What is RSS?
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RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' or 'Rich Site Summary'
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It is an innovative piece of technology
which collects the latest additions from RSS enabled sites and delivers
them to your desktop
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It is most commonly used as a method of
collecting news stories as they are published, ensuring that you are
kept up-to-date with minimal effort
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The items of information gathered via RSS can be viewed in an RSS 'reader' or 'aggregator'
What is an RSS reader?
RSS readers are used to subscribe to and
view the content of RSS. There are three different types of reader. See
below for further details.
Desktop readers
Desktop readers require you to download a piece of
software onto your PC. In addition, some email software allows you to subscribe
to and view the contents of RSS.
Great News is a good option for
a desktop reader as it has good functionality and does not have any advertising
or pop ups. Downloading may not be allowed on some networks, however.
Browser based readers
Many modern web browsers are now compatible with
RSS. They work by automatically checking for newsfeeds as you browse the web.
Where feeds are available, the orange RSS icon will appear. Click on the RSS
icon to view the contents of the newsfeed and any subscription options. Browser
based readers can also take the form of a free add-on or download.
Mozilla provides both a web
browser and e-mail software that are compatible with RSS – Firefox and
Thunderbird respectively. This is widely used Open Source software and a
popular alternative to Microsoft.
Opera, Safari,
Chrome
and many other browsers are compatible with RSS except Internet Explorer 6 and earlier.
Web based readers
Web
based readers are simple to use and require no software downloads. They have
the advantage of being accessible from any computer with an internet
connection, and therefore provide a good option for those wishing to view their
RSS subscriptions from multiple locations and PCs/devices.
NHS Evidence has
an reader which brings together a number of health related newsfeeds, organised
by subject. Personalisation options, including e-mail alerts, are available
as part of My Library.
Google Reader is easy to use with
a lot of functionality. However, Google products are no longer compatible with
Internet Explorer 7 and earlier, so you may find that some features do not work
as expected.
Bloglines is another example of a popular web based reader. It was re-launched
towards the end of 2010 and now has lots of additional functionality and
personalisation options.
Where can I find out more?
The NHS
Evidence RSS Directory provides a directory
of health related newsfeeds.
The
BBC
also has a number of good newsfeeds, including one for health news. Their pages
include a good introduction to RSS in general.
