RSS - What is it?

RSS or Really Simple Syndication is a useful tool for keeping updated on your favorite websites. RSS uses a process that constantly checks the content of a website for any updates and then sends those updates to anyone who has ‘subscribed’ to it. It sends a feed like an email; a special web site; or is picked up by special software on your computer.
RSS is usually used for news web sites or other ones whose content changes on an unpredictable schedule. Examples of such websites are news sites, community and religious organization information pages, product information pages, medical websites, and weblogs. Repeatedly checking each website to see if there is any new content can be very tedious. Remember, any website can use this method to send out information. When an update is sent out, it includes a headline and a small amount of text, either a summary or the lead-in to the larger story. You will need to click a link to read the full information.
In order to receive these RSS feeds, you must have something called an newsreader or a feed reader. There are a number of newsreaders online, many of them free, so with a little bit of searching, you should be able to find one that you like. (See below) In addition to being available on your computer, because such a small amount of information is sent out, RSS feeds can be read on PDAs and by cell phones.
When you find a website that you would like to ‘subscribe’ to, you can do so in one of two ways. Most sites that offer a feed have an "RSS" or "XML" button on their homepage that you can click on and it will instantly add that feed to your newsreader. However, depending on your newsreader, you may instead need to copy and paste the URL of the page into the reader program.
Either way, the feed will be available as soon as you've added it, and your next update could arrive in seconds. If you ever decide that you don't want to receive updates anymore, you simply delete the feed or URL from your newsreader.
Perhaps you already receive information on website updates through some sort of e-mail newsletter. One of the best advantages of RSS feeds to newsletter updates from the same site is because these feeds are instantaneous; you don't have to wait until a certain day of the week to receive your summary. They will also never be held up by a spam filter.
RSS feeds are used daily by people who realize the convenience of them.
How to get it
Two basic varieties of newsreader exist. Most are standalone applications that run in the background on your desktop, automatically updating headlines regularly with newsfeeds from your subscribed Web sites and blogs. In this category there is Awasu (http://www/awasu.com - free), FeedDemon (http://www.newsgator.com click on FeedDemon, 30 day free then $29.95), and NewsGator Online Services (http://www.newsgator.com/), three popular standalone readers that offer free trials and paid premium versions.
A second group of newsreaders plugs in to applications already running on your PC. For instance, NewsGator works with Microsoft Outlook, populating Inbox folders with headlines from subscribed channels. Pluck, on the other hand, works with Internet Explorer. The new (whenever it comes out) IE7 will have it built in and Opera already handles it beautifully, as does Thunderbird. There are excellent RSS extensions for Firefox as well. http://sage.mozdev.org/
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