What is RSS?
In a world heaving under the weight of billions of web pages, keeping up to date with the information you want can be a drag.
Wouldn't it be better to have the latest news and
features delivered directly to you, rather than clicking from site to
site? Well now you can, thanks to a very clever service, RSS.
There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but
the majority plump for 'Really Simple Syndication'. Put plainly, it
allows you to identify the content you like and have it delivered
directly to you.
It takes the hassle out of staying up-to-date, by showing you the very latest information that you are interested in.
Not all websites currently provide RSS, but it is
growing rapidly in popularity and many others, including the Guardian,
New York Times and CNN do provide it.
How do I start using RSS feeds?
In general, the first thing you need is something called
a news reader. There are many different versions, some of which are
accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable
applications. All allow you to display and subscribe to the RSS feeds
you want.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do
is to decide what content you want. For example, if you would like the
latest Trinidad Express News stories, simply visit the home page of the site
and you will notice an orange RSS button on the left hand side.
If you click on the button you can subscribe to the feed
in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the RSS feed into
your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed
in your news reader.
Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, have
functionality which automatically picks up RSS feeds for you. For more
details on these, please check their websites.
How do I get a News Reader?
There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to take this into account when you make your
choice.
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