RSS
W HAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT USED ? B Y WHOM ? RSS stands for: Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication It’s a technology that allows users to keep track of their favourite websites Many people uses it as a ‘news feed’ that you subscribe to. Used by: News-related sites Web blogs Online publishers
WHAT HARDWARE & SOFTWARE DO YOU NEED TO USE RSS? Computer: Monitor Keyboard Mouse CPU Router OS Firewall Anti-virus software Web browser ISP Internet connection RSS reader software Hardware Software
What was wrong with the old way? How did we keep up with our favourite sites before RSS? Before RSS, we tend to ‘bookmark’ the websites we like, and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added What was wrong with the old way? Opening many websites at once may cause your computer processing to slow down You missed the updates if you forgot to check your bookmarks You end up reading the same information over and over again if the site is not updated
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF RSS? How does it work? You have to have RSS reader software (which are also provided as web-based) Access to your favourite sites and add their RSS feed to the list of feeds your RSS reader program by clicking on the icons like this: The program works similarly to , the feeds will be sent to you. Unread feeds will be marked ‘unread’ – when you click on them, you will receive updates from the sites. You are also provided with a link to the actual sites to read the news directly too.
How does it make keeping up with our favourite sites easier, quicker and more convenient? Users are easily to stay informed Save the time for surfing the web – the updates are automatically served for you Ensure your privacy & spam free– because you don’t have to register your to receive news update WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF RSS?
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE DRAWBACKS/PROBLEMS? Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. The identity of the source website can be confusing – RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, users can get confused Publishers don’t how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server. Many sites still do not support RSS.