Note: This list has not been actively updated in several years, and is thus rather out of date.
| A directory of feed readers, which are used to scan or read many sites at once. They are part of RssSyndication; you use them to read RssFeeds, either just the headlines, or the headlines and a short description (or even the whole text) of each item. You can click on any item to see it in its regular Web page context. Some readers use a Web interface, some are a desktop program, separate from your web browser. Some readers let you easily post what you're reading to your own weblog (AutoBlogging).
Some people call them "aggregators", to draw attention to the common (not common enough!) feature of aggregating items from many feeds into one time-ordered list. Some people call them "news readers", but many feeds aren't really news (and that's what we call UseNet readers).The name of this page will change - see RssReadersNameDiscussion
A
Mailing list (
subscribe) -- another
mailing list, mainly for users (
subscribe)
printer cartridges
A
Weblog and its
rss resource page
Syndication channel at TopicExchange. | Sections on this page:
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All of the earliest RssReaders were and are services, available through any WebBrowser?. Advantages: Easily see your personalized feeds from any computer, no download/install, feeds are gathered even when your computer isn't on-line. Disadvantages: often (though not always) a slower and less rich interface, can't read news when your computer isn't on-line. (note a few systems e.g. Radio combine the approaches)
Try Meerkat, NewsIsFree, or others labeled "(Web)" at http://blogspace.com/rss/readers
.
HyperDig is a free web-based aggregator that lets you create custom collections of feeds (and other web resources) and make them available to the public.
Fyuze (
review).
Rocket RSS Reader a free web-based reader from the same company behind the
Rocketnews news search engine. Subscribe to any of the hundreds of news or blog feeds categorized in the reader, add your own or create your own custom search-based feeds.
MyWireService is a web-based aggregator that allows you to setup your own sections pages and save clippings for access later.
RSS-Feed is a web-based Rss-Reader, a online news aggregator. It allows you to create and publish your own news page and to build custom news feeds using your favorite RSS Feeds. Also exists in
french. Very fast.
Bloglines is a free, web-based aggregator with all the features of desktop aggregator programs, but without the hassle of downloading and installing a program. Very popular.
Fastbuzz a free aggregator delivers headlines either on the web or via email. Items are only marked as read when you either read them or mark them as read providing you control of what's kept.
myFeedster is closely tied to the
Feedster search engine. You can easily subscribe to blogs you find with any Feedster topic search. You can also import or export your subscriptions as OPML.
Feedexa is a free online service for subscribing, searching and tagging feeds, blogs and the like. Supports RSS, ATOM, OPML Import, RSS Autodiscovery plus much more.
FeedBot? - http://www.feedbot.org
- is for finding, linking, and viewing feeds from your favorite sites. No tedious membership account is required. You can start using FeedBot? as soon as you add your first RSS feed URL.
IzyNews - http://izynews.com
- an e-mail rather than web service, works with many popular e-mail apps. Organizes feeds into a customizable folder hierarchy.
do any of these have integrated views -- all feeds in one list rather than one feed/item at a time?
iPod
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RSS2iCal -- subscribe to feeds as if they were shared calendars
- ShrOok now supports iPod
Cross-platform (not including iPod or Newton)
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News Mob is a web service for handheld computers, works live from the handheld or via syncing.
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Mobile RSS - similar, also works with some MobilePhones
PalmOs
PocketPc?
AppleNewton? - http://40hz.org/Raissa/
Java Enabled Phones (J2ME)
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PocketWeb is a combined WWW browser and RSS reader for Java phones.
Symbian UIQ phones (P800/P900, etc.)
These are Mac-only readers - see other categories for various multi-platform options.
(Being an RSS reader is merely one function of these next two, which are scriptable information managers, WebLog publishers, and more)
- RadioUserland -- very flexible and powerful especially if you can code a little; runs on #Windows too (& Linux under Wine)
- TinderBox (more graphically-oriented interface) -- Mac-only for now (MacOsx and ClassicMac?), Windows version coming (how about a version for the X Window System?)
- The OmniWeb? WebBrowser? natively reads feeds (there's also extensions for #MoZilla browsers)
Not being actively developed
For iPod see #Handhelds
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Other multi-platform and/or Unix
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(the resources in #ToAndFromRSS and of course #Services and most #WebHostedAggregators are also generally multi-platform)
Although i do prefer regular applications to browser-based, i found (2002 versions of) HotSheet and BottomFeeder? cumbersome on OS X. Neither uses the operating system's standard GUI. --JohnAbbe
Text-only
Software you download and install in your own web server (typically on your own computer) and aggregate whatever feeds you want, reading them from any web browser.
- Amphetadesk -- http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/
FreeOpenSoftware, all in PeRl, aggregator - it obediently sits on your desktop, downloads the latest feeds that interest you, and displays them in a quick and easy to use (and customizable!) webpage. Best if used with customised page or code from AmphetaFrames --http://www.sunpig.com/martin/projects/amphetadesk/amphetaframes/
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blagg -- PeRl companion to the (in?)famous blosxom WebLogSoftware
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Raven (Python/ThinkSQL) for Windows/Linux. Displays article summaries and links via a web-browser.
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Cross-Desktop: Web-Application-Suite consisting of RSS-Reader, File-Explorer and E-MAIL System.
- Spycyroll (earlier name was pyblagg) - (PythonLanguage) http://spycyroll.sourceforge.net/
- Deadman's Redirect (PHP4) -- http://www.deadman.org/redirect/
(includes many other features. Think CommandLine? and WorldWideWeb smushed together)
- PHPmySubscriptions -- A simple tool to read the news of your RadioUserland aggregator on the web, when you are away from your Radio (and your Radio is off). Should work with any .opml file of RSS feeds..
- Rippy - (PhpLanguage) http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/rippy.html
primitive, but good enough for a personal aggregator.
- Edurss - (PeRl) http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/xml/edu_rss.cgi
- Rawdog - (PythonLanguage) http://offog.org/code/rawdog.html
- fast, basic, effective
- zFeeder - (PhpLanguage) http://zvonnews.sourceforge.net
- template-driven RSS website aggregator.
- Feed on feeds - (PhpLanguage & MySql) http://minutillo.com/steve/feedonfeeds/
- Flock - (JaVa?/Tomcat) http://flock.sourceforge.net/
- TALAggregator? - (Python/MySql) http://www.owlfish.com/software/TALAggregator/
A multi-user aggregator (different users can aggregate different feeds at the same site). Requires Mod-Python module for Apache.
- Drupal - (PhpLanguage) http://www.drupal.org/node/view/289/
ContentManagementSystem? similar to PostNuke?, Drupal also has a built-in aggregator feature.
- RSS Daily News - http://ww.2RSS.com/news
(online RSS reader with no registration)
These are Windows-only readers - see other categories for various multi-platform options.
Not requiring DotNet
* Aardvark News Desk -- http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/jefferson24
- An innovative and simple to use RSS reader that sits at the top of your screen and constantly fetches you headlines from feeds you specify, as well as playing CDs?, checking Gmail, search eBay, getting historical facts and having a fast shut down button.
- BlogMatrix? J䧥r -- http://jaeger.blogmatrix.com
- J䧥r is an extensible one-panel blog and news reader designed for speed and ease of use. The application uses only a small amount of screen real estate as it uses the user's browser to display blog entries. J䧥r runs on Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME and 98. A more complete list of features is available here: http://jaeger.blogmatrix.com/weblog/archives/2004_04.shtml#002566
- Online News Screensaver -- http://www.cool-screensavers.com/onlinews.html
- This is a Windows Screen saver that cycles through various RSS feeds. Comes with selection of feeds that can be customized. Can also parse HTML into RSS. You can customize the look, background images and time intervals.
- Taskable OPML and RSS Browser -- http://www.taskable.com
- a new kind of RSS and OPML browser built into the Windows taskbar notification area. Clicking on the "little orange guy" provides always-on access to your favorite feeds from simple menus available with the keyboard or the mouse.
- blogbot -- http://www.blogbot.com/
-- A simple and easy to use reader that is integrated right into Internet Explorer.
- Pluck -- http://www.pluck.com/
-- A free reader that is a plug-in to Internet Explorer. Supports drag and drop of feeds and looks like Outlook.
- FeedDemon? -- http://www.bradsoft.com/
-- from the creator of HomeSite? and TopStyle?. $29.95
- FeedReeder? -- http://www.feedreader.com/
-- now FreeOpenSoftware! - slightly odd user interface, but it's fairly simple to use
- ClickTheNews? -- http://www.clickthenews.com/
-- ClickTheNews? is your free personal news aggregator. Designed for ease of use and efficiency, it integrates nicely to your daily web surfing habits.
- Awasu -- http://www.awasu.com
- Free. Offers tabbed browsing, system tray menus, notification balloons, channel categorization. The key feature is its extensibility. You can generate RssFeeds from any data source (e.g. databases or running programs) and then run scripts when information arrives (e.g. send an email/SMS or analyze the data and store it in a database). I really like it but then, I wrote it :-) --TakaMuraoka? (author)
- Bloomba -- http://www.statalabs.com
- Commercial. Bloomba is an e-mail/rss client that integrates a search engine. Immediately after download, you can instantly recall valuable emails, weblog articles, contacts and documents.
- WinRSS -- http://www.winrss.com/
-- http://www.brindys.com/winrss/
- Freeware (not FreeOpenSoftware?) without ads. Uses balloon tooltips to display the news, not wasting your desktop space. Updates feeds in the background and adjust timings for each channel. Also, an icon presents an auto-generated HTML page, allowing to read Arabic, Cyrilic Russian, and any utf-8 feeds. Displays additional information, including website, FriendOfaFriend? resources (for feeds and for each items), GeoUrl, and more. --ManuelGonzalez?
- EFFnews? http://effbot.org/zone/effnews.htm
- RadioUserland -- Commercial, with hosting service for your weblog (which it also runs, and has many other features)
- NewzCrawler? (reads UseNet also!) -- http://newzcrawler.ugt.ru/
- Much better than FeedReader? and very feature rich. Commercial, 30 day free trial. --RichardDonkin, AndyRoberts
- Headline Viewer -- http://www.headlineviewer.com/
- Heavyweight and rather complex --RichardDonkin
- FetchReader? -- http://www.fetchserver.com/info_reader.html
- Commercial. Comes with a database info extractor for use on an RSS feed server. The most interesting part is the description of how it could be used to improve information flow in enterprises, e.g. to get a feed of alerts on business conditions such as over-long call centre queues. --RichardDonkin
- NewsRoom -- http://www.activenotes.com/
- This is the most interesting one I've found. It is integrated into IE as an Explorer Bar (like History or Bookmarks). This is nice in that your Aggregator is always "on" and available in your browser. Worth a look! --BenSchochet
- Desktop Sidebar - http://www.desktopsidebar.com/
Freeware. Sticks to edge of the screen and displays feeds as slideshow; can also display headlines in web browser. It has rules engine so you can filter, display alerts, play sounds etc. Supports translation from HTML to RSS.
- RSSOwl? - http://rssowl.sourceforge.net/
Freeware. RSSOwl? is a free RSS and RDF newsreader written in Java using SWT as fast graphic library. Supported OS are Win, Mac and Linux. Some of the features are export of news to PDF, Import / Export with OPML and the fulltext-search with syntaxhighlight.
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Raven (Python/ThinkSQL) for Windows/Linux. Displays article summaries and links via a web-browser.
Requiring DotNet
Do any of these run on non-Windows systems?
- RSSTicker? -- http://www.bigdatasystems.com
- Ticker based RSS Reader.
- SharpReader -- http://www.hutteman.com/weblog/2003/04/06.html#000056
- Popular among some.
- NewsGator? - http://www.rassoc.com/newsgator/
- Works inside of Microsoft Outlook 2000 and later. Very cool! $29
- RssReader -- Main page http://www.rssreader.com
Freeware 100% spy- and adware free, support all RSS 0.9x, 1.0 and 2.0 versions and Atom 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 formats. Export and import feeds and support OPML and feed directory import. Handy and simple to use interface with all kinds of filter and search options.
- Syndirella -- Main page: http://www.yole.ru/projects/syndirella/
Latest version: http://home.yole.ru/weblog/
Freeware, but doesn't appear to be updated anymore? Has two especially great features -- 1) a built-in browser that goes to full-screen when you click on a link (you never have to flip back and forth between the newsreader and your browser) and 2) a built in news scraper (which they call "web feeds") for creating feeds for sites which don't have RSS.
- Sauce Reader -- http://www.synop.com/Products/SauceReader/
Free for personal use. Supports Atom and integration with a number of search engines. Office 2003 GUI look and feel.
- Wildgrape NewsDesk -- http://www.wildgrape.net/
- Small, fast, easy to use. I'm the author, so I'll step back and let someone else be the critic. --DavidPeckham
- Aggie -- http://bitworking.org/Aggie.html
-- open source, can output to e-mail, implements this nice
referer log trick.
- RSS Bandit, another .NET desktop news aggregator -- http://www.rssbandit.org
. See also
Bandit Forum
- HotZoup, .NET news reader, simple, slick and free -- http://www.hotzoup.com
.
- intraVnews - http://www.intravnews.com/
- Free for personal use. Requires Microsoft Outlook XP or later and .Net Framework 1.1.
E-mail
Search Engines
UseNet
Other
Someone put a link to a list of places to list one's weblog. Totally off-topic here (this page is on readers), but a good list, so i put it on WebLog
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The future and other comments
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Having lots of people download your feed many times a day can take up a lot of bandwidth, which can cost a lot of money. Learn about ReducingFeedBandwidth.
SebastianPaquet? on
the variety of operations one might want to perform on feeds. John Robb on
splicing feeds (from Google's cache, couldn't find live link).
Robin Good on
The Birth of the NewsMaster RSS And The Opportunity For Sustainable Filtering And Aggregation Of Online Content Into Niche Websites And Dedicated Information Channels.
Keeping the same subscriptions list in multiple places -- the
subscriptions harmonizer. TopicExchange uses it, see http://topicexchange.com/doc/subscriptions
Security and RSS - http://izynews.com/en/safe_rss/
There's an article on RSS in the Enterprise at http://www.skippingdot.net/2001/12/17
- and a set of RSS links including readers at http://www.skippingdot.net/2001/12/13
. The skippingdot.net site is interesting - the idea is to use standards to get the equivalent of .NET without the MS Tax...
--RichardDonkin
I haven't really met the right reader yet; see RssReaderWanted and the review in PlucKyx. Since i've reduced the number of feeds i'm following to a reasonable number, i cobbled together FeedBoxes. If i go back to a dedicated reader i'd probably pay for NetNewsWire, unless PineApple has released their new version. TinderBox i have yet to really try out, though i did go ahead and buy it. In the long run i'm sure feeds will end up in many places, there will not be one winner. --JohnAbbe