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RSS Explained

An RSS file is 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." They 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.

There are many news aggregators available, and they are pretty easy to use (although some still require a little technical expertise). Some popular ones are Awasu, my personal favorite, (for Windows), FeedDemon (for Windows), NetNewsWire (for Mac), Radio (for Windows or Mac), 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. You can also check out additional readers at Download.com

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 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. Additionally Yahoo! And MSN lets you add RSS feeds to your personalized page.

Once you have downloaded and installed a reader you will then be able to receive our feed. For example, if you decide to use the Awasu reader software right click on the RSS or XML button then select subscribe in Awasu. That’s all there is to it.

Another thing RSS lets you do is put our 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 our feeds, copy the line of javascript supplied, and simply insert it into your site's HTML code. Another flexible service is RSS Digest. Feedroll offers a similar service for the Monitor's Top Stories only. 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.

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