Help Installing an RSS Aggregator/Reader

- Now on the Valley of Toledo Web Site.

NOTE: - These instructions are for Windows PCs only. I do not have access to a Mac and therefor can not help.

RSS Stands for Real Simple Syndication. By using RSS, this web site will be able to alert you to important events, changes to the web site, the availability of "The Tidings" on the web site, and other items of interest.

For those that already have an RSS Aggregator, you know what to do.

The RSS Aggregator/Reader (from this point on called a reader) that I would recommend can be found - Here.   It is "Freeware" and terms of use are on the page.  (Usual Disclaimer: I have NO affiliation with this product.  I am only recommending it because during testing of about 1/2 dozen readers, this one seemed to be the easiest to install and work with.   I freely admit that there are readers available that offer more features, better visual experience, etc)

What follows are the installation instructions

If you clicked the "Here" above, you should see this screen.
Click "The Installer" Option.
When the download asks you where to save the file, save it to your desktop, or your favorite directory for downloaded items.
These instructions assume you save it to the desktop.
Once the download is complete (the file is about 800k), you should have this icon on your desktop.
Double click it to start the install process.
The install process starts.
It will ask you what directory to install the program - accept the default.
It will then ask you what Start Folder to place the icons in - accept the default.
Last it will ask you if you want a Desktop and/or a Quick Launch Icon - I would recommend the Desktop Icon.
It then asks if everything is ok - click Yes and the actual install will begin.
When the install process completes, you will see the hightlighted icon on your desktop.
Double click it to launch SharpReader.
This is the opening screen that you should see.
SharpReader installs several "default" RSS feeds.  Unless you really think you want them, I would suggest that you right-click each of them and select "Unsubscribe" to remove them from your "Subscribed Feeds" list.
Once you have removed them, you should see this screen.
Now comes the fun part -
Click this icon
Depending on which browser you are using (Microsoft Internet Explorer (why?), or Mozilla Firefox), You will see one of these screens.

Follow the instructions (in RED) on the screen for your browser.
If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer If you use Mozilla Firefox
Switch back to SharpReader to see this screen.

And again, follow the instructions (in RED).
We are almost done.
What you should now see is this.
Assuming you have clicked "Subscribe", you should now see this screen.
In the lower right "pane", the "Feed" and "Title" next to the eagle are "clickable".  That is, if you click on them, they will take you to either the Valley of Toledo main page, or to the page set up for that item.  As SharpReader is installed, it will open those pages in that lower right pane. 
You now have some options you can pick.  If you are willing to accept SharpReader opening the pages in its own window, do nothing. If you want the links to display within your browser, Select "Tools"-"Options" from the SharpReader menu (at the top of the screen), and select the "Open Links in External Browser" option.  Click "Ok" and from then on, when you click on the "Title" or "Feed", the web page will open in your browser.
Last, the one drawback I have found with this program is that it does not offer you an option to have it automatically start when you boot your PC.  If you know how to add an item to the "Start Up" Folder within the "Start" menu, go ahead and do so (also change the properties for the "Start Up" item to "Run Minimized".  If you don't know how to do this, you will need to double-click the SharpReader icon on your desktop everytime you start your PC.
Lastly, once SharpReader is running, you can click the "Close" Icon on it's screen (the red x in the upper left corner of every application), or select "File-Close" when you are done looking at the items in the feed.  SharpReader will then minimize to your System Tray (lower right corner of your monitor) and stay active.  As you explore it's capabilities, you will discover that you can change the frequency that it will check for updates to the feed.  The default is every hour.  However, since I do not expect that the Valley of Toledo web site will change anywhere near that frequency, I would suggest that you change the frequency to Daily.  (Hint: right-click "AASR Valley of Toledo" under the "Subscribed Feeds", click "Properties".  Look for "Refresh Rate", click "Default (Every Hour) and select "Daily" from the drop down list).
Congratulations, you have now joined the world of RSS feeds.
Now that you have subscribed to the Valley of Toledo web site, you can go out on the internet and find more feeds to subscribe to.
You can customize news feeds to have your information delivered to you thru SharpReader.  You can have your sports and weather delivered on your time schedule.  The biggest advantage to RSS feeds is that you can eliminate spam from flooding you email.
RSS is an "Opt-in" process.  That is, you decide what you want sent to your PC.  And unless you subscribe to a spam RSS feed, there is no method available today for the spammers of the world to send to your Reader unsolicited.

Ok, so now you are asking "How do I find Web Sites Offering RSS Feeds".  One method is to "Google" - "news rss feeds". For me, this resulted in about 837,000,000 (Yes, that is 837 million) matches.  The top matches included Yahoo News, CNN News, Reuters News, and the list goes on.
Have fun and I hope you find the Valley of Toledo RSS feed useful.  As stated above, I do not expect that there will be many updates sent to you, but the ones that are you should find useful.
By the way - you can now delete the "SharpReader_xxxx.exe" icon from your desktop.