ReadKit: An Inexpensive RSS Feed Reader for Your Mac

Since purchasing a MacBook Pro last weekend, I’ve been exploring RSS Feed Reader programs. Of course there’s the web-based stand-by programs such as Feedly or NewsBlur which I’ve written about before. But somehow, since the demise of Google Reader, I’ve been using either one of these, and I haven’t been entirely pleased with the experience of these two reader options. Both seemed to be plagued by bugs and misfires, at least in my experience, so while using Windows, I used them because there just didn’t seem to be a great deal of options.
Since becoming a Mac user, I have been trying some RSS feed readers, and in ReadKit, I think I’ve found a solid reader that has a clear interface as well as the ability to share articles directly from the reader to a number of other web services. The program allows users to share to the usual social media outlets such as Twitter or Facebook, as well as sharing to other collection apps such as Pocket or Instapaper. Users can also customize the interface to their own needs like most other Feed readers, and they can also use their usually RSS feed services such as Feedly, Fever, NewsBlur, Feed Wrangler and Feed and Feedbin. While most other Readers provide all of these features, for the most part, ReadKit has proven to reliable and less buggy than other readers I’ve tried, and it has a well-laid out interface with easy to learn features. Currently, ReadKit is on sale for $4.99 in the App Store. It is an excellent Feed Reader for Mac Users.

Perhaps It's Time to Let Go of RSS Reading: No Reliable Replacement to Be Found

Is it time to give up on RSS Feed Readers? Since the demise of Google Reader, I have been scrambling from one alternative to another, trying to find the same reliability of service I had with Google Reader. I have tried Feedly and Newsblur, only to be gravely disappointed with bugs and malfunctions, especially with my tablet applications. Perhaps it’s time I let go of my wanting to read reliable RSS feed information. There just doesn’t seem to be a reliable product available for those of us who are used these services in order to stay connected to the most current news stories.

When Google decided to let go of Google Reader, I honestly did find myself lost, without a reliable connection with those blogs that I follow on a regular basis. Google Reader was one of the first applications I accessed after booting up my computer each morning. Now, I do not find the same reliability in the same RSS feed reader offerings. The problem from my perspective is that there has not been a reliable RSS feed reader to step forward since Google Reader’s demise. I tried Feedly for a period of time but its bugs regarding the display of feeds drove me crazy. Then, I tried NewsBlur, even paying for a subscription because I was impressed with my trial runs. Unfortunately, the iOS app through my iPad has made RSS feed reading so miserable, I am on the verge of giving up being able to read RSS feeds forever. It has crashed multiple times, to the point I am entirely unable to use the app.

This all leads me to my final question. Is it time for us to give up hope on relying on the RSS reading experience altogether? There just doesn’t seem to be a reliable product that makes RSS reading easy any more. Maybe RSS feed reading is a fossil of the past. Perhaps it is time to give up on the expectation that we can use this technology to collect that information that we want to read.

My experiences with the constant bugs and crashes of Feedly and Newsblur have made me think that perhaps it is time to give up the hope of finding a reliable RSS feed reading experience? I have been able to let go of other technologies that have become obsolete. Perhaps RSS feed reading has outlived it’s usefulness too.

Tips for Google Reader Users Moving to Feedly

For those users who, like myself, who are migrating to using Feedly due to Google Reader's demise, here's an excellent blog post from Feedly to help you with that migration process. "Tips for Google Readers Migrating to Feedly" The tips provided even help you customize your RSS reading experience to be more like you are accustom to in Google Reader. The folks at Feedly seem to be glad to have all of us Google Reader users.






I would also suggest you check out Feedly's iPad app as well. "Feedly for iPad or iOS"