There’s only a couple of weeks left before Google turns off Reader for good and I’ve yet to make a decision about what service I will use as a replacement. There is a site listing the most popular alternatives as mentioned by hashtag on Twitter called ReplaceReader.
Feedly is topping the list at present but I am still on the fence about it. I set it up but I found the interface a little too “jazzy”. I don’t want my RSS to recommend other content, allow my “friends” to see what I’m reading or any other social integration. Am I the only one who is a total curmudgeon about this?
Feedbin seems popular but because its a paid service entirely, I don’t think very many people have experimented with it yet. I love Reeder for Mac and iPad so I’m leaning towards Feedbin as they are promising integration but, at present, they have only updated the iPhone app which is the one place I don’t usually attempt to read RSS.
I’ve also tried The Old Reader and Blog Lovin’ but did not favor either. While The Old Reader is free, I suspect there will not be a lot of mobile app support for it. And Blog Lovin’… let’s just say I feel a little old to be hanging out in that crowd.
Have you found a replacement for Reader or have you moved away from RSS altogether and found another system for keeping up with your favorite sites?
I’ve moved to http://www.inoreader.com. It looks and works almost exactly like Google Reader does and it’s free. Their mobile site is okay and they are working on mobile apps.
BTW, you will be able to use Feedly with Reeder in the very near future (read more at http://blog.feedly.com).
I’m in the same boat. Tried several but didn’t like them for one reason or another. I’m tempted to just use Reeder and give up on reading on my laptop.
I was so disappointed by The Old Reader – it looked great, but behaved weirdly and kept marking things read willy-nilly. I’m using Feedly right now and find it a bit fiddly but basically ok so far.
You are not a curmudgeon for not wanting those “extras”. It is a fair and reasonable expectation 🙂
Sadly, I have no particular recommendations for a Google Reader substitute. Luckily, there has been no need for me to delve into the RSS arena. Given the kerfuffle over GR’s demise, perhaps this is a blessing. I can follow your delightful TWAD and other choice blogs from the blog dashboard. So far it hasn’t made any “recomendations” or other annoying interferences. Am I a curmudgeon – no. A simpleton – maybe 🙂
Glad that your other commenters have suggestions – the best part of the interwebs is the ability to pool knowledge on our electronic roundtable.
I have not found a replacement and share your distaste for Feedly. I just want a simple, primarily text based option without any social network type features. I also despise flipboard, blog lovin, WordPress’ “reader,” email and Facebook based soutions.
I guess I’ll use The Old Reader, but I will miss my GR/feeddler app. I can’t imagine I’ll necessarily love it or stick with it, though. *sigh* If you’re a curmudgeon, then I am too.
I tried CommaFeed: https://www.commafeed.com/#/feeds/view/category/all but so far I haven’t found any decent alt for G-reader.
I just started using Quiet RSS today and I’m very happy with it so far. I also use Feedreader which is very good.
Both are desktop readers.
Wow. I just tried CommaFeed, and I think it might be the solution! Thanks Rae!!
I switched to http://newsblur.com/
It marks feeds read after two weeks which doesn’t work well for some people but it does for me.
I am using Feed Wrangler, like Feedbin it is a paid service and comes with free mobile apps for iPad and iPhone. While not perfect these are good enough until Reeder and Mr. Reader release new versions which will support it. After signing up, Feed Wrangler imported all my Google Reader feeds as well as Starred Items without a problem. Federico Veticci wrote a comprehensive review (http://www.macstories.net/reviews/feed-wrangler-a-new-rss-reader-with-smart-streams-filters-read-later-integration/) highlighting the unique feature set. The developer (@davidsmith on app.net) has been very responsive and gave recently an extensive interview with Myke Hurley on CMD+Space (http://5by5.tv/cmdspace/46). For me it’s a step up from Google Reader.
I use Feedly but I’ve removed a lot of the bells and whistles. I have it go straight to my index page, which is just a list of the blogs with unread articles, then I can go through each one individually. I don’t use the magazine-style page or recommendations. I don’t share stuff via Feedly either. The only thing that truly irritates me is the little icon that shows up in the middle of pictures on the web, but it bothers me less than I thought it would.
I tried Feedly as well and didn’t like it. I found both the web interface and mobile app to be simply too busy where I wanted streamlined. That being said, I haven’t picked a replacement yet either though I’m leaning toward Feed Wrangler. At this point I’m ready to pay someone a reasonable fee to ensure that development of the service doesn’t stop and that it doesn’t disappear like Google Reader.
I’ve been using Feedbin for a few months and like it. Very straightforward, similar in layout to Reader, and syncs with Reeder. I also have it set up through IFTTT to do certain tasks like save off my starred items.
I’m tempted to try FeedWrangler but it looks ugly to me (not that Feedbin is winning any awards). I didn’t make it out of the first day with Feedly.
I went with Feeddler yes with two Ds :). Liked it better than news blur and feebly but I realize it is a very personal taste decision. It also only made me share wanted I wanted to so if I’m in the crum crowd I’m glad to be here
Bob
http://Www.mypenneedsink.com
I just switched over to Feedbin and so far, I think it’s worth the $2 a month! I mostly read RSS on my iphone, and like you am a devotee of Reeder, so compatibility with that was a big plus. The interface is simple, too, much more streamlined and user-friendly than The Old Reader, which I also experimented with. The only slight gripe I have is that you have to click on each blog post to open it, instead of just being able to scroll through the unread posts from each folder or feed like you could in Google Reader. Minor gripe though!