The new version of Google Reader is light years better than the previous (read: actually usable). The scrolling/loading is still a bit clunky, but that’s just implementation niggles that I’m sure can get filed down. It also starts to include a full stream view (although the filtering seems to have taken a step back – there’s just no grouped/labeled feeds?) It also doesn’t seem to have any sort of real aggregation (collecting things into piles).

The absolutely worst thing though is expressed in Chris’ video message though. I can understand the pitch of Reader as an “Inbox for the Web,” but I already have an Inbox, it has big numbers and things to unbold, and it doesn’t do that by itself – the last thing I need/want is more to be deluged and responsible for. The Inbox metaphor may work for those who have a few sites they read, but how does it let me sample/prioritize for hundreds or thousands of feeds? (Simple answer: it doesn’t!)