I go through several web sites in a day and often times, it can be troublesome having to scour all these web sites for articles simply because I have to jump from one page to another. I am a big fan of Google Reader and I still am up to today because of its robust features that retrieves articles and news from anywhere with PC that has an Internet access. The best thing about this web application is, I only have to visit one site to read articles from multiple sites. The great thing about Google Reader is its ability to store all RSS feed within one place and without having to worry about transferring those information into another medium such as the PC. While I love how I can subscribe to my favorite news web sites, having to browse and log-in to Google Reader takes time and I usually end up visiting the actual source itself, which ruins the purpose of RSS. I love RSS and how it revolutionized the way articles are read and retrieved but it can be tedious to keep up with when using Google Reader.
It was not until last week that I gave NewsGator FeedDemon a try since the company finally released it as a freeware. I was a little bit skeptic since it obviously will store news/articles retrieve in the local memory, which is why I like the idea of having an online RSS reader. The problem that online reader possess such as Google Reader is it's listing is not updated frequently as new articles gets published versus the desktop version, which is updated as soon as new articles arrives. Instead of more boring summary, here's a rundown of why I'm switching to desktop RSS reader such as FeedDemon.
- The desktop reader retrieves the latest news and articles the second it gets published on the web.
- The task bar reader icon gives a little flash notification once it receives new articles.
- It has a built-in browser that goes directly to the page without having to leave the application's environment.
- The theme/skin and the reading format can be changed according to your reading preference.
- Once an item or article has been read, the article is removed from the list, which helps organizes the items that have not been read.
- It has a panic button feature that alerts you once an article is X amount old and the old articles past certain days can be removed from the list of articles.
- You can manage cache and backup data.
- It synchronizes all your feed from/to NewsGator's server so you can read and have the subscriptions on any PC that the application is installed. This is a cool feature since you don't have to export/import your favorite feeds from one machine to the next.
While Google Reader is still a good viable option for reading articles from another remote location, I really like the desktop RSS better if I'm viewing on my PC since I can customize it to better fit my needs. Google Reader certainly lacks this feature but it's not going to be too long before Google catch up with this idea. For now, having a desktop reader has drastically changed the amount of articles that I can read in a short period of time. I don't have to jump from one page to the next just to catch up on the latest news on a variety of subject and because everything is retrieved instantaneously, I always get to read the latest news during the day as soon as they get published. Currently, I have approximately 100+ sites that I'm subscribed to and I go through them fast. For now, desktop readers gets my vote.