Freeware Friday: Wizz RSS Reader 2.1.2 for Firefox

Handy free RSS reader gives Firefox what it should have in a convenient sidebar or free-floating format

Firefox/RSS

RSS, even though the jury may be out on it, is mad popular right now, and if it be a work in progress, it’s a wicked useful one.

Read more on Freeware Friday: Wizz RSS Reader 2.1.2 for Firefox…

Handy free RSS reader gives Firefox what it should have in a convenient sidebar or free-floating format

Firefox/RSS

RSS, even though the jury may be out on it, is mad popular right now, and if it be a work in progress, it’s a wicked useful one.

On the user’s end, being able to browse a quick list of blog and newsfeed headings and go straight to what you want, and to have everything arrayed in front of you for quick reference, is a boon for people who have to keep up on many changing sites.

Firefox is also mad popular for some very good reasons (even this author has gone to using Firefox 100% from OS X’s Safari (we haven’t made the move to Tiger yet, for a variety of reasons)). But the RSS handling, called “Live Bookmarks”, is a real sore spot. Updating over a dialup line is undependable at best, and LBs are accessed through bookmark drop-down lists–not convenient.

Wizz RSS Reader is the answer. It reads both RSS and Atom feeds. I use it and depend on it. It’s a free extension to Firefox that allows you to organize feeds (or “channels” ) into groups that can organize related content, or simply have a list of favorite feeds. It’ll even check your Gmail account(s) for you. Hovering your mouse over a post title will show you a quick preview, double-clicking the title will load it into Firefox, middle-clicking on a title will open it in a new tab. Wizz RSS Reader will also maintain a watch list for you. When Wizz RSS Reader is updated, a tab automatically opens and loads the page from Wizz Computers that tells you all about it.

Complete details on the Wizz RSS Reader (and download of the extension) can be found here, or you can go to Firefox downloads by doing Tools>Downloads and searching for it.

It is spyware-, adware- and price-free.

Subscribe to the Discussion Surrounding This Article

  1. one word: netvibes.com.

    Mike Funk UNITED STATES
    26 April 2006

  2. Mike: It’s an interesting service, and good perhaps if you’re on broadband or have a rock-solid net connection.

    What it looks like is a free homepage for aggregating RSS feeds. Web-based.

    On a personal note, I already have RSS aggregation in my personal Gmail account. WizzRSS appeals to me chiefly because it isn’t web-based: I like the untiariness (is that a word?) of having it as a plugin to my Firefox. It’s also easier to get to since I’m at present having to put up with a dialup connection.

    But if web-based RSS aggregating is your thing, then people should check it out.

    Samuel John Klein
    DESIGNORATI
    27 April 2006

  3. I stumbled across your article today, almost a month late? I’m a bit slow… So what’s new?

    Anyway, thanks SJK! It’s really cool to be able to read such a nice review, even if it is about my own chunk-o-software. I guess insightful opinions go a long way to motivating people like myself.

    Thanks again.

    Mike Kroger
    18 May 2006

  4. You’re welcome, Mike. It’s all sincere; I enjoy and use Wizz Reader daily, it makes keeping up on stuff and checking my Gmail dead simple. It’s a good solution, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who want’s to read RSS within Firefox.

    Samuel John Klein
    DESIGNORATI
    20 May 2006

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