2.1. Web-Based ApplicationsThe earliest, and still perhaps the most common, method of reading syndication feeds, the web-based application is a convenient way to stay up to date whereever you find yourself. It's especially good if you use more than one computer. In this section, when I talk about web-based applications, I mean applications hosted elsewhere, by other people. Applications that use your browser as the interface and sit on your local machine are in the next section. 2.1.1. BloglinesBloglines (http://www.bloglines.com) may not have been the first web-based aggregator, but it is certainly the most popular today (see Figure 2-1). It's free to use and very slick, offering email subscriptions, services for webloggers, and an interesting Application Programming Interface. Figure 2-1. Bloglines.com2.1.2. KinjaKinja (http://www.kinja.com; see Figure 2-2) is slightly different from most RSS and Atom applications in that it doesn't mention either standard anywhere. It is specifically designed to require no knowledge of the rest of this book, and it's free and tremendously easy to use. It's also, in my opinion, marvelously good looking. It has fewer features than Bloglines, however, especially for bloggers. Figure 2-2. Kinja.com2.1.3. Rocketinfo RSS ReaderAnother competitor in this space, Rocketinfo's RSS Reader (see Figure 2-3) is a free advertorial application for the Rocketinfo range of enterprise titles. It's also not as fully featured as Bloglines, but it does have a three-pane interface many people prefer. Figure 2-3. reader.rocketinfo.com |