RSS is the short term for Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary. It is the most recent tool for managing information and is gaining increasing popularity amongst web site users and owners alike.



RSS technology offers the potential of getting the latest entries from a web site. However, by simply clicking on the RSS or XML button you will not receive the service you might expect at first glance. The information received would be made of up of symbols and computer language that mean very little to the average internet user. Therefore, a tool called a RSS aggregator, or a RSS reader, is required.

The RSS aggregator software scans the internet to search for recent postings from a number of given web sites based upon the RSS code provided by the user. When the aggregator finds relevant news or updates it will post the information to the RSS feed on your homepage. Each of the news feeds will have a clickable link to the source web site where the RSS aggregator initially gathered the information. The RSS feed might only contain fragments of an article depending on the aggregator software you are using.

Aggregators are available in two versions. You can either download software to use on your desktop or you can use an online web-based version.

The downloadable version normally comes at a cost in return for a more superior service including regular updates and patches. This type of software is better than its basic free counterparts as it would allow you to customise the feeds including the format of the feed and the design.

Web-based RSS aggregators are more often than not free to internet users who simply register an account in order to start using the service. As a free service, this type of aggregator can very rarely be customised, if at all.

Internet marketers are realising the full potential of RSS aggregators when they advertise their services and products. Many marketers even submit their RSS codes to the most popular aggregators in order to attract users of the online market place. My Yahoo is one example of successful RSS technology that has been popular amongst both web site owners and advertisers and their customers, the users.

Updated versions of RSS aggregators are continually being launched by developers. There are presently a wide number of aggregators to chose from in both the downloadable and web-based categories.

Here are just some of the most popular web-based and desktop aggregators:

Desktop Aggregators

1.AmphetaDesk

Advantages of AmphetaDesk:

-     the software is free

-     can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux

-     it is relatively easy to add RSS feeds

Disadvantages of AmphetaDesk:

-     the software does not maximise the use of screen display

-     there are fewer customisation options

2.FeedDemon

Advantages of FeedDemon:

-     it is user friendly

-     offers a free trial version

-     it contains pre-prepared popular feeds for convenience

-     it allows RSS feeds to be filtered

-     it can be configured to manage junk RSS feeds through a ?watch list?

-     it features a search channel that incorporates other RSS services into one

-     it allows feed storage for future use

-     it features tabbed browsers for easy channel navigation

-     it has a built-in pod cast receiver

Disadvantages of FeedDemon:

-     it currently supports only Internet Explorer as an embedded item

-     it is a paid software retailing at approximately $29.95

Online Aggregators

1.Bloglines

Advantages of Bloglines:

-     it supports all major browsers including Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer and Firefox

-     it's user-friendly, particularly for those new to RSS

-     it's a free web-based aggregator

-     it offers easy registration

-     there are no advertisements

-     it contains its own directory of RSS feeds of thousands of websites

-     there is an option for personal email accounts to subscribe to newsletter emails

-     it allows a privacy adjustments for personal blogs

-     it allows saved searches

-     a mobile version is available

-     10 languages are supported

-     there are additional add-on tools for automated blogrolls and subscription buttons

2.NewsGator

Advantages of NewsGator:

-     it is free (standard version)

-     it provides a personalised news channel

-     it allows translation of RSS articles into email format

-     it is possible to synchronise feeds into several devices

-     browse and search feed capabilities save time on surfing

-     it allows keyword filtering

-     it offers blog headlines

-     there is a button-click automatic subscription to news feeds

Disadvantage of NewsGator:

-it is Microsoft Outlook-based therefore limited to Windows

3.My Yahoo

Advantages of My Yahoo:

-     it is a free web-based aggregator

-     it is very user-friendly

-     it offers a customisable home page design

-     there is a button-click subscription to RSS feeds

-     it has a built-in directory and search tool for feeds

-     it offers wide variety of feeds including news and weather

-     it connects to all Yahoo features and services

Disadvantage of My Yahoo:

-     there are a number of banner advertisements

Also available are lightweight RSS aggregator extensions that actually offer plug-ins to existing internet browsers, for example, Sage aggregator.

Advantages of My Yahoo:

-     it's free of charge

-     it is beginner-friendly

-     it reads from both RSS and Atom feeds

-     it allows feed discovery

-     it can be assimilated to Firefox bookmark

-     it allows OPML feed list imports and exports

-     it offers customisable style sheets

-     it supports a wide range of languages including Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Slovenian, etc.

-     it offers easy installation

Disadvantages of My Yahoo:

-     it can only handle up to around 12 RSS feeds

-     it is only limited to Mozilla-Firefox and Mozilla-Firefox supported browsers

There will be more features available in future versions of RSS aggregators. Microsoft for example intends on including a built-in aggregator in the next Windows update. All aficionados will welcome these sorts of developments to RSS aggregators.

For even more info on this, please visit my website www.ebookscomputer.com.

Good Luck!

Jeff Spires