RSS readers come in all shapes and forms. There 2 basic differences between the types of RSS readers. You can either use a desktop feed reader which downloads all your feeds to your computer or you can use a web based reader which displays feeds in a browser window. Let’s look at the pros and cons of both types.

Desktop RSS Reader

A desktop RSS reader is an application that you download and install on your computer. There are several options available to choose from. NewsGator, FeedDemon, NetNewsWire are 3 of the popular applications. You can also use your email client for reading feeds. Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Mozilla Thunderbird, for example, allow you to subscribe to feeds. New unread items are downloaded and are displayed similar to emails. One of the benefits of this type of reader is that you don’t have to be online to view the feeds. Once the items are synchronized and downloaded you are free to roam anywhere. The most notable disadvantage is that if you are disconnected from the internet any embedded HTML content or videos will not play. This is a major drawback which will be a show-stopper for the numerous YouTube videos that get embedded into blog posts every day.

Online RSS Reader

Web based RSS readers are the other major type of feed reader. Unlike desktop readers the web based applications automatically refresh content. They also work exactly the same way on all computers regardless of operating system or installed programs. You can be at a business trip or in a cave - as long as you have access to a browser you can catch up with your feeds. The number of web based readers is too many to list in this article. The most prominent and widely used ones are Google Reader, My Yahoo page and BlogLines. Yahoo! Mail also has feed reader feature. But I experienced trouble adding feed to it and I do not recommend it. Among these Google Reader is quite easy to use and is feature rich. Adding feed subscriptions is simple and intuitive. The organization and tagging capabilities make it a must have RSS reader. The next article in the series will highlight the features of the Google Reader.

This post is part of the RSS Series. The previous post gives an introduction and overview of RSS. The next post in the series will give you tips on how to master Google Reader. Subscribe to TeqEdge blog today so that you don’t miss any updates tomorrow.

Did you like this article? Subscribe to our full RSS feed or subscribe via email.