FireAnt is an RSS video aggregator and media player that can automatically download media content for you to watch and listen to. Features: plays back any media format; supports RSS 2.0 enclosures and Media RSS; BitTorrent is built-in; Yahoo video search is built-in; syncs with the iPod and Sony PSP; imports/exports OPML. Version 1.0.1.72 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.Editor's review of FireAnt This stylish video aggregator grabs online video based on searches or updates to a preloaded list of sites. FireAnt has an easy-to-comprehend interface with three vertical panes. The first presents a directory tree listing of sites and search phrases; the second, a list of updates and search results; and the third plays a selected video. FireAnt proves that a program can be both stylish and functional, as it responded quickly to all of our tests. We appreciate how quickly it opens to a full-window size when we click the panes tab. It performs both downloads and searches in a snap. Impatient downloaders will certainly appreciate the progression box that appears after clicking a video site or URL, letting them track the download percentage. Of note, parents of impressionable children will want to monitor their use of FireAnt. But anyone who wants to keep up to date on the Web's growing video world will like this easy-to-use utility.

Illumio is an advanced feed reader that filters news and blog feeds and shows you the articles that match your interests. Illumio is also social. You can ask questions to other illumio users that read the same RSS feeds that you do. The TRUSTe Trusted Download Program publishes a "whitelist" of certified applications. To be placed on the whitelist, downloadable software applications must demonstrate a commitment to protecting consumer privacy, security, and end-user control. Version 2.1 includes an RSS feed search engine along with UI and navigation improvements to make it even easier for you to subscribe to and quickly read the most interesting RSS feeds. This product is a TRUSTe Trusted Download.The TRUSTe Trusted Download Program publishes a "whitelist" of certified applications. To be placed on the whitelist, downloadable software applications must demonstrate a commitment to protecting consumer privacy, security, and end-user control. CNET Networks is an official sponsor of the Trusted Download Program.

NewsBliss is a real-time windows based desktop media streamer built on Media RSS. NewsBliss scrolls customized information and images across a user's desktop and displays summary information, images, and video in a drop-down window on mouse-over. NewsBliss provides great features and many associated benefits: scrolls feed thumbnails, multiple bands with unlimited number of feeds; import/export OPML plays Google and Youtube video directly in drop-down window. No need to go to respective Web site to view, feed authorization, individual or group feed refresh or updates. Search favorite search and social sites, add RSS feeds to groups, and display multiple bands at the same time. RSS IE auto-discovery, built on media RSS standard, play/pause and forward/reverse feed navigation, and position NewsBliss by Stick to Top, Stick to Bottom, Always on Top, Floating. Quick Feed, Stream YouTube, Flickr, Google News & Video, eBay by Tag, User or Top RSS feeds. Version 2.2.12 adds "refresh feed" command.

Is a screensaver that lets you subscribe to one up to 4 RSS feeds, The Screensaver loops through the list of RSS items and shows the contents of the feed in a very big font size. When the screensaver is active; use the left/right arrow keys to navigate between feeds, use the up/down arrow keys to navigate between feed items, use mouse to open a browser window with the current feed item. To view all feed items opened you must to quit screensaver.Version 7 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

RSS / PodCast and Dailymotion viewer, Organize, manage and download it. Noopod include the VLC media player, you can play all podcast file without QuickTime or media player codec. Noopod include a download manager, RSS directory and browser. You can listen podcast in streaming or download it with noopod download manager. Added support of Dailymotion video, see all video in fullscreen or download it. Add playlist manager and new design.Editor's review of Noopod This top-rated RSS reader comes with loads of useful features to quickly and efficiently download and manage your RSS feeds and podcasts.Noopod has a well-designed, intuitive interface with several colorful buttons across the top of the page for updating, adding, and deleting feeds. Click one of five tabs to view downloads, videos, a directory, and even search the Internet. Both options for adding a new entry--copying and pasting the URL or choosing a link from www.rss-one.com--are easy. We especially liked the Noodock feature that lets you close the main window and still listen to a feed via the expandable tab on the right side of your desktop. Impressively, during testing, it only took seconds to download a podcast with 52 separate files. Our only complaint is that the Services menu options are all in French. Regardless, we highly recommend this free RSS reader to users of all skill levels for its abundant features and great design.

GreatNews is a powerful RSS reader emphasising on usability. "Full-page" display makes RSS articles as easy to read as on newspaper. It can synchronize with Bloglines.

Bizz FeedLiner is definitely different from all the Feed Readers you may have seen up to now and this is not the only reason why it is for sure worth to try. Key new features include: News-Bar (Ticker) with rolling text an pop-up hints instead of the always jammed News-Box; ideal for presentations of leaflets, flyers and product catalogues; instead of earlier small banners you can now switch to full screen adverts; preloaded built-in catalogues and example feeds; access to Online worldwide Feed catalogue; allows full company branding; unique internal Feed Browser with template selection option; possibility to work with RSS but also with all the other XML files using embedded XSL templates system.Version 4.11.01 in addition to minor changes and bug fixes there is substantial enhancement of compataility with new Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7 beta 3.

A fast, simple and powerful RSS Feed Reader. By displaying a ticker on screen, like stock quotes, it will allow you to get news from multiple sources simultaneously. Easy configuration and 100% free. Presented by SafestMail, the helpful antispam for your e-mail.

Application for getting the latest news, sport, soccer, and cricket direct to your desktop. The software includes live feeds for news, sport, odd news, English premier league, champions league, and cricket scores. News feeds can be chosen from Europe, Australia, or the USA.Editor's review of Streaming Stats If you're tired of crawl bars or other intrusive RSS feed scrolls, you may find this neat little app to your liking.Streaming Stats is freeware geared toward sports feeds, but it also offers News and Odd News headlines. Its interface is a small box only about one-tenth the size of your monitor screen surrounded with static tabs that specify the feed types: News, Sport, Odd News, Champions League, Premier League, and Cricket. Options for feeds include Australian, U.S., and European sources, which explains the inclusion of the last three tabs. We were pleased with the small interface, which we could drag anywhere on our desktop, but we were disappointed that there was no way to minimize the app to the system tray.Streaming Stats performed well in our tests. The feed headlines scrolled upward in the vertical pane at the center of the tabs, and clicking a head quickly opened a browser window at the source site. The app opened sites with Internet Explorer instead of our default browser, so that's one other slight mark against it, but not a major one. And although the publisher doesn't list Vista as a compatible OS, Streaming Stats worked just fine on our Vista machine. Overall, we were pleased with this free app and its unobtrusive manner.

NewzCrawler is news reader and browser which provides access to a news content from different sources: RSS/ATOM feeds, Usenet newsgroups and Web. NewzCrawler includes podcast receiver and has built-in blog client. Synchronization feature allows to keep installations on several computers in the same state. Search engine and smart folders reduce information overload. NewzCrawler is a powerful and yet easy to use news aggregator for every day use. Adds smart folders, synchronization feature, podcast receiver, configurable toolbars and keyboard shortcuts, new newspaper styles, multi monitors support.Editor's review of NewzCrawler Of all the commercial RSS newsreaders we've reviewed, none beats NewzCrawler for its breadth of features, ease of use, and intuitive interface. The three-pane window displays channels on the left, headlines on the upper right, and an IE-based browser on the lower right. You can add newsfeeds by right-clicking the channel heading, using the pull-down menus, or dragging and dropping orange XML links to the channel window. NewzCrawler provides a huge number of features for RSS news gathering, along with extras such as integrated blogging tools, podcast reception, and the ability to instantly send stories by e-mail. The program comes loaded with sample feeds, and its autodetect feature can discover new ones as you browse. There's even a feed-addition wizard for beginners. Our only concern is that, because NewzCrawler uses the same underlying technology as Internet Explorer, it is vulnerable to the same security issues. Also, the ZIP file installer is a bit of a nuisance. Nevertheless, we wholeheartedly recommend NewzCrawler to beginning and advanced RSS hounds alike.

NewzSpider is a news aggregator that runs on your computer and downloads headers from your favorite news sites and blogs. It is flexible and very easy to use. NewzSpider supports all RSS standards (0.9x, 1.0, and 2.0) as well as the new ATOM format. And the best of all you can try it for free for as long as you wish.

NewzAlert Composer is a comprehensive RSS editor for creating and publishing RSS feeds. It brings together the editing and publishing of all your RSS feeds into one convenient place on your desktop. Builtin rapid data entry functionality makes entering information easy. Autocomplete remembers the last 5 values entered into most fields, allowing you to quickly add topics with a minimum of typing. In addition to this, NewzAlert Composer gives you the ability to easily duplicate existing topics and copy topics between feeds.

FeedBeast is a top of the line, up and coming desktop RSS reader for the Windows platform. It is built upon a powerful embedded database for extreme data-crunching power and is topped with an industry-leading intelligent user interface that will delight you with its ease of use and intuitiveness. Coupled with great feed-handling power and features like text-to-speech, e-mail synchronization, watchwords, and an integrated support forum, FeedBeast is the first in its class in power and simplicity, with the sheer speed of a desktop application for all of your feed-hungry needs. FeedBeast is also a great way to get started with RSS, from its simple one-click feed subscription and insta-discovery to a powerful array of features that you can grow with. With new features being added all the time, and the next major version already in the works, FeedBeast is not only a wise choice to adopt as your personal RSS reader now, but a sound investment in the future as well.Version 1.5 features completely rewritten engine and redesigned user interface for maximum usability and convenience.

MOSTZ RSS Live Edition fast to feed the xml (RSS : Really Simply Syndication). For this version in the program has been include special function (My Alert). The user can be use My Alert function for alert personal message in every days, and select alert sound (mp3, wma, wav, mid) by self. MOSTZ RSS: Live Edition collect news in the background at user configurable intervals and warn with a little popup in the system tray that there is a new message arrived. You can click the news headline to see a short description of the news and click or open the original news Web page in your default browser program. Version build 3.1.7 Fast RSS feed (Freeware license).

In the ever growing world of media publishing, the launch of branded news readers is a radical innovation. This unobtrusive application will bring Web links, news, video clips and podcast directly to the end users desktop. The concept is based on the demystification of the RSS format, read, manage and archive your rss, rdf and Atom feeds comfortably and easily. We made the software interface as simple and easy to use as possible. This is the new wave of instantaneous synchronized news update from your favorite Web sites. This version is the first release on CNET Download.com. Editor's review of Netsplorer This headline crawl offers a nice change of pace from the run-of-the-mill interfaces on most RSS feeds. Netsplorer adds an unobtrusive bar to the top of your screen (it will minimize to your system tray, but we weren't able to drag the maximized bar to any other location), where it displays headlines from your selected RSS news sources as a crawl. If you want more than just the headline, you can click that title to quickly open the source news page in your default browser. The program displayed no problems in performance. The bells and whistles are minimal, but the options that are available were all we really needed. We were able to adjust the speed of the crawl easily, as well as its transparency, background color, and font. Adding and removing feeds also was a snap. Netsplorer worked fine under XP, but we couldn't get it up and running under Vista, despite the publisher's remarks. All the same, anyone interested in trying a different sort of interface for his or her RSS feeds should give this free, easy-to-use headline crawl a chance.

Using Google RSS News you have access to the last news updates of many topics, from brief reviews to complete notes from your desktop at any moment. Google RSS channels allow you to have immediate access to the last news and alerts with no need to access the Web page. Available topics: World, your country, Business, Science & technology, Sports, Entertainment, Health, Most popular, Top Stories. Features includes customized news finder, language and country selection, automatic lunch with Windows, automatic load a specified topic, tray icon minimization, and save news content (HTML and text format). Editor's review of Google RSS News While you won't get a lot of extras with this simple RSS reader, it does give you quick access to updates from the popular search engine. Google RSS News' simple yet functional interface features an easy-to-use drop-down menu to choose among such topics as business, sports, and entertainment. Selecting a topic displays a long list of related headlines for quick browsing. One click on a headline of interest opens a new window with an excerpt and links from the full article. There's even a search field to pinpoint a specific headline topic. The configuration menu makes it a snap to install desktop and Start menu shortcuts, and you can indicate your home country to make the feeds more relevant. There's a proxy to get around a firewall or you can simply let Google RSS News autodetect your settings. We liked the easy-to-use option to choose a default topic that automatically displays related headlines each time you run the program. The reader can be positioned anywhere on your desktop, but it disappears under other windows when you aren't using it. The program is small and doesn't need installation. It would have been nice if it included extras like the option to e-mail stories to friends. Even so, users looking to stay abreast of the latest news will appreciate this freeware's efficiency.

KlipFolio is the world's smallest and most configurable personal dashboard. It can be used to monitor anything online, such as weather, stocks, Hotmail, news, RSS feeds and even auctions, right on the desktop. With KlipFolio, you don't have to give up your desktop to stay on top of what matters to you. And with over 4000 Klips available for download---all small, resizable, customizable and skinnable---you're sure to find exactly what you need to stay ahead of, well, everyone. Version 4.0.1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.Editor's review of KlipFolio If you want a quick and easy way to get RSS newsfeeds, weather, and stock information, Serence KlipFolio is a great place to start. The small interface lets you look at headlines from selected news sources called Klips. The program includes a few preloaded Klips, and you can download hundreds more from the publisher's Web site. The interface displays headlines in an attached window that you can mouse over for news summaries. If you're interested in a particular news item, just click the headline to open the story in a browser window. When you're done, you can either quit the program or minimize it to the taskbar for easy access. You can configure the colors and appearance of KlipFolio and create Klips for any newsfeed--something that in previous versions required a trip to the publisher's Web site. Some may find the interface too small, but Serence KlipFolio ought to satisfy most news hounds.

YeahReader is a program for reading news feeds in RSS, RDF and Atom formats, and podcasts. The program provides all basic RSS reader functionality such as a convenient feed update system, proxy support, and pop-up update notification. Besides this, YeahReader has such features as built-in blog client that will allow you to quickly write messages to your LiveJournal, Blogger, WordPress or Delicious blog, OPML and support.Editor's review of YeahReader This newsreader combines simplicity and power in an attractive package, but we encountered a couple of small drawbacks during testing.YeahReader automatically installs, and requires minimal user input during setup, making it perfect for novices. Its interface isn't ostentatious, but the simplicity of its three-pane design means users aren't overwhelmed by a clutter of buttons and menu commands. While the help feature is limited, the program's look and feel promotes intuitive use.The reader pane includes a Maximize/Minimize button appropriate for easily reading a full Web page of news. Adding (and removing) RSS and Atom feeds is quickly performed: simply supply a URL, and the program will detect the newsfeed link automatically. Only in one instance during our testing was the program unable to successfully link to a news site's feed. Our only other complaint rose from clicking a link to view a video feed: in launching the video, YeahReader overrode our default browser to open Internet Explorer.The drawbacks are relatively minor, but potential users should consider them before deciding on this program. Despite its slight flaws, we recommend this free program to any level user wanting a very simple-to-use, powerful newsreader.

IntraVnews lets you keep up with hundreds of blogs and Web sites by posting RSS and Atom news items directly into your Outlook folders. With IntraVnews, RSS is as easy and secure as e-mail but without spam. Note:

Bitscast is an RSS reader/database/aggregator and a podcast receiver/player. It handles all news feeds in RSS 0.9, 1.0, 2.0, ATOM 0.3 and 1.0; provides advanced supports for multiple channels, subscription lists, and channel/list management; supports OPML import/export and RSS feed auto-detection. Bitscast also includes media (audio/video software image) auto-downloader and local cache management; podcast/video blog playback/cache, BitTorrent attachment downloader; and database query tool, supported by Microsoft JET engine. Version 0.13 added DHT support for BitTorrent client.

Search smarter. Save and organize favorite Web pages in tabs so you don't have to look for them again and again. Optimal Desktop gives you three layers of tabs for quick browsing, saving and organizing of favorite Web pages and RSS feeds. Optimal Desktop Tabs make it possible to get to any of your favorites with three clicks or less. Optimal Desktop runs on Internet Explorer and includes pop-up blocker and password recorder.Editor's review of Optimal Desktop This browser caters to mobile users who want fast access to their Internet favorites, RSS feeds, files, and folders from one interface. Though the interface is a bit cluttered, it gets the job done, and it includes a number of useful preset "favorite" tabs (creating custom tabs is a snap). Optimal Desktop also includes a Layout States menu that gives you numerous options for viewing your files; for example, you can browse your hard drive and the Web side by side, or change the size and location of the tabs and windows. The browser, based on Internet Explorer, blocks annoying pop-up windows, stores passwords for folders and files, and can be launched from removable drives. Handy tutorials that help you figure out terminology such as Cabinet, Drawer, and State partly make up for the unintuitive menus and navigation. Although Optimal Desktop faces tough competition from established browsers, mobile users might find it handy for taking their browsing on the road.

WorldFlash Gold is a personal news and information agent. Customize the extensive preloaded list of prestigious content sources and watch as relevant headlines are delivered in an elegant stream to you desktop. Preloaded sources include global, regional and local news, stock news and a stock ticker, business, high-tech, finance, science, medicine, sports and weather. Track new email messages from up to 12 email accounts. Whats more, you can add RSS sources in any language. Use RSS to track blogs, keyword topics, industries, companies, auctions, job listings and more. And as if that wasnt enough, you can customize your breaking news alerts and the robust keyword alert system. Specify the news delivery order, save headlines for later viewing and age content to only see the freshest, latest news stream on your desktop. When minimized, click to view all the headlines and breaking news on a full page. Synchronize your preference for multiple IT installations, or for multiple computers.Version M7.68 includes plenty of new features and options.Editor's review of WorldFlash News Ticker Gold If the McLaughlin Group bores you and CNN Headline News is more your speed, WorldFlash News Ticker Gold may be the news application for you. Based on your choice of about 200 RSS feeds, it displays a scrolling readout of stock quotes, weather, and the latest headlines. The demo lets you add only three feeds of your own, but we appreciated features such as stock-price alerts and keyword-based news monitoring. It's easy to drag the ticker backward or forward to read a missed headline or skip ahead. You also can mark news articles for later. Also, though the default split-pane view of the ticker is hard to read, switching to the TV-Ticker Display solves the problem. We disliked the intrusive installation process, which asks for an e-mail address and other personal information, but overall, WorldFlash News Ticker Gold is a reasonable choice for monitoring stock quotes or keeping up with a few news sites.

Newsplorer is a fully skinnable RSS reader that supports all the major news-syndication formats available today. You can add an unlimited number of news sources and group them by category. Now you can bookmark it using the integrated online bookmarking service del.icio.us extension and read it anytime. Version 1.1 build 31 has extension: del.icio.us integration; Memory leaks removed; Use permalink where available; Upgrading issues with run-on-startup; Added import OPML from file.Editor's review of Newsplorer If the sight of a CNN news ticker makes your heart pitter-pattter, Newsplorer may be the RSS client for you. Once you've chosen news feeds from your favorite sites, it runs the headlines across your screen in a tickerlike interface. Mousing over a headline makes the ticker stop and display a small window so that you can read a brief summary--a feature we really appreciated. If you want to read more, just click the headline and the full story will open in your default Internet browser. Another nice touch is Newsplorer's Pause button, which makes a group of headlines stay on your screen. However, we did wish Newsplorer offered a standard two- or three-pane interface in addition to the ticker. Also, the configuration menu is a bit confusing, with colors that block out your selections when highlighted; we quickly made sense of it, though. Customizing your own feeds is as easy as choosing the category and adding an XML link from your favorite site. You even can download skins from the developer's home page. In the end, your liking for Newsplorer will probably depend on how much you enjoy getting your headlines from a scrolling ticker. Fans of the cable-news style will find this program a fine way to stay on top of the news.

eRSS Reader is a RSS newsreader that instantly alerts you of the latest updates to RSS news feeds, blogs, and podcasts. Safe and secure, content is delivered right to your desktop in real-time. eRSS Reader's easy to use tri-panel design allows you to add or remove RSS, Atom, or Podcast feeds at any time. You can set the reader to alert you with a pop-up Window the instant that any feed is updated. eRSS Reader also synchs with your iPod and allows you to view podcasts and other media files. Editor's review of eRSS Reader For news and podcast junkies, an RSS reader has become a tool as indispensable as a Web browser. eRSS Reader is a bare-bones but simple program for subscribing to and managing this kind of syndicated content. Adding or deleting a news channel such as a blog or podcast is a breeze, and the software subsequently notifies a user whenever a new article or item is posted. Users can search for newsfeeds and view full article texts without quitting the program, or create search folders that display articles based on keywords. The program also syncs with iPods. On the minus side, the software doesn't allow users to customize how articles are displayed. Nevertheless, we recommend the program to news junkies addicted to instant updates from their favorite Web sites.

MedReader is an RSS Reader and RSS Search Engine for Medical & Healthcare Professionals. The Business Edition is built specifically for Managers, Directors, and other Executives that are looking to save time and manage their content better. Through MedReader, a consolidated list of resources is provided to bring World News, National News, and Business specific information directly to your desktop. Instead of spending hours to find the necessary information, MedReader delivers it to you. You will be able to search for more xml feeds, read blogs, and listen to podcasts through this easy to use application. Additionally, anytime a site is updated, you will be updated through a simple alert system so that the most recent news is readily available. MedReader uses persistent search technology and spam free resources to save you more time and effort. Manage your content better with MedReader.

Blog Navigator is a fast and easy-to-use program for browsing blog sites. It uses RSS feeds as its input and supports many types of sites. It also includes features for reading blogs offline, as well as putting different blog sites together to create your own customized browsing preferences.Editor's review of Blog Navigator Though some of the included feeds may come off as too political for certain users, Blog Navigator stands as a solid way to track your favorite blogs and newsfeeds. Upon launching this program, you can tell it's of good quality due to its excellent design. A slick-looking, three-paned interface makes it easy to locate preloaded Weblogs, check for headlines of interest, and view picks in a fancy, tabbed navigation window. Adding news sites and blogs is easy, requiring you simply to right-click and paste the XML feed found on most major news sites. The application's navigation window is head-and-shoulders above most competitors, offering its own browsing buttons, zoom capabilities, and the ability to view stories in Newspaper form (essentially an easy-to-read list of stories). This newsreader is great once you get past the in-your-face politics of some of the included feeds, as well as the ones that tout the developer's other products. That said, Blog Navigator's excellent navigation scheme and multitude of useful tools will help you get your news quickly and in style.

BlogMatrix Jager is an extensible, one-panel RSS, blog, and newsreader designed for speed and ease of use. The application takes only a small amount of screen real estate and uses a browser to display blog entries. Version 1.4.3 fixes the bug where the entry text was not being displayed in the Preview.Editor's review of BlogMatrix Jager This newsreader focuses primarily on blogs but can be a useful RSS reader, as well as a way to track changes on static sites. BlogMatrix Jager launches a window on the left side of your screen and automatically resizes your browser to fit snugly to the right. Upon launch, the program asks what included feeds you would like to display. We suggest you add them all so you won't have to create categories for your personal feeds later. From there, you can browse from a huge list of Weblogs and news items, read brief summaries, and go to the Web site if something interests you. We like the ease of browsing news sites, as well as the ability to set the time interval when checking for updates. Displaying the titles of the last five entries for our favorite Weblogs is a great perk, but our favorite feature is this application's ability to automatically add a new link to the list. Quickly dragging and dropping a link to the window makes BlogMatrix Jager find every URL (including RSS feeds) and lets you decide which ones to keep by checking the appropriate boxes. The only drawback we noticed was the absence of a dedicated viewing window. This app's comprehensive list of included feeds and automation capabilities makes it easy to recommend it to anyone looking for a convenient way to view headlines and Weblogs.

John Kerry for President NewsReader is the best way to keep up on the most recent information on the Democratic contender for President. The reader is a Macromedia Flash application that sits in your icon tray and can be zoomed to full screen for easy reading. Whenever there's new information from the Kerry blog, the icon will flash in your icon tray. The reader contains about 40 up-to-the-minute feeds from various authors. We will be adding feeds as the campaign progresses. The reader is feature-rich and includes information you cannot find in any other newsreader. Some of the features include an election countdown clock, the time and date, and worldwide weather. On or about July 29, the reader will morph with new graphics and feeds as the Democratic Central Committee takes the reigns of the campaign and a vice-presidential nominee has been chosen.Editor's review of John Kerry for President NewsReader This Flash-powered newsreader lets you view RSS feeds relating to John Kerry's presidential run but mostly serves to demonstrate the developer's technology. The red, white, and blue interface offers a countdown till election day, several tabs for navigation, and category and feed listings that open your default Web browser. You can choose from several categories relating to major campaign topics, political humor, and Yahoo Groups about Kerry. The tabs let you quickly go to the contribution site, volunteer, and locate places to meet other supporters in your area. We found the newsreader technology smooth and great for focused, tailored subjects such as this one. However, because the reader has such a narrow focus, you can't add your own feeds or change the existing list. The company is very clear that it does not endorse John Kerry and that the newsreader merely demonstrates its technology. Overall, we found the app to be good at what it does (especially if you're a Kerry supporter), but as a newsreader, you can find something else with more options and features.

If you're like most people, you have at least a few web sites that you go to on a regular basis. Whether it be BBC World News, Wired or Slashdot, there's a wealth of information out there, constantly changing. Awasu is a free Windows news-reader that runs in the background on your computer and monitors these sites for you. When it sees that something new has appeared, it will let you know. Awasu will also keep track of what you have already read which saves you even more time since you no longer need to search through your favorite sites for new stories.

AmphetaDesk is a free, cross-platform, open-source, syndicated news aggregator. It sits on your desktop, downloads the latest news that interests you, and displays it in a quick, easy-to-use, and customizable Web page. With thousands of channels available, AmphetaDesk can shave hours off your day--and you'll look smart to all your friends.

Tristana RSS Reader is an RSS newsreader that instantly alerts you of the latest news, blogs, and podcasts all right at your desktop. Safe, secure, SPAM-proof content is delivered right to your PC in real-time without e-mail. Tristana's simple 3-panel interface allows you to add or remove RSS or Atom feeds at any time. You can set preferences to be alerted with a pop-up window the instant that content changes at a Web site. Tristana also synchs with your iPod and allows you to view podcasts and media files. Built-in Ping service allows you to submit your feed instantly to RSS feed search engines. Version 5.0.0.45 updates feeds with dynamic urls and lets you permanently change feed names.

Mighty Ticker is an RSS ticker. The clean and elegant desktop news ticker enables online, personalized RSS news feeds from Web sites selected and controlled by the user. Information from your news sources is discreetly scrolled on your PC desktop while you work or play. For those of us who need streamlined news feeds, Mighty Ticker is the answer. Mighty Ticker captures and displays streamlined data at the speed of the Net. Why is this beneficial? Because the tool carves out just the information you want from a mountain of data availed by the Internet. Forget about specialized programming, additional fees, and trying to kluge something together, Mighty Ticker does it for you. Version 1.1.42 is the first freeware release of the product.

Stay up to the minute on current events as well as breaking news on the topics that interest you most. NewsAloud finds the stories you want to hear, then reads them aloud or to MP3 for your PDA or portable player. Supports optional premium voices from AT&T, Cepstral and NeoSpeech. Version 1.3 adds full Vista Support.Editor's review of NewsAloud NewsAloud generates an audio version of the newsfeeds it grabs from the Web each day, but just don't expect a flawless rendering. The interface is functional, but not much to look at--it features one large pane with a row of buttons along the top. The icons on the buttons are a bit amateurish and their uses weren't clear until contextual help popped up to explain their purpose. Selecting news sources from a preloaded list was very easy, as was adding sources not on the list. When we selected a headline, the tools voice began to read the story. Disappointingly, the flow wasn't very smooth, some of the words were jumbled, and the audio sometimes skipped words and ran over itself. Although the utility offers options for selecting different voices, NewsAloud used the same feminine voice no matter which option we chose. There's some sort of novelty in hearing the newsfeeds, but the audio generation for this application has some bugs. It's worth a try for fun, but users might want to consider it twice before spending money on this tool.

Desktop Buddy is a 3D character that acts as a friendly companion while you're at your computer. Your Buddy will remind you of all those important tasks that you need to do. Your Buddy will read ebooks and Web pages to you while you work. Subscribe to your favorite RSS and Atom feeds and your Buddy will keep you informed of the latest news items. You can choose between male and female characters. The software uses voice synthesis engines on your computer to generate the Buddy's speech. Desktop Buddy is a Java Web Start application. This means that it is easy to install and ensures that you receive updates automatically. To run Desktop Buddy, you must have Java 5 or above installed on your computer.Version 2.0.3 adds minor enhancements.Editor's review of Desktop Buddy Desktop Buddy is an uncommon RSS reader that touts itself as a friendly computer companion, but we found it to be more of a nuisance than a help. You'll need to have Java 5 or above for the program to work. Once installed, a window appears on your desktop featuring a 3D face. The trial only offers the choice of two characters--male or female--and one voice option. It does let you easily select one of seven facial expressions, and you can change the window's background color. Clicking the Read Text option opens a separate window where you can type your own text, open a file, or paste text from the clipboard. The Syndication Feeds option gives you two easy ways to add feeds. Desktop Buddy read text accurately for us, but the trial version's single voice option was choppy and unappealing. The Tasks option reminds you of important errands or to-do items, but this promising feature didn't work as expected. We received the reminder only after we exited and re-entered the program. Finally, on several occasions, our computer froze, requiring us to manually shut down the program. Desktop Buddy has the right idea, but it doesn't seem quite ready for market.

Get timely, customized information from the Web sites you choose delivered right to your browser, absolutely free. Use RSS Headline Toolbar to be the first to know about the latest Internet deals before they sell out. See headlines from your favorite news sources or see headlines from your favorite blogs all conveniently delivered to a compact, convenient toolbar in your Internet Explorer or FireFox browser. Use RSS Headline Toolbar to stay current on a wide variety of content from leading Web providers like ABC News, Yahoo News, Google News, BBC News, Reuters, Wired, News.com. Use RSS Headline Toolbar to keep up with headlines from your favorite Web sites without going through the trouble of managing a full-fledged RSS reader. At any time, click a button in the toolbar to launch the full article associated with a headline, including article illustrations. Headlines from your favorite Web sites are continuously updated at a configurable time interval. Version 1.2 reads more feeds.Editor's review of RSS Toolbar RSS Headline Toolbar This RSS reader brings the latest headlines directly to your browser, but it fails Internet Explorer users. To access RSS Toolbar RSS Headline Toolbar, you'll need to register with an e-mail address and password. Some testers found they couldn't get past the New Users link in IE, but it worked fine in Firefox. The configuration page comes preloaded with RSS feeds, but you can easily delete those you don't want. You also can quickly add your own feeds by copying and pasting the URL into the text box. It's a simple process to choose the number of feeds to display per page, but we couldn't get the feature to automatically scroll feeds after a select amount of time to work. The toolbar features two drop-down menus--one to select a feed and the other to choose a specific headline. A nondescript button to the right of the menus takes you directly to the corresponding Web page. However, it just opens in your current window instead of launching the story in a new window, and you can't alter this default setting. Firefox users may appreciate this freeware reader toolbar, but IE users should look for a toolbar that will definitely work with their chosen browser.

FastTrackNews is a free portable RSS feed reader and news aggregator. The program reduces the time and effort needed to regularly check mass media Websites for updates and can be used as news and blog browser. Once subscribed to a feed, FastTrackNews is able to check for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update. You can easily organize news channels in a fully customizable tree structure and browse actual news articles using built-in or external Web browser. FastTrackNews uses a Web feed to retrieve syndicated news given in XML-based formats (Atom, and RSS), rapidly downloads news articles from various Web sources in background and displays them in comfortable customizable views. The program supports password protected feeds, has the ability to expire news items so they get deleted after a certain amount of days. FastTrackNews is simple and easy to use, offers a no-nonsense Outlook Express-like user interface. Editor's review of FastTrackNews FastTrackNews fails to impress when there seems to be almost as many RSS feed readers as there are RSS feeds. The primary problem with this freeware is its manual approach, as it lacks the function to auto-discover feeds. The program's standard tri-pane interface is split into feed list, site headline list, and entry display. Without a help file, novice users might get a little frustrated before getting the program to work.Unlike more polished programs that automatically detect Web site feeds, you'll have to do all of the work to uncover the appropriate feed URL. FastTrackNews often failed to find the feed URL, even when the Web page displayed the standard prominent orange RSS icon. We had to locate the feed URL in our regular browser window, then copy and paste it to the feed reader. Feeds downloaded well, but the viewing window often fails to display the whole article. That is unfortunate as our testers received some error messages using the function to open articles in a new browser window.FastTrackNews is still rough around the edges. In a genre with so many good programs, we can't recommend this freeware app to any user.

The RSS Feeds Toolbar monitors RSS feeds and displays the latest headlines from the feeds in an Internet Explorer toolbar. The headlines are updated at a configurable time interval. A button in the toolbar launches the full article associated with a headline. The toolbar is not a full-featured RSS reader. It just makes it easier to stay up to date. For example, instead of navigating to the home pages of 10 news sources 10 times a day, you can just add the corresponding RSS feeds to the toolbar and get all the latest news inside the Internet Explorer. The toolbar works well with RSS feeds that are continuously updated and include publication date and time for each news item. Not all RSS feeds fall into this category. Version 1.2.01 support for Unicode feeds. Editor's review of RSS Feeds Toolbar for Microsoft Internet Explorer In the world of instant news cycles and proliferating blogs, a good RSS newsreader can be a necessity. This download is aimed at people who aren't looking for a full-blown reader, but still want to keep up on the latest headlines. It installs as a toolbar for Internet Explorer, and then displays the latest 25 headlines from a user's RSS feeds. However, even with these limited aims, we have some concerns. It provides no way of reading article abstracts, instead opening the entire article if a user clicks a headline. The interface lacks a few obvious features, like an automatic way to subscribe to a page's newsfeed by clicking an RSS link. The program also suffers from a few stability issues, including freezing for about 10 seconds when adding a new link. The download may be well-suited to people who want to follow a few feeds without leaving IE, but anyone who spends much time with RSS will want a more powerful tool.

i-Fetch is a feed reader and information aggregation program developed by Ideafarms. It enables you to read various RSS feeds on your desktop, so that you can get information from various sources on a single interface. i-Fetch allows you to keep watch of the articles that contains specific keywords. When you find any article of interest, you can put that into your archive for future reference.

Active Web Reader is a free RSS feed reader. Browse feeds, Web, and search RSS headlines. Advanced auto discovery identifies new feeds as you browse. Small and extremely fast. Active Web Reader s has an excellent interface which makes it easy to view and read your RSS feeds. Control all RSS feed properties including the update frequency. It notifies you when updates a occur. A unique instant e-mail feature allows you to send any interesting article you find while browsing to friends with a single click of the mouse. You can also monitor Web sites changes. It will highlight the exact content that was changed on the Web page. Now you can easily import your favorite Web sites and automatically monitor them for changes. Active Web Reader includes a few interesting feeds and a RSS pop-up blocker. Version 2.49 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

RealTime is a free desktop toolbar, news reader and screensaver that brings up-to-the-minute personalized information and images to the desktop. The program integrates with Web browsers to give users one-click access to their favorite stocks, weather, news, and blogs directly from their desktop. The screensaver rotates through favorite headlines along with their accompanying photos or images. When a user visits a favorite Web site, the RealTime toolbar automatically displays which feeds are available from that Web site.Editor's review of RealTime Real's simple syndication RealNetworks' program that collects news and newsfeeds will be a strong contender in the RSS aggregator arena, but only after the bugs are ironed out. The toolbar interface can be docked to any side of your desktop or as a browser toolbar. Most of your options and feed lists are located at the RealTime Web site via your chosen browser. As you surf the Internet, RealTime detects feeds and offers the ability to add selected feeds to your list. The toolbar is also configurable to scroll or fade-in headlines from a selected category (such as Top Stories, News, or Sports). A quick glance lets you determine if a particular news item is worth exploring.We like the toolbar interface and find the automatic feed detector to be a welcome feature. The Web-based interface at the RealTime site is also easy to understand and well designed. Unfortunately, we ran into several problems while trying to use RealTime's features. Often the program wouldn't detect feeds we knew to exist, including those at CNET Download.com. Other times, when we would attempt to add an existing feed, RealTime would tell us we already had the feed in our list when a subsequent check proved that was not the case. Overall, we think the RealTime combination of desktop toolbar and Web-based interface will eventually be an excellent way to receive and organize your newsfeeds. However, until the bugs are fixed it is difficult to recommend it over other newsreaders.

Aardvark Homepage Creator allows you to see all of the headlines from your favorites sites whenever you log onto the Internet, through an easy to use interface. This program allow you to quickly make homepages for Internet Explorer that let you see the news headlines from sites that you want to keep up to date with. It also comes complete with a directory of RSS feeds, as well as the ability to search Google, know the time and date, as well as having an easy to view to do list on your homepage. And now with version 1.1, you can get local weather forecasts from anywhere in the world - right on your homepage.Editor's review of Aardvark Homepage Creator While there's nothing stylish about this newsfeed aggregator, it gets the job done. This application builds a home page with headline links to online news sources you select from a preloaded list or by manually adding them. Aardvark Homepage Creator's interface is boxy and unpolished, almost in the realm of antidesign (or, in a forgiving mood, we might call it digital folk art). The home page it produces is similarly unadorned with just a window that includes text-link headlines and the title of their respective sources. The preloaded sources are all from the United Kingdom, but selecting and adding news sources is easy to do. The application responded quickly each time we clicked a new link, but the home page refreshed very slowly, even though it carried only text and no graphics. We found that the application only worked with IE and we had to enable the "allow active content to run in files on My Computer" option before it would function properly. If content is more important to you than stylishness, this news aggregator may be just for you. But for experienced users accustomed to more bells and whistles, this application doesn't make the grade.

Freeware application for getting the latest news, sport and World Cup 2006 direct to your desktop. The software is free of charge and includes live feeds for news, sport and World Cup 2006 including your team news. You can choose from the 32 competing nations and get live news and scores all day.

Retrieves the weather from local and worldwide places. This software is totaly free and it is based on RSS feeds from Yahoo.com weather section. Search by a city name worldwide, or a zip code (US only). Version 5.3.1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

Xm2Rss is a small program that lets a user of Gmail check his/her mail without having to be logged in through their Web browser. The program sits in the bottom right hand corner of the user's screen and constantly checks to see whether the user has new mail or not. If they do, the user can then click on the tab that tells them how many new messages they have and it will automatically log them into their Gmail account.Version 0.1.2.4 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.Editor's review of Xm2Rss Lite The publisher bills this program as a Gmail notifier replacement. While we admire its bravery in taking on Google with a little slingshot of an application, Xm2Rss Lite doesn't bring down the Internet giant. The interface is simple enough; just enter your Gmail log-in info and the program sits on your system tray to alert you to new mail. Sounds familiar, right? It is. Xm2Rss Lite is designed to eliminate the need to log in through a browser. You also can review the number of messages you have and immediately go to your in-box. Ditto for Google's version. They're both free. The only difference is that you can tell right off the bat what the Gmail notifier does. Xm2Rss Lite sounds so very Web 2.0, but we'd nearly always pick clarity over cleverness if we had to choose. You won't find Xm2Rss Lite to be better than its Google counterpart, nor is it worse. Gmail users looking for an upgrade to the Gmail notifier should pass on this program; it's a lateral move at best. If you don't have a desktop notifier for your Google e-mail account, it's probably better to stick with the name brand.

RSS Xpress is a freeware allowing to read RSS feeds versions 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, 1.0, 2.0.1, and atoms. The application includes the essential functionalities for using RSS feeds and even more: very easy interface but complete possibility to organize your feeds in folders; new messages are saved locally so that you can browse them offline; you are informed about new messages by a pop-up windows and a sound; possibility to import and export feeds in the OPML format; search engine to find easily old messages in your feeds; auto-update; tab-browsing navigation; possibility to customize the application; compatible with feeds protected with username and password; support proxies.Editor's review of RSS Xpress This RSS reader is quick and simple to use, but there's nothing here that sticks out among the hundreds of other RSS readers available. RSS Xpress has a familiar, user-friendly appearance, with a minimal number of buttons for adding, updating, and opening feeds. Using the program is simple, although we had some difficulty selecting specific feeds from a preloaded list; we could select the feed, but we couldn't add it to the My Feeds list. The publisher's Web site and most of the preloaded feeds are in French; but adding feeds is simply a matter of pasting a URL into the appropriate field. This reader performed quickly, and other than the couple of aforementioned issues, using it was a simple matter. Even so, we can't rouse much excitement about RSS Xpress because there are other RSS readers available with more robust feature sets.

RssFeedEater is a RSS Reader (aka News Aggregator) for Windows. It can gather information from sites that offer syndicated contents (RSS or ATOM) and presents them in a powerful hierarchical interface. To add a new feed in RSSFeedEater just copy the link and then you won't need to check directly if a site or a blog has been updated because RssFeedEater will do this for you, downloading any new headlines. No additional software libraries required; can be installed on a portable device (USB Dongle) and used on multiple PCs without requiring multiple installs. Support for both RSS and Atom formats. It is an easy way to organize your subscriptions hierarchically in categories. Support for import and export in opml format; full support to HTML formatted feeds; Pre configured with many popular feeds; Let you send a news via email; Let you publish a news in Blogger.com; implements a basic AdBlock filter to improve readability of advertisements overloaded sites. Version 1.3.0.2 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.Editor's review of RssFeedEater With the huge number of RSS newsreaders now on the market, a program has to be particularly elegant to stand out. RssFeedEater does its basic job well, but it doesn't reach that high-water mark. It reads and manages RSS feeds from blogs and news sites smoothly, downloading new headlines, providing notifications of new articles, and allowing users to browse full text without leaving the program. However, it doesn't offer ways to customize how articles are displayed, and does not provide keyword search tools that would let a user gather information from several feeds at once. The program should be enough for undemanding RSS readers, but computer users who want more advanced features should look elsewhere.

Plug-in for Google Desktop those shows quote of-the-day or other RSS-formatted feeds. Requires Google desktop (http://desktop.google.com/) and provides data from one or more RSS links. User can configure RSS feeds or use default one that will show inspiring quotes from quotations page Web site.

Custom Reader is a free fully customizable RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Windows application. It is fully brandable for any Web site. You control the look and feel of the reader to suit the needs of your business. RSS 2 Enclosure support allows you to download podcasts and other various applications, with auto download resume. Save time by letting the latest news come to you by subscribing to 100s of RSS channels. This latest vertsion includes a classic browser view that most people are used to. The application supports HTTP and Get Authentication to enable you to subscribe to secure channels. Version 1.53 supports saving Feeds to a bookmark site.Editor's review of Custom Reader If you're looking for a personal newsreader, Custom Reader isn't for you. It's an RSS platform that marketers can customize with feeds and distribute as a privately branded package. Will end users run such a program? We're doubtful. Custom Reader supports enclosures and the Atom syndication format, but otherwise it lags behind other freeware products. Instead of the now-standard three-pane interface, Custom Reader offers a choice of one pane or two. In the one-pane view, clicking a feed brings up an immobile, nonresizable window with individual news items. This window sometimes extends off the screen, making items unreadable. The two-pane Classic mode works better. In either case, users can't aggregate feeds into a virtual channel. Nor can they mark a feed unread with a single-click. Marketers will like how Custom Reader's online control panel lets them, for instance, keep users from unsubscribing preset channels. It's a good deal for them. But for everyone else? Not so much.

SharpReader is an RSS Aggregator for Windows. Features include the ability to handle all RSS versions, ATOM, modules like dublin core, advanced threading support that allows you to view connected items together in a threaded fashion. SharpReader also detects and shows connections between items if they have same link, if one item links to another, if two items both link to the same external webpage, or if an item has comments (for feeds supporting the standard). In addition, SharpReader groups subscribed feeds into custom categories and reduces bandwidth by using HTTP Conditional GETs and gzip/deflate encoding.This new version adds Atom support.

RSSMore is an RSS reader screensaver that lets you subscribe to any number of RSS or XML feeds and view them in your screensaver. You can also specify a folder (including its sub folders) to provide background images. The RSSMore screensaver loops through the list of feeds and shows the items and their contents in transparent text boxes over your background images. You can also click and browse any news headlines directly from the screensaver. Version 1.0.1 can now display Web pages in their original form, so you can include non-RSS sites in your playlist.Editor's review of RSSMore This newsfeed screensaver tool offers a way to keep up to date with news posted to your favorite Web sites, but the end product is a little too clunky for us to recommend it highly.RSSMore has a minimal menu bar with only a few commands. Because its primary duty is to serve as a screensaver that displays updated RSS feeds, launching the Help feature opens a screen-filling window that directs you to two vertically-arranged panes. In these panes, you specify the feeds that will populate the news listings in the RSSMore screensaver.The download is a tad large, and as a result, slow, but installation is very quick. The program is easy to set up, and it was simple for us to add Web pages as well as newsfeeds to the list of screensaver displays. We also were able to specify the background images that appeared behind the feeds. Further, the feeds could be randomized or set to a single source.This free tool may be suitable for novices curious about a newsfeeding screensaver, but there are more robust rivals available.