeds.opml file and import into Google reader. Migration complete in a few clicks.
The problem I had with Google Reader is that it doesn’t keep the folder hierarchy that I can use in Outlook (shudder) or in Akregator.
Also, I fly 4-14 hours a week, and having an offline reader is required. I just use synergy to control the desktop machine, meaning I boot up the laptop for *every* computing experience of more than 15 minutes. But that works for me, especially with IRC in screen on the ubuntu box at home.