Although RSS (or Really Simple Syndication) has been around for about 10 years, there are still people who have no clue about what to do when told to “subscribe to a feed” – which is a shame really, as it’s the easiest way to keep an eye on those favourite web sites without having to actually visit them.
Wikipedia’s entry on RSS nails it – “RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.”
The excellent application NetNewsWire recently became a free download and is probably one of the most popular RSS readers for the Mac (TUAW featured a nice article a couple of weeks ago about NetNewsWire vs Vienna, both free).
NewsFire is maybe the best looking RSS reader, but is $25 for a single user license.
Of course, Google Reader is an online option for reading RSS feeds (using a web browser). There’s even a specially made version for the iPhone. Personally I’m all for readers that will let you read your favourites locally (ie without the need for being online). Just make sure to not subscribe to too many feeds, as the number of unread posts quickly can become overwhelming and defeat the whole purpose with keeping up-to-date…
