/ News Feeds

RSS Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is RSS?
RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, is an easy way to keep up with your favorite news and information. An RSS feed contains headlines and links to full news stories on our Web site. If you click an RSS link, you will see XML (or eXtensible Markup Language) code in your browser. This is to be expected since you do not view RSS content through a regular browser by itself. You view the headlines through an RSS news reader (also called an RSS aggregator). Some of these work with a Web browser you can browse RSS news feeds seamlessly. Our main RSS page provides links to our feeds.

2. What are RSS Readers?
RSS news readers are small software programs that aggregate RSS feeds and display the story information. They allow you to scan headlines from hundreds of news sources in a central location.

3. Where Do I Get an RSS Reader?
A wide range of RSS readers can be easily downloaded from the Web. Some readers are Web-based while others require you to download a small software program onto your desktop. Most are free to use. (Several readers require Microsoft's .NET framework on your computer. They may be slightly more complicated to install if you do not have .NET.) Google and Yahoo! both offer comprehensive lists of RSS readers. A few sample readers are also offered below for the purpose of evaluation:

• Pluck - http://www.pluck.com
• SharpReader - http://www.sharpreader.com
• Awasu - http://www.awasu.com/ (Windows)
• Bloglines - http://bloglines.com/ (All OS, browser-based)
• Amphetadesk - http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/ (Windows, Mac, Linux)
• RSS Reader - http://www.rssreader.com/ (Windows .NET)
• NetNewsWire - http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/ (Mac OS X)

4. How Do I Use These Feeds?
The first step, as described above, is to choose an RSS reader. Each reader has a slightly different way of adding a new feed (also called a "channel"). In most cases, here's how it works:

1. Click on the small XML button near the channel you want. You'll see a page displaying XML code.

2. From your browser, copy the URL that appears in your Address Bar.

3. Paste that URL into the 'Add New Channel' section of the reader. You should be all set! The RSS feed will start to display and regularly update the headlines for you.

5. Where Can I Learn More about RSS?
There are a range of articles about RSS available online. The Web Reference Web site offers an Introduction to RSS; extended RSS resources are available from Radio Userland. Here are a few additional resources:

• An informative RSS article from the Online Journalism Review
• The Evolution of RSS from Web Reference
• What is RSS? from IBM Developer Works
• A technical RSS tutorial from the Utah state government

6. Where Can I Get Help with DALLASNEWS.com National Headline News Feeds?
Hopefully this FAQ page and our main RSS page will answer most of your questions about the national news feeds. If you still need assistance, feel free to contact Customer Service. We update the RSS feeds when new headlines arrive.

7. Where Can I Get Help with an Individual Reader?
We do not support individual readers, nor do we provide technical assistance. Please check the Web site for your reader or contact the reader's customer service department if you need help.

8. How often are the DALLASNEWS.com RSS feeds updated?
The RSS feeds are updated constantly throughout the day. Every time a news story is added to our Web site, it will also be added to the RSS feed. While we publish news as it happens, your RSS reader determines how often it will retrieve the latest headlines. You can adjust the update frequency in many RSS readers.

9. What is the Virtual News Kiosk?
The Virtual News Kiosk is a simple way to add news and information links to a personal or non-commercial Web site. The Virtual News Kiosk appears as an element on the Web page by using JavaScript and contains top news headlines from throughout the day.