RSS

General Questions

1. What is RSS?
   
2. How can I get it?
   
3. Why is RSS different/better than email?
   
4. How do I set up a news reader?
   
5. Where do I need to save the FeedReader.exe file on my computer?
   
6. I've installed FeedReader but don't know where I put it. How do I find it?
   
7. Do I always have to be on the Internet to use RSS?
   
8. Does all the information in a feed go onto my computer?
   

Perhaps a better question is 'What can RSS do for me?' Depending on whom you ask, RSS is an acronym for either RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. The second one better fits our purposes. RSS allows you to receive new content from your favorite organizations without having to go to the website. This is done by way of an RSS feed, which is sort of like a channel on your television. With RSS, as long as you're on the Internet, you'll receive a notification that something new is available. You'll have the opportunity to look at the description and if you're not interested, you don't have to look at it.

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To get RSS, the first thing you need to do is get a software program called a news aggregator or reader. There are a variety to choose from and they all have different features but the one thing they do have in common is they allow you to read an RSS feed. Since RSS is released in a specific format, it's not very readable by most people. These readers display the content of the feed in a way that a person can get the information they most want. There are instructions below for how to set up a reader below.

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In many ways, RSS is similar to email. Both require a specific program to read them (Email uses Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Communicator, Eudora, etc...) and both allow you to get frequent updates sent to you. However, there are two distinct advantages that RSS has over email. First, you don't have to give out personal information and second, you don't receive RSS feeds that you don't want. Since you have to 'subscribe' to receive an RSS feed, if you don't want to receive it, you can simply 'unsubscribe' and you won't receive notifications anymore. When we say subscribe, we don't mean that you have to pay or give any information. It just means you get to choose whether you receive a feed. Another benefit of this is that viruses are much more rare. You don't get people sending you computer viruses. If you haven't signed up for a specific feed, you won't get it!

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In order to set up a news reader, you must download it and install it on your computer. There are many that are free to download. One common one is FeedReader and we have installation instructions listed below for this program. If you would rather use another program, you can go to a search engine and search for 'RSS feed readers' to get a list of a few.

Step 1: DOWNLOAD FEEDREADER
You can get the most current version from from Sourceforge*. Follow the installation instructions.

* Please note that this software is protected under the GNU General Public License. No warranty, implicit or implied is available on this software. If you would like to see the source code for this software, it is available at http://sourceforge.net.

Step 2: GET YOUR FAVORITE BACK TO THE BIBLE NEWS FEED

1. Once you've installed the software, open the program and select 'New' from the toolbar. It will ask you for the URL of the feed.
2. Enter the specific URL for the feed you want. You can find this here.
3. You will then be able to enter a name for the feed. A name will be suggested or you can create your own title.
4. The new feed will be added to the listing in the sidebar. To update it, highlight the title of the feed and click the right mouse button. A menu will pop up. Select "Update Current Feed" from the list and the most current version of this page will be returned.

Keep in mind that when you set up your software, a number of feeds will be preselected. If you don't want them, you can go through and manually delete them.

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In short, anywhere that you can remember. The actual location of the file doesn't matter. Most computers are set up with a default something like C:/Documents and Settings/[username]/My Documents. That location will work fine. Just make a note of the location when you download the file.

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The best way is to do a search on your computer for a file called feedreader.exe. Go to "Start > Search > For Files or Folders" and enter 'feedreader.exe' in the search box. The computer will list the file. You can double-click on this listing to open the software.

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The Internet is a necessary part of using RSS because all feed updates are transmitted that way. However, you can get online to update the feed listings and then disconnect while you browse the headings. Once you decide on a feed that you want to read, you will need to reconnect to the Internet to access the web page.

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No, the only thing that will be stored on your computer is the short description of the feed and the URL. When you click on the URL, you will be taken to the Internet to view the content.

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If you have trouble, contact us.