RSS News Reader
Interested in keeping up with the headlines and newspapers? An Internet system called RSS or Atom lets you do it easily. Websites provide "feeds" of their latest stories and headlines, and you can get these simple lists, updated every few minutes. If you want to know more about a story you can go straight to its webpage on its website and read it. No navigating difficult website and trying to spot what's changed!
Getting RSS News Reader
RSS News Reader is free. You can get it from the link below. You have to run the MSI file that you get from the link, and everything will be installed for you. You will then have a desktop shortcut called "RSS News Reader" you can use to start the program. You can also find "RSS News Reader" in your Start menu. You may also need to install the Microsoft .NET 4.7.2 runtime, sorry.
- Installer for RSS News Reader Run this Windows Installer file to install RSS News Reader. You'll get a security warning from Windows.
- Get from the Windows Store. Or use the Windows Store to get the App.
Features
- Easy to use, just cursor up and down your chosen feeds, press enter, and cursor up and down the items. A handy note plays if you reach the end of a list. No mouse required.
- Supports RSS, all flavours, and Atom feeds.
- Handles (very common) broken and invalid feeds so you always see the feed come up.
- Add your own feeds so just the news and websites you want are there. Feed autodiscovery is also supported, so you just need the website address of your favourite site.
- Feed list is automatically sorted into alphabetical order so you can access the feed you want quickly. Items are shown in date order so you don't get confused.
- Hide or show read items with a keystroke so you know just what's new.
- Save and load industry-standard OPML files so you can share your feeds or distribute them to other people or use someone else's collection of feeds.
- It works with every screenreader, from Thunder and NVDA through to JAWS and WindowEyes. It even works with the built-in Windows Narrator!
- It uses big, clear 16pt text so people with a little sight can use it without needing a screenreader at all.
- You don't need to be an administrator to install it, and it automatically updates itself, so you don't need to know much to keep it running - I'll take care of all of that from the WebbIE website.
- It's completely free. Go ahead and distribute and use it as you will.
Technical Details
- You need to be on Windows 7 or later. Windows XP is no longer supported: you can get RSS Reader 3 if you need it still working.
- If you need help, call me on +44 7983 244 131 or Skype me on Alasdairking. You can email support@webbie.org.uk but you're unlikely to get a response: this isn't my day job!
Version History
- 4.0.1 26 Nov 2020
- Bugfixes to the installer.
- 4.0.0 26 June 2020
- Improved handling of Atom feeds and more modern security systems.
- No longer supports Windows XP or Windows Vista, sorry!
- 3.3.0 12 July 2016
- Fixed lots of bugs with updating/getting settings confused. As a consequence, no longer automatically gets the unread counts automatically - you have to go into each feed.
- 3.2.0 10 July 2015
- When you add a feed it is automatically selected.
- Now runs on machines with .Net 3.5 or .Net 4.0.
- 3.1.6 21 June 2014
- Fixed importing OPML files with hierarchies.
- 3.1.5 20 June 2014
- Fixed importing OPML files in older alternative format.
- 3.1.4 17 June 2014
- Fixed program being unresponsive when you select a feed - now it will load the feed straightway, or tell you if it can't.
- Fixed sorting and removing duplicates from the feed list.
- 3.1.2 4 May 2014
- Fixed the Daily Mail feed. Fixed activation process.
- 3.1.0 15 March 2014
- Big rewrite. Added a new "Delete All Items" menu item. The program shows the unread item counts in the feed list. And the program doesn't hang when it's communicating with the Internet, so it all works more smoothly.
- 3.0.1 27 Feb 2013
- Bugfix: opens web browser for items correctly.
- 3.0.0 11 Feb 2013
- Beta release
Quotations
I use it every day, every morning when I open my computer around six o'clock in the morning, I read my newspapers, like the Guardian and Daily Mail. It's awesome.- Ahmed, London, 2017.