Why is so difficult to find a dependable RSS reader?

[Ballatician]

It seems nearly impossible to find decent software to follow one's most commonly read sites, organize them in folders and with tags, share them to a social network if need be, or push them to a service like Readability or Instapaper that make them a lot simpler to view. Everything seems to require previous Google reader use or access to your account. Currently testing NetVibes.com. What do you use AT?

Requirements
1. Does not need Google account to sign in or manage subscriptions

2. Desktop or Browser application and also either a mobile/tablet view or mobile app to read (Android)

3. Ability to easily share blog posts or articles to twitter

4. Ability to convert them to easy to read formats with apps like Readability

5. Tagging to organize different topics and feeds (this seems hard to find)

Optional

1. Looks nice

 

[corkyg]

Those are very good requirements. Maybe the problem is that RSS is not all that dependable?

 

[Ballatician]

Perhaps, though I haven't had too many problems so far. I am not tied to it being an RSS reader if there was some other way to organize commonly read sites by subject/tags in a single dashboard style interface with headlines of the articles at minimum.

 

[MrColin]

I use Opera for this. I know it might not really fit all of your requirements but there is a large plugin repository that might get you the features not included by default.

 

[Ballatician]

I use Opera for this. I know it might not really fit all of your requirements but there is a large plugin repository that might get you the features not included by default.

Opera eh? It'd be great to hear more about your setup and what you do and don't like about it.

 

[Ballatician]

bump

 

[SMOGZINN]

You can't find what you are looking for because Google Reader has so completely dominated the market that there was little other work being done on RSS readers for the past 5 years. I suspect we will see a number of them pop up this summer.

As for what you are looking for, check out feedly and newsblur. Neither are desktop programs but both work well.

 

[abaez]

newsblur is the closest thing I've found.