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RSS News Feeds from COG

What are RSS feeds?

The generally accepted meaning of RSS is 'Really Simple Syndication'. The feeds are web pages designed to be read by computers automatically for easier distribution to people. COG currently uses RSS feeds to distribute:

• Podcasts

When you subscribe to an RSS feed, your reader fetches anything new on the feed once COG posts it.

How to use RSS feeds

You need is an RSS reader, which is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. Internet Explorer 7 includes an RSS reader, as does Mozilla Firefox. If you are using an older browser, updating to a newer version will get you an RSS reader. There are many other RSS readers available and new versions are appearing all the time. Different RSS readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer.

Browser-based RSS readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.

Once you have chosen a RSS reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. For example, if you would like the latest Podcast, simply visit the COG home page and you will notice an orange button on the right hand side labeled News Feeds and Podcasts. If you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including clicking on subscribe, by dragging the URL of the feed into your reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your reader.