RSS FEEDS FOR SELECTED SCANNER DISCUSSION GROUPS

[4phun]

Would you like to dump email with its spam and viruses?

Yahoo Groups is now providing RSS feeds for selected scanner discussion groups. Yahoo is trying to keep up with Goggle Groups 2 Beta which now provides ATOM feeds for all their groups.

What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format for distributing web content (such as news headlines or new content in your group). Using RSS, you can display the newest messages for this group in your web log (otherwise known as blog) or view them in an RSS reader.

I use RSS Bandit as a desktop aggregator in Windows XP. http://www.rssbandit.org/ There is a online help file for RSS BANDIT http://www.rssbandit.org/docs/


What kind of content does Yahoo! Groups provide via RSS?

Yahoo! Groups RSS includes the most recent messages to a group. If the group is configured by its owner to show its messages to the public (i.e. the group setting must have public archives), it will also have an RSS feed. The feeds are free of charge to use for individuals and non-profit organizations for non-commercial use.

(Attention Yahoo Goups owners; I changed my Yahoo group settings to public archives and within minutes Yahoo offered a free RSS feed for it. SLICK! -Vic)

Just drag the following URLs to your RSS reader or web log.

RSS with Scan Atlanta

http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/ScanAtlanta/rss

http://snipurl.com/6sxh


RSS with Palmetto 800

http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/Palmetto800/rss

http://snipurl.com/6sxf

An ATOM FEED is a more sophisticated repalcement for RSS and any decent RSS reader will handle an ATOM FEED.

 

[nmfire10]

WTF?

 

[INDY72]

Its a new way to notify members of various Yahoo Groups of changes, msgs, etc,.. replaces the old system which was e-mail exclusive.

 

[BobWeb]

Looks like nothing more than SPAM to me.

 

[Dubbin]

Looks like nothing more than SPAM to me.

Just a new way of doing things. Heck I set it up for a couple of my yahoo groups just to give it a try.

 

[blantonl]

The Radio Reference Forums now support RSS as well:

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=rss

Enjoy!

 

[BobWeb]

Looks like nothing more than SPAM to me.

Just a new way of doing things. Heck I set it up for a couple of my yahoo groups just to give it a try.

Interesting. How well does it work? What is the advantage in using it?

 

[Dubbin]

Interesting. How well does it work? What is the advantage in using it?

Well to tell you the truth, Im not liking it much. Could just be that I dont know all the options to it yet.

 

[4phun]

Interesting. How well does it work? What is the advantage in using it?

Well to tell you the truth, Im not liking it much. Could just be that I dont know all the options to it yet.

I strongly feel that may be the case. RSS is a much nicer way to handle massive amounts of unrelated data from a wide variety of sources. If you are trying RSS BANDIT go the ONLINE HELP MENU and read about each feature. Play with it until you understand how it works. Customize it as suggested.

You can create categories to organize your information and drop various related feeds in them.

Then using the space bar you can rapidly page through data just reading headlines or short summaries. You can skim just the titles of many feeds to see if anything is of interest to you. A click can mark them all read.

Speed, I can see posts to ScanAtlanta long before the email shows up in my pop account. I don't have to go to yahoo and skim their online messages at Yahoo Groups to see the latest messages right away. Not only is it faster than email you avoid all the nasty stuff that email can bring, especially SPAM.

You can turn off a feed without unsubscribing to it to cut the flow of information for awhile. No need to dicker around with email settings at some web site. No worry of exceeding you inbox storage allotment. As a matter of fact there are all kinds of setting available with a right click and selecting properties for each feed.

I can read the comics before the days Atlanta Journal Constitution arrives on my lawn at 4:30 AM. As a matter of fact I read most news articles of interest twenty four hours in advance of it appearing in the paper or on local television. Do you understand foreign humor? I also get several cartoons within minutes of being published from Europe and the Far East. Each has its own RSS feed.


You can turn on FEED ALERTS for a feed such as one that enumerates terrorist attacks for instance. If it has a breaking news item a pop up window will alert you for fifteen seconds. Click on the alert and RSS BANDIT pops up with your alert summary and a hot link to the full story.

Instead of you having to browse the web looking for new information RSS brings it to you almost as soon as it is web published. You can send this stuff to a laptop or a PDA and carry it with you. You can start reading your news at home, save the state of your RSS reader and go to work and pick up reading it where you left off on a completely different computer! It is very close to having a newspaper or magazine at hand all the time.

When you have RSS feeds on specialty subjects like scanners you are instantly aware of anything that has been discovered that may make your hobby more interesting or easier to deal with.

Are you interested in earthquakes? RSS can provide hot links to all kinds of information within minutes of a tremor without the delays of email. I have two quake feeds I have found, one for the US and one global major quake feed.

RSS is in its infancy but rapidly growing as the newest tool of the Internet for communications. You are getting in to it before all the dot comers' jump in trying to figure out how to make a buck off of it at your expense.


Vic

 

[Mojo]

Be aware that your "My Yahoo" page, if you have one, will allow you to try this out. RSS Bandit requires your system to have Macrosloth's ".NET Framework 1" installed as a component of Windows. If you do not have it, look forward to a 20 Meg download from Windows Update.