Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Reader, part 4

Still doing this? Still doing this. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find an exact replica of Google Reader. I also don’t know why Google Reader is dying in the first place.

Next on the list is Netvibes.

Pros
---Can connect your Facebook and Twitter, among other things.
---You can organize your lists the way you want! I missed this about Reader.
---There are a lot of options for how you view it and settings in general.
---The next button actually makes sense (one of my complaints about Feedly).

Cons
---There’s no instant transfer from Reader like other sites. It’s a bit complicated, but you can transfer them over (I’ll explain in a bit).
---Honestly, it’s a bit complex to use. I have a feeling casual computer people (like me) won’t like that so much.

Really, this one isn’t bad at all. It works, unlike FeedReader, is less complex than Pulse, and has a few bonuses on Feedly. But is it better than our reigning champion? In my opinion, no, but it’s a close second. It’s a hair too complex for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, all those options are nice. I think if you’re a social media maven, you should definitely go with Netvibes over Feedly because of its ability to connect with your Twitter, Facebook and email. But if you only want a reader, yeah, stick with Feedly.

If you decide to go with Netvibes, here’s how you import your lists:
1. Go here and click on the link to Takeout for your data.
2. When the blocks on the right are at 100%, click Create Archive.
3. Once it’s done loading, hit Download and sign in with your password.
4. Once it’s downloaded to your computer, click it and save it somewhere you’ll remember (by default, it will most likely be under your Downloads file.
5. Go to Netvibes. Scroll down to “It’s just me” and click Get Started.
6. Sign in and pick something (Default or Social or one of those) to follow. Go to the upper right hand corner and hit Sign Up.
7. Go to “Add Content” in the upper left hand corner, then select Add a Feed.
8. Click Import, then Choose File. Go to where you saved your Takeout from Reader. Click the file, and keep going until you see an XML document that says Subscriptions. Select it, and your lists will appear on your Netvibes dashboard.

BAM!

4 comments:

  1. Because if there was an exact replica out there, it would be Google Reader, and, then, Google would get all mad and up in their faces.

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  2. Yea, a winner! I knew there had to be one out there (but was too lazy to do the research myself). I'll have to look into that one.

    Did you hear that someone combined a reader with Star Wars? (Quick internet search...) http://www.galacticbinder.com/pstar-wars-rss.html

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  3. Okay, this one sounds pretty cool. I do love me some social media.

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  4. Sounds like it has more potential...

    ReplyDelete

Please validate me.