What is RSS?

(Really Simple Syndication) is a method of receiving constantly updated links to your chosen websites. Once you have set up a connection to a website you will receive a list of all the stories currently shown on a certain page or section of that site.

How can I receive RSS feeds?

There are several ways of receiving RSS feeds, but the technology is moving forwards and adapting very quickly. The main method is to download a program called a 'News Reader'. You can then set up this program to receive RSS information from whatever websites you wish that offer it, and browse headlines and story summaries that link through to the full story on the website.

There are several News Reader programs available for all platforms, many of which are free. See a list here.

Alternatively, some newer web browsers offer similar functionality already built-in which will detect whether the website you are viewing offers an RSS feed and will then let you create a constantly-updated list of links in your 'bookmarks' menu.

The Firefox browser (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux) will let you do this, and will alert you to an RSS-enabled page by displaying an icon in the bottom-right corner of the window . Apple's Safari browser (Mac OSX only) offers an even fuller service, and other browsers will probably follow