Thursday, February 01, 2007
Trying out Google Reader
Every so often Robert mentions his love for Google Reader. After about the millionth post on the subject, I'm taking a look for myself.
I've exported by Bloglines subscription to Reader so I can do a side-by-side test. Reader seems slower to load, constantly popping up a little "Loading..." sign, and then taking its time to list posts. But other than that the two readers aren't that different. Both list your subscriptions in a frame on the left, both display content on the right (with Reader you can chose a headline-only "list view" or a Bloglines scrolling-page-like "expanded view". Both also feate "blog this" and "emal this" functions. You can move through a Reader list of posts by pressing the j key to move, but on Bloglines it's just as easy to scroll with the arrow keys.
One thing I do like is that Bloglines strips out post formatting. I have a friend who blogs in yellow text (on a black background on her blog), but the RSS feed is hence illegible in Reader (yellow text on white background!).
But Reader does look better, for sure. Bloglines design isn't the prettiest and Reader uses the tired-and-true (and well-loved) Google look and feel to great effect. Reader also has a better "settings" interface, allowing quicker access to basics such adding and changing folders.
I think I'll be running with Reader for a bit. Try it yourself if you haven't.
I've exported by Bloglines subscription to Reader so I can do a side-by-side test. Reader seems slower to load, constantly popping up a little "Loading..." sign, and then taking its time to list posts. But other than that the two readers aren't that different. Both list your subscriptions in a frame on the left, both display content on the right (with Reader you can chose a headline-only "list view" or a Bloglines scrolling-page-like "expanded view". Both also feate "blog this" and "emal this" functions. You can move through a Reader list of posts by pressing the j key to move, but on Bloglines it's just as easy to scroll with the arrow keys.
One thing I do like is that Bloglines strips out post formatting. I have a friend who blogs in yellow text (on a black background on her blog), but the RSS feed is hence illegible in Reader (yellow text on white background!).
But Reader does look better, for sure. Bloglines design isn't the prettiest and Reader uses the tired-and-true (and well-loved) Google look and feel to great effect. Reader also has a better "settings" interface, allowing quicker access to basics such adding and changing folders.
I think I'll be running with Reader for a bit. Try it yourself if you haven't.
// posted by Dan @ 1:24 pm 
