I think I finally found the RSS aggregator of my life. Going through Lockergnome’s RSS resources, basically trying every single (free) aggregator for Windows, I finally ended up sticking with FeedDemon .
Previously its low beta version numbers had kept me from really giving it a go, but I must say the current beta 5 is quite nice. It does pretty much everything I want from an aggregator: It can launch links in my default browser, custom update intervals for feeds (it even respects the TTL set in the feed), single-key reading of entries, and quick and simple adding of feeds.
The interface is pleasant to look at, intuitive, and shows an attention to usability details you don’t usually see in Windows programs. As an added bonus I can define my own style for showing entries using XSLT so I can make my daily RSS reading look exactly like I want it.
So far the only real downside I have noticed is the yet unknown pricetag. Hopefully this won’t be too much and I might even be able to not be a cheapskate for once and support Nick Bradbury and his kids.