This is probably more of a rant than an 'interesting architectural piece' but anyway...

I typically use JetBrains Omea Reader for my blog reading as it has a whole bunch of features for categorisation, annotation, and workspace separation that are appealing. Reading feeds is an important part of my 'research time' in terms of thought, but also assessing what's happening out there.

As a 'breadth' role (old money: 'jack of all trades') I end up with an enormous amount of useful feeds, which I can dip into from time to time as I need to re-remember a technology or ramp up on a new one.

The problem with Omea Reader is that the database is on my laptop. Great for when I'm at work but at home in MarcZone, I use my other machine. Additionally, whilst I read feeds at work, I tend to act upon them (respond, research) while I'm at home.

So I need a good online reader. OK, so there are a few, but none which offer the same features as Omea - or the level of responsiveness of an office-type application (correct me if I'm wrong though!).

Google Reader is probably closest, but the idea of the offline 'Gears' version just doesn't cut the mustard for me. For everything that is right with GMail just feels wrong with Reader. Also, I'm happy with an AJAX experience whilst I'm online, but I really want a richer offline experience and no amount of AJAX provides the level required.

And this is what Software & Services is about on a micro- and practical-level (IMHO). I'd like an online service to maintain the data, and enable the access from anywhere - key features of the service. But I want some software that enriches that experience, and utilises user interaction services to a greater degree than "oh, it's like the web but it's offline".