My favorite RSS reader

This is a well executed and supported application. The app settings has Feedly (to syncronize feeds) and Pocket (for Read it Later purposes) tabs. You can also integrate Twitter in the feed by adding @users and #hastags to see them RSS style, but I haven’t feel the need of using that feature yet. Instapaper is not supported.

The application is highly configurable, and I like it to have the same color and typeface as the menu bar. For all intents and purposes, it feels to me like an extension of the menu bar (very similar to Notifications), and it is always in the background, available for me to read the Feedly feeds that I subscribe to. NewsBar was Lucida Grande and silver background in Mavericks. I have since updated the operating system to Yosemite and NewsBar mimics the dark menu bar and Helvetica font. I like to place it on the right hand side of the screen, where the Notification Center goes; however, it is a little bit wider (also configurable). I access to it by swiping with 4 fingers (Mission Control gesture) and selecting it.

When you click the different news, you can either open them on a browser, which I only do for websites like Macworld or TUAW (because they only provide a limited preview); however, I mostly read them in preview mode. I wish this mode was taller (or at least I could configure it), so I don’t have to scroll as much as I do for articles that contain images. It is a tiny window and feels ridiculous in a 27” screen.

I don’t usually contact the developers of the apps that I use it, but I did to get dark menu bar support and he added it to an updated version in 24 hours. It was probably in the works, but still felt great.

In all, it is my favorite RSS reader at the time and I enjoy using it.

Juan Tascon about NewsBar RSS reader