To: Jezebelle
RSS is a way for a website to "syndicate" the titles and first few sentances (or summary sentances) of their content. It is short for "Really Simple Syndication".
How is this useful? Just think (back in the old days, when papers were good) how newspapers use syndication: they aggregate various syndicated columnists or comics together in one place, for the enjoyment and convienence of the reader.
The same holds true of RSS feeds. You can use it simply to look at the latest headlines from FR, or you can aggregate a number of feeds - like combine an FR feed with a good technology news feed, and add in a good business news feed - to create a stream of newsbriefs that meet your information needs.
Another cool thing: if you own a Mac, OS X 10.4 has a screensaver that displays an RSS stream in a really cool way - the streams of articles are lined up, and swirl around, and then one article is momentarily focused on, before the stream swirls around again. Here are pictures of it displaying the FR newsfeed:
It's amazing eye-candy, so it certainly catches the eye of passer-bys -and thus does a good job showing how FR keeps you informed!
12 posted on
10/17/2006 4:17:20 AM PDT by
Yossarian
(Everyday, somewhere on the globe, somebody is pushing the frontier of stupidity.)
To: Yossarian
Now you've done it. Microsoft will push the release data of Vista back another 18 months, while they copy that little feature...
15 posted on
10/17/2006 4:28:18 AM PDT by
Izzy Dunne
(Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
To: Yossarian
I didn't know about the Mac RSS feeds screen saver!
Very cool!
Just in case Swordmaker hasn't heard about it, I'll ping him to your post!
To: Yossarian
The upper screen shot is backwards.
Do you need a mirror to use the program? g
18 posted on
10/17/2006 4:41:30 AM PDT by
Vinnie
(You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Jihads You)
To: Yossarian
Very cool thanks. I had no idea about what the heck an RSS feed was. Plus my guy has Mac OS X 10.4. How fun.
19 posted on
10/17/2006 4:44:29 AM PDT by
GOP Poet
To: Yossarian
How do you add the Free Republic feed to the list of RSS feed options in the screen saver control panel?
20 posted on
10/17/2006 5:34:59 AM PDT by
hanamizu
To: Yossarian
Yossarian,
That MacOS screen saver is quite cool. Anything like it out there -- or soon to be out there -- for Windows XP?
21 posted on
10/17/2006 5:40:07 AM PDT by
quesney
To: Yossarian
I see. You only need to surf once, set it up, and you're good to go.
Thank you for a straight and thorough answer. :>
31 posted on
10/17/2006 11:34:44 AM PDT by
Jezebelle
(Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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