The grave has been dug forGoogle Reader.
It’s almost dead and gone, and I’ll surely miss it.
Savvy folks like you and I will always know of alternatives.
You should see this as an opportunity, not a letdown.
Maybe you’ll find something new that you would have liked more than Google Reader all along.
I’m huge on RSS tickers and scrollers.
I’ve known of two or three, and my preferred software has always beenFeed Notifier.
I recently came across a very interesting alternative software that presentsRSS feedsin a completely different way.
Maybe some of you will enjoy it.
Portability in a software like this is a pretty key component to me.
FeedRoller is completely different.
It’s a true RSS ticker that gets right in your face.
As you could see in the above screenshot, FeedRoller defaults to docking at the top of your screen.
Unlike Feed Notifier, it doesn’t go away when it’s fed you your news.
Hovering your mouse over it will cause it to immediately hide.
FeedRoller docks to the system tray, where almost all interaction with the program itself will occur.
First worth noting are the hotkeys.
The 15-minute DND mode that FeedRoller offers is much appreciated.
Once the time passes, feeds automatically begin scrolling again.
It’ll surprise you the first couple of times you see it pop up.
Managing your feeds is incredibly easy.
Here, you see all of the default feeds that ship with FeedRoller.
Being able to temporarily disable feeds is a far better approach.
Adding a feed takes a matter of seconds.
Leaving theNameparameter to its default will automatically name the feed.
FeedRoller’s options are incredibly extensive, but let’s go over some of the more important parts.
Changing around the interface is important.
In theInterfacesection, you’re able to set a padding and margin to your ticker.
Most importantly is the ability to snap the ticker to the bottom of the screen rather than the top.
We all have different screen arrangements.
TheColorssection offers more visual enhancements.
I mentioned how unfortunate a few of the default hotkeys are.
Luckily, you might change all of them in theHotkeyssection.
