RSS Reader

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Hi,

I’m getting acquainted with RSS notifications. I tried Google Reader but I’m not sure it’s the best reader alternative. Do you use RSS feeds? Which reader do you use?

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Google reader is fine. It also gives you the ability to log in from any computer (connected to the web) and read your latest feeds. Just create an IGoogle account and your homepage with Google reader will be right there too.

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> Just create an IGoogle account and your homepage with Google reader will be right there too.

Cool tip. Thanks!

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I use the RSS Bandit – Rss Bandit. I also use Outlook 2007 & IE7 for a few feeds to to see what the coordination of the two products is like.

Joe

--Joe

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Hi Joe,

Thanks for RSS Bandit. As for your configuration, I have neither OL2007 nor IE7. I’m using OL2000 (time for a change!) and IE6 at home.

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I have been using Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com[/url%5D) for a couple of years and am happy with it. It is FREE. I have it set as 1st tab in my always open FF browser. It’s very easy to use. When you come across a site that has an RSS feed, FF puts an icon in a bar under the the address bar. You just click on this icon to subscribe to the feed directly in Bloglines.

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Hi ibe98765,

Many people have suggested that I use FireFox (that’s what FF stands for, right?). I will probably give it a try sometime soon.

Now what I don’t quite like about RSS is that checking for alerts is a complete task itself. I’m currently subscribed to one RSS feed from one forum. What I would ideally like is receive notifications via e-mail, but since the ones in this forum are so bad (the poorly descriptive, bare “there’s a new post” kind), and given there are no digest options as yet, I decided to give RSS a go.

But instead of being reminded via e-mail that I should check a certain subforum, I am required to regularly check my RSS reader. This is a behavioural change I’m not willing to accept. Am I missing something? Is there a way to configure RSS readers to shoot e-mail notifications embedding the feed content? Asking too much?

I guess once you subscribe to many feeds from different forums, checking your reader should become second nature, as is to check mail. But, if possible, I’d stick to status quo for the moment.

Thanks for your responses!

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Yes, FF is short for Firefox browser. You’ll have to give yourself some time to adjust if you switch from IE, it’s a radical change. FF is very configurable and to really get the best out of FF, you’ll need to decided on what add-in’s you want to run. There are many hundreds, if not thousands of free add-in’s that you can install. I think I have about 40 installed. There are a variety of sites which discuss basic recommended add-in’s that you can read up on.

The purpose of RSS is to give you access to all the information you subscribe to in one place and NOT be dependent on checking email. It also doesn’t expose your email address to multiple places, thus possibly reducing spam. Your RSS feeds are updated regularly and automatically (usually), so you always have access to the latest entries. Trust me, it is much better than email or walking sites individually, once you get used to it. You also want an RSS reader that allows you to export/import a feedlist in .OPML format. That way, if you don’t like the reader you are using, you can export your feeds to another program. I’d also recommend using a browser based RSS reader, like Bloglines or Google Reader. That way, your feeds are always available, no matter where you are. Whenever I am logged into my browser, which is basically 24×7, my RSS feeds are the number one tab and always ready for me when I bounce over there to see what is new. It’s all very efficient and sweet.

I will tell you though that RSS can be addicting Like hanging out in a forum, you can “waste” huge amounts of time following RSS feeds. Some people follow hundreds of feeds (I have no idea how). I have been whittling mine down since the beginning of the year (now at 26 and some only update weekly).

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Hi ibe98765,

Thank you for your comments! They are most valuable. I hadn’t thought it would be a good idea to reduce spam.

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