Canadian company Serence recently released V3.0 Beta of their KlipFolio(tm) RSS Dashboard software. This free, configurable, rollable, scrollable RSS/Atom/RDF reader uses a visual paradigm and currently handles 37 languages (using double bytes). Currently, KlipFolio runs only on Windows 2000 and XP. A MacOS version is in the works, but no word of a Linux version yet. [Hyperlinks below the sample image, at bottom.]
Serence uses .klip and .food XML formats, which are essentially code wrappers around your web feed’s URL. All you need is a text editor and a couple of minutes, and voila, you can create your own “Klip(tm)” (not to be confused with Google’s “web clips”).
Using a Klip is similar to using FeedBurner’s Headline Animator. (Both are great ways to promote your blog via web feeds.) You create a Klip and publish it to Serence’s KlipFarm(tm) free promotion site. You then bind an “add this Klip” graphic button or banner to the Klip/ feed, and display the graphic on your blog or website. Anyone who has KlipFolio downloaded can click on your “add Klip” graphic to add your Klip to their KlipFolio panel (the visual equivalent of subscribing to a web feed). If you’ve configured your Klip correctly, your own 16×16 icon will appear in the default rectangle. (See sample panel below.)
This fascinating visual paradigm for reading web feeds has one potential drawback. If you are the kind of person that subscribes to several dozen web feeds, eventually, you’ll end up with a desktop screen full of icons. But fiddling with them is almost like the software equivalent of playing with toy building blocks 😀
Links: Serence KlipFolio V3.0 beta or V2.6, FeedBurner. (If you’re alright with betas, I’d recommend V3.0 over 2.6, as the new version has better memory management.)