Thanks to RSS technology, many web sites are making it even easier for Internet users to get updated information as soon as it’s available from some of their favorite on-line sources. If sites you frequent have an orange rectangle containing the letters “RSS” or “XML,” it has RSS capability.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and the feature is written in programming code called “Extensible Markup Language.” Don’t be fooled into thinking these long names and acronyms make RSS complicated to use. With a little practice, you can enjoy a truly customized web experience.

The most common web sites to have this feature are those owned by major news organizations, on-line message boards, and web logs (blogs). What is great about this feature is that you can download RSS readers that allow you to create customized “Channels” within the program. There are several RSS readers available and they can be found by using on-line search engines.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed a RSS reader, you can create a sports channel, a news channel, or whatever variety of channel you like. Then, using the RSS links from your favorite web sites, you populate your channels with continuously updated headlines which include links to full-text articles. It’s just a matter of clicking on your channels to see what is new.

Another option that allows you to enjoy RSS technology is to use Mozilla’s Firefox browser. This browser, which you can get off of HunTel.net’s downloads page, has a built-in ability to receive RSS feeds. To use the technology with Firefox, go to a web site and look for an orange square in the bottom right corner of the browser. If you see the square, which looks like this, the site has RSS capability. To use it, simply click on the square and select the feed to which you’d like to subscribe. The browser will then place the RSS feed into its bookmarks. From this point on, when you want to know what’s new on your favorite web sites, simply look at their feeds in your bookmarks folder. Here is an example of RSS in use with Firefox.

For those who monitor the news or industry trends for their jobs, RSS technology is not only a cool toy, but a valuable tool to stay a step ahead of the competition.

If you have questions about using RSS technology, or any other Internet related question, please contact HunTel.net’s tech support at 402-533-5777 (Washington County and Omaha) or 1-888-491-9115 (toll-free statewide). You can also send an e-mail to techsupport@huntel.net.