What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a format used to distribute and syndicate a Web site's content.

By adding RSS feeds from multiple Web sites into an RSS Reader (also called an RSS Aggregator), you can customize how you get your news from the Internet. Once you've subscribed to an RSS feed, the news and information displayed in your RSS Reader will update all on its own.

RSS feeds have a variety of purposes, but for Land Line, they are a way for you to read our daily news headlines beyond the confines of the Land Line, "Land Line Now" and OOIDA Web sites.

How do I subscribe to an RSS feed?

There are several different ways to access an RSS feed. Choose the method that works best for you:

• Web Browsers: A Web browser is the program you use to access the Internet. By default, Internet Explorer 6 can not display RSS feeds. However, several free Web broswers have support for RSS built in, including:

  • Internet Explorer 7 (Windows);
  • Firefox (Windows/Macintosh/Linux);
  • Opera (Windows/Macintosh/Linux); and
  • Safari (Windows/Macintosh).

Using one of these browsers, you can click the "Subscribe" button to the right on this page to subscribe to the feed.

• RSS Reader Programs: There are a number of free and paid "stand-alone" RSS Reader programs available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux that can display your personalized content, all in one place.

  Once you've installed the software, you can subscribe to the RSS content on most Web sites by finding and clicking the orange "RSS" or "XML" icon, which usually looks like this:

  To find RSS Reader software, search for "RSS reader" in your favorite search engine. Once you've found software you like and installed it, you can click the "Subscribe" button to the right on this page to subscribe to the feed.

• Web Services: Companies such as Google, Yahoo and AOL, for example, let you add RSS feeds to a customizable homepage. Most of these solutions are free, but many require a one-time registration to use the service.

  Once you've signed up for one of the services, click the appropriate button to the right on this page to subscribe to the feed.