Really Simple Syndication technologies and extensions.
Google Base now provides an RSS feed for its search results. Every search contains a link to the RSS feed and a feed icon on the top right portion of the page. A search for Pearl Jam is a good example. (via Search Engine Watch)
I'm surprised the results are provided in RSS and not Atom, as Google seems to prefer the later. It's good that Google added the feed icon as well, drawing attention to the link.
The state of Washington has declared today and tomorrow RSS days throughout the state. The declaration is in recognition of big companies, startups, and governments within Washington taking advantage of new technologies such as RSS to change the technology sector.
Appcasting is a way to add automatic updates to your applications using RSS 2.0 with enclosures. Mac apps TextMate, SubEthaEdit, and iStumbler already use appcasts for updates and frameworks such as Sparkle help you easily add updates for your own Cocoa app.
Application developers can describe their application and the changes present in each update. You can add CSS and images to make the update screen pretty, and Sparkle lets you specify a web page to retrieve if you would like to keep the size of your RSS file small.
Developers code the location of the appropriate RSS feed directly into the app, creating a trusted link between the application and a location on the web. Sparkle supports DSA signatures for more trusted downloads and updates.
The appcast system looks pretty cool and developers should be able to easily add automatic updates described in RSS.
I just bought a copy of Apple iLife 06 and created my first photocast of foodporn. The feed invents its own date format and places a guid at the channel level. Apple is also doing some odd user agent restricting access to browsers such as Firefox and tools such as Feed Validator.
<pubDate>2006-01-11 18:55:03 -0800</pubDate>
Perhaps Apple can publish an update to make all dates RFC 822.
Apple also declared a new "wallpaper" DTD that is undefined, just like their podcast DTD.
Pacific Digital is also showing off a WiFi picture frame at CES in Las Vegas. The new MemoryFrame products will connect to Windows Vista PCs using Windows Media Connect, Windows Connect Now, and Vista's integrated RSS features.
The picture frame can connect to other PCs on a home network using WiFi and display shared content. I could not find any pricing information but current 10.4" wireless picture frames from Pacific Digital cost about $400.
Tags: photos, windowsvista, windows
eStarling just released a picture frame with built-in WiFi that can receive photographs from any RSS feed or POP e-mail account. You configure the device once using a USB connection and it will automatically update itself over a 802.11b wireless network (even with WEP encryption). Pictures formatted in JPEG or bitmap format are displayed on a 5.6" LCD.
You could subscribe to a specific tag on Flickr or send e-mails from your cell phone to a special e-mail address such as a free Gmail account. I would love to give one of these to my mom and have it automatically update with pictures from family members around the world.
The picture frame costs $250 and is currently available through ThinkGeek.
Sony's PSP gaming device now supports RSS feeds. The RSS Channel is presented to users above the web browsing option in version 2.6 or above of Sony's PSP system software. Users can add feeds by clicking on a link to an advertised feed in their web browser.
The mobile RSS aggregator is specially designed for downloading podcasts in MP3 or AAC format. The channel list and streaming media is saved on Memory Stick Duo media. Only the RSS 2.0 syndication format is currently supported.
Sony has a special page for developers documenting their aggregator's handling of RSS. Russell Beattie installed his update and shared some of his first impressions on his blog.
Yahoo! and Microsoft are definitely paying attention to emerging forms of data transport such as RSS. It is evident not only in their product roadmaps but also in the essential tools to help potential candidates succeed in their jobs.
Microsoft mentions RSS in 15 current job descriptions across product groups such as portable media center, marketing, and MSN. Looks like Microsoft has some plans for RSS on mobile devices.
Yahoo! mentions RSS in 12 current job descriptions including what they are calling their "open content (RSS) platform."
Google currently has no job listings for feed technologies RSS, Atom, or even the word "blog." Google's job listings are much more generic and generally do not mention a specific product team.
Product teams at Yahoo! and Microsoft are building and expanding syndication technologies as future product features. It should be interesting to watch the awareness and open platform creation develop.
Pew Internet & American Life Project asked over 1300 Internet users about their awareness of certain Internet terms. While 88% of respondents had a good idea what the term "spam" means only 9% had a good idea what "RSS" means. 26% of respondents had never heard the term "RSS."
I am sure MP3 was just as obscure before the term became synonymous with all digital music.
I am currently attending Gnomedex in Seattle where there are many product announcements happening. The big announcement of the morning is Microsoft's integration of RSS into Longhorn at the platform level. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer, admitted Microsoft is "trying to get on the Cluetrain."
Microsoft's marketing message for its RSS integration is "Browse. Search. Subscribe!" They distributed jackets to all Gnomedex attendees and expect to see this message at PDC in September and other marketing venues. RSS is again being used as a generic term encompassing all feed formats including RDF and Atom.
Dean demonstrated Internet Explorer 7 and its built-in feed reader. Internet Explorer 7 includes an RSS button in the navigation bar when it discovers feed content in the HTML. A user clicks on the orange RSS and is able to view the RSS feed rendered in the browser. Clicking a plus button adds the feed to a common feed list Microsoft has opened up to developers as CommonFeedList. CommonFeedList provides support for feed elements at the platform level and opens up different API calls to store and retrieve feed data from the OS.
Microsoft demonstrated enclosure support for ICS imports into Outlook calendar, a screensaver utilizing a feed with graphic enclosures, and an application to browse Amazon wishlists. Microsoft's RSS extensions will be licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Channel 9 has a video with more information and three demonstrations. Reporters were supposedly briefed on the new features and the embargo lifts at noon. The Internet Explorer blog is supposed to have a post up soon. The Microsoft team is soliciting feedback on their RSS efforts at teamrss@microsoft.com
Niall Kennedy is a web technologist in San Francisco, California in the United States. I am very interested in the world of... MORE »