An overview of RSS and Web feeds

About RSS

You may have noticed Web pages sprouting orange boxes with the initials RSS or XML and wondered what they're for. These orange boxes indicate that the site offers RSS feeds, a tool to read Web content more quickly.

Depending on who you ask, RSS stands for either "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." Most people opt for simplicity and call them "feeds."

How do I get them?

Early on, people had to download special software to view RSS feeds; examples can be found http://blogspace.com/rss/readers"> here. But now many people check feeds on sites such as www.google.com/reader">Google Reader, http://my.yahoo.com/s/about/rss/index.html">My Yahoo, http://www.newsgator.com">NewsGator or http://www.bloglines.com">Bloglines. In addition, the latest version of most Web browsers let you read RSS feeds without special software. Or, you can set up RSS feeds in http://www.goupstate.com/myupstate">MyUpstate. We've set some up for you there already.

Why use them?

One enthusiast notes that his RSS reader, "enables me to keep up with my favorite sites in a fraction of the time it used to take to visit them each day."

When you check our feeds, you'll see a list of headlines and summary paragraphs of our most recent articles. To read a full article, click on the headline and you're directed to the article on our Web site.

If you check several Web sites daily, you'll begin to appreciate the convenience of quickly checking for updates in one place.

How do I subscribe to feeds?

Click on one of the section names above and follow the instructions for your particular news reader to subscribe to RSS feeds.

Don't worry about seeing a lot of Web code when you click on the link. The important thing is to get the address at the top of the Web browser into your RSS reader.

Can I read RSS in my handheld?

RSS readers are available for handheld computers that connect to the Internet via cellphone connection or WiFi

Handhelds that don't connect directly to the Internet can use http://sourceforge.net/projects/sunrisexp">Sunrise software in combination with a program called Plucker to capture RSS feeds and sync them for reading on the handheld.