RSS: Information in real time
RSS is a format for the distribution of Web contents (organized in lists of links, titles, news summaries) which is highly useful to anyone who wants regular updates of the latest news published on the web.
To check for new articles on a website by the classic method of manual consultation, you have to keep opening the site each time and then going to the page containing the relevant news. By using RSS you can carry out these operations automatically, with considerable savings of time and resources.
To access the RSS contents all you need are an internet connection and a special program called "aggregator." There are many of these available on the web, ready to be downloaded onto your PC or for use on the web. Some aggregators offer a perfect match with the principal browsers and the commonest email programs.
There are different types of aggregators, depending on the computer, the operating system and, in some cases, the browser used.
This software is very similar to the programs for managing email but, instead of downloading mail, they download the RSS feed at regular intervals and report the presence of updates with flashing lights or icons.
RSS feeds are the ideal way to get the latest news even while working on other documents or visiting other sites.
This portal presents RSS feeds to the most up-to-date sections.
Feed RSS on meetingrimini.org
To use the RSS feeds present at meetingrimini.org, click with the right side of the mouse on the RSS button, choose "copy link" and paste the link to your aggregator.
The list of the links will be available as soon as possible
Aggregators free of charge
Software packages for consulting RSS feeds are called "feed readers" (or "aggregators") and function like email management programs.
Here is a list of software which can be downloaded free from the Web:
http://www.feedreader.com
http://www.rssreader.com
http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk
http://www.abilon.org
Using FeedReader: step 1
Download the FeedReader aggregator from the official site, install it and start.
You will find a screen like the one shown in the image at the side.
The software has an interface divided into three areas.
The area on the left of the page shows the list of channels it has been decided to add: for example one for news in the category "Politics" of a given site.
By the side of each channel, between brackets, appears the number of news items not yet read.
In the area at the top right is a display with the titles of the news items relevant to the channel chosen (on the left).
By clicking once on the title of a news item you can read a short summary in the area below, as shown in the figure at the side.
If you double click on the title of a news item, the page of the site associated with it (containing the complete news item) will appear in the area below, as seen in the figure shown in step 4.
New feeds can always be added to your aggregator. To do this you have to know the "link feed" of the site you are interested in.
To find the link of the feeds just look for the icon XML or RSS.
Using FeedReader: step 2
At this point it is possible to insert the new feed link in the aggregator. By clicking on the "new feed" icon, then writing the address of the feed and clicking on "Next", the new channel will be added to those already present.
Using FeedReader: step 3
The aggregator will present a new dialogue window to allow you to alter the name of the feed.
If it is not necessary to rename the feed, you can click directly on the button "Complete" to
conclude the operation.
Using FeedReader: step 4
At this point, everything is ready to enable the aggregator to work. Double clicking on the titles of the news items will open the page of the site from which the news comes in the area below.
