Replacing Google Reader with Fever (I Think)

Anyone who works with me knows I send out tidbits of info and links that folks may be interested in. I usually get these from one of two sources: Twitter or Google Reader.

I’ve been a user of Google Reader for a LONG time and I subscribe to somewhere around 100 feeds. I learn many things from my subscriptions. Google announced yesterday that Reader will go away on July 1. Not only does this take away my main access to my subscriptions, most other readers depend on Google Reader for syncing – so they’ll stop working too.

I did some research last night on how to replace it, and found two basic options:

  • On Mac, there’s a news reader that can sync on its own, not dependent on Google Reader: NetNewsWire. It’s free, with unobtrusive ads, or $14.95 to remove the ads. (Note that their iPad and iPhone readers use Google Reader to sync, so SOL there.)
  • If you have your own web server or host, you can run Fever, a php/mySQL app that syncs on its own. It also does some other cool stuff, and there are a few reader apps that can connect to your Fever. I got mine up and running in about 30 minutes last night.

Neither of these solutions is as simple and reliable as Google Reader, but at least they are in my control and won’t disappear on July 1. And they each have some features that Google Reader never offered.

This entry was posted in Technology, Weblog. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *