file is basically a list of headlines encoded so that it can be
easily used by another program or website. RSS is usually said to
stand for "Really Simple Syndication" and it is relatively
easy to implement and use. RSS is a form of XML (eXtensible Markup
Language), which means that each piece of data in the list
a headline, a description of a story is coded separately
so that a program will know exactly what to do with it.
know what to do with RSS files are called "news aggregators."
They let you read headlines from dozens or hundreds of news sites
at one time. You simply plug in the addresses of the RSS files you
want, such as the ones listed above.
are proliferating, for a variety of platforms and degrees of technical
expertise. Some popular ones are Amphetadesk
(for Windows, Linux, or Mac), Radio
(for Windows or Mac), NetNewsWire
(for Mac), KlipFolio,
NewzCrawler (for Windows),
and FeedReader (a bare-bones
Estonian PC version). [If you use Mozilla
Firefox, their is a internal rss reader
If you don't
want to install any software, you might try a free website Bloglines,
which offers a simple way to read RSS files in your browser. There's
also Oddpost (for Windows),
a web-based e-mail service that includes a built-in aggregator.
packages that require a bit of technical knowledge are Syndirella,
and Wildgrape News Desk
(all require Microsoft's .NET to be installe\d on your PC). A Java
installation is required for nntp//rss,
a program which lets you read RSS files in Outlook Express or any
other newsgroup-reading software. Or if you'd like your RSS headlines
in a news ticker, try wTicker
Once you have
one of these aggregators installed, click on the 'Subscribe' button.
It will take you to a page where you can add the RSS feed to any
of the most popular aggregators with one more click. Or you can
copy the URL from the little orange XML logo next to the RSS feed
you wish to read, and add it to your aggregator manually. This is
a slightly different process for each aggregator, so look to the
help files that come with it."
For more information
on RSS, check out this site.