What
is this?
An RSS file is basically a list
of headlines encoded so that it can
be easily used by another program
or website. RSS is usually said to
stand for "Really Simple Syndication" and
it is relatively easy to implement
and use. RSS is a form of XML (eXtensible
Markup Language), which means that
each piece of data in the list — a
headline, a description of a story — is
coded separately so that a program
will know exactly what to do with
it.
Programs that know what to do with
RSS files are called "news aggregators," and
there are a lot of different options.
Most are very easy to use. They all
let you read headlines from dozens
or hundreds of news sites at one
time. You simply plug in the addresses
of the RSS files you want, such as
the ones listed above.
You can either sign up for an online
service, or download the aggregator
software and install it on your computer.
Once you have done that, right-click
on the 'XML' button above, and choose
"Copy Link Location" from the menu,
and add it to your aggregator manually.
This is a slightly different process
for each aggregator, so look to the
help files that come with it.
Some popular downloadable aggregators
are FeedDemon (for
Windows), NetNewsWire (for
Mac), Radio (for
Windows or Mac), KlipFolio (for
Windows ), NewsWatcher (for
Windows XP), NewzCrawler (for
Windows), and Shrook (for
Mac OS 10). Pluck integrates
right into IE 6.0 on Windows XP and
2000.
If you don't want to install any
software, you might try websites
that do the aggregation for you. NewsGator lets
you read online or in your e-mail
software (add
your feeds here) while Bloglines offers
a very slick interface. My
Feedster marries an aggregator
to an RSS search engine and Oddpost (for
Windows) is a paid web-based e-mail
service that includes a built-in
aggregator.
Yahoo! lets you add RSS feeds to
your personalized page.
MSN now
has a comparable capability.
Other software packages that work
only with Windows and require Microsoft's
.NET to be installed on your PC (you
probably have it if you have Windows
XP, but if you have to ask, you probably
don't want to check) are: VoxLite, Wildgrape
News Desk, SharpReader, BlogExpress,
and RSS
Bandit (open source).
If you do want to install new software,
you might try the Firefox
Web browser, which lets you save
RSS feeds as "Live Bookmarks" that
update regularly (the Sage
extension makes Firefox a more
useful aggregator. The Opera
browser integrates support for
RSS feeds into its email reader.
Other interesting RSS applications:
a ticker called Enewsbar gives
you scrolling headlines at the top
or bottom of your screen (Windows
and IE required); nntp//rss lets
you read RSS files in Outlook Express
or any other newsgroup-reading software
(java required); and ToolButton adds
a toolbar to your browser, with all
the headlines for a site under a
button.
Another thing RSS lets you do is
put Herald headlines on your site,
which update themselves automatically
when the RSS feeds update. One way
to do this is to use the Feed2JS service.
Enter the URL for one of the Herald's
feeds, copy the line of javascript
supplied, and simply insert it into
your site's HTML code. Another flexible
service is RSS
Digest. If you want to
do-it-yourself, WebReference has
instructions for using
Perl, and CaRP uses
PHP (as well as offering a low-cost
service where they run the scripts
for you). Another PHP option is LastRSS.
For more information on the implications
and uses of RSS, you can read these
articles from the Online
Journalism Review and the American
Press Institute. For more on
using and creating RSS feeds, turn
to this tutorial
from the Utah State Government.
Another useful and extensive list
of RSS resources is at LockerGnome.
Questions or comments? Use our feedback
form.
Copyright Notice
RSS files © Copyright 2005
The Durango Herald. These
files are offered to individuals
and non-commercial organizations
only. Newspapers, magazines, and
other commercial websites wishing
to use Herald RSS files, please
contact our
sales staff. |
