New Google Reader
In their quest to make everything look like Google +, they’ve mucked with google reader. I am not a fan and here’s why:
Too much space at the top. This is a problem when reading my RSS feeds from my netbook. I cannot see a whole post.
You cannot easily access your notes. You can actually follow this link and see them but there’s not button to click on the main page.
The Note in Reader function is gone, which is how I usually remember to blog stuff.
I’ve installed the minimalist extension and, while it helps some, it’s not that great.
I may be shopping for a new RSS reader soon.
Update: Oh and good job releasing and not updating the help section of your site.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:06 am
Ditto. Prettier but a huge space waste.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:10 am
I can’t stand it either. They took away the “Share” button in favor of a +1. I shared many things that I didn’t agree with to generate discussion. I am not going to +1 things to do the same thing.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:13 am
Trying to make everything look white and elegant like apple products, again. Blech.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:16 am
It hurts my eyes. Apple would never allow something that ugly.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:34 am
Should you find a suitable replacement, please share. I’ve been shopping off and on for a while, to no avail.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:34 am
I’ve been using FeedDemon for years. Love it – sync’s with Google Reader, so you can use that in a pinch. Also, the GR sync keeps it syncronized between different computers.
November 1st, 2011 at 11:24 am
Not only that, but all of my Shared items have disappeared from the new Google Reader. And by disappeared, I mean they’re fscking gone — never to be recovered. Thanks, Google.
Kinda reinforces a philosophy I had years ago: if your stuff is important, keep it on your own computer and do your own backups. Guess I’ll be doing that again now.
November 1st, 2011 at 11:35 am
It’s funny, I ditched Feedly because they did an ‘update’ that I thought looked like crap recently, and now Google is screwing with their reader. Doesn’t bother me as much as the Feedly changes I’ll admit. I’ll wait and see.
November 1st, 2011 at 11:44 am
and by strange coincidence there’s no “Feedback” button.
November 1st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Google has done a crap-ass job on Blogger too, and Google Sites and Google Docs suck bigtime.
November 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pm
It seems a lot slower now, as well.
November 1st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Good luck with that, Unc. The last time google pissed me off I tried finding a better rss reader, online (yahoo, netvibes), extensions (sage and another I can’t remember the name of right now?), or separate app. Unfortunately, I could not and begrudgingly went back to google’s rss reader.
And yes, this latest google reader update sucks! What ever happened to ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?’
.
November 1st, 2011 at 1:37 pm
They screwed the pooch on that change, for sure. And no option to revert to the old reader. Some people whine about change, just because it’s change… not the case here. This change is *NOT* for the better. And it was definitely not broke before, and thus didn’t need fixing!
November 1st, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Maybe the new format collects data on it’s users more efficiently?
November 1st, 2011 at 1:51 pm
I got tired of google reader a few months ago and switched to Bloglines. It’s not perfect, but I like it.
November 1st, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Windows Live Mail (the app) has a built in rss reader. You can use any email address (Hotmail/Live, Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.). Downside is that it’s a desktop app and not on the web.
November 1st, 2011 at 3:28 pm
http://lifehacker.com/390619/best-rss-newsreaders
November 1st, 2011 at 4:16 pm
I cannot STAND this “MAKE it ALL LOOK like GOOGLE+” they have going on, its driving me nuts. And the occasions when I’ve tried to leave feedback (like the new Blogger interface, where when you switch back it asks if you want to leave some) it gives me an error message and to try again later…..EVERY SINGLE TIME.
I haven’t even been using Blogger and GR for a year and I’m pissed at them. I so need to delete my + account….
November 1st, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Good, I thought it was just me. Guess they want to be just like Facebook, make horrible changes just because they can…
November 2nd, 2011 at 12:12 am
There is a site called HiveMined.com that is promising to replicate the entire Reader experience, sharing and all. It is currently in a closed beta, but you can request email notification of when it goes live.
Other than that, I’ve yet to find anything even close to Reader. Reader seems to have won the market, forced out the competition, and then abandoned ship.
November 2nd, 2011 at 12:41 am
Wait! HiveMined.ORG, sorry! The .com site is apparently dedicated to bears… I never would have guessed it, myself.