Linux feed readers?
Well, I've received complaints from an anonymous reader of my blog that I plugged a Windows-only headline reader a few days ago. Which does bring up a good point; I haven't been able to track down a good Linux feed reader that is easily installed and used. I've tried out AmphetaDesk but it didn't excite me too much. So if anyone can recommend a good Linux reader, let me know; as I'm in Linux most of the day, having a Linux reader would be nifty.
Comments
I don't know where you found that picture, Brian... but I'm suitably impressed. Wow.
Remind me never to run for public office; I'm guessing there are more of those pictures where that came from...
Posted by: jrau | September 24, 2003 1:48 PM
I just installed News Monster:
http://www.newsmonster.org/
for Mozilla and its ilk. It was a little tricky finding the right Java thingy to install, but once I did, the overall installation went smoothly.
*don't* use this on Firebird -- I did, and it seems to make it not work right anymore. The newsmonster site does mention that beta versions (IOW, Firebird) are unsupported, so I'm not really blaming them. My Mozilla 1.4 install seems to function smoothly.
The install is easy enough -- just like installing any other Mozilla extensions. Click a button, wait, restart the browser.
I'm still getting used to its interface. I'm not 100% sure I grasp how it marks things as having been "read", and I end up manually doing so.
I haven't used it long enough to figure out how it archives stuff, if at all. Like, in two weeks, will I have several hundred Metafilter posts? I'm not sure.
It does allow for categorization of feeds, which is nice. It integrates nicely with Mozilla (so it's not just a Linux reader), and it's relatively easy to setup. There's a free (unobtrusive banners, fewer features) version, and a $30 or so version. I have to keep playing with the free version to decide if it's worth $$ to me.
If that doesn't float your boat, you can check out the Info Aggregator:
http://rss.blogstreet.com/
Sign up for an account, add your feeds, and it gives you an IMAP mail account you can use to check it. In theory, you can use whichever mail client you prefer. They even have server-side filters, so you can categorize your feeds into folders.
I have been using Opera mail to keep tabs on feeds for a few days, and it's pretty swell. Two things prevent me from using it more:
1) I'm relying on a web-based service that may not exist in two weeks.
2) Mutt seems unable to connect to their IMAP server. pcg blames this on me. I blame the government.
I suspect that it would work quite nicely with Evolution, Mozilla Mail, Outlook, etc.
The other big Linux one is Straw, which complained at me on installation until I no longer wanted to install it. Perhaps I'll try again at some point. Right now, my money is on newsmonster, assuming my browser stays stable.
Posted by: joel | September 25, 2003 4:07 PM