NewsGator FeedDemon 2.6

I thought I would give FeedDemon a try as suggested by Jeffro2pt0 and also because it’s free. Who can pass up free software with good reviews? Not me.

I am not writing a full review, but more of a short first time experience with FeedDemon.  I hope that by sharing my experience, I can help others decide if FeedDemon is the right software to use.

I started off by importing a file I exported from Google Reader and FeedDemon only  imported very few feeds. A bug? I had to tell it to import a second time and it added more that was missing. Since I am subscribed to so many, I don’t know if it’s still missing some feeds. I will assume it found what was left.

I have to say my favorite feature is the Panic Button. What is the Panic Button? Say you have 1,000 feed items to read and don’t have the time. Hit the Panic Button and mark all items, items older than 24 hours, 48 hours, etc. as read. That is the best feature to have. I usually try to skim through all items, but sometimes you just have to let them go. I went ahead and marked all items as read since I had previously gone through them in Google Reader and didn’t need to go through them a second time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out how to add the Panic Button to the toolbar in FeedDemon.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m used to how simple Google Reader is to use, but I still feel myself going back to it. FeedDemon makes me feel like it will just fill up with items, eventually filling up my hard drive.  And no other feed reader that I’ve tried seems to have the feature to automatically mark an item as read when I’ve passed it. That’s the one feature I like about Google Reader that has kept me hooked.

FeedDemon seems okay, but not exactly what I want. So, again, it seems I’m back to Google Reader. Anyone have any other recommendations on feed readers that might be more similar to how Google Reader works? I want one that will save me time, instead of clicking to mark each item as read or having to remember to mark all items as read when I’m done looking at them.

Portable DVD Players on Wize

In my opinion, a portable DVD player is one of those products you need to do research on before actually making a final purchase. They can be cheap or they can be expensive. It’s hard to know if one will be worth the purchase unless you actually use one and know from experience if it is exactly what you’re looking for or just going to be returned in a few days.

We have one that was purchased before we went to Virginia Beach for vacation. It was to keep our almost four-year-old son entertained on such a long trip. Not a very good experience. He kept pushing the buttons, popping out the disc. It was hard enough to reach behind and try to figure out which button was the correct button to play a video instead of going through some menu.

I think if we had seen reviews from other people who have had experience with different brands, we may have a different portable DVD player.

Wize has a WizeRank system that shows you a nice big rank for each product that people have left reviews for. It takes user reviews and expert reviews and creates a WizeRank to help you decide if it will be a good purchase. Of course it also depends on what you’re looking for.

For portable DVD players though, it looks like a Toshiba would be a good buy as it has a WizeRank of 91, which isn’t surprising as Toshiba makes really good products.  It also shows that users love it.

Compared to other websites that give you reviews of products, Wize shows you one score that is calculated to help you find a product with better reviews. A good way to find out which product you shouldn’t buy as well, if you look for the lowest WizeRank.

Compared to Amazon’s reviews, Wize is a lot easier to tell which product is a better choice.

Two WordPress Theme Giveaways

I love giveaways. Unlike last time when I posted about a giveaway, I’m not entering. I’m just informing you, the readers, about this giveaway in case you are interested in winning a new WordPress theme for your blog. These are nice looking premium themes!

There are instructions for entering to win. Don’t feel too rushed, they both end on January 28, 2008 and are hosted by Blogging Mix.

• Win Your Blog a New WordPress Theme
• Win a Block Magazine WordPress Theme Designed By WordPress Rockstar Adii

Good luck everyone.

Bid and Donate to Charity

I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s fun bidding on auctions. Usually you get the item for cheaper than you would at a store. At least I try to, otherwise I might as well buy it at the regular price from a store.

I just learned about Bidaroo.com today. It’s a new charity auction site where everything is 80-90% below retail.  That sounds like a great deal! And, at least 25% of net proceeds are donated to charity. That’s very generous.

My favorite part is that shipping is free! I always hate buying something online, not even considering the cost of shipping until it’s calculated at the end and I realize I’m spending more than I want to.

I haven’t bid on anything yet, because my shopping is usually done right after Christmas. But, once some birthdays come around, I’ll have to see what is available for bidding on. The $2,000 Best Buy Gift Card at Bidaroo’s price of $200 is very tempting though.

Check them out and see what you think and then leave a comment here. Anyone else heard of Bidaroo or have experience bidding and/or winning an item there?

Sponsored by Bidaroo