Despite the increase in the variety of ways you can consume media and learn about news, Google Reader is still the default news reader for many. While you can always find a good desktop RSS reader to suit your needs, many people still prefer the plain old web experience. Just because you prefer the web app doesn’t mean you can’t overhaul the look and feel though, so let’s take a look at some of the best extensions, styles and tweaks you can use to make the experience better.
The popular bookmarking service Read It Later gets a big update today, including a new name, interface and a price drop. On top of a new look, the service, now called Pocket, makes it easier to view videos and images while retaining the simple reading interface that you’re familiar with.
Chances are that you’ve said to yourself, at least once, that you need to read more. Whether you’re too busy to read a book, or you just have trouble getting attached to one, we have a few tips to help you schedule in your reading.
Whether you’re juggling a kid, your coffee or your lunch, it would, on occasion, be nice to read an article online hands-free — that is, without having to reach for your mouse or keyboard to scroll down every few seconds. The HandsFread bookmarklet is here to help, adding hands-free page scrolling to any web page, in any browser.
If you keep an eye on your news ticker in Facebook, you’ve probably had the inclination to read a story that a friend posted only to find you have to install a special application to read it. Installing that application means everyone will know everything you read, but technology blog Digital Inspiration shares a simple workaround.
iPad: The iPad is by definition a touchscreen device, but there are times you want to use it but don’t want to dirty up the display with your greasy fingers. MagicReader lets you read your PDFs and turn the pages by just moving your head so you don’t have to use your hands at all.
Mac: You won’t find a shortage of great RSS readers out there, but if you’re looking for a more visual experience to browse your feeds, Mixtab is a reader that puts an emphasis on large thumbnails instead of a minimal reading list.
Android: Android users looking for access to Instapaper have a few options — none of them official — but most of them essentially attempt to clone the iOS app or serve as a pretty way to present the web page on a small screen. That is, until now: Papermill is a new Instapaper client for Android that’s fast, looks great and gets the job done.
Chrome: The New York Times is lowering its free article allowance from 20 articles per month to 10. Make those 10 page views more pragmatic with Ochs, a Chrome extension that slims down the toolbars, brings high-res art out front and puts the focus on the reading.
Chances are you stumble upon a lot of articles during the day that look interesting, but you don’t have time to read them right then and there. Lots of services have cropped up to solve this problem, and today we’re looking at the most popular three and pitting them against one another: Read It Later, Instapaper and Readability. Here’s how they stack up.
