|
What is RSS?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is an XML based format ("RSS Content") for easily distributing a list of headlines and update notices to a wide number of people. RSS Feeds are used by computer programs called RSS Readers that organize those headlines and notices for easy reading.
What problem does RSS solve?
Most people are interested in many websites whose content changes on an unpredictable schedule. Examples of such websites are news sites, athletic events, product information pages, medical websites, and weblogs. Repeatedly checking each website to see if there is any new content can be very tedious.
Email notification of changes was an early solution to this problem. Unfortunately, when you receive email notifications from multiple websites they are usually disorganized and can get overwhelming, and are often mistaken for spam.
RSS is a better way to be notified of new and changed content. Notifications of changes to multiple websites are handled easily, and the results are presented to you well organized and distinct from email.
How to use RSS feeds?
Generally, in order to view RSS feeds on your computer, you will first need to acquire a RSS Reader. To add a RSS feed, click on the XML button, copy the URL of the XML code page that comes up, then paste it into your RSS Reader.
Examples
Browser RSS Readers Some browsers, like the popular Firefox browser, have a built in RSS reader. To add the RSS feed to Firefox click on the RSS icon  in the URL Address Block and subscribe. The icon is found in the lower right corner of the browser window for older Firefox versions.
The feed can also be added manually to Firefox by copying the URL of the RSS feed (right click on XML image and select Copy Shortcut/Link). Then click on Bookmarks, Manage Bookmarks, File, New Livemark. Enter a name like "Subaru Triathlon Series". Paste in the URL of the RSS feed. Click Ok and close out of the Bookmark Manager. The RSS feed can be located in the Bookmarks and will be automatically updated whenever new content is published.
Internet Explorer 7.0+ also have built in RSS readers.
Web Based Readers MyYahoo! has a built in RSS reader. Click on the button  to add the RSS feed to your MyYahoo account. You can also add to MyYahoo manually by copying the URL of the RSS feed (right click on XML image and select Copy Shortcut/Link) and paste the URL of the RSS feed into the MyYahoo Add RSS feed box. more information
Stand Alone RSS Readers There are literally hundreds of stand alone readers. The advantages to using these over Browser, Web Based and All in One Readers are features and more features. In short most save the user time when viewing many RSS feeds.
|
