NewsLife: News, blog and RSS reading simplified

In a world of RSS readers that are unveiling major new features and power beyond our wildest dreams, it's nice to see a new app that's getting back to basics. NewsLife (beta) from ThinkMac Software (previously the makers of what looks to be the retired NewsMac Pro) is just such an app, as it strips down to the simplified basics of reading news and blogs sites through RSS for those who are interested in this handy medium, but might be intimidated by more powerful juggernauts like NetNewsWire.

Upon opening NewsLife, you are presented with a simple window and a few pre-installed news feeds to get you started. Individual headlines and posts are summarized in the centered reading pane in favor of fitting more headlines on a single page, and clicking any headline will open the entire article – still in a stripped down, content-only RSS view – in a new tab. Clicking the arrow next to any headline will open the actual item in your default browser, and some simple searching tools are provided in the right-most pane. Beyond that, there are some other niceties sprinkled throughout, such as a gear menu in the lower right with blog, email, digg and del.icio.us options, but all this 'extra' functionality is hidden well in a way that it shouldn't get in the way of new users who might not be interested in taking those leaps just yet.

Overall, it looks like NewsLife is a good effort, and its €12 price (about $16 US as of this writing) is a good deal for an entry level RSS app. Of course, a demo is also available, so take it for a test drive if you're looking for a simple, streamlined app for reading your favorite news sites and blogs.