Keep It Really Simple Stupid!!!!
by Gary Woods

Back in 1997 Dave Winer who ran UserLand Software developed something called "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary" or RSS for short. What it does is let online publishers deliver content to readers without the subscribers having to visit the publishers Websites. Once you subscribe to a "feed" all you have to do is wait for the information to begin flowing to you.

To get these feeds you need something called an "RSS reader" or "RSS" aggregator. These readers run the gamut from free to cheap. If you use Mozilla's Firefox or Opera as your browser, readers are built-in. Microsoft has said they will have RSS support in the next version of Internet Explorer due out late this year.

Some other possibilities for RSS Readers are the free Sharp Reader (www.sharpreader.net) written by Luke Hutteman and Pluck (www.pluck.com) also available for free.

For those of you with "deep pockets" check out NewsGator (www.newsgator.com,) one of the pioneers of the business which offers three ways to access news. NewsGator's premier product is its Microsoft Outlook plug-in starting at $19.95 a year. This software transforms Outlook into a full featured RSS reader creating folders that store and display RSS feeds in the same user interface as Outlook e-mail. NewsGator also has a free online edition that you can use by itself or synchronize with Outlook.

If you're a News Junkie, and who isn't these days, check out an RSS feed on a browser near you.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910