RSS Follower For Mac

RSS and Atom feeds are a good way for users to stay on top of new developments and for news providers to distribute their content. However, feed readers do not always have a particularly intuitive and intelligent layout, which is something RSS Follower seeks to rectify.

Despite what its name might suggest, it supports both RSS and Atom feeds and manages to offer a well-designed interface and numerous useful features, blending visuals with functionality without lacking in either department.

RSS Follower has two main components that will be used most frequently: the sidebar and the news browser. The former provides you with a list of all the recently published news items for easy navigation, while the latter allows you to read summaries or the full articles.

The interface is fully customizable, as you can choose between light and dark color schemes, as well as various layout options. News can be displayed in a compact mode, so that articles take up the least amount of space, or an extended one, complete with images.

RSS Follower’s news browser makes it possible to read a summary of each article, as well as the full story. Any files that are included in the feed can be downloaded easily, and you can share the article on Twitter, Facebook or send it via e-mail.

RSS Follower can automatically hide the sidebar if it has not been used for specified period of time, or when you switch to another application. It can then be displayed again by moving your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen, but this can be difficult if you have a multiple-monitor setup. An alternative keyboard combination would be useful in these scenarios.

The sidebar cannot be resized vertically, so that it only covers a limited portion of the desktop. Certain interface layouts would benefit from such an option, especially if the Dock extends to the edges of your screen.

Make no mistake, though, RSS Follower is a practical and easy-to-use application, and while it could use some polishing here and there, it is well-designed and can easily be perfected with a few minor improvements.