Bloglines is shutting down. Bummer.
I knew it was coming. They’ve had the same stupid “Try Bloglines Beta!” banner up for about four years now, and as far as I can tell they haven’t released any new features the entire time. That’s no recipe for success.
So now I need a replacement. I know I should try Google Reader like everybody else, but last time I tried it, I didn’t like it. However, it’s probably changed by now.
Anyway, I have a few minimal feature requirements, which I suspect most modern feed readers can meet:
- Organizes feeds into folders.
- Can automatically find feeds when given a blog URL.
- Takes an import of the feed list from Bloglines.
- Allows easy and fast access to the original blog post’s web page.
That last one is very important. I use the feed reader to find new posts, but I like to actually read the original posts on the web site, with the style, format, and presentation intended by the blog author.
I’m not too particular about where the feed reader lives. I could use another web site like Bloglines, I could use a Windows application, or I could use a feed reader built into one of the major browsers if any of them are worthwhile.
So, any recommendations?
Google Reader. No question.
The bummer about Bloglines is that it was the best for posting your blogroll to your blog — which is the one thing that Google Reader does not offer. Alas…
I second the GReader recommendation. Does it all and is quick and smooth.