|
XML
& RSS By: Q. Smyth
Senior
Editor For WagerOnHoops.com -
Your
Source For Sport Books Review
Want to be the
first to get WagerOnHoops.com's headlines
as soon as they are published? Want
to find a way to save time if you
read many websites? This FAQ will
show you how, and will answer some
of the common questions about WagerOnHoops.com's
news & features feeds.
1.
Where can I see a neat list organizing
all of WagerOnHoops.com's News?
2.
What is a news feed?
3.
How do I subscribe to WagerOnHoops.com's
news feeds?
4.
What is a news reader?
5.
Should I use a news reader?
6.
What is RSS?
7.
What is syndication?
8.
Where can I find out more about syndication?
1. WagerOnHoops.com's
complete News and features
-
Clicking on the name of each feed
will take you to the page of the
XML & RSS feed to see an example
of what kind of content it contains.
-
The
Orange XML button will take you
to the source of each feed. Simply
copy and paste the url (once you've
clicked the XML button) into your
news reader to start seeing your
favorite sport's news or lines.
-
The
"+ MY Yahoo!" button
will add the selected feed to
your MyYahoo account, if you have
one.
RSS SIGNUP
& FAQ's (Quick Help Section)
Subscribe to WagerOnHoops.com's RSS
(Really Simple Syndication) feeds
to get news delivered directly to
your desktop!
To view one of the feeds in your
RSS aggregator:
1. Copy the URL/shortcut to the topic
that interests you.
2. Paste the URL into your reader.
RSS FAQs:
What is RSS?
Depending whom you ask, RSS stands
for "Real Simple Syndication"
or "Rich Site Summary."
An RSS file contains headlines, summaries
and links that are formatted in XML
(eXtensible Markup Language) so that
they may be read by a program.
How do I
use RSS?
The most common use of RSS is viewing
news with an RSS reader, also known
as a news aggregator. There are three
types of news aggregators: stand-alone
programs, e-mail-integrated applications,
and Web-based aggregators.
How is RSS
different than an e-mail newsletter?
E-mail newsletters are usually delivered
at a time chosen by the publisher.
RSS gives you more control by always
being available and staying updated.
Another advantage RSS has over e-mail
is that you don't have to supply an
e-mail address to get the headlines.
How is RSS
different than a Web site?
RSS is usually a slimmed-down version
of a Web site. Images and other supplementary
information are not included in an
RSS feed.
How do I
get a news aggregator?
Here
is a list of common stand-alone news
aggregators:
* AmphetaDesk (Mac/Win/Linux)
* FeedDemon (Win)
* Radio Userland (Mac/Win)
* NewsMonster (Mac/Win/Linux)
* NetNewsWire (Mac)
Can I use
a news aggregator as part of Microsoft
Outlook?
Yes, the most common integrated application
is:
* NewsGator (PC)
Can I use
an online news aggregator?
Yes, some of the most common options
are:
* My Yahoo!
* Bloglines
* Feedster
How do I
use a news aggregator?
News aggregators work similar to
e-mail. Once you have subscribed to
an RSS news feed, you will be given
a list of headlines. You click on
the headline to see a summary of the
story, and then click the link to
see the full story, which will open
a browser window and take you directly
to that story on our site.
How do I
unsubscribe?
Just click the "unsubscribe"
button in your news aggregator.
Back
To Top
2.
What is a news feed?
A news feed (also
known as an ) is a listing
of a website's content - In our case,
it's our sports news and lines. It
is updated whenever new content is
published to the site. News readers
"subscribe" to news feeds,
which means they download lists of
stories at an interval that you specify
(every 30 minutes, for example), and
present them to you in your news reader.
A news feed might contain a list of
story headlines, a list of excerpts
from the stories, or a list containing
each story from the website All news
feeds will have a link back to the
website, so if you see a headline,
excerpt, or sports line you like,
you can click on the link for that
piece of content and will be taken
to the website to read it.
Back
To Top
How
do I subscribe to WagerOnHoops.com's
news feeds?
Step one is to
download your favorite news reader.
If you have never used one before,
try installing one of the news readers
mentioned below and see which one
you like.
Back
To Top
4.
What is a news reader?
A news reader
(also known as a news aggregator)
is simply a piece of software that
you can use to read your subscribed
news feeds. It is to news feeds what
Outlook, Hotmail, Lotus Notes and
Entourage are to email.
Back
To Top
5.
Should I use a news reader?
The short answer:
it depends.
The longer answer:
if you visit a lot of websites on
daily basis, or read a lot of weblogs
(or "blogs"), a news reader
can save you a lot of time.
Using a news
reader to consume your web media means
that you only need to visit a website
when you read a story in your news
reader that is of interest to you.
You won't have to visit many sites
multiple times every day to see if
there are updates; your news reader
will do that for you and will let
you know when there is a new story
to be read!
So if you visit
a lot of websites regularly, or want
to be alerted automatically when your
websites publishes a new story, using
a news reader might make sense.
Some commonly
used news readers are Feed
Demon, Sharp
Reader, and NewsGator
(an Outlook plugin) for Windows, NetNewsWire
, Shrook
for Macs, and Bloglines.com
for those who like web-based readers.
You can find
even more news readers at itopik.com.
Back
To Top
6.
What is RSS?
Depending on
whom you ask, the acronym RSS stands
for "Really Simple Syndication",
"Rich Site Summary", or
any of a handful of others.
The meaning of
the acronym is not terribly important,
however. An (also known as
a news feed) is a site's syndicated
news feed that you subscribe to using
your news reader.
Back
To Top
7.
What is syndication?
Syndication refers
to the process that occurs when a
publisher provides content in a form
that can be consumed by software (like
a news reader).
The concept is
similar to email: your Yankees-hating
buddy Bob (the publisher) writes you
an email about Derek Jeter's partying
habits (the content). Your favorite
email program (the software) receives
the email, and probably alerts you
with gentle "You've got mail!"
With a syndicated
WagerOnHoops.com feed, it works
like this: WagerOnHoops.com (the
publisher) publishes a story about
Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens leading
the Eagles to a superbowl XXXIX victory
(the content). Your favorite news
reader (the software) sees that WagerOnHoops.com
has published a new story, and probably
alerts you with a flashing icon on
your screen.
Back
To Top
Where
can I find more about syndication?
There is a thorough
explanation of syndication at Dynamic
Objects
Back To Top
| 
