For those who prefer the latter, RSS/XML feeds are available free for individuals and non-profit organisations.

RSS/XML feeds can update headlines on your computer software as they change through sections at Rediff. Breaking news, Sachin's score, box office verdicts or mergers struck minutes ago. Content can fly to your desktop faster than it takes to say 'What's new?'

Getting started

1. Download and install free RSS reader software.
   
2. Add the 'channel' links below to your RSS reader...

   Top Stories (India Edition): http://www.rediff.com/rss/inrss.xml
   
   Top Stories (US Edition): http://www.rediff.com/rss/usrss.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electiongraphics.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/election.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electioncolumns.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electioninterviews.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electionnews.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electionspecials.xml
   
   Election: http://www.rediff.com/rss/electionvvoice.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/allticker.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/nslide.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/newsticker.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/columnistrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/specialsrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/interviewsrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/newsrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/inrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/usrss.xml
   
   News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/newsrss.xml
   
   International News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/intnewsrss.xml
   
   GetAhead: http://www.rediff.com/rss/getaheadrss.xml
   
   GetAhead: http://www.rediff.com/rss/getaheadmoneyrss.xml
   
   GetAhead: http://www.rediff.com/rss/gslide.xml
   
   Information You Can Use: http://www.rediff.com/rss/iycurss.xml
   
   GetAhead Personal Finance: http://www.rediff.com/rss/getaheadmoneyrss.xml
   
   Business: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moneyrss.xml
   
   Business: http://www.rediff.com/rss/bslide.xml
   
   Business: http://www.rediff.com/rss/commodrss.xml
   
   Business: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moneyrss.xml
   
   Personal Finance: http://www.rediff.com/rss/perfinrss.xml
   
   BPO News: http://www.rediff.com/rss/bporss.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cricketrss.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sslide.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cslide.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cstatsrss.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cspotted.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cinterrss.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/ccolumnrss.xml
   
   Cricket: http://www.rediff.com/rss/cricketrss.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sportsrss.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sspotted.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/stennis.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/shockey.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sfootball.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sf1.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/schess.xml
   
   Sports: http://www.rediff.com/rss/sportsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/mslide.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/columnrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviescolumnrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviesbollynewsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviestvnewsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviesssnewsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviesreviewsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviesinterrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/movieshollynewsrss.xml
   
   Movies: http://www.rediff.com/rss/moviesrss.xml
   
   Columns: http://www.rediff.com/rss/columnistrss.xml
   
   Top Interviews: http://www.rediff.com/rss/interviewsrss.xml
   
   

3. That's all! Now you need not miss a rediff.com headline ever again.

Cocktail parties and RSS feeds
Hey, if you want to become an RSS feeds guru, or at least sound like one, here's enough gyan for the party this weekend…

Isn't this about politics?
No. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. RSS (really simple syndication) is a format for distributing and aggregating all kinds of content on the Web such as news links, headlines and summaries. It is a form of XML, which means that each piece of data - a headline, introduction or description - is coded separately. In this way, software will know exactly what to do with it. So, when you want information on Sachin Tendulkar, that's exactly what you'll get. Nothing more. Nothing less.

What do Rediff RSS/XML feeds do?
They gather information related to your areas of interest - movies, cricket, politics or breaking news - and deposit them all on your desktop. So, in effect, if you don't stop by the site, the headlines pretty much pay your PC a visit.

How do I read these feeds?
Once information about news items is in RSS format, RSS reader software can check for changes and updates. These headlines will appear on your screen with a summary. If you like what you see, you can always click through to the full copy on the Rediff site.

Some free RSS readers are…

1. Feedreader: http://www.feedreader.com/
   
2. BlogStreet Info Aggregator: http://rss.blogstreet.com
   
3. AmphetaDesk: http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/
   
4. Wildgrape NewsDesk 1.1: http://www.wildgrape.net/
   
5. Beaver: http://www31.brinkster.com/toolmaker
   
6. SharpReader: http://www.hutteman.com/weblog/2003/04/06-56.html
   
7. KlipFolio: http://www.serence.com/site.php
   
8. BlogExpress: http://blogexpress.com/
   
9. RSSConnect: http://www.perfectxml.com/RSSConnect/
   
10. Awasu Personal Edition: http://www.awasu.com/
    

I have the RSS reader. Now what?
Now you need RSS feeds to read. Just like the ones Rediff has provided on this page. Each feed is just like the address of a Web page. All you need to do is use the 'subscribe' function of your RSS reader to start receiving updates from a particular feed.

Makes sense. But what about XML?
'Extensible markup language', or XML, splits information (be it content or images) by markers like 'headlines', 'introductions', 'footnotes', or just about anything else, making it easier for computers to locate specific information using those markers.

Let's say you're stuck in a library, with a million books. All you have is an author's name - 'Goldie', to help you find something on, for instance, breeding goldfish. After an hour of searching, all the card file yields is a book called 'Pure Goldie: The Life and Career of Goldie Hawn'. Pretty frustrating, yes? Now, what if someone were to read all the books, neatly marking all data and sorting it into everything from 'title' and 'author' to 'fishing' and 'breeding'? If this were to happen, you would find something on goldfish in approximately 0.005 seconds, wouldn't you? XML examines information online, fitting it into structures that can be called upon to give you exactly what you want.

Welcome to a whole new Internet experience. With Rediff RSS/XML.