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What is RSS?

RSS is a tool that can help you stay on top of all sorts of changing information sources. These range from blogs to news sites -- even PubMed.

RSS resources, or "feeds", are composed of items that are continually updated as new stuff appears. To use these feeds, you need a feed reader. Many different readers are available. Some are moderately priced, others are free. Some run on your own computer, while others can be accessed over the web. One popular (and free) reader is Bloglines. An exhaustive list of readers can be found here.

To start using RSS feeds, just open up your reader of choice and subscribe to any feeds you might be interested in. Just look for the words "RSS" or "XML" or icons like these:

That's it -- you'll now be alerted whenever new content is available, all without any more effort on your part. Read as much or as little as you like.

Need more details? There are a number of great RSS tutorials, including:

• RIT Wallace Library - RSS News Feed Info
• Blue Highways - Getting Started with RSS: The Fifteen-Minute Tutorial
• PC World - News on Demand
• Feedster - An Introduction to Feeds