RSS is a pretty handy thing, and Google is getting on the bandwagon with Google Reader.

The interface is similar to Gmail. On the left panel is a list of feeds. To add a feed URL, click Add Subscription. On the right panel are the contents of the feed. There is an expanded view (showing a larger headline, short summaries and some options) and a list view. I’m partial to the list view just because there are just so many articles out there. Clicking on a headline in list view gives you the expanded view just for that post anyhow. To get to the actual site and article, click the headline in expanded view, or the little grey circle and the original site pops up in a new window.

There are some intriguing settings options, too: under Settings -> Goodies: adding reader to your Google homepage, put reader in a bookmark, and subscribe as you surf. All falling under the realm of making the reader work with your browser and making it easier to access RSS feeds and share articles.

In a sad way, because of the proliferation of RSS feeds out there, keeping up to date with them has become sort of a chore. Every morning I fire up Firefox and look at all the unread articles in my feeds, and sometimes I just blow past them so I don’t have to look at the unread articles anymore. Someday people will use RSS to send spam, and it will all go to hell.

But for now, a good RSS reader helps keep us up to date, and Google’s web based solution is pretty darned handy. I’m already hooked on Gmail and this is the first web app I’ve seen from Google that I could see using regularly. I was initially impressed by Google Spreadsheets, Google Page Creator, and Writley but I haven’t used any of them since an initial experimental period. I’m hoping Google Reader will stick.

Categories: General, Google, Technology :: Tags: :: Trackback URL
Front Page
Previous Post: Music Notes: Wolfmother
Next Post: Mac OS X 10.4.8
Related Posts: Getting Serious With Google Reader :: Cat News Via Google Reader :: Google Reader: Sharing Extended To Friends Via GTalk :: Webomatica Update: February 2008 ::