Work and a flakey TiBook have slowed down posting here. The laptop inconsistency has also forced me to work on a Windows Tablet PC for a bit. In trying to recreate my MacOS X environment I've been kicking the tires on Win32 RSS aggregators.
Jeez, they suck.
Alright, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but relative to NetNewsWire, they drive me up a wall.
It's actually a couple of minor details that kill. First, many, not all but many, Win32 RSS aggregators don't do folders, or do them nearly as elegantly as NetNewsWire. Second, spacebar reading, if it even exists often doesn't work right. For example, in Outlook based aggregators such as NewsGator or IntraVnews, if you read all of the posts for a given feed, the spacebar doesn't advance you to the next unread post. You have to navigate out to the group level, pick a group, and then start reading again. Usually without the support of any keyboard shortcuts.
And lastly, the arrow navigation in NetNewsWire is to die for. With one hand I can maneuver through feeds, groups of feeds, posts, and then to where posts link to.
The beauty is that NetNewsWire's structuring gives me better perspective on the reading process, especially for 100 or so busy feeds. I can't imagine dealing with a 300 or so post pile of mush when I actually get a chance to visit my aggregator.
Previously, I really didn't see what all the fuss Dave Winer and Scott Rosenberg were making about all-in-one aggregation views. After having suffered through a host of bad navigation options, I can see their point.
FeedDemon may be my only hope.
But NetNewsWire is still cuter than a bunny's bottom.