What is RSS?
The traditional way to get the latest news and information from frequently-updated websites like simulation.org.uk is to navigate to it using your web browser. Since the advent of RSS (which originally stood for Rich Site Summary but is now known as Really Simple Syndication), however, you can be notified when your favourite sites have been updated via dedicated news feeds that arrive aggregated at a single source, in this case an RSS reader.

So, if you're a news junkie who logs on to the same sites multiple times a day looking for the latest news, you can have up-to-the-minute headlines "pushed" to your desktop where you can read a quick summary of the story and link through to the provider's website to read the full report. A prime example is the BBC which offers feeds (or channels) for most of its news and sport sections.

How do I use RSS?
In the main you use an RSS reader (there are many free ones available), either by installing software on your PC or by signing up with a web-based service. Many of the newer web browsers now come with in-built RSS readers that behave like bookmarks. You then subscribe to RSS feeds from your favourite news sites by adding them to your reader.

In the case of simulation.org.uk RSS feed, you we have done all the hard work for you,
just paste the URL http://www.simulation.org.uk/news/feed.asp into your browser to subscribe and receive updates whenever a story is added to or updated on our homepage. By clicking on the news headline in your RSS reader, you get to read our summary of the story.

How do I know if a site has an RSS feed?
Look for an or XML icon somewhere on the front page (see the very top of this page) or an "RSS" text link.  If you use Mozilla Firefox or Safari on the Mac, for example, an RSS icon appears in the bottom right-hand corner or the address bar of the browser whenever it detects a web page possesses an RSS feed.  Most of the major news sites now have feeds.

RSS Readers
There is a plethora of RSS readers available for free download or free web-based subscription. Just Google "RSS reader" and the right-hand ads column alone will give you plenty of options, Newsgator being a good example.

If you're a Mac OS X user, the latest version of Safari that ships with 10.4x (Tiger) has a built-in RSS reader that also hooks into a neat screensaver so you can have the latest ToffeeWeb news floating around your desktop when your machine is idle!

We also highly recommend Newsfire or NetNewsWire, both of which look and behave just like a native Apple application and cost around $20.00 to purchase.

The difference between web-based and downloadable readers? A web-based reader will obviously aggregate your feeds onto one catch-all web page whereas an application that you install on your system delivers the feeds to your desktop and, by default, notifies you anytime a new story appears.

Questions? Contact the Webmaster via our feedback page.