Google Reader is one of the best and most widely-used RSS readers on the market. Here’s four simple things Google could fix to make it even better.
Sometimes, web publishers provide excerpt-only versions of their RSS feeds rather than offering the full text via RSS — requiring readers to visit the site for the full story. Web app WizardRSS converts any partial RSS feeds to a full feed.
Twitter is great for short, 140-character snippets, but sometimes you don’t have a chance to click on everyone’s links and read full articles. To make it easier, web service SiftLinks puts all those links into an RSS feed.
newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http://www.youtube.com/v/Gx22fGOzaqY&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[] ,"width":500,"height":306.25,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); Google quietly updated their popular web-based RSS app Reader with a new fullscreen mode that hides all the clutter and navigation so you can focus exclusively on what you’re reading.
Mac only: Previously mentioned NetNewsWire is currently the premeire Google Reader-syncing RSS client for Mac, but free app Gruml may give it a run for its money, adding many Google Reader features too, like sharing and sending articles to many other services.
RSS, Atom and other XML-formatted feeds revolutionised the way we keep up with our favourite websites, allowing us to use newsreaders to track updates rather than bookmarks and constant refreshing. The only problem: Some sites don’t have RSS feeds.
If you’re a fan of the very clean Helvetireader user script, you might want to check out a “sneaky peek” at version 2, which seems to hide even more menu and organisational text and improve Reader’s looks when you have it in content-only expanded mode. Helvetireader’s userscript should install on Firefox, Opera, the latest builds of Google Chrome, and any browser with GreaseKit installed.
