Sismics Reader: Open Source RSS Feed Reader That Runs in a Browser

Sismics Reader is a new RSS feed reading application that can be installed on any machine running either Windows, Mac or Linux, and can be accessed via a web browser using the loopback address (http://localhost or 127.0.0.1). This enables Sismics Reader to be installed either on a local machine or on a remote server and accessed from any computer connected to the network from where the remote server is accessible. All you need is a web browser, the address of the remote server and the port number at which Sismics Reader is running.

Sismics Reader has a simple interface – the subscriptions are listed on the left, and the reading panel is on the right. There are two reading modes – collapsed and expanded. When in expanded mode, you can scroll through the feed items and Sismics Reader automatically marks them as read.

There is a search box on the top, and right next to it is a button that marks all items of the current subscription as read. Subscribed items can be filtered by “read” and “unread”. You can also mark items as favorite by adding a star. Subscriptions can be organized into folders, but sub-folders are not supported.

Subscriptions can be imported into Sismics Reader via an OPML file, such as the one you can export from Google Reader. Subscriptions can also be exported out of Sismics Reader into another application via an XML file.

The Good:

• Sismics Reader’s interface is optimized both for desktop and mobile browsers.
• Allows import and export of feeds.
• Sismics Reader is open sourced.

The Bad

• There are no keyboard shortcuts.

Checkout the demo of Sismics Reader.

How to Install

• Run the downloaded setup file and follow the instructions to install the backend/agent. Your machine should have Java installed.
• Run the agent, and then right-click on the icon in the system tray and choose the option “Open Reader in Browser”
• This will open a web browser at the address http://localhost:4001, where 4001 is the default port number. This can be changed from the Reader’s Control Panel.

  

• Installing Sismics Reader’s frontend is a 3-step process:
  1. Change the administrator password
  2. Setup the network by opening the appropriate port in the router. Just tick the box.
  3. Add the first user by setting up username, email and password.

You can go back to the settings page and add more users later.