RSS Reaches Out for New Networks

loid_void writes "The software and services used to read XML-based news feeds are continuing to branch out as the syndication method gains popularity on the Web." From the article: "More and more companies are starting to use internal content distributed in the form of RSS...Having this content delivered internally in a secure manner is really kind of the sweet spot for [enterprises] right now."

Buzzword Bingo

[Flexible Typhoon]

Ah. RSS [google.com]. The buzzword of the day.

There are things RSS is good for. Like news syndication.

There are things that RSS is NOT good for. Like, sending and receiving email or most forms of office communications.

RSS is not the panacea

RSS Feeds and Wireless Internet Blogging

[evdo-hsdpa-bob]

I gotta tell ya... my evdo-coverage.com website took off after i started blogging. Thank GOODNESS or what ever the MIS equivalent is.. :) for RSS... As far as news... Turner and CNN had it right.. people want to know whats up. 24hours of world news changed the world.

now... how about 24 hours of specialized news for EVERY industry... carve our your niche now... theres room for everyone... by the way.. if anyone as a wireless internet related blog... i'd love to syndicate you at http://wirelessinternetcoverage.com [wirelessin...verage.com]... let me know.. we'll be putting a news section on the site

Authentication for RSS

[Anonymous Coward]

Having this content delivered internally in a secure manner is really kind of the sweet spot for [enterprises] right now.

I'll bite. How do they make it secure?

In particular, I have a LAMP application that stores both public and private data. We make RSS feeds of public data available to all, but would like to also have private date available on RSS after a user authenticates in some way. How are others handling authentication? Just leave it up to Apache?

produces

safari

[izzo nizzo]

I'm psyched that safari will now inform me of when new stories are broken - so I don't have to check the sites myself. This seems like it will save me a lot of time; unless I end up subscribing to rss feeds from hundreds of sites.

The real question is...

[Anonymous Coward]

How many people, like myself, found out about this story because of Slashdot's RSS feed?

Hey, then we could create a server

[Colin Smith]

Which would automatically gather all of the RSS feeds into a single location we could then just subscribe to that one server and pick all the feeds we like...

Hang on, where have I heard of this before?

Broken "Models"

[Anonymous Coward]

"RSS is irrepairably broken, as is any other polling distribution system."

Well that explains Mailing Lists, and that Dial-a-Weather thingie.

Re:Hey, then we could create a server

[Kent Recal]

So, where's your non-broken push distribution system (e-mail might work for transport?) with appropiate browser plugins?

Oh, didn't make one? Then cut the whining.

Re:Why RSS sucks

[Khuffie]

You compare RSS to Usenet...why? They're not the same thing, and aren't meant to be. Usenet runs on a different protocol; requires a different method of viewing it. And the main point of Usenet is discussion and communication, not content syndication. Its a tool for people to discuss and communicate with each other, and not for content providers to syndicate their content.

You mention that RSS has no means of viewing older content, and again I'd say its not meant for that. It's meant to be used to show what's the latest thing out there on the site, and if archival systems were implemented it'd likely take out the 'simple' from the name.

Here's how I use RSS [khuffie.com]. That site is set as my homepage, and uses the wonderful Magpie RSS [sourceforge.net] PHP script to parse the RSS feeds. Instead of having to check all of those sites to check for updates a few times a day, all I do is go to my homepage (from any browser, not just my machine), and voila! I can instantly keep up to date with my favourite sites!

Re:Hey, then we could create a server

[AndroidCat]

And then Google will pick up those news groups and provide a RSS feed .. round and round it goes!

SIGNED RSS

[Corpus_Callosum]

There is a need for signed RSS for a number of reasons:

* It will be no-time before we start to see fake articles and whatnot directing us to fake merchants and fake bank sites trying to phish us and other nonsense
* Without signed articles / Signed RSS, there is no-way, other than finding and verifying the original content source, to ensure that a feed is authentic