RSS has changed the way content is consumed on the web. Almost every website worth it’s salt, and all blogs, including Geeky Ninja, use an RSS feed to distribute their content to the readers. Using an RSS reader
Google Reader is arguably the best and the most famous RSS reader around. The only problem is that it is a web based application. That wouldn’t really be a problem if everyone was connected 24×7 to the Internet, but if you’re not then you’re out of luck, since Google Reader doesn’t offer an offline mode, yet.
An offline mode isn’t the only thing that’s missing from Google Reader, though. A web based application run through a browser can generally not provide all the features that a desktop application can. Also, desktop applications generally are better integrated with the OS interface and thus, are easier to blend in with your workflow.
Gruml is one such Desktop application. It is a Desktop based Google Reader client that syncs with Google Reader and lets you read your RSS feeds offline.
Don’t let the Beta tag scare you. In my tests, I found Gruml to be pretty stable and, in fact, I’ve been using it as my only reader for the last couple of days and haven’t faced any crashes or other problems so far.
Gruml provides a familiar Mail.app type interface that should be easy to get used to for most users. The feeds and folders are listed on the left, the post headings in the top pane and the text in the bottom pane. You can, of course, move to a vertical three panes style if you prefer that.
Gruml also provides integration with a number of social networks and to share a post on those services, all you have to do is right-click and choose a service from the Send Article To menu.
Another thing that I really like about Gruml is that it tries to keep up with Google Reader as I’m reading. What that means is that all changes are sync’ed in real-time and there is no annoying Sync button to deal with. Most other clients require the user to sync manually by clicking a button or by having a default sync time set, but Gruml syncs with Google reader as you’re reading so what you see in Gruml is exactly what you’ll see in Google Reader.
In my opinion, Gruml is a nice basic feed reader that can stand on it’s own among the competition. I’m very satisfied with Gruml and am quite looking forward to them releasing a final version with even more killer features.
Which RSS reader do you guys use to read your feeds on the desktop ?
Programmer, blogger and a geek making a living shifting bits around the Internet. Sharninder is the owner of Geeky Ninja
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Ah, now my work becomes much easier!