[Dominicc2003]

HI everyone,
I need help finding an addon for FF/program that gives me a notification AS SOON as a RSS feed is updated. The built-in firefox one doesn't update instantly and doesn't show a notification and those are two things I would like the app to do.
It would be a bonus if it's freeware.

Does anyone know which program(s) would suit me?

Thanks

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Have you thought of having an RSS reader outside of the web-browser, like the one you can put on the Vista sidebar? You may like to try the free 'Google Desktop' which gives your XP a Vista-like sidebar only with dozens more gadgets. And Google's own RSS reader gadget updates itself -- it 's called the 'Google Desktop Webclips Gadget' and of all the RSS readers available for the sidebar I find that one is the best. Plus it's instantly available to view whatever web-browser you use.

You can get Google Desktop here: http://desktop.google.com/en/

[pip22]

Have you thought of having an RSS reader outside of the web-browser, like the one you can put on the Vista sidebar? You may like to try the free 'Google Desktop' which gives your XP a Vista-like sidebar only with dozens more gadgets. And Google's own RSS reader gadget updates itself -- it 's called the 'Google Desktop Webclips Gadget' and of all the RSS readers available for the sidebar I find that one is the best. Plus it's instantly available to view whatever web-browser you use.

You can get Google Desktop here: http://desktop.google.com/en/

[Dominicc2003]

Have you thought of having an RSS reader outside of the web-browser, like the one you can put on the Vista sidebar? You may like to try the free 'Google Desktop' which gives your XP a Vista-like sidebar only with dozens more gadgets. And Google's own RSS reader gadget updates itself -- it 's called the 'Google Desktop Webclips Gadget' and of all the RSS readers available for the sidebar I find that one is the best. Plus it's instantly available to view whatever web-browser you use.

You can get Google Desktop here: http://desktop.google.com/en/

Thanks
Does it update INSTANTLY or every 10mins, 30mins or so?

[Neil Jones]

With all due respect, I think you've misunderstood the idea behind RSS.
RSS is not designed for real-time updates. Most clients will not pick up on something that's been updated straight away, plus its a drain on the site's bandwidth for surfers constantly hitting it for the latest versions. There will always be a delay of some sort.

Edited by Neil Jones, 09 December 2007 - 02:03 PM.

[Dominicc2003]

With all due respect, I think you've misunderstood the idea behind RSS.
RSS is not designed for real-time updates. Most clients will not pick up on something that's been updated straight away, plus its a drain on the site's bandwidth for surfers constantly hitting it for the latest versions. There will always be a delay of some sort.

No offence taken.
I know that it isn't really made for real time updates but there must be some way to get instant updates without putting a load on the site's bandwidth.
But surely RSS does/should work like email? The recipient of the email receives an email as soon as the new one is created and sent. What about replacing the email with a blog post and the "recipients" the RSS subscribers? Surely if the server simply sends out a notification when something new is posted no unnecessary stress would be placed on the server?

[Neil Jones]

RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favourite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader" or an "aggregator". The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

Technically there is no such thing as real time because of the nature of the Internet - anything sent, received or checked for is inevitably going to be delayed somewhere, even by just a few seconds. Even Email isn't real time, and quite regularly gets stuck in a queue somewhere for hours on end. Servers don't send anything out when an RSS feed is updated - its up to the program you're using to check for updates. But if you're using a program set to check every second, then that can be incredibly anti-social and will probably get you banned from said site.