RSS Feeds

What are RSS feeds?
RSS feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest headlines and video in one place, as soon as its published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from.

How do I start using feeds?
In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader or aggregator. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. 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.

Most modern browsers, including Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer and Safari,automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display the orange RSS icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to feeds much easier.

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.