So it seems I should write a post about NetNewsWire and Google Reader. Why? Because as I was reading John Gruber’s post about NetNewsWire for his Mac and iPhone, a fellow twitterer posted this question:
Mac users of the world: I don’t understand NetNewsWire.. I use Google Reader.. What does NNW offer over that?
My first response to @Yeraze’s question was what came off the top of my head:
It’s whatever fits your workflow. I use NNW, but used GReader for a while. NNW has better blogging control. I like it’s interface.
Then I got to thinking, I’ve gone back and forth between NNW and GReader. Why is it that I settled on NNW? Is it just for blogging shortcuts? After all, in NNW I can highlight text, hit SHIFT-CMD-P and post to MarsEdit (or whatever blogging client you like).
So here’s my pro/con list for each.
NetNewsWire
- PRO: Can post to blogs, Delicious or Twitterific with shortcuts.
- PRO: Can manually refresh individual feeds or all at once, whatever I like.
- PRO: Can open posts in NNW browser without cluttering windows/tabs in Safari.
- PRO: As Gruber points out in the linked post above, using NewsGator you can control what feeds are read on iPhone.
- PRO: Feeds seem to show up faster in NNW than GReader.
- PRO: You can drag open web pages into Clippings folder and they will automatically be saved. (Unlike being able to star only news item in GReader.)
- PRO: Interface. I use a widescreen view with external monitors, which makes reading faster and easier. But I can switch views when I’m on my laptop to better suit a smaller screen.
- CON: Desktop app means one more thing I have open and using resources.
- CON: iPhone interface needs more control over news items.
Google Reader
- PRO: Universal. You can access your feeds anywhere from any platform. (Newsgator, makers of NetNewsWire, offer a Windows version called FeedDemon.)
- PRO: iPhone interface is very nice, especially in opening news items in a new window.
- PRO/CON: Depending on how you look at it: It’s Google. For many who use all things Google (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Notebook, etc.), it’s a perfect fit. I use most of those things, but Google Reader just isn’t one of them.
- CON: Harder to incorporate blogging and Twitter with GReader.
In the end, my initial response to @Yeraze was the right one: It depends on what fits your workflow. And since both are free, you can’t really go wrong with either.
I can say that I enjoy using both readers, but with the way I work, I cannot imagine switching back to Google Reader. For me, it’s NetNewsWire.
ETA: Randall beat me to a blog post. Read his post on the same subject here.
