RissRoss asked if I could clarify how you obtain and use FeedReader. I had some trouble figuring out how the website worked, too, so here are some instructions.
1. Go to the FeedReader website http://www.feedreader.com
2. Click the "Download the latest version" link
3. Click the link with the text "FeedReader27-646Setup.exe"
4. Click one of the icons that has a 100101 inscribed on it to start the download (it might take a second for the box to pop up to start the transfer)
5. Find the file "FeedReader27-646Setup.exe" on your harddrive and run it (setup is straightforward, so keep clicking Yes and Next)
6. Once FeedReader is installed, run the application.
7. Right click on the "My feeds" icon, click "New folder," and give it a name (I called mine BIT320 Blogs)
8. Copy this URL without the quotation marks "http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels/public/blog/56899?view=opml" (as a reference, this link is taken from this page: http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels/public/blog/56899)
9. In FeedReader, click on the File menu, and then click "Import OPML file"
10. Paste the URL you copied into the box and click the "Display available feeds" button, and then click the "Select all" button in the lower lefthand corner
11. In the "File to folder" dropdown list, select the folder you recently created
12. Click the "Set for selected feed" button, and then click the "Import" button
FeedReader will now download the messages from the blogs of our class. It might take a minute or two. As they are updated with new content, the names of the blogs will appear in bold with a number indicating the number of posts. Because this will be your first time accessing the feeds with FeedReader, all posts will appear as new. If you would like to mark all feeds as "read," click the folder containing your class feeds and then click the "Mark read" button in the toolbar. Now only updates retrieved in the future will appear as new.
I had to tweak FeedReader to run on startup, sit in the system tray, and get updates when it starts up. You can modify these settings by clicking the Tools menu and then clicking "Properties." Mark the appropriate checkboxes on the General tab. You can also modify how frequently FeedReader checks for updates on the Appearance tab.
Adding new feeds is as easy as clicking the "New feed" button in the toolbar and pasting the XML from your source. I've added a couple news sources and weather and find it to be a great way to check headlines.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Thank you for the instructions for me to work FeedReader. I will attempt to do it this week.
Posted by: Marissa | October 05, 2004 at 12:12 AM