Separate signal from noise: three RSS readers that choose your headlines
Updated December 19, 2005

As the boss, you need to keep up with a ton of little details. Sometimes, just getting through your e-mail is time-consuming enough, let alone surfing your favorite Web sites for breaking news that can give you a competitive edge. With Really Simple Syndication (RSS), however, the news comes to you. Subscribe only to the sources you want, then filter those results by searching via keywords if you like.

Two basic varieties of newsreader exist. Most are standalone applications that run in the background on your desktop, automatically updating headlines regularly with newsfeeds from your subscribed Web sites and blogs. In this category, there's Awasu, a popular standalone desktop RSS reader that offers free and paid premium versions--both are very good.

A second group of newsreaders plugs in to applications already running on your PC. For instance, both Onfolio and Pluck work within Internet Explorer. Onfolio, which also works within Firefox, has all the features you'd want in a RSS reader and costs $30. For just the news, Pluck is an excellent choice, and because it's free, it's a smart choice for anyone.