How To Create A Google Reader Client Using Fluid
A few months ago, I wrote about my undying love for Google's RSS Reader application. Up until just a few days ago, I was content with popping open a browser, dialing up Google Reader, and perusing my feeds. With well over a 100 feeds, I rarely encountered an instance where I didn't have something new waiting for me. However, I've always lamented the fact that I had no reliable method to be notified when Google Reader had new feeds waiting for me.
That all changed this past Sunday when I took Fluid for a spin. Fluid allows you to create Site-Specific Browsers (SSBs), which in my case, gave me the ability to create a browser that ONLY rendered the Google Reader website. On the surface, that doesn't sound very interesting. However, as you can see in the screenshot above, after using a little CSS/JavaScript magic, I was able to turn my SSB into a full-fledged desktop client for Google Reader. The Fluid website has an excellent tutorial on how to go about building your own Google Reader client. If you follow the tutorial, you'll have *almost* everything you need to build your client. The things the tutorial lacks can be found below: 1. A great app needs a great dock icon. With that being said, Deviant-artist, "Jvstin", has created a fantastic icon set for Google Reader. You can search for other alternatives, but this one suited my needs quite well.2. The keyboard shortcuts are critical when navigating a series of RSS feeds. Thankfully, you can continue to use Google Reader's built-in keyboard shortcuts. I've included a screenshot of those commands, but you can always type "?" while using Google Reader to have the list pop-up. That should cover it. Try setting things up and post your results here. Enjoy!
