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What are News Feeds?
News feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest headlines and video in one place, as soon as its published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from.
Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people it stands for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people. Your web browser, such as Internet Explorer or FireFox, automatically reads this news feed and updates you when there is something new.
How do I start using feeds?
All you need to do is click on the  link above, then click subscribe! Most browsers today are compatible, but if yours isn't, then we will let you know how you can get up to speed. An alternative to browser-based subscription is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. Either way, they are often times free, and all you have to do is google "Free RSS Reader." Find a favorite, and off you go!
Some browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to feeds much easier. For more details on these, please check their websites.
Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
At TPAC, we currently offer two news feeds. Our Subscriber News Feed, where you can find special offers and information specific to subscribers, and our Breaking News Feed, which contains more general information. By receiving the Subscriber feed, you will automatically receive all of the information from the Breaking News feed, plus information specific to subscribers.
If you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader. Most sites that offer feeds use a similar orange button, but some may just have a normal web link. |
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