Sorting through a Hundred RSS Headlines

The little RSS feed gadget can house a lot of information. By default, the gadget automatically cycles through available headlines. It also updates from the feed server on a regular basis, so there is no need to tell it to do so on a daily basis. However, if you’re like me, then you may see a headline that strikes you as interesting, but not have the time to read the full article. When you do have time to read the full article, you can use the sort arrows at the bottom of the gadget to quickly find it again. The arrows sort through all the available headlines for a particular feed.

Reading on the RSS Feed Gadget

Headlines are only the beginning of the article though. You can actually read the entire article from the sidebar gadget. To do this, simply single click the headline and the gadget produces a window to read the article. After you finish reading an article on the gadget, just click on the desktop and the Gadget goes back to normal size.

After reading a few articles from one of your favorite blogs, you may decide to visit their site to read the next few. When reading in the RSS Feed gadget, simply click the headline area and the default Internet browser will open to take you to the site. This simple feature makes it easy to get to the site you love, and the content you want to read.

Filling the Gadget with Quality RSS Feeds

We have explored all the uses of the RSS Feed Gadget. Now we need to show you how to fill it with quality content. We do not want just any content, but articles and features that interest you. You probably already have a few popular sites on your radar. You can begin your search on their site to see if they have RSS available. If they do not, you might send them an email to inquire why not. It can’t hurt right? Remember to look for the orange slashing logo that is common to RSS feeds or the tag “XML”.

There are also many RSS feed directories out there. There are even top one hundred lists that help you find the most popular RSS feeds. All of these locations can help you find the content you need to get started with your new gadget.

Other RSS Readers

The Sidebar RSS Gadget is essentially a toned-down version of the Internet Explorer reader. The RSS feed reader built into the browser can display full textual articles, give leader text to articles, and mix and match feeds from various sources. The RSS gadget does not break the mold for RSS readers, it just adds to the functionality of the Vista sidebar—and it does that quite well.

By comparison, the Google Reader offers users unparalleled flexibility and tools for their RSS feeds. This includes reports derived from each specific feeds’ usage by the reader. This can help you narrow down which feeds have become fodder and which have become your daily source for news. It’s well worth looking in to. We did—and have a guide on how to use it here.

BlogLines is also another good option, for blogs (funnily eough!). It has a simple interface and a proven track record of stability.

NetVibes is yet another RSS feed reader, but it also has other functionality, to help you find videos, photos, and other types of content.