Get what you need when you need it and where you need it. RSS means Really Simple Syndication. It is a XML-based (Extensible Markup Language) Web syndication tool for Web sites and blogs. (Blog - A public Web site/message board with personal posts ordered so that the most recent is always first. Often these posts (or "Channes" or "Feeds") are also archived and searchable. Posts may come from one or many individuals, and the messages often share a common theme. The most recent blogs posted, with links and a brief description, are available via RSS.) RSS feeds bring automatically updated information straight to your desktop. You can monitor news, blogs, job listings, etc. More and more sites offer feeds, which you can identify by a small button that says either RSS or XML.


What makes RSS important is its ability to repackage new content with information such as date, title, link, and brief description. An RSS Reader (much like a newsreader) then interprets this feed so that the user need only read the description and link to the news story or post.

Finding the latest news and info is not easy with the explosion of internet sites. Stay ahead of the game by filtering the important information you need by receiving RSS feeds when and where you want them. Most search engines (Yahoo, for example) and ISP portals have built-in RSS readers. Others are on the way.

To properly read a RSS feed you will need a RSS reader or use 'My Yahoo' (or other search engines that filter RSS feeds). To download a standalone program visit Download.com and choose from among the many RSS readers listed there. Many are free (such as "RSS Reader").

When you first launch a standalone reader, most often you will see a toolbar and three window panes arranged much like the preview mode in Microsoft Outlook. The pane on the left side typically displays RSS feeds, or channels, to which you are subscribed. These can be organized into categories or folders. The upper-right panel typically shows a list of articles within whichever channel is selected, and the article content is then displayed in the lower-right panel. To change channel groups, just click the drop-down box at the upper left beneath the menus. Sometimes a brief description will appear in the lower right; if so, click the link in the article to load the complete text. Some standalone apps can be configured to send you e-mail every time there's a new article on a topic you're interested in. Most, however, will display a small dialog or pop-up window over the taskbar informing you of the channel, the title, and the URL of the new article.

Now it is time to add 'Channels' ...

Most RSS readers come preloaded with a bunch of channels, but you will want to add your own and Acorn Farms, of course! Most programs allow you to create new channel groups to organize your channels. To add a channel, for example, go to the Acorn Farms Home page and look for our RSS icon. Right-click and choose 'Copy Shortcut' Then go back to your RSS Reader, choose the category where you want the new subscription to live, select 'Add' or 'New' (depending on your RSS Reader) and paste it in the slot. That's it. The RSS feed will now be available to you and you can decide how often you would like it to update based on the webmaster updating his .xml feed file.

 More Info?
Informative article on RSS
can be found here.

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