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News feeds allow you to be alerted when
web sites have added new content. In essence the feeds
are just web pages designed to be read by a computer rather
than by people. News feeds are known as RSS (Really Simple
Syndication or Rich Site Summary) and it is a convenient way
to keep track of the latest additions to websites.
RSS feeds are written in xml (Extensible
Markup Language) format and require software designed to
interpret the content. The URL of the xml file is passed to
software that interprets and displays the information in a
readable format.
There are several ways you can access this
feed and have the information displayed in a readable
format:
- Through a live bookmark
This method requires a browser that automatically checks
for feeds and supports live bookmarks. The current versions
of most browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari)
support live bookmarks.
Clicking on the RSS feed icon  that
appears in the browser’s window, when there is a feed
available, will often add RSS feed to the bookmark list. See
the help menu of the individual browsers to learn how to
access a RSS feed.
- Through a web service that supports RSS feeds
These services are generally free and are provided by
most of the major search engines. Once an account has been
set up, there often is access to a RSS reader. See the
service’s help section for setting up and using their RSS
reader.
- Through RSS news reader software
There is a variety of software on the Internet for
reading RSS feeds and new versions are appearing all the
time. This software is installed on the local machine. See
the software’s help section for setting up and viewing a RSS
feed so that it will work with your particular
browser. |