Introduction

By default, Windows Vista displays some standard gadgets that perform tasks, like displaying time, RSS feed headlines, dates, and notes. A simple right click along the sidebar allows you to change what gadgets are shown. You can also download new gadgets from the Microsoft site. If you haven’t tried adding or customizing gadgets already, take a look at this information. This guide will focus on one default gadget that probably gets underused in Windows Vista–the RSS Feed Gadget.

What is an RSS Feed?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Many weblogs and news sites syndicate their content through RSS feeds. When a site is updated with new information, the RSS feed displays this information and spreads it to anyone who has subscribed to the feed. The gadget on the sidebar can take a feed from any site that offers RSS and then display new headlines periodically.

Anyone can subscribe to a feed for free. Feeds are like a quick link back to a website; only the link actually represents the whole of an article.

Why do sites offer RSS feeds? They want return visitors, and by giving you their content everyday through email or your favorite RSS reader, you will likely return.

Most sites allow you to subscribe via email, which gives their content the best exposure over time. You can also click on the RSS feed link they provide on their site to be taken to their actual feed. From there, you will have options to subscribe depending on which Internet browser you are using. We discuss how to subscribe via Internet Explorer later in this article, but you may also want to know about other popular readers to accompany your RSS sidebar widget. At the end of this article, we discuss the various RSS feed alternatives. These are standalone RSS feed reader applications that you can also use for free. They have more robust features than the sidebar gadget too.

Who Sends out RSS Feeds to You?

A lot of sites have their own RSS service built into their design. Other sites use a service such as the Google feed creator called Feedburner. A site owner first sets up their feed through Feedburner and then it handles syndicating the content to you – the reader and subscriber. Google’s Feedburner service allows the site owner to ping many different feed reader sites, which immediately come to grab new content from the RSS feed. The feed provides content to these applications in a form they can understand. RSS feeds are becoming increasingly popular for this very reason – they offer site owners a simple means to get content in front of readers.

How do You Subscribe to RSS Feeds?

To have RSS feed headlines display in the Windows Vista Sidebar, you have to subscribe to the site’s content. A popular weblog should show an RSS icon somewhere on their site. You click on the icon and it leads you directly to the feed. At this point, Internet Explorer enables users to subscribe to the feed via a button like shown in the picture below. 

Once you click on the ‘Subscribe to this feed’ button, you will automatically be updated with new content from that site via the RSS feed. You can view the feed inside Internet Explorer, Outlook, Windows Mail, or on the Vista Sidebar Gadget.

Why Use the Windows Sidebar RSS Gadget?

The gadget can display headlines from your favorite RSS feeds. It can do this without too much maintenance from the user. The RSS feeds you sign up for automatically show up in the Sidebar RSS Feed Gadget. You can modify how many of your subscribed feeds show up in the sidebar, showing as many as 100 headlines at a time. This can help you to stay up to date on financial news, your favorite blogs, or just keep in touch with those you love. It’s a nice feature that adds extra usability to Windows Vista.