Microsoft bets RSS is next big thing

Internet Explorer users accustomed to surfing the Web will be able to use a future version of the program to make waves of information come automatically to them.

Microsoft said yesterday that the Web browser in the next generation of Windows will be able to detect, display and subscribe to streams of news and information in a format called RSS, an increasingly popular method of receiving content online.

The feature, already included in rival browsers, is part of a broader push by the Redmond company to add RSS functions to the next Windows version, known as Longhorn, due out next year.

The addition of the capabilities to the widely used Microsoft Web browser and operating system could fuel the growth of RSS among mainstream computer users.

The move also could position Internet Explorer as a competitor to existing programs for reading RSS feeds. However, Microsoft says it believes the RSS function in Internet Explorer will be basic enough that it shouldn't supplant those more advanced programs.

Many news sites and other online sources already offer RSS feeds, letting people subscribe to and read information from a variety of sites in a single on-screen pane, without visiting individual sites manually.

Microsoft announced its plans yesterday morning at the Gnomedex technology conference in Seattle. Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch -- who appeared on stage with a T-shirt that read "Longhorn loves RSS" -- said the company is "betting big on RSS" because it wants the technology to become more widely adopted and easier to use.

"We want RSS everywhere," Hachamovitch said. "RSS is so powerful I want it in more than just the browser and the aggregator. I want it everywhere."

Gnomedex did not represent the friendliest audience for Microsoft, with some of the 400 bloggers, podcasters and other technologists openly criticizing the company's efforts to capitalize on RSS. During a question and answer session, one attendee compared Microsoft to the "Borg" -- the characters on Star Trek that attempt to dominate the universe. Others questioned Microsoft's economic incentive, security issues and commitment to working with the open-source community.

Expecting some backlash, Hachamovitch started his talk with an image of the Death Star from Star Wars. He then joked that it was a photograph of Microsoft's headquarters.

That later prompted a question from Steve Rubel, a New York public relations executive and author of the Micro Persuasion Weblog, who asked for evidence that the Death Star "has really exploded."

Hachamovitch handled the questions with style and a touch of humor, saying the company was looking forward to a dialogue with developers.

At one point during the speech, Dave Winer, a pioneer in the blogging and podcasting community, came to Microsoft's defense.

"No doubt some people are going to lay down on the tracks on this one ... some are going to be unhappy," he said. "But fundamentally this is what movement looks like."

Microsoft says that in addition to the RSS functions in Internet Explorer, it will offer technology in Longhorn to make it easier for outside software developers to create Windows-based programs that draw on RSS streams. For example, someone making a calendar program could give users the ability, within the program, to subscribe to feeds of information related to appointments or events, said Megan Kidd, a group product manager in the Windows division.

RSS capabilities will first appear in the preliminary version of Longhorn, which is due out this summer. Longhorn is scheduled to be released in final form in time for the 2006 holidays. Microsoft declined to say whether any RSS features would be added to the new Internet Explorer 7 to be made available in advance of Longhorn for the current Windows XP.

Microsoft's overall push promises to introduce many more people to the concept of RSS, in part because the company includes Internet Explorer free along with Windows.

That controversial practice was one of the central subjects of the company's U.S. antitrust dispute. The government alleged that such bundling was unfair to rival browsers not tied to the dominant PC operating system. But the ultimate settlement didn't preclude the practice.

In the same way, a variety of independent companies already offer programs known as newsreaders or news aggregators, in which computer users can subscribe to and read RSS feeds.

However, Microsoft says Internet Explorer will offer only basic capabilities for detecting, reading and subscribing to RSS feeds. Most standalone newsreaders go much further, with features for reading multiple feeds simultaneously, searching across feeds, and marking items as read or unread, among other things.

The company says that by building more RSS capabilities under the hood of Windows for independent software developers to tap into, RSS-related programs and features should proliferate on Windows, from a variety of companies.

A top executive with one newsreading-software company said this week that he would be pleased to see Microsoft add basic RSS capabilities to Internet Explorer. Such a move would tend to increase awareness of the RSS concept, said Greg Reinacker, chief technology officer and founder of NewsGator Technologies, Inc.

Reinacker pointed out that the open-source Firefox browser already includes RSS features similar to those Microsoft is planning. But NewsGator goes further, offering the ability to read RSS feeds not only in a browser but also in Microsoft Outlook, on a mobile device, or on a Media Center PC, among other capabilities.

The adoption of RSS by browser makers "creates a market," Reinacker said. "It reduces the barrier to RSS and exposes more people to it, and we think as people start using those tools, they're going to say, 'You know, I wish I could do these other things,' and discover NewsGator."

Apple Computer also added RSS capabilities to its Safari Web browser in the latest version of its Mac OS X operating system, Tiger. Michael Cherry, an analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft, said he was familiar with RSS previously but hadn't been motivated to use it until he installed Tiger and began noticing the RSS icon in Safari as he visited Web pages.

Cherry said Microsoft's addition of RSS features to Internet Explorer could have much the same effect on Windows computers.

"I think it is just going to raise awareness," Cherry said.

ALL ABOUT RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, a method of transmitting and receiving streams of news and information online. A growing number of news sites, weblogs and other online information sources make RSS feeds available to users, generally for free. Computer users can subscribe to the feeds in programs called newsreaders, or aggregators. The selected news and information is then delivered automatically as it becomes available.

Advantages include the ability to access customized news and information within a single on-screen pane. Most newsreading programs also indicate when a particular feed has new information, typically by putting the feed's name in bold. That eliminates the need to visit each Web site individually to see if it has been updated.

For more information, and to access the Seattle P-I's RSS feeds, see: seattlepi.nwsource.com/rss/

P-I reporter Todd Bishop can be reached at 206-448-8221 or toddbishop@seattlepi.com

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