OPod, the OPML RSS killer widget. [An EirePreneur exlcusive!]

I've been closely following the evolution of OPML browsers over the last few months, trying to guess which one had the pedigree to become the killer-app in the genre. My favourite had been Taskable, which integrates RSS reading along with OPML browsing. The only problem is that its a standalone software download which always left me wondering just how many people installed it after I exhorted them to go view the Open Irish Directory through it.

But now my dream OPML/RSS browser has been launched by Rowan Nairn. OPod is "an AJAX OPML and RSS viewer widget that you can embed in any web page you like." Its kind of like like Taskable in a browser.

Now I'm a certified geek but it still takes something special to get me breathless... and right now I'm reaching for my inhaler! Not only does OPod allow you to browse OPML hierarchies and seamlessly drill down into RSS feeds but it does so using the classiest, most intuitive interface I've seen and which Rowan acknowledges was inspired by the simple genius of the iPod's menu system.

Russell Beattie wrote a very insightful rant about User Interfaces once -

There’s the picture of the iPod’s user interface again. I just think it’s so clear, consistent and easy to understand and use by just about everyone. My Mom could easily navigate that menuing system. Apple could have put buttons and drop downs and a whole load of crap on that UI, but they didn’t. They kept it insanely clean and easy to use. I think this is the nicest gadget interface there is.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think in hierarchies and outlines... What’s my point? That we need to do like Apple did with the iPod and review how our UIs work. We need less widgets, not more. We need more than simplicity, we need consistency. And since *all* data is a hierarchy, using that as a base for all UI elements would be a good thing. Teach a newbie: “This is how a hierarchy works. Now, anytime you need to find or edit information - whether it’s the MP3 you want to play or the settings on your phone, now you’ll know how.”

I couldn't agree more and that's why I think OPod is the perfect OPML widget. A great way to try it out is to browse the default file following the Government & Law -> Citizen Information, Services & Rights -> Digital Rights -> Digital Rights Reading List. That (seamlessly) opens Simon McGarr's included file and presents you with the list of blog feeds he collected. Now click on IT Law in Ireland, for instance, and you'll see the list of latest posts to that blog. Click on a title to read a post right there, in the widget. Simply elegant, isn't it.

Disclosure: I did have a dialogue with Rowan during development of OPod but the inspiration was all his! I'm also a node manager of the default OPML file