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Rocking with Google Reader

January 12th, 2007 | Technology,Softwares & Computers

I’m always game for reading good blogs and articles. In that respect a RSS reader is something I’m addicted to. In my earlier post : My Search for the best Online Feed Readers, I concluded that Newshutch was the best online RSS reader. At least in my opinion. Google Reader

Then Newshutch started creating problems and I got 404 and Network Error problems. Also their server downtime was also little frequent. So had to come on and get used to other RSS readers…

Reluctantly I shifted to Google Reader. I knew that Google Reader was recently improved with more features (with some cool stats as well) still I was not ready to shift. Then for 2 days Newshutch was done and I got fed up with it and decided to move on with bigger and better RSS feed reader.

So again tried 2-3 readers again like Rojo and Bloglines and then didn’t like them… so I had to shift to Google Reader.


Google Reader - Review

I’m using Google Reader for the past 3 days and I got used to it now. Now I think Google Reader is better than Newshutch. Here’s some reasons:

  • It has more features.
  • Whenever I click on any link in my feeds, then it opens them in a new window.. that way I want the links to open. However I didn’t try as to how it open in Firefox.
  • By default it shows 20 feeds per page, and when you come to the bottom of the page, it automatically loads the next 20 feeds. Cool feature!
  • Google Reader’s built-in public page to easily share interesting items with your friends and family.
  • It lists (or grabs) the feeds faster than Newshutch. I have seen feeds that was posted even 2 minutes before in the site, but in the case of Newshutch it was taking a lot of time, atleast 20-25 minutes, sometimes even more.
  • The Trends and stats that it shows is a cool feature.
  • Import and Exporting of the OPML was not possible in Newshutch. (Thanks for pointing this out, Manas)

    • Useful feature of your going to change your RSS reader. ;)


    Google Reader Vs Newshutch

    Newshutch was less cluttered and simple. I should say that it’s faster than Google Reader (after their server maintenance) but still It’s not as good. I gave problems and sometimes it was not opening in my office. Managing feeds and making it work as you want is little hard in the beginning with Google Reader. It took me over 3.5 hours to set it and I did it 2 parts. Customizing a large amount of subscription will be a tiring task.

    In end I feel that it boils down to your liking and taste. I like both Newshutch and Google Reader. Just that Google Reader is better RSS reader than Newshutch.

    I’m addicted to this RSS thing and I visit my RSS reader atleast 4-5 times a day. I presently have 46 feeds subscribed. It took me over 75 minutes to go through (not read!) all the feeds. Every day in the morning after coming to office, it’s become a habit to check my RSS reader for fresh contents in my favorite blogs and Google Reader does the job for me.

    I would love to hear from you! With which RSS Reader are you rocking with?

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    15 comments ↓

    #1 Harsh J on 01.12.07 at 5:51 am

    I have like 70 Feeds subscribed to, and I love my Liferea Feed Reader :D

    #2 Vivek on 01.12.07 at 10:06 am

    I too have been using Google Reader for about 2 weeks and I find it very cool. I was using technorati’s fav page till now, but that’s horribly slow.
    Another google product rocks me on !

    #3 Vivek on 01.12.07 at 10:07 am

    small typo error :: “Useful feature OF your going to change your RSS reader”

    #4 Nazim.k on 01.12.07 at 3:56 pm

    I’m still using Newshutch. It’s still worth using because of its simple interface, the frequent breakdowns notwithstanding.

    #5 Ashwin on 01.12.07 at 3:58 pm

    @Vivek-
    I read the article, but I couldn’t find the typo that you mentioned. Where’s it?

    #6 Manas T on 01.12.07 at 7:11 pm

    “Import and Exporting of the OPML was not possible in Newshutch.”

    Go to the Manage Tab in NewsHutch, there you can do that. :P

    #7 Ashwin on 01.12.07 at 7:19 pm

    ^^
    Thanks for pointing out the mistake. Overlooked that one. :D

    #8 Manas T on 01.12.07 at 9:45 pm

    “Whenever I click on any link in my feeds, then it opens them in a new window”

    You can do that in NewsHutch just by middle clicking on the links. Its better to allow users to select how they want to open the links.

    #9 multi/rahul on 01.13.07 at 12:04 am

    will check since u reviewed it .

    @manas , this ever sucking Tata’s still block blogspot domains so I have to visit your blog from proxy,sigh.

    #10 Ashwin on 01.13.07 at 12:20 pm

    @ Manas,

    I know that.. but Google Reader opnes *any* link in new window. I prefer (and others as well) to open in a new window. When the links are opened in same window, then you got to come back to the RSS reader again. Plus, many RSS readers (being net savvy) use FX/Opera, but ppl like me who are using IE (well I’m forced to use it), the links can’t be opened using middle click. It’s simple pain in the ass. So I feel in this regard Google Reader is better than Newshutch for sure. :)

    #11 Manas T on 01.13.07 at 8:44 pm

    @multi — Tata has not lifted the ban yet !!! :(

    #12 Ashwin on 01.14.07 at 9:06 am

    @multi,

    How’s Google Reader? Did you try it?

    #13 multi/rahul on 01.14.07 at 12:27 pm

    really cool , I’m loving it .

    #14 Google Reader - Dressed to Kill - AshwinR.com on 04.18.07 at 7:11 pm

    [...] Reader that I love so much has got better! A great looking theme on the lines of Mac OS X has been going out in the [...]

    #15 Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work - AshwinR.com on 05.07.07 at 7:45 pm

    [...] any slightest clue what RSS means. Even I was afraid of the ‘R Word’ before getting addicted to it. You can subscribe to 100 feeds or so and enjoy reading! Now reading over 100 new feed items in [...]

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