Whether it's celebrity gossip or dull facts about the economy, the volume of news has sharply risen in the past few years. Instead of reading full articles, many users limit themselves to news feed subscriptions that provide a headline and a short summary of the news item.

This message stream is based on the XML format that specialized programs (called RSS readers) like QuiteRSS [1] present graphically for an easier read (Figure 1). The software updates the listing with each new posting. (See the box "Making Everyday Life Easier" for more information.)

Figure 1: The QuiteRSS interface is similar to that of a mail client with a sidebar and an area including the news feeds.

The term RSS reader actually falls somewhat short. Apart from RSS, the Atom format has become popular over the years, so much so that most readers also support it. Both formats are based on the XML protocol. You can also pull several feeds together using the OPML format [2].

Wide Range of Functions

QuiteRSS is software that runs on a local PC. It's written in C++ and is based on the Qt framework that integrates well on KDE, LXQt, and Unity desktops. Its range of functions and look-and-feel rivals that of its GTK counterpart, Liferea.

In 2011, Russian developers began work on QuiteRSS and the program has become part of all major distribution repositories. It's also available for Windows and MacOS X, making it easy to exchange OPML-formatted feed lists through exports and imports. Additional packages are available for FreeBSD and Vern OS/2. Windows also has a portable version for USB sticks.

In testing, I used a specific PPA with Ubuntu 14.10, which installed the current version at the time of writing: 0.17.7. Work on the software is progressing, with a new update about every month.

To install from the PPA, do:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:quiterss/quiterss
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install quiterss

The program is very thrifty with CPU cycles and RAM resources and is, therefore, suitable for older computers, and it ran nearly flawlessly during tests over several days.

After installation through the distribution's package manager, the interface appeared very much like other programs of the kind, with the setup especially like a mail client's. On the left edge are the subscribed feeds, and under that in a separate window are Categories in which you can organize the news.

The biggest part of the window on the right contains the messages from the feeds. In the lower part, you see the full HTML view of the content, thanks to the integrated Webkit engine. As with many mail clients, you can adjust the views to show them horizontally or vertically (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The integrated browser with a Webkit rendering engine lets you view complete websites in QuiteRSS.

A small arrow in the middle of the left edge lets you toggle between collapsing the feed list to enlarge the message window or viewing it again. However, to make optimal use of the software, it's a good idea to explore the various settings.

Configuration

You can find the options under Tools or with F8. Important initial decisions include whether to view messages in the integrated browser or an external one (Figure 3). The latter may be the default system browser or any other one installed.

Figure 3: You can decide whether to send the links to the actual websites with some other software.

Additional tabs let you set the system tray behavior, which usually reports the number of new feeds and gives an audible cue (Figure 4). In Feeds | General , you can set how often feeds are updated. In Feeds | Clean Up , you can configure how long the program retains feeds and what policy to follow to do the cleanup.

Figure 4: New messages appear as notifications when QuiteRSS is in the system tray.

Other settings affect the program's appearance, such as the color scheme and preferred fonts. Another tab lets you set keyboard shortcuts.

On the Browser tab, you can also deactivate loading images if you have an older computer or a slow Internet connection. More immediately, you can block this content through an icon at the lower right corner of the interface. Next to that is an indicator to show whether Adblocker is enabled – a unique feature of QuiteRSS. You can also disable this for individual webpages without needing to go into the browser.

Easy to Use

After you've configured the software to your wishes, the next step is to populate the addresses of the feeds to monitor. First, you'll want to clarify whether incoming feeds should be stored in folders, which is often the best solution for larger collections.

Using the check mark icon next to the plus sign in the toolbar in the upper left, you can create folders for created feeds. Adding a new feed means entering the URL of its website and the program extracts the address automatically (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Creating a feed entry is as simple as giving it a name and its corresponding URL.

Alternatively, you can go to the website and copy the RSS address directly from the link to the feed. If you have already worked with another RSS reader (e.g., a standalone one, on the Internet, or as part of another program), you should check whether the program has a data export function to save the feeds in OPML format. This will allow you to import your feeds to QuiteRSS.

In tests, the program took on about 400 feeds in a matter of seconds without a complaint and updated them in less than 30 seconds. Even 10 times that many caused no problems. However, such large amounts can cause problems elsewhere, such as for human cognitive faculties. With a few options, you can reduce the amount of new messages that accumulate over time (Figure 6).

Figure 6: If the flood of information gets out of control, a few options can reduce it.

Point of View

The software provides two views for displaying content that you can toggle between the using View | Layout from the menus. The classic view used by default shows only headlines, whereas the so-called Newspaper view presents a short teaser after the headline to give you a better clue of the content of the article it links to. The best choice will depend on your personal taste or work habits.

The program allows opening individual news, folders, and categories in tabs, which facilitates navigation significantly if you're working with many feeds and want to store them for future use without interrupting your workflow. To send feeds to specific folders automatically, use the appropriate filters (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Filters organize news with specific content automatically into categories.

You can use built-in functions to submit especially interesting news directly to the appropriate social network channels or through traditional communication mechanisms, such as email (Figure 8). And, if the existing labels aren't enough, you can create unlimited new ones or edit existing ones to channel the message flow.

Figure 8: Use built-in functions to redirect news to social networks to gain recognition.

Dynamic OPML

QuiteRSS is currently unable to load OPML collections directly off the web or read them from a local file without reworking them. Sites such as Feedshare [8] and the "OPML Reading Lists" initiative [9] allow sharing of your own files or those of others, sorting them by subject, and downloading them.

Comparing these files with those created by QuiteRSS showed that the format was defined in the web files, but the XML specification was missing. However, if QuiteRSS refuses to load the file, you can easily make up for this by adding the line

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

at the beginning.

QuiteRSS cannot yet deal with dynamic lists [10] based on OPML, such as the web-based Inoreader [11]. If you import such a list from the web, the list elements are static from that point on. With dynamic OPML, the lists would normally be updated with any new entries the author makes, if that's what you want.

Conclusion

This GPLv3 software is characterized by its clear user interface and largely self-explanatory operating concept. The latter especially makes it easier for beginners to enter the world of feed readers, but the program also provides enough ease-of-use and diversity for RSS professionals with a large selection of channels and well-defined workflow. The integrated browser loads websites quickly.

If you're looking for an RSS reader or miss Google Reader, QuiteRSS is a compelling alternative. The name originated from one of the developers who wanted the program to run "quite fast" – something they have accomplished in a quite impressive way.