Earlier this year, NewsGator decided to alter the way their RSS reader applications (NetNewsWire for the Mac, NetNewsWire for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and FeedDemon for Windows) work. They removed the ability to sync the status of your feeds using their own service as well as removing the ability to sync using MobileMe. If you’re interested in knowing more about the situation, you can check out this article that I wrote way back when. I’m not really writing this to convince you to stop using NetNewsWire. I just want to explain why I’m happy that I switched.
I began using Google Reader as my method of reading my feeds. It is fairly straight forward, but some people are uneasy with Google having any information about them. Luckily, I’m not one of those people. I used Fluid to create a dedicated application to display Google Reader. As a bonus, it also shows a badge in the dock that counts the unread messages. I find that very handy. For my iPod Touch, I just use the built-in bookmark to home screen feature in the OS. Whenever I tap the Google Reader icon, it launches the mobile version of the site in Safari.
I am very happy with my new setup. NetNewsWire was good, but NewsGator started going down a path that I wasn’t very happy with. I respectfully expressed my opinion to them via e-mail, and then I stopped using their product. It’s simple as that. We have choices galore, not only as Mac users, but as citizens of the Internet. Don’t hesitate to explore a little bit from time to time. You might just find something you like more than what you have now.
Photo Credit: CarbonNYC
