RSS Feed Help

What is an RSS Feed?

In the most descriptive sense, RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It can also stand for "Rich Site Summary" or "RFD Site Summary" but these translations don't describe the practical function of an RSS Feed; a way for websites to make available new content, as it is updated, to subscribers in a convenient fashion usually delivering it straight to their desktop. This is convenient for you, the subscriber, because you don't have to constantly revisit all your favorite sites to check for new content.

There is a difference between subscribing to a site's RSS Feed and subscribing to an email newsletter. Rather than an email subscription "pushing" content to your inbox, your RSS Feed Reader will "pull" content from the sites you subscribe to when you want it, on the schedule you set. This way, you can receive the latest updates and information without getting overloaded with information.

What kind of content is available through CATEA's RSS Feeds?

The types of content we are offering include news, events, media (such as audio and video clips), Wiki topic updates and new publications that all relate to disability, assistive technology and research here at CATEA. The Feed Topics are organized into three categories; CATEA Project, Functional Limitation, and a third section for topics that don't fall into the first two. Under the Project Feeds, you can subscribe to receive information that relates to CATEA's projects such as "Work RERC" and "Mobility RERC" if you are interested in a CATEA project. If you are interested in information that relates specifically to functional limitations, then you can subscribe to those Feed topics that are of interest you. Topics in this category are ICF (International Classification of Functional limitation) standards, which include categories like "Mental Function" and "Maintaining Posture". The third category contains non-ICF and non-project related topics such as "Developmental Disability", "Aging and Longevity" and "Government and Policy".

What are Feed Readers?

Feed Readers, also known as News Aggregators are programs for your desktop or for your web browser that manages the RSS Feeds that you subscribe to. They check websites for new content and retrieve it when it becomes available. Content is delivered to you in list form with the topic headings displayed for you to browse through. If you see a heading that looks interesting, you can click on the link to read the article, or in the case of media, listen to the Podcast or watch the video. By using a Feed Reader, you can easily unsubscribe from a feed. Basically, by using an Feed Reader to subscribe to and manage your RSS Feeds, you are creating your own personal newspaper or broadcast. List of recommended Feed Readers for various platforms and needs.

How do I subscribe to a Feed? What is a Podcast?

You subscribe to a podcast like you would subscribe to an RSS Feed. If a website has either available, you will generally see a button object on the page that says something like "RSS" or "Subscribe" or "XML" on it. The only major difference between the content of a Podcast and the content of a RSS Feed is that Podcasts contain media such as sound or video and can use a program like iTunes as the Feed Reader. "RSS Feed" is just a general term to describe content that can contain anything from text only articles to video or audio clips. The term "Podcast" refers to Apple's iPod, because a Podcast is formatted in a way that you can also listen to it on your iPod if you like. You don't have to have an iPod to experience the media; iTunes or your regular media player (QuickTime, Windows Media, Real Player) will do just fine. Our media files will generally be in MP3 or MPEG4 format. These files are included in the Feed, by the topic they relate to, along with news, events, Wiki topic updates, and publications. If you want to see all of the media we have available, you can browse our media archives. Also, if you do not already have it, you may want to consider downloading the latest version of iTunes, which you can use as a player for the media files.

Accessible Feed Readers

As always, we try and make our content as accessible as possible. On our Feed Reader suggestion page, we have provided links to accessible Feed Readers as well as iTunes modification software that will work with the screen reader JAWS. Subscribe to the RSS Feed topics of your choice.