Google Reader
Encyclopedia
Google Reader is a Web-based aggregator, capable of reading Atom
and RSS
feeds
online or offline. It was released by Google
on October 7, 2005 through Google Labs
. Reader was graduated from beta status on September 17, 2007.
Features of Google Reader include:
Part of the visual redesign of all Google products in 2011, a new Google Reader interface was available on October 31, 2011. Beside the sweeping visual changes, former social features ("share" and "like" buttons) has been removed and replaced by Google+
's +1 button and the "share on Google+" box. It's said that now Reader is on its fourth social model, after using Google Talk
contacts, allowing people to manage friends from the Reader interface, integrating with Google Buzz
and then with Google+. The changes have been received unfavorably by multiple online blogs and technical writers, including former Google Reader product manager Brian Shih and former Google Reader lead designer Kevin Fox, and by writers in Wired
, Forbes
, CNET
, and InformationWeek
.. Over 13,000 users have signed an online petition asking Google to reinstate the original interface.
contacts. Users criticized this change because there is no way to opt out. The URL for a user's page of shared items contains a random string, and Google originally advertised this as a way to limit sharing to only those people to whom you give the address.
Google removed the sharing functionality built into Reader on October 31, 2011, and replaced it with a Google+
+1 button. Users criticized this change because it effectively dismantled existing social networks that had formed around these features and disabled sharing and publishing functions that served as a communications medium for Iranians seeking news sources that couldn't be blocked by the government.
or WAP 2.0. On May 12, 2008, Google announced a version of Google Reader targeted at iPhone users. It can be found at www.google.com/reader/i. In December 2010 Google released a Google Reader app for Android, which is available from the Android Market
.
(formerly Google Personalized Homepage).
and SeaMonkey
's feed recognition, which can automatically redirect users to Google Reader's Add Subscription screen.
.
Account, Google Reader can be accessed online by web browser or offline by news aggregator
Unofficial:
Atom (standard)
The name Atom applies to a pair of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources.Web feeds allow software programs to check for updates published on a...
and RSS
RSS (file format)
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format...
feeds
Web feed
A web feed is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. Making a collection of web feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation, which is performed by an aggregator...
online or offline. It was released by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
on October 7, 2005 through Google Labs
Google Labs
Google Labs was a page created by Google to demonstrate and test new Google projects. Google calls Google Labs,Google also uses an invitation-only phase for trusted testers to test projects including Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Wave and many of these have their own "labs" webpages for...
. Reader was graduated from beta status on September 17, 2007.
Interface
Google made major revisions to Reader's user-interface on September 28, 2006. Product manager Nick Baum described the redesign as a movement toward making news aggregation something for the general public to enjoy. Kevin Fox, the designer of the revised Google Reader, noted that the original version was optimal for those who want to read a "river" of news. The new version took into account that most readers segment their reading by feed, group, tag, folder, or into "must read" and "maybe if I get to it" feeds.Features of Google Reader include:
- a front page that lets you see new items at a glance
- import and export subscription lists as an OPMLOPMLOPML is an XML format for outlines...
file - keyboard shortcuts for main functions
- choice between list view or expanded view for item viewing (showing either just the story title or including a description, respectively)
- automatic marking of items as read as they are scrolled past (expanded view only)
- search in all feeds, across all updates from subscriptions
Part of the visual redesign of all Google products in 2011, a new Google Reader interface was available on October 31, 2011. Beside the sweeping visual changes, former social features ("share" and "like" buttons) has been removed and replaced by Google+
Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
's +1 button and the "share on Google+" box. It's said that now Reader is on its fourth social model, after using Google Talk
Google Talk
Google Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
contacts, allowing people to manage friends from the Reader interface, integrating with Google Buzz
Google Buzz
Google Buzz is a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool from Google integrated into the company's web-based email program, Gmail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox. On October 14, 2011,...
and then with Google+. The changes have been received unfavorably by multiple online blogs and technical writers, including former Google Reader product manager Brian Shih and former Google Reader lead designer Kevin Fox, and by writers in Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, and InformationWeek
InformationWeek
InformationWeek is a weekly print magazine, an online site with corresponding face-to-face and virtual events, and research. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California and was first published in 1979 by CMP Media, later called CMP Technology. On February 29, 2008, CMP Technology was...
.. Over 13,000 users have signed an online petition asking Google to reinstate the original interface.
Organization
Users can subscribe to feeds using either Google Reader's search function, or by entering in the exact URL of the RSS or Atom feed. New posts from those feeds are then shown on the left-hand side of the screen. One can then order that list by date or relevance. Items can also be organized with labels, as well as being able to create "Starred Items" for easy access.Sharing
From 2007 to 2011, items in Google Reader could be shared with other Web users. Previously this was done by sending a link through e-mail, directing the user to the shared article; or by creating a basic webpage that includes all shared items from a user's account. In December 2007, Google changed the sharing policy so that items the user marked as shared were automatically visible to their Google TalkGoogle Talk
Google Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
contacts. Users criticized this change because there is no way to opt out. The URL for a user's page of shared items contains a random string, and Google originally advertised this as a way to limit sharing to only those people to whom you give the address.
Google removed the sharing functionality built into Reader on October 31, 2011, and replaced it with a Google+
Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
+1 button. Users criticized this change because it effectively dismantled existing social networks that had formed around these features and disabled sharing and publishing functions that served as a communications medium for Iranians seeking news sources that couldn't be blocked by the government.
Offline access
Google Reader was the first application to make use of Google Gears, a browser extension that lets online applications work offline. Users who have installed the extension can download up to 2000 items to be read offline. After coming back online, Google Reader updates the feeds. Google Reader stopped supporting this feature on June 1, 2010.Mobile access
A mobile interface was released on May 18, 2006, and is accessible at www.google.com/reader/m/view. It now can be used by devices that support XHTMLXHTML
XHTML is a family of XML markup languages that mirror or extend versions of the widely-used Hypertext Markup Language , the language in which web pages are written....
or WAP 2.0. On May 12, 2008, Google announced a version of Google Reader targeted at iPhone users. It can be found at www.google.com/reader/i. In December 2010 Google released a Google Reader app for Android, which is available from the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
.
iGoogle
On May 4, 2006, Google released a new feature which enables feeds from Reader to be displayed on iGoogleIGoogle
iGoogle , a service of Google, is a customizable Ajax-based startpage or personal web portal . Google originally launched the service in May 2005...
(formerly Google Personalized Homepage).
Mozilla integration
Google Reader is included within Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
and SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is a free and open source cross-platform Internet suite. It is the continuation of the former Mozilla Application Suite, based on the same source code...
's feed recognition, which can automatically redirect users to Google Reader's Add Subscription screen.
Wii version
On May 8, 2007, Google created a version of Google Reader specifically formatted for the Wii web-browserWii Browser
The Internet Channel is a version of the Opera 9 web browser for use on the Wii by Opera Software and Nintendo. Opera Software also implemented the Nintendo DS Browser for Nintendo's handheld system....
.
Play
On March 10, 2010, Google announced and released Google Reader Play. Play presents a slideshow interface which displays popular items one at a time. These items are drawn from assorted sites' feeds, and their appearance in Play is based on the data provided by Reader users' responses, e.g., how many people liked or shared the item. Unlike Google Reader, a Google Account is not required to access Play.Requirements
After establishing a (free) GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Account, Google Reader can be accessed online by web browser or offline by news aggregator
- Web Browsers with JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
enabled: - Google ChromeGoogle ChromeGoogle Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
- MozillaMozillaMozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
1.7+ - Mozilla FirefoxMozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
1.0+ - NetscapeNetscapeNetscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
7.2+ - OperaOpera (web browser)Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
9.0+ - Safari 1.3+
- Windows Internet Explorer 6+
- Wii Internet Channel
- News Aggregators:
- RSSOwlRSSOwlRSSOwl is a news aggregator for RSS and Atom News feeds. It is written in Java, and is built on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform which uses SWT as a widget toolkit to allow it to fit in with the look and feel of different operating systems while remaining cross-platform...
2.1+ synchronizes fulltext searches of selected Google Reader with selected RSS feeds.
External links
Google:Unofficial: