RSS Readers

This page offers suggestions and links for various types of RSS reader. For ideas on where and how to find RSS feeds with an academic orientation please go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/rss/feeds.html .

There are several tools that allow one to gather and organize information automatically from sites that provide RSS feeds. These tools are known variously as ‘news aggregators,’ ‘news readers,’ ‘feed readers,’ ‘RSS readers,’ or simply ‘readers.’ It is useful to distinguish between web-based and desktop readers. Some web browsers and email clients have integrated RSS readers. Other readers are be stand-alone applications.

Web-based readers are accessed via a browser. There is no software to download, and the user is not tied to any particular machine. Users create accounts they can log into from any web-enabled computer, as well as from various portable devices. Major, free web-based readers with multiple features include:

• Bloglines: a mature and popular web application
• Google Reader: the new version is very competitive
• Newsgator: free online version alongside paid online and desktop versions
• Rojo

It is even possible to subscribe to RSS feeds through channels you create in a Wesleyan custom portfolio. The reading and subscription management tools in the portfolio are very basic, however.

You might prefer to get RSS updates through email, especially if you are subscribing only to a small number of feeds. Some web-based services (RssFwd.com, for example) make it easy for you to do just that. The end result is approximately equivalent to subscribing to an email listserv. See this directory for a list of related services.

Some web-based services, such as YourLiveWire charge subscription fees. Click here to see an extensive catalog of web-based readers. Other sites offer vast directories of readers.

Some desktop readers are stand-alone applications; others are integrated into web browsers or desktop email handlers. There are free versions of each type that individuals can download and install on their own computers. Other readers come with a price tag. The web browser Firefox handles RSS feeds through “Live Bookmarks.” Its counterpart email handler, Thunderbird, also features RSS capabilities. In addition, browsers like Firefox readily cooperate with web-based readers (like Bloglines or Google Reader) to streamline the process of subscribing to a feed.

Options for Windows include:

• FeedReader
• RssReader
• NewsGator (a.k.a. FeedDemon)
• NewzCrawler
• Awasu
• Opera: a web browser that integrates an RSS reader

Click here to see a directory of client-side readers for Windows.

Popular Macintosh options include:

• Safari: The built-in browser integrates its own RSS reader
• NetNewsWire Lite: (The “lite” version is free)
• NewsFire
• Vienna
• Pheeder

Click to see a more extensive directory.

Options for open source platforms include:

• Straw
• Liferea
• Snownews
• Thunderbird (an RSS-capable email reader)

See also other options