RSS in Windows Vista

Today RSS is primarily used for news sites, blogs, and increasingly for audio-based serialized content. But RSS has the potential for broader reach and to more deeply integrate the information it delivers across applications of various kinds.

Learn About the New Support for RSS in the Windows Vista Platform
Learn about the new support for RSS in the Windows Vista Platform and how Windows Platform Services make it easy to incorporate RSS functionality into your applications.

Microsoft Simple List Extensions Specification
The Simple List Extensions are designed as extensions to existing RSS feed formats to make exposing ordered lists of items easier and more accessible to users.

Related Items

Channel 9: Longhorn (heart) RSS
Microsoft announced the addition of several new RSS features in Windows Vista, formerly code name "Longhorn." The Windows Vista Browsing and RSS team (the one we interviewed here) is also are announcing a new RSS extension, to be released into Creative Commons, that lets you do lists in subscriptions. Check it out on Channel 9.

Microsoft to Deliver RSS Support to End Users and Developers in Windows Vista
Microsoft to Deliver RSS Support to End Users and Developers in Windows Vista. Simple list extensions for RSS Specification are made freely available via Creative Commons.

IE Blog
The Microsoft Internet Explorer Weblog.

Frequently Asked Questions about Simple List Extensions
Find out more about the licensing and Microsoft's extensions for the RSS specification

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about RSS support in Windows Vista

What RSS formats does will Windows Vista support?
Windows Vista will support all common RSS formats, including: RSS 1.0, 2.0 and Atom 0.3. We will support Atom 1.0 when it's released.

What is the RSS support in Windows Vista?
That's a short question with a long answer. In as few words as possible: Microsoft is building support into Windows Vista to enable application developers to integrate RSS into their applications and create amazing experiences for their users. For the longer answer, see the scenario and architecture document that's available on this site.

When will application developers begin to actually work with this? When the first beta of Windows Vista is released or at PDC?
We are making specifications and an architectural overview available for developers and content publishers to begin exploring these new capabilities now. Basic end-user RSS functionality will be available in Windows Vista Beta 1, scheduled for release this summer. The RSS support in the Windows Vista platform will be discussed in detail at Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in September, and PDC attendees will be provided with early versions of the software so they can begin exploring how to build RSS support into their applications.