Information Technology Reference
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Six Weird things You can Do with r S S Feed s
So far you may have gotten the impression that RSS feeds are good for nothing but delivering
news and article updates from Web sites. not so! RSS feeds are all about delivering information—
many different kinds of information. With that in mind, here are six weird—or at least
unexpected—things you can do with an RSS feed.
•
Track a UPS package (simpletracking.com/). Want to track a fedex or dhL package but don't
want to keep going back to the shipper's Web site and hitting refresh? enter a package number
on this form (it supports USPS numbers too!) and it generates a handy RSS feed for you.
•
Search Amazon (oxus.net/amazon). yes, you can use the tool on this page to keep up with
your favorite authors or book subjects, but you can also use it to keep up with additions
to other amazon stores. Want to look for classical music, new dVds, or even new games
on that latest platform? this is the way to do it. there's another good amazon RSS feed
generator at onfocus.com/amafeed/.
•
Clip Coupons (valpak.com/vpcol/searchRSS.do). now that snail mail envelope full of
goodies is available in RSS format. Just enter a zip code or your city and state, and Valpak
generates RSS feeds for coupons in your area, or coupons based on product category.
•
Get Hurricane Information (nhc.noaa.gov/aboutrss.shtml). if you live in the southeastern
part of the United States, i'm sure you know all about when hurricane season is, especially
after the last few years. the national hurricane center keeps you up to date with three
different RSS feeds for hurricane activity in different oceans.
•
Access Library Services (public.iastate.edu/~cyBeRStacKS/RSS.htm). as you might imagine,
with all the different services they already offer, libraries are getting into RSS big time to
communicate with their users about what they have to offer. this site lists several libraries and
the services they offer via RSS, from announcements to databases, to new books, and more.
•
Get MTA service advisories (robotpolishers.com/subway). things like service advisories
are most useful when reading RSS feeds on the go. i discuss this in more detail later in the
topic. of course, this particular site is most useful if you're in new york, because this tool
(disorient express) gives you service advisories for the new york city transit system.
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