RSS Feeds
What are RSS Feeds?
RSS feeds allow you to see when websites have added new
content. You can get the latest headlines in one place, as soon as
its published, without having to visit the websites you have taken
the feed from.
Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what
RSS stands for, but most people plump for 'Really Simple
Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages,
designed to be read by computers rather than people.
How do I start using feeds?
The first thing you need is something called a news reader. This
is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any
new articles that have been added. There are many different
versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of
which are downloadable applications.
Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed
subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications
let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you
either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a
web-based service like Hotmail.
There are wide range of free news readers available
including:
Windows
Mac OS X
Web based
Browser
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to
decide what content you want it to receive.
When you see this symbol on the site you know you can click it
and sign up to an RSS Feed.