What is RSS?

With billions of web pages in the world , keeping up to date with the information you want can be difficult.

Wouldn't it be better to have the latest content and news delivered to you, rather than clicking from site to site? Now you can, thanks to RSS.

There is some division as to what RSS is an acronym for, but most say "Really Simple Syndication." Basically, it lets you identify the content you want and have it delivered directly to you.

It removes the hassle from staying current by showing you the very latest information that you're looking for.

Not all news sites have RSS, but it is growing in popularity and many others, including The New York Times, USA Today, the BBC and CNN.

How do I start using RSS feeds?

The first thing you need is something called a news reader. Some are embedded in browsers (Firefox http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ is one); others are downloadable applications. All allow you to display and subscribe to the RSS feeds you want.

Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want. On this site, tor example, if you would like to always have the latest stories for your high school, simply visit the front page and click on the orange button near the top.

After you subscribe to a feed, your news reader will check every half-hour or so (this is set by you for the most part) to see if anything on that feed has changed and update if it has. You don't need to do anything but look at the headlines at your leisure. Once you see one you like, click on it and it will take you directly to the story.

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