Useful internet software, websites and blogsites.: Get More Use Out Of Your RSS Feeds with Snackr

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Get More Use Out Of Your RSS Feeds with Snackr

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Get More Use Out Of Your RSS Feeds with Snackr

via MakeUseOf.com by T.J. Mininday on 20/11/08

RSS feeds have become the de facto standard for delivering massive amounts of content in a very simple to read and simple to understand format. Any website delivering daily, weekly or even monthly updates, and lacking a 'Really Simple Syndication'(RSS) feed, just isn't delivering what is becoming the most popular form of delivery.

Along with the RSS feed, have come several hundred readers, many promising different features and options, and many with several pros and cons. There is no doubt that Google Reader has become far and away the most popular of all of these readers, not only for its integration to your Google Account, but for its ease of use and excellent features as well. However, when it becomes overwhelmed with hundreds and thousands of articles, it becomes extremely cluttered and almost impossible to go through. That's where Adobe Air's Snackr RSS ticker solves this problem.

Snackr RSS Reader, is an incredibly handy, transparent ticker that continuously scrolls at the bottom, top, left or right part of your screen, delivering random items from all of your various RSS feeds. I've only been using it for a short time, and I am quickly finding out that it delivers many more items that I would probably glance over with a typical RSS reader.

The screenshot above only shows you a small portion of my screen. The ticker stretches across your entire screen, either horizontally or vertically, and is always scrolling at your preferred speed. It looks very similar to a sports or stock ticker from your preferred television news source. When you find an item you like, you simply click on it, and a small preview box appears with a link to the post or article itself.

The preferences are limited, but you pretty much get everything you need. You have the ability to speed up and slow it down as you please, move the ticker to your preferred location, remove items that have obtained a certain age, and also control if the ticker will remain in front of all windows.

Of course you also have the ability to manage your feeds, including importing via OPML file.

With all of its perks, there are a few options it lacks.

Surprisingly, it can only reside in your taskbar, not your system tray.

It needs some additional configuration for managing your feeds. Such as the ability to show only tech items, or news items.

It would also be nice if it integrated into your Google Reader or other online reader account, so you wouldn't have to manually update your feeds in both locations.

All together, this RSS reader/ticker is an incredibly useful tool for finding several different articles and posts, that you wouldn't normally find via Google or other RSS reader. It does require Adobe Air, and a incredibly simple installation, but once you get your feeds imported, it's smooth sailing from there.

Do you use Snackr? If so, what features would you like to see them include?

Written by T.J. Mininday - Techaholic, IT Field Engineer and Blogger for ConnectedInternet and TheWindowsFix.

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