Windows only: Free application Newzie is a feature-rich desktop newsreader designed to keep you up to date with the latest web content, whether that content is coming from a traditional RSS feed or not. To that end, Newzie monitors feedless web pages for changes, supports "virtual channels" that monitor user-defined keywords (great for ego tracking), and more. It also supports advanced content filtering, customisable keyboard shortcuts, subscription priorities, a Post Sweeper feature that clears out unnecessary posts when you've fallen behind, and built-in reading statistics. In the end, Newzie is full of interesting and innovative ideas that we'd love to see from more newsreaders, but it could use a little more polish overall if it wants to attract a lot of users. If you give it a try, let's hear what you think in the comments. Newzie is a free download, Windows only.

Newzie

Newsreaders are a blessing for anyone who wants to stay on top of the constant flow of information available on the web, but if you're not careful your feedreader can get so clogged and disorganised that you lose many of the benefits of RSS. Blogger GenuineChris details how he combatted this situation using fewer folders organised by quality—like A-List, B-List, etc. At the end of the day this strategy isn't groundbreaking, but it got us wondering: How do you organise your newsreader? Let's hear what helps you stay king of your RSS mountain in the comments. Fewer Folders Means You Get More Out of Reader

Firefox with Greasemonkey: Google Reader Filter is a free Greasemonkey user script that takes a list of user-defined keywords and automatically highlights any items in Google Reader whose contents match any word in your matchlist. The script's filtering does not remove posts from Reader, so you won't miss any content—you'll just have your attention drawn more closely to the matching items with the highlighting (though clearly a toggle option to truly filter matches would be useful). Google Reader Filter is free to install, requires Firefox with the Greasemonkey extension. I had mixed results with it, so let's hear how it works for you in the comments. Google Reader Filter

We've already highlighted how to subscribe to RSS feeds of your Gmail labels, but the Google Operating System also points out how easy it is to subscribe to a feed of all your unread email using the built-in unread label. In essence, you'd just add the following URL to any feed reader that supports authentication (of which Google Reader is not one):https://mail.google.com/mail/feed/atom/unread/The really cool part of this feature is that you can open the email directly in Gmail from the item in your newsreader. Just remember, if you're subscribing to your Gmail unread feed in a newsreader that makes feeds public, be sure your privacy settings are properly configured so you don't end up sharing any of your private email messages. A Feed for Unread Gmail Messages

Web application FeedJournal turns your RSS feed(s) of choice into a newspaper-formatted PDF. You can either enjoy the newspaper-ness of the electronic PDF on your computer, or you can print out the paper for some offline, dead-tree reading. FeedJournal probably isn't the best solution for feeds that generally have shorter items (like the main Lifehacker feed), but longer articles fit really well in the FeedJournal layout. FeedJournal is free to use, requires registration with the site. FeedJournal

Windows only: Freeware application Chaos Wallpaper embeds RSS feeds in your desktop and shuffles your wallpaper on-the-fly. The application is a standalone executable (meaning it requires no installation), so just download, unzip, and run it to get started. If you only want one feature, Chaos can simple shuffle wallpaper from a folder you point it to or embed clickable links from your feeds on your desktop. If you're looking for a different approach, check out how to create an RSS-embedded desktop with Netvibes or shuffle Flickr pics with Flickr Wallpaper Rotator.
Chaos Wallpaper

Newsgator's recent announcement that their popular line of cross-platform newsreaders were now free had many of you asking why you would ever give up the web-based bliss of Google Reader for desktop-based readers; still others were wondering why anyone wouldn't ride the desktop wave now that these best-in-class readers have hit the free market. Today we're comparing the most popular web-based newsreader, Google Reader, with the freeware, desktop-based readers from Newsgator. If you think you're running the perfect reader for your needs, take another look—you might be surprised at what you're missing.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that previously shareware newsreader apps FeedDemon (Windows) and NetNewsWire (Mac) have gone freeware, weblog Ode to Apple delves into NetNewsWire to detail how to get the most from the powerful desktop-based newsreader. The guide covers everything from smart lists (like iTunes Smart Playlists) to application preferences. If NetNewsWire's new freeware status has motivated you to see what RSS life is like outside the world of Google Reader, Ode to Apple's guide is a good place to get started tweaking your new reader. While you're at it, don't forget to download the keyboard shortcuts cheatsheet.
How to squeeze the best out of FREE NetNewsWire

News feed aggregator tiinker aims to help those feeling overwhelmed by their news portals and their own feed readers chop down their lists. Using Digg-style "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" controls, tiinker "learns" what types of news and sources you find relevant and interesting and mixes its content for you accordingly. Tiinker's technology page reshaped itself pretty quickly to a little test-voting with an eye for Linux items, but what's missing right now (and used to be offered) is a way to bring in RSS feeds not offered by the tiinker mix. Still, for those seeking out a decent, customised news portal, Tiinker might be a good way to keep on top of what's happening.
tiinker

Windows and Mac OS X only: If you've ever considered using a desktop-based newsreader rather than online options like Google Reader, chances are you've run into Newsgator's FeedDemon (Windows) or NetNewsWire (Mac). Today Newsgator has announced that both offerings are free, meaning that you can now get the speed, desktop integration, smart lists, and syncing capabilities of these awesome newsreaders for the wonderful price of naught. I made the move to NetNewsWire from Google Reader a couple of months back, and frankly, I'm not sure I could go back to web-based RSS. And now that both FeedDemon and NetNewsWire have hit the freeware world, I don't think I'll ever have to. They've also freed up NewsGator Go! (for Windows Mobile) and NewsGator Inbox (for MS Outlook). Awesome.
NewsGator Releases New Versions of Client Products; Best-of-Breed RSS Readers Now Free