More on RSS Feeds

According to Wikipedia, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts. An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" or "channel") contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays.

RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", "feed aggregators" or an "aggregator". The aggregator provides a consolidated view of the content in a single browser display or desktop application. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process.

Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update. The content is sometimes described as being "pulled" to the subscriber, as opposed to "pushed" with email or IM. Unlike recipients of some "pushed" information, the aggregator user can easily unsubscribe from a feed.

Aggregator or Feed Readers

There are a variety of aggregators available. Some aggregators are web-based while others need to be installed locally on your computer.

The graphical user interface often closely resembles that of popular e-mail clients, using a three-panel composition in which subscriptions are grouped in a frame on the left, and individual entries are browsed, selected, and read in frames on the right.

Web-based aggregators are applications that reside on remote servers (on the web) and are typically available as Web applications such as Google Reader or Bloglines. Because the application is available via the Web, it can be accessed anywhere by a user with an Internet connection.

Here are a few of the most popular RSS readers:

• RSS Bandit
• FeedDemon
• NewsGator Inbox with Microsoft Outlook.
• Bloglines (Web-based)
• Pageflakes (Web-based)
• Google Reader (Web-based)

More information on RSS is available at:

• Wikipedia - RSS, Web feed, Web Syndication
• newsgator - RSS Learning Center