What are web feeds?
Web feeds, also referred to as RSS "Really Simple Syndication" feeds, are a standard format for sharing and distributing Web content, such as news headlines, and delivering it straight to your desktop automatically.
Using an RSS reader, you can view content feeds from the College - headlines, summaries, and links to full stories - without having to manually browse our site to get them. For a complete listing of web feeds currently available from the College, visit our Web Feed Directory on the College's homepage.
What tools do I need to use web feeds?
To start using web feeds, you will need software that displays RSS content from the web sites you select. There are many different RSS readers available, most of which are free of charge. Below you will find a brief listing of several different solutions that you might find useful.
Bloglines - This is a free online service that allows you to keep track of your web feeds. This is a useful option if you work on many computers, and would like a solution that will allow you to have access to your feeds from any location. Bloglines also has support for small handheld devices such as Blackberries, cell phones, and Treos.
Internet Explorer 7.0 - As of version 7, Microsoft has added the ability to subscribe and read web feeds natively within Internet Explorer. If you are only interested in having access to your web feeds from one computer, and you primarily use IE for your web browsing, this is a good option to consider.
Mozilla Firefox - Mozilla Firefox, like IE 7.0, has the ability to subscribe to and read web feeds from inside the browser. Firefox, however, also adds the functionality for you to use the browser in conjunction with other programs to handle your RSS content - which is a definite plus if you prefer Bloglines or Outlook to actually read your feed content, but would like Firefox to provide a hassle-free way to handle subscribing.
Microsoft Outlook 2007 - Microsoft's 2007 version of Outlook has added the ability to subscribe to RSS content from within your email. If you are a faculty or staff member who already uses Outlook to manage your calendering and email, this may be the option for you.
