Don't you wish headlines about starlets would disappear from the front page of the paper? Oh, you want to follow what's hot in Hollywood? Whatever your tastes may be, you can deliver only the best news to your desktop via Really Simple Syndication (RSS), by
using a program called a newsreader.
An RSS newsreader lets you hunt for publications, wire services, blogs, podcasts, and video sites you like, and then subscribe to related content. The free Bloglines, Google Reader, and Rojo work in any Web browser, so once you pick a username and a password, you're ready to select newsfeeds.
Along with mainstream news from daily papers and entertainment magazines, RSS lets you find feeds on almost any topic. If that alien-abduction dream felt uncanny, you might gravitate toward UFO news. A Bulls fan could score the latest scoop on the team. The newly engaged could subscribe to wedding blogs by other couples. Bloglines and Rojo track their users' best-loved feeds and encourage social networking.
FeedDemon and Newsgator cost $29 each and are better for managing gobs of content--good for newshounds and researchers. Newsgator works within Microsoft Outlook, so you can manage feeds alongside your e-mails. (Attensa is another good Outlook-based RSS reader but with more business-friendly features.)
If you prefer news as a side dish rather than the main course, then you might not need a stand-alone newsreader. Instead, you could drop a handful of favorite feeds into a Web-based home page, such as Netvibes or Google Home. These let you drop crossword puzzles, cartoon strips, and airfare lookups onto a page alongside your news--offering more of the well-rounded newspaper experience than a straight-up RSS reader does. You might already use RSS without knowing it, if you surf the Web with either Apple Safari or Firefox 2 or Internet Explorer 7--or if you use the Windows Live Toolbar. The latest Yahoo Mail also embeds RSS feeds.
If you still want to give the Gray Lady cover-to-cover attention, the New York Times' Reader program (a free download) now lets you read a digital version of that paper that looks more like its print layout. Or if you decide to pay for strictly business news, the Wall Street Journal serves up an RSS-based home page you can personalize.
| | Bloglines | Rojo | Google Reader | FeedDemon | Newsgator Inbox 2.6 for Outlook |
| OS | Any Web browser | Any Web browser | Any Web browser | Windows 98 and later | Requires Microsoft Outlook |
| Mobile | Yes | No | Yes | $29 mobile edition | $29 mobile edition |
| Organize feeds | Folders, tag by subject | Tag feeds, stories, contacts | Tag by subject | Folders | Folders |
| Save excerpts | Yes, clippings | No | Yes, clippings | Yes | No |
| Mark as read/unread | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Share | Yes; e-mail single stories or share feeds with other users | Yes; e-mail single stories or share feeds with other users | Yes, e-mail single stories or create public page | Yes; e-mail single stories | Yes; e-mail single stories |
| Blog from story | Yes, to Bloglines blog; create blog roll of your feeds | No | Yes | Yes, with plug-in | Yes, with plug-in |
| Import/export feeds | Yes as OPML | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interface languages | English, French, Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian | English | English | English | English |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, those for Outlook |
Read the CNET editor's take | |
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