To use RSS, you need a program called a feed reader or aggregator, you tell the application which Web sites you want to subscribe to, and the program will visit those site on a periodic basis. If it finds new content, it will download the latest entries for you to read at your leisure. In addition to subscribing to non-blog RSS feeds, like FedEx or UPS package tracking updates (see page 132), weather alerts, Flickr photo streams, automated eBay auction search results, and much more.
There are two kinds of RSS readers: standalone and Web-base. I use a standalone reader because it stores the feeds on my hard drive, allowing me to read them offline. But Web-based readers are popular too. The advantage of a Web-based reader is that you can read you feeds from any online computer, not just your own.
Some which RSS reader should you get? For the Mac. I like Shrook (utsire.com/shrook), a free reader that has plenty of bells and whistles, such as the ability to download podcasts and videos. The free FeedDemon for Windows and NetNewsWire for Macs (both at newsgator.com) are very popular. My favorite Web-based RSS reader is Google Reader (google.com/reader), which lets you sub-scribe to and read RSS feeds from the Web.
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