What is RSS?
What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a technology that enables users to subscribe to various feeds of information from different websites. Using RSS allows you to see when websites have added new content and allows you to get the latest headlines and articles (or even audio files, photographs or video) in one place, as soon as they are published, without having to remember to visit each site every day.
RSS feeds are just a special kind of web page, designed to be read by computer software or other websites.
Not all websites currently provide RSS, but it is growing rapidly in popularity and many others, including Handelsblat, Les Echos and Expansion provide it.
How do I start using RSS feeds?
In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks RSS feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added to them. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want to receive in your news reader, by finding and subscribing to the relevant RSS feeds.
How do I get a news reader?
There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer. Examples of readers currently available include:
- Windows
- Mac OS X
- Web
