So I’ve noodled around with Google Reader (a web-based RSS aggregator and reader) before, but not really taken it too seriously. The integration between web page and RSS feed reading in Apple’s Safari browser has made me happy for a long time.
However, once you’ve gotten past a handful of feeds, it becomes cumbersome to track them in Safari. There are ways to bring them together, to aggregate them. But it’s not simple.
I’ve also messed around with full-blown RSS reader applications, especially on the Mac. Stuff like NewsFire and NetNewsWire and even the open source Vienna project. But so far as I could tell, you couldn’t easily sync your feeds (and where you are in your feeds) across multiple computers. If they synced, I’d probably be sold because they are so slick and fast and beautiful with lots of extra features.
But back to Google Reader.
I’ve spent several hours (yes, hours!) transferring various RSS feeds into Google Reader today, and now I’m organizing them. I’m also using the Share feature (articles appear in the sidebar right on this page). Pretty darn slick. And free.
So three cheers for Google Reader. Check it out if you’re a serious RSS collector.
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