Like many others, Google’s announcement that they would close Google Reader left me scrambling for a replacement. I tried several, but none quite filled the gap. Before July, I had used a combination of the Google Reader web interface, the Google Reader Chrome extension, and Newsrob on Android–and relied on each piece fairly heavily. To truly fit the bill, I needed a solution that had all three pieces. And, in “fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you” fashion, I wanted something I could install on my own web host so I was in control of my data.
So, first I tried the best-reviewed installable RSS aggregators: Gregarius, Feed on Feeds, and SimplePie. Some of them had decent-to-good web interfaces, but they just didn’t have any related apps (extensions/mobile apps), so they weren’t going to work for me.
So, somewhat reluctantly, I gave Feedly a try. I wasn’t eager to have to resort to another hosted service, but it seemed I would have no choice. As the most popular replacement for Reader, there was plenty of support–an Android app, several Chrome extensions, etc.–but I just couldn’t make myself like the interface. Even with the “Google Reader” views they added, everything was just a little clunkier for the way I work through feeds. Categories were hidden to the left behind a click, which looks nicer, but is less scannable and usable. I think I could’ve lived with it–I did for a month or so–but I just couldn’t like it.
Enter feedbin.me. I loved everything about the web interface, and, since it’s a paid service, I was a little less uncomfortable about it being a hosted service. But, alas, there wasn’t much support. A couple Android apps sync with it, but they didn’t work on my version (2.3); there is no Chrome extension. It’s an excellent service with a growing user base so I suspect the support will come, but it’s not there yet.
Today, though, I came across Tiny Tiny RSS (in a blog comment of all places). It can be installed on a web server, has an excellent Android app (free 7-day trial and $1.99 after that), and a Chrome Extension. And, naturally, after I’d installed it and set everything up, I discovered that it’s available in Softaculous (which installs apps in cPanel for my web host). So my 4-month search is finally over, and I think I’ve found a solution that actually suits my needs even better than Google Reader.
If you use and love TT-RSS like I do, be sure to donate so the developer can keep working on it!