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What is RSS and How do I Use It?

Get the latest University of Maryland news in headline form sent directly to your computer, cell phone or PDA. It's free, and easy to do using what's called RSS - or Really Simple Syndication. RSS gives you the power to decide which Newsdesk releases to receive from the University of Maryland on a daily basis (the feeds cover two weeks worth of stories). You can look at what's new and click on the headline link to read the entire story.

Our list of feeds is in the box to your right. Choose exactly what news areas to subscribe to (you can choose as many as you want, or simply choose "All UM News Feeds,") and after that, it's automatic and timely. See below for instructions for accessing RSS feeds using different browsers.

Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer 7.0 and Other RSS-Capable Browsers

The easiest way to subscribe and read RSS feeds like those on Newsdesk is to use a web browser that handles everything for you. Firefox users (Mac and PC) have that ability right now. Mac users of Apple's Safari 2.0 browser can also subscribe to, and read, RSS feeds quickly and easily. Omniweb is another RSS-capable browser for the Macintosh. Microsoft's newly updated Internet Explorer 7.0 browser for PC users also support RSS feeds.

The quickest way to add Newsdesk feeds in Firefox is to add the URL of the feed you're interested in to the browser's "live bookmarks" folder. This website will explain how to do that: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/live-bookmarks. If you're using Safari, the instructions for using RSS feeds can be found at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/. In Internet Explorer 7.0, see the oneline FAQ file for instructions on subscribing to RSS feeds.

You can subscribe to our Newsdesk feeds by clicking on the "RSS" button - or buttons under "Available Channels" above.

Internet Explorer 6.0 and Earlier Users

The 6.0 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer do not allow users to subscribe directly to RSS feeds. A separate program called an RSS "Reader" or "Aggregator" is required to collect - or aggregate - Newsdesk and any other RSS feeds you want in one place. Free RSS Readers for Windows users include RssReader, SharpReader, Bloglines and iPodderX. Mac users can try NetNewsWire (lite), iPodderX (also for Windows), NewsYouCanUse, and PulpFiction.

For more information about RSS readers, tutorials and using mobile devices to access RSS feeds, visit the website RSS Software.

NEW! Macintosh users - we now have a Newsdesk Widget you can download.

The Technical Stuff - Briefly

RSS feeds are based on a web page language called "XML". When you see a web site with a box that says 'XML' or 'RSS', that means you can subscribe to an RSS feed to get all the latest news or other information from that site in headline form. Want to learn more? The RSS Software site offers a tutorial at http://www.rss-software.net/rss-tutorial.php.

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