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Slashdot Asks: How Will You Replace Google Reader?

Posted by timothy on from the bifocals-espresso-and-page-ruffling-servants dept.

Despite a hue and cry from disappointed users, Google has not made any moves to reverse its decision to close down Google Reader on the first of July, just a few weeks away. Despite the name — and the functions it started out with in 2001 — Reader has become more than a simple interface to RSS feeds; Wikipedia gives a concise explanation of how it evolved from just a few features to a full-blown platform of its own, incorporating social-sharing features of the kind that have become expected in many online apps. Those features have morphed over the years along with Google's larger social strategies, along the way upsetting some readers who'd grown used to certain features. If you're a Google Reader user, will you be replacing it with another aggregator?

8 of 335 comments (clear)

  1. Self-hosted TinyTinyRSS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'll go for a self-hosted tinytinyRSS: http://tt-rss.org/

    Never cared much for all the social features, I like keeping up with websites and being absolutely sure I haven't missed anything.

    I'm not sure why I sign into google anymore. No need for reader. Youtube favs I suppose.

    1. Re:Self-hosted TinyTinyRSS by PAPPP · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I went to tt-rss as well and am more than happy with it. The web interface is nice, it's self hosted (more important in light of recent news), it's easy to set up (even in unsupported shared-hosting configurations), and the Android app is decent. The web interfaces is also very easily customizable, even for someone who doesn't like doing web fronted work.
      Fox can be a little gruff, but considering the volume of stupid questions suddenly coming in to a one-man project with the death of google reader, I can't say I blame him.

  2. Re:I've been trying feedly by Geeky · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The thing that put me off feedly was the requirement for a browser extension. Why on earth would you need a browser extension for what ought to be a simple website?

    --
    Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
  3. Re:Sod google reader by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check out http://www.ighome.com

    It doesn't look quite as nice as iGoogle, but it's close enough.

  4. I replaced it ages ago by hobarrera · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I replaced it ages ago, with a simple python script croned every 15 minutes. It picks up new entries to my feeds, and emails them to me. Sieve filters those emails into a different mailbox, so I've a special mailbox which is basically entries for my rss feeds.

    I don't know why I've never made a web interface for that, it might become pretty popular. :P

  5. Re:Google's loss by Aguazul2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    And I'll no longer be logged-in to Google all day. So it's really their loss

    Mod parent up -- this is a good point. The only reason I'm logged into Google is for Reader. I only know of stuff happening on Google Plus because it pops up in the corner of the screen. Now Google Plus will also completely disappear from my life.

  6. Re:I've been trying feedly by Myopic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Agreed. I switched to Feedly a few hours after Google told me they didn't want me to get news from them anymore. I think it's pretty good. The thing I miss from GR is using 'n' and 'p' to read the next and previous news stories. Feedly's documentation swears that it supports keyboard shortcuts, but it doesn't work for me on any of my machines. The layout is usually pretty nice. I'd like more features, but the basic implementation is a satisfactory replacement for Reader.

  7. Re:Emacs + Gnus + Gwene by Sq · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'll second http://gwene.org/

    It will turn any RSS to newsgroup, and you can read those with any NNTP newsreader (for which I already have setup .newsrc syncing between accounts).