RSS Readers

A feed reader or aggregator is a software program that you can download and then use to read your RSS feeds. There are also some Web-based feed readers that work inside your existing Web browser. Each feed reader is slightly different, but most have the same basic components: A list of feeds you're currently subscribed to, a list of headlines from the selected feed, and the full text of the selected item or headline.

Applications:

Feedreader (Windows only) - a nice, simple, free news reader that supports all formats of RSS feeds.
SharpReader (Windows only) - a more full-featured news reader that supports all RSS formats.
RSSreader (Windows only) - another simple RSS reader that supports all major formats.
NewsGator (Windows only) - a more full-featured news reader that can be accessed either over the Web or integrated with Microsoft Outlook.
NewsFire (Mac) - offers a simple interface and integration with iTunes for simple podcasting (the audio equivalent of RSS feeds).
AmphetaDesk (Mac or Windows) - a free application that downloads your feeds and displays them in a customizable Web page.
MyYahoo! - a Web-based news aggregator built into Yahoo!'s popular portal.
Safari (Mac) - Apple's safari web browser has a built in news aggregator.
Sage - Firefox Browser Add-Ons
Vienna (Mac)
Net News Wire / News Gator
Endo

Finding Feeds

So where do you find RSS feeds? For UNC Charlotte related information check out our RSS Feeds section of this site. The most common way is to look for the orange-and-white graphics on Web pages that provide RSS feeds of their content ( or or ). Click on the graphic to find the URL and enter that URL into your reader using one of the methods described above.

Most major news sites from traditional media outlets (New York Times, CNN, BBC, USA Today, NPR, Newsweek, and many many more) now offer RSS feeds. You can also search for RSS feeds using several online directories:

Creating Your Own Feeds

There are also several Web sites that allow you to create your own custom RSS feed based on a particular search string or query. For example, you could create a RSS feed for your own name, or a particular research term that interests you. Then, whenever a newspaper, Web site, or other source indexed by the search service mentions your name or search term, you'll get an update in your feed reader.