BrowserMaster is a free app that registers itself as your system’s default browser and gives you the option to select which browser to use when opening internet links. It works for links which are external to the browser and clicked from outside the browser , like a shortcut or a link in an email or in a webpage or in IM.

One may use different browsers but when using browsermaster , when one clicks on a link , it detects the command of opening a link and provides you with option of choosing a browser by displaying icons of the browsers and one may quickly choose the browser one wishes to use.

Some of the features of  it are :

1. Disable major browser features fast
2. No back button
3. No drag and drop
4. No image toolbar (for I.E. 6)
5. No page print
6. No right click context menu
7. No scrollbars
8. No status bar links (for I.E. 6 +)
9. No text selection
10. No page Cache
11. No robots
12. Priority e-mail support

Some notes :

• Applies to links clicked outside a browser: for example shortcuts on your desktop, in a notes program, in an email notifier app, in an Office or PDF document or an email client, etc. Links clicked inside a browser behave as normal.
• Links: works for HTTP:\\ or HTTPS:\\ links.
• Default wait time: it gives you 2 seconds to choose your browser before going with the default. This can be changed in the settings file, but has to be done manually using a text editor. The settings file is in “C:\Documents and Settings\yourusername\Application Data\BrowserMaster\BrowserMaster.xml”; find the “delayin seconds” tag and change the value from 2 to something else.
• Other settings: from the settings file mentioned above, you could also enable/disable specific browsers. Find and change (Enabled=”true”) to (Enabled=”false”) for each listed browser.

But this software does lack a few features

• There isn’t an option for setting a default browser
• There could be an option to chose browser for links within a browser too
• Gui interface should be better

There are users who may say they would rather use ‘open with’ command than using this software but there might be situations where the ‘open with’ option is not available.

Overall its a nice software to have if one wants to have an option of choosing between browsers. The users using just one browser may not find this of much use.

Sending marketing messages and newsletters via email has become a fool’s errand; the obvious work-around is RSS. I’d much prefer to get public relations materials this way [1. Dan Gillmor, Computerworld].

If you spend 1/3rd of your daily time in front of a computer, not just because it is a work related liability, but because you enjoy being with the machine, then I am sure you would have used a “news reader”. However, if you are wondering as to what is a news reader then I am afraid to tell you that you are not even close to being a techie. In either case this post might interest you.

What I am going to do in this post is:

1. Explore the famous five RSS news readers.
2. Try looking at pros and cons of a web-based reader in relation to an application based reader.

First let me give you some smart definition of RSS feed readers/aggregators [2. News Aggregator as per Wikipedia].

In computing, a feed aggregator, also known as a feed reader, news reader or simply as an aggregator, is client software or a Web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing.

In short if you want to stay updated about a site, then you would want to subscribe to it’s RSS using a news reader. Talking about the famous five RSS readers, well the list of readers out there is unlimited. I am going to give a perspective of the one’s used in Windows environment.

1. NewsGator FeedDemon: This one is turning out to be one of my favorites. It’s a stand alone software, the sync your newsgator account feeds and brings the power of reading news on your desktop. No browser is required to read the news. If you have a constant internet connectivity and access, probably this is the best option for you. The NewsGator FeedDemon version 2.7 is free to download. Because it is a stand alone application, the amount of features are immense and hence this one is for both amateurs and geeks. I can assure you that you won’t feel sorry for trying it.
2. Google Reader: If you would ask me what I have been using for sometime for reading news and updates, the answer would be Google Reader. If you are hooked to the SSO (Single sign on feature) of Google account, and want to read your news from any machine, then this flawless web-based reader is what you want. Comes with features, which only Google can come out with and is empowered with the concept of sharing and collaboration. I am hooked to this and have most of my RSSs subscribed in Google Reader.
3. Bloglines: Been in existence for sometime now, this is another web-based reader with some great feautres. One of my favorite features in bloglines is the option of creating playlists with your RSS subscribed feeds. You can set-up a blog with bloglines and integrate it with your bloglines reader account. This one has a long way to go!
4. Netvibes: If you have used Google’s iGoogle and were amused that it was the best personalized page service you encountered, then I am afraid you have not tried netvibes. This is one of the best personalized home page service you’ll find on web. With an eye candy web 2.0 interface, netvibes also brings the power of integrating your news feeds at one spot. Driven on client side Ajax technology, netvibes have features which could take you great amount of time to explore. I really like this one and am hooked to it. I was never a fan of iGoogle, but I guess I found an alternative with which I can live with. This comes with a feature of finding friends from various services like gmail and yahoo who use netvibes. I am too surprised to that only 1 among 400 odd contacts in my gmail use this service. Quite a disappointment. You have a Firefox extension that you can integrate with netvibes service.
5. Wizz RSS News Reader: I cannot hold myself from having a Firefox extension based news reader in this elite list. The one I have used and have loved is Wizz RSS News Reader. Because most part of my web browsing time is spent using Firefox or Flock, having a feed reader that sits right into your browser avoids a lot of signing in and out. This extension is quite advanced with great features and you don’t need an account to read your news.

I hope I have tried to give a perspective of my favorite RSS readers and what I like about them. There are so many services out there that I am sure you’d end up with something that caters to your needs.

RSS “brings websites to the user, who would otherwise have to chase the website.” [3. Keith O'Brien, PR Week]

Coming to the second part of evaluation. I’d say a +1 to all the web-based readers over their counterparts. The reason is simple, I should be able to access and read my news from any part of the world, from any machine and an Operating system independent News Reader. I’d say Google Reader would be my first choice followed by NetVibes, just because of my dependence on Google’s SSO.

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