Tech Rec: Google Reader

I am somewhat of a technogeek, which causes me to compulsively check out new apps/programs in raging fits of ecstacy.

Lately, I've been trying out the nifty Google Reader. This is the big G's version of an RSS reader, an application that allows one to efficiently peruse blogs, news, and any other websites that support RSS feeds. RSS readers automatically collect headlines and brief snippets from new articles/entries as they are published, saving you the headache of manually clicking through every single blog or site on your reading list -- you just scan the titles and summaries, and read only what you want.

Firefox has built-in support for RSS feeds, and there are various programs that can be downloaded for the same purpose, but Google's reader, like nearly all their apps, is completely web-based. Also like nearly all their apps, it is quite elegant. The reader is still in beta, but despite the very seldom sluggishness and a few awkward features, I recommend using it if you have a long reading list of blogs and news websites. (One caveat: you must have a Gmail account to sign up.)

Note that Xanga does not support RSS -- not a big deal, unless you keep up with the lives of ghetto pre-teen Asians...