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RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication. It is what it claims to be: a quick and easy way to create and use “syndicated content” such as news headlines and announcements. Some websites (like this one) use RSS to deliver and notify our readers who are simply too busy to browse to our site and dig up the content they are interested in. Other uses of RSS are to alert customers of new products or upcoming events.
The easiest way to experience RSS is through an RSS “newsreader” or “aggregator” for your desktop computer. This will fetch and organize recent content and provide simple ways to read it. Below is a list of free and recommended RSS clients for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux platforms. Choose and install the one that sounds like the best fit for you.
Here is a list of available RSS Reader clients for a variety of platforms. This is not meant to be the be-all-end-all list, as this technology is being integrated into many software products as we speak.
- FeedReader for Windows platform.
Power-hungry techies will find this open source aggregator more to their liking. With more advanced features and options, it will keep geeks satisfied while giving more growth-room for newbies. - NetNewsWire Lite for Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or later.
This is the cleanest and most elegant RSS reader for the Mac platform. A strong sense of usability and sophistication are sure to satisfy the most devoted Mac users. - Lifera for Linux with Gnome 2.
While not for the beginners, Lifera is so far the best (if not only) RSS reader on Linux with a usable interface and sophisticated aggregation features. Lifera is sure to please the Linux community with its simple, clean, and effective interface and features. - BlogLines for web browsers.
BlogLines is perfect for anyone who can’t install one of the above clients or needs feeds on the go. A simple, clean web interface lets you manage and read feeds from any web-capable device. The perfect solution for computer-hoppers or those unable to install an aggregator for whatever reasons.
On the bottom of this site you will see a Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS) that links to our RSS feeds. There are feeds for all the recent posts and comments on this site. Copy and paste the link into the appropriate section of your RSS reader. On most browsers you can right-click the link and select “copy shortcut” or “copy target address” or something similar. And again, some RSS readers will “auto discover” the RSS feeds on sites you browse, so no cutting and pasting is necessary! Please consult the documentation for your RSS reader for more information.