Lector - A news reader for people who want one simple thing: read

Yeah, it’s been awhile since my last post here. In my mind, trying to deliver a constant stream of information would be easier. But, with all the things that have been happening in my life, it gets harder and harder to stop everything and write. Nevertheless, this hiatus happened for a good reason: it happened so I could have more time for the realization of a dream of mine.

I’ve been reading feeds for quite some time, and in a quite intense way too: it was not unusual for me that Google Reader showed me a (feared by many) 1000+ on its counter. And I always liked that things worked this way. I like the feeling of navigating through a giant sea of information, searching for unknown lands full of fresh and relevant information.

Google Reader always have been my reader of choice. I really tried using other ones, but they ended up being bulky, counterintuitive, ugly. However, even being my top of mind when it comes to RSS readers, Google Reader wasn’t perfect. But, although its defects kinda bothered me, they were minor, so the discomfort wasn’t strong enough to propel me to create something. Yeah, I was stuck in the comfort zone.

But, then, Google announced they would be killing Reader. At first, there was shock, followed by bewilderment… And, at last, a spark. A spark that lit the fire that would end up igniting the flame of proactivity, of the creativity, of idealism: it’s time to build the RSS reader I always wanted.

By joining forces with a friend that had the same wishes and wills, we made our RSS reader possible. We built a product that makes us proud of it. We created Lector.

Lector: for those who read

Lector: for those who read.

Lector: for those who read.

Lector is a RSS reader targeted for those who want a no frills reading experience. To achieve this, we designed an as clean as possible layout, avoiding the use of anything that could cause the sensation of restrainment in any way; also, we tried to remove any structure or marking that could distract you from what really matters: the content. We also have a very interesting set of hotkeys, ready to be used by those who can’t move the hands away from the keyboard, providing a fast and seamless navigation.

But, of course, we aren’t stopping there. An application with a pleasant interface and nice performance is just the start. We have many ideas yet to be implemented, and we are eager to implement them. Why? Because we are RSS reader’s users, just like you. We want an application that can provide us a wide range of features as badly as you. Nonetheless, time is our only enemy, because we are sure that we can achieve the goals that we are aiming for. There may be some daring ones, but we are up for the challenge.

Besides all the things that we already want to implement, we are really eager to know what you, Lector user, would like to see implemented. We are probably missing something that is really important to much people. So, after you try it out, leave us a feedback on how it can be improved, or about what feature is missing.

Oh, and, at last: it will be a paid service. But, please, don’t see this as a bad thing: by requiring you a little amount of money to use the service, we can, then, assure you that we won’t monetize your private information; or else, that the servers will manage to take the load that is required.

So, yeah, that’s pretty much it. And it is with great joy that I can finally invite you all: please, do try Lector. Maybe your Google Reader replacement is here.

Edit: unfortunately, due to time constraints and external factors, we decided to shut down the project.