FeedDemon to shut down, other tools to stay on after Google Reader closes

IDG News Service - The ailing FeedDemon RSS reader will shut down after Google Reader is closed on July 1, its creator said. FeedDemon is a standalone RSS reader that can also sync with Google Reader.

But providers of other RSS readers, many of which also offer apps that synchronize with the Google Reader online service, plan to continue.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way of providing a feed of links to new and updated pages on a website, including either the full text or a summary of the page. RSS readers automatically download the updates and display them in a list, making it easy to follow a collection of news sites and blogs and keep track of which ones have been read, without having to visit each of the sites in turn. Google Reader is an online service offering similar features.

"If you're an avid FeedDemon user, you probably know that I've struggled to keep it updated," wrote Nick Bradbury in a blog post. FeedDemon stopped "paying the bills" a while ago, so Bradbury took a full-time job elsewhere and hasn't been able to give enough attention to FeedDemon.

Google's announcement on Wednesday that it will shut down Google Reader was the "nail in the coffin" for FeedDemon, Bradbury said. There is no decent alternative to Google Reader which FeedDemon synchronizes with, but even if there was, he was doubtful he had time to integrate it, he added. FeedDemon will continue to work as a standalone RSS reader after Google Reader closes on July 1.

The vendor of another RSS reader, called Reeder, however said in a Twitter message that "Don't worry. Reeder won't die with Google Reader." Reeder is a Google Reader client which requires users to have a Google Reader account to use the app. It did not specify how it planned to offer services after the exit of Google Reader.

"We've Got Your RSS Covered! Save Your Google Reader Feeds Now," said Flipboard, which offers a reader. To access their Google Reader feeds after July 1, users have to now sign in to Flipboard, and sign in to their Google Reader account using Flipboard, the Palo Alto, California, company said.

"If you already have a Flipboard account and you have signed into your Google Reader, you don't need to do anything," it said in a blog post.

Feedly, which also offers a reader, has attempted to clone the Google Reader API, and is also offering the backend to third-party developers using the Google Reader API. "We would love to keep the Google Reader ecosystem alive," it said in a blog post.