| Version | 0.6.4 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ETMSoftware |
| Release date | May 30, 2013 |
| Date added | May 30, 2013 |
| Os requirements | Windows 2003, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows, Windows 7, Windows XP |
| Requirements | None |
| Total downloads | 1,459 |
| Price | Free |
Description
Tickr is a Free Open Source RSS Reader that displays Feeds as a smooth scrolling line on your Desktop, as known from TV stations. What makes Tickr different from other tickers is that graphics are highly customizable and scrolling is fast and smooth. Settings include: Ticker scrolling speed, update delay, fonts, font sizes and colors, dimensions and location of the ticker on the screen, displaying the ticker inside a "draggable" window or without one, displaying or not a clock, and more (just check out the screenshots page.) You can bookmark your favorite RSS Feeds, link Tickr with your favourite browser so that you can open links and watch web pages you're interested in with just one click. You can play, pause, reload the current Feed, and change the scrolling speed on the fly. Tickr is a native Linux application written in C with GTK+2.0 and Libxml2. It has been ported to Windows with MinGW and runs fine on both platforms.
Review
Tickr is an impressive piece of software, but due to unclear labels, a long setup process, and no obvious options panel, it is also very frustrating to use. After the installation process is complete, however, the resulting news ticker is intrinsically cool. Sliding across the top of the screen with headlines from your personally selected RSS feeds, you can keep up with news in your circle without interrupting your work.
The biggest obstacle to using Tickr is installation. It is a long, arduous process. Once the tool is finally installed, you will be asked to input information on no less than eight menus, with things like X and Y positioning. While every option is important, they are labeled in such a way that it is hard to know exactly what you are selecting. At the same time, it is unnecessarily complicated to go in and change those options once they are set. The only thing that is easy is changing your RSS feeds, though you'll need an OPML formatted file to do it, and Tickr doesn't help you create one, nor does it elaborate on what that means.
Tickr is a useful tool that can free you from digging through your favorite blogs and news sites while working, but it is also a needlessly complicated piece of software to set up. With the right GUI and easier options, it would be a great application that many people would enjoy. As is, we feel few will put up with the installation process to get that far.
