Best free RSS readers
Top RSS reader is now free
FeedDemon has always been one of the best RSS readers, but it was a tad expensive. Not any more; the company has announced [1] that it is making the latest version available to home users for free. And it gets better. They are also making available their other consumer products free for private use as well, including NewsGator Go! for BlackBerry/Java. I've looked into it and there are no catches as far as I can see apart from the fact it only works with Internet Explorer. OK, support is now limited to forums, but you can hardly expect more. Thanks to regular contributor Leib Moscovitz for letting me know. Free for personal use, Windows 98 and later with IE6 and later, 3.8MB
[1] http://nick.typepad.com/blog/2008/01/free-demon-yes.html
[2] http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon/Default.aspx
[3] http://nick.typepad.com/blog/2004/05/hidden_feature_.html
New version of top free RSS reader
With the latest V2.13 release, BlogBridge, one of the top free standing RSS readers, just got even better. Despite the unimpressive looking version numbering, the 2.13 release is actually a major upgrade. The most important new feature is the addition of "Reading Lists" which are collections of items that you can share with others. Also new is a cleanup wizard, better synchronization across several computers plus a host of usability and interface improvements. If you haven't yet tried RSS, BlogBridge is a great way to investigate the medium without spending a cent. Free, Open Source, BlogBridge, Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux, 3.8MB.
http://blogbridge.com/
Free RSS reader for Outlook Express
I prefer accessing RSS through my browser but many folks prefer to integrate it with their email. If that's you then note that the excellent free aggregator "RSS Popper" is available for Outlook Express as well as Outlook. It's only an Alpha version but it worked fine on my test PC. It requires Outlook Express 6 or Outlook 2000 and later. Freeware, Windows 98 and later, 0.3MB.
http://rsspopper.blogspot.com/2004/10/home.html
Free RSS service
I've had a lot of email from readers asking my advice how to get into RSS. My suggestion is to use the free Newsgator web service [1] for a while. Being web based there's nothing to install so it's an easy, low hassle way to see if RSS works for you. If you get hooked, you can then try installing a free RSS client on your PC. And what's the best free RSS client? Well, since different folks have very different needs, there really isn't one. That said however, do try BlogBridge [2] and GreatNews [3] amongst others.
[1] http://www.newsgator.com/home.aspx
[2] http://www.blogbridge.com/
[3] http://www.curiostudio.com/