What is RSS?
RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication. It is a technology that allows websites to send their latest headlines, also called news feeds, to your computer. If you opt to subscribe to the RSS feeds on your favorite websites, story headlines or features from the website content you picked are displayed in one convenient location on your desktop and updated as soon as new content is published to the websites.
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Why should I use RSS?
RSS feeds are a time-saver, and offer convenient and easy access to your favorite websites. You can access the web content that is likely to interest you without having to surf the web to look for it. The news or information automatically shows up on your RSS compatible application, and you can choose to click on the link to read the whole article, or just scan the latest headlines. Your RSS links will update as new content is published to the websites, so you can check them often if you want to stay on top of the latest news.
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How do I subscribe to RSS feeds?
Unless you are using the most current editions of browsers (Internet Explorer 7 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 2 or higher), you will generally need a news aggregator (a feed reading computer application) which reads RSS feeds. Some readers are browser-based and let you check up on the feeds you subscribe to from any computer. On
Google.com, you can find links to different readers available for easy download, most of them at no cost. Some web-based readers require you to go through a registration process. Since RSS readers vary slightly in how they work, you may want to try out a few before picking one. Once you have chosen a reader, you can go to any website that offers RSS feeds and subscribe to the content you want to receive.
| Here are some ways to subscribe to our RSS Feeds: |
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Click on one of the links in the box at the top of this page, where the RSS feeds we offer are listed |
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Copy (ctrl+c) and paste (ctrl+v) the URL of the RSS feed into your News Reader |
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Which aggregator/news reader should I pick?
There is a wide range of news readers available, and new versions are introduced frequently. However, different readers work on different operating systems, so you need to choose one that will work on your personal computer. The following are some examples:
Web-based News Readers:
Browser Readers:
Email Clients:
Mac OS X:
Windows:
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How can I use my web brower as a news reader?
Many browsers, such as Firefox, have built-in RSS reading ability that you can access simply by clicking on the industry recognized RSS icon. This is known as Live Bookmarking, a method of displaying RSS feeds as a folder of bookmarks. back to top
