A reminder: You can the latest updates from Spoletoblog without having to check back over and over: The secret is something called RSS, or "Really Simply Syndication."
Once you've learned to use it, RSS will tell you when this site adds something new. It can even be configured to do this continually and automatically, so that you see new updates almost instantly.
If you're using Mozilla Firefox for your browser, RSS is extremely simple straightforward. See that orange icon in the lower righthand corner? That's the RSS button. Left-click on it and Firefox will give you a "Live Bookmark" that will show you each new update.
For those of you using Internet Explorer, you'll need a stand-alone program called a news aggregator to make use of this site's full RSS capabilities.
Another option: Online news aggregators.
Read on for details...
Aggregators are great little programs that make online newsreading faster and more efficient.
If you're a Firefox user, try Sage, a lightweight plug-in aggregator that does all the basics. It's handy, too, since it runs in Firefox's left-hand "sidebar" frame.
Internet Explorer, a program that originated long before RSS became standard, doesn't really support syndication. Since most people still use IE, that means they have to either download a free aggregator, purchase a commercial aggregator or create an account with an online aggregator site.
A lengthy list of aggregator programs and sites can be found at wikipedia.org, here.
Online aggregators create a profile of your interests based on sites that you select and then monitor those sites for change. When you log in, you typically find excerpts from all the new items posted on your watchlists. Clicking on them takes you to the full-text version of the story.
News aggregator programs live on your computer and look for RSS updates whenever you instruct them to do so. Most allow you to customize the way you want the results displayed, letting you skim for subjects that interest you.
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Posted by: Jill Eathorne Bahr | Friday, May 27, 2005 at 08:55 AM