I visit A LOT of blogs and websites, most of which are updated on a daily basis, if not more often, and I used to have to randomly visit from time to time to see if anything had changed, which whilst fun was also time consuming, and annoying when nothing had changed. If only there was a programme that could tell me whenever my favourite sites had updated.
This is where a feed aggregator, and in particular Feedreader, comes into play. The first step is to download Feedreader from here, and then install it. What now then? Well the vast majority of sites put out RSS feeds usually linked to icons such as 
, 
, or 
, and so visit your favourite site, copy the link from these icons, usually ending in either .rss or .xml, and then on the Feedreader programme click on ‘new’ and then ‘new feed’ and add the link. Now do this for all the sites you visit. I admit it may take a while but it’ll save you in the long run.
Feedreader is automatically configured to load at start-up, runs in the background and will check with servers to see if any of the feeds have updated, and will inform you with a simple pop-up when new articles are posted. Simple eh? [Click here for screeshots]
This may not be the most riveting programme, and ergo not a riveting review, but it is something that WILL save you time, and is something that I use. Of course, as with most things I review, it’s free!
9 Responses
Stef
You’re preachin’ to the converted here, I used to use Firefox’s ‘Open in Tabs’ feature and just open all my regular sites in one go but most of them hadn’t changed.
I ended up using RSSReader which looks very similar to FeedReader. However, my one requires the .NET Framework which is a pain in the ass. IS FeedReader completely stand-alone?
Adem
I don’t think Feedreader needs .NET, and it should be completely stand-alone. They even offer an open-source version for “for those who like to get source code and tweak it”, which for me is a sign that they have nothing to hide.
I knew you used RSS to get your blog updates and I think the main reason I’m including reviews on things like Feedreader is that others may not know about this kind of stuff, or if they do know, maybe they are a bit unsure of what software to opt for.
I’m sure there are many other free RSS aggregators out there but this is the one that I choose to use, and it does quite well for me.
Napfisk
Been using Ziepod for quite a while now. Feeds, couldn’t live without them!
Stef
Yeah, there are loads of feedreaders out there but most of them are crap. I tried about 5 or 6 before I settled on the one I have now.
I can’t be arsed to start again now but when I change PCs I might go with FeedReader just to avoid having to install the .NET framework.
Stef
Right, I’ve just downloaded FeedReader and spent an hour entering my feeds and categorising them. Annoyingly the export from my old reader was not in a format FeedReader could understand. Grrr.
This had better be good!
Stef
OK, I think I prefer it to my original reader and it doesn’t need to .NET framework so I’ve just uninstalled both off them.
Good tip off mate.
Adem
I hope it works out ok. I do sometimes find myself right-clicking on the taskbar icon so that I can update all the feeds quicker than the programme looks for updates.
Stef
Yeah, I can see myself doing that too but you can set the update frequency to 1 min or less if you really want to.
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