AlmondRocks: Minimalist web RSS reader

by Jordan Running Dec 30th 2005

Looking for a lightweight web-based feed reader? AlmondRocks would seem to be right up your alley. It's a simple two-pane feed reader which is most aptly described with either of two adjectives: "simple" and "fast." AlmondRocks eschews BlogLines' frames and goes for an AJAXy interface which is a pleasure to use. If you want to give it a try it's got a cool "guest" mode where you can play with all the features and if you like it, create an account on the spot which will save all of your settings from your test-drive. My only two criticisms are that it shows posts in chronological rather than reverse-chronological order, and when viewing a feed for the first time (i.e. when there are a lot of unread entries), it can take awhile to load.

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

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