Whether it's celebrity gossip or dull facts about the economy, the volume of news has sharply risen in the past few years. Instead of reading full articles, many users limit themselves to news feed subscriptions that provide a headline and a short summary of the news item.

This message stream is based on the XML format that specialized programs (called RSS readers) like QuiteRSS [1] present graphically for an easier read (Figure 1). The software updates the listing with each new posting. (See the box "Making Everyday Life Easier" for more information.)

The term RSS reader actually falls somewhat short. Apart from RSS, the Atom format has become popular over the years, so much so that most readers also support it. Both formats are based on the XML protocol. You can also pull several feeds together using the OPML format [2].

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