What is RSS?
RSS is a file format that is used to let people know when a certain website or part of a website has been updated with new content.
The service which alerts users to these updates is known as an RSS feed. A feed, like a website, is a file of computer code that your computer converts into something that can be read on your screen. Unlike a website, an RSS feed cannot simply be viewed in your browser window. To view an RSS feed, you will need to download an RSS reader (also called a feed reader or RSS aggregator).
When loaded into an RSS reader, a feed will deliver a brief summary of each update that is made to the website it comes from, along with a link to the updated area of the website.
RSS feeds can usually be found linked from a small orange icon such as 
or 
or 
.
Using RSS feeds
There are a large number of RSS readers (also known as feed readers or news aggregators) available to the public. Some are downloadable programs that are installed on your computer, while others are web-based services that you log in to through your web browser. Some web browsers (such as Firefox, Opera and Safari) are also capable of tracking RSS feeds.
More information
- Aggregator
Wikipedia.org provides links to a range of RSS reading alternatives
Media release RSS feeds
Key
Links to another web site
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