I’ve been trying the RSS reader in IE7, Onfolio, Firefox, and others for the last day or so. I keep coming back to Google Reader.
You can’t beat it’s simplicity, speed, and ease of use. There are more features in a number of readers, but all I need is to have an aggregator that simply lets me read the news that I’m interested in as quickly as possible. I also can manage one OPML list and access it from anywhere. Nothing else compares in the same way.
Combine GReader with hosted GMail, and Docs & Spreadsheets, and a common login. This makes all these features of Google work well together. Yes, they need more integration work, but that will happen over time.
I’ve yet to try the rating or sharing features, but will get to those soon. They look fairly interesting, and may be of use linked from my blog.
Nice upgrade, though it seems to be more of a security and small feature update than a larger release. Of course the changes in IE7 compared to IE6 are huge and are attracting a bit of press, as it should – it took MS long enough to upgrade the browser!
However, for daily browsing, Firefox seems to work best for me. I happen to use three browsers, the obvious two and Opera. Firefox is my “work” browser, meaning that I open all my email, blogging, Feed Reader, Search, and other task-based services in it. IE is my “default” browser – its just that, click on a link in email, opens in IE. I also use IE for additional research and news link following.
Opera is not used as much as FF & IE, its mainly for obscure sites – meaning that if the site is suspect, I paste the URL in Opera and see what happens – this simple trick has kept my IE install healthier than any other I have tried.
Anyway, FF2’s got game. Its not any one thing, just a great combination of usability in a browser. The only plugin that isn’t compatible at the moment is my Windows Live Writer “Blog It” plugin. Its a shame too, because that’s my most often used plugin!
We stopped at a great (and I really mean it) coffee shop in Ely. They had simple sandwiches and soups as well as dessert stuff. The place is called the “Front Porch Cafe”, and also had Internet connectivity, though I didn’t use it.
Amy had one of the best Mochas in a very long time. I had just a regular coffee and some chili, also very good. This place is on my recommended list for places to stop when passing through.
A great thank you to the staff there, it was a warm welcoming place.
(I wrote this two days ago while in the car – didn’t have mobile service at the time. Also, when we got to Crosslake, I was very successful in relaxing, so I never connected up.)
So we are heading fro the north shore inland to Ely. Fantastic scenery, and we’re crossing the Superior National Forest, and the skirting the Boudary Waters Canoe Area.
It’s about 29 degrees out and its snowing. Its been snowing all morning, and here in the forest is quite stunning. The rolling wooded hills are starting to gather a light coating of snow, creating some of my favorite nature scenes.
Well, I’ve no Internet connection at all, so I’ll stop here for now.
(I wrote this two days ago while in the car – didn’t have mobile service at the time. Also, when we got to Crosslake, I was very successful in relaxing, so I never connected up.)
As governor, the State Capitol will stand for unity and common sense.
In addition to the POW/MIA flag that has long flown over the State Capitol, we will fly two flags when I am governor: the Wisconsin state flag and the American flag.
