What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an easy way to be updated on the latest news or articles on websites of interest to you without having to constantly visit them. When a website is updated, RSS notifies you and provides a link to the new content. RSS uses a 'feed reader' or 'aggregator' program to gather, subscribe and read RSS Feeds.
How do you use RSS?
Browsers
The simplest approach is probably to use the reader built into most current browsers, e.g. Explorer 7+, Firefox 2+, Opera 9+ or Safari 2+.
For full instructions on using the built-in reader, refer to your browser’s help pages or search for ‘RSS feeds in <your browser’s name>’ in your search engine.
Email applications
Many email applications like Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird incorporate RSS feed readers so that updates can be delivered directly to your inbox.
For full instructions on use, refer to your email application’s help pages or search for ‘RSS feeds for <your email application’s name>’ in your search engine.
Websites
Aggregator websites collect feeds from multiple sources on a single website. It is an easy and convenient way to use feeds, particularly if you use more than one computer. Popular aggregator websites include:
- Bloglines
- Google reader
- MyYahoo
- Netvibes
- NewsGator
Search for these names or ‘Popular feed readers’ in your search engine.
Software
Feed reader applications run on your computer like any other program. They include:
- News Crawler
- Feed Demon
- NetNewsWire
- Newsfire
- Amphe
Search for these names or ‘Popular RSS feed applications for <Windows> or <Mac>’ in your search engine.
