In addition to the Gorgeous Aluminum displays announced at WWDC, Apple is also showing off the new Safari 2.0 which includes a built-in RSS Reader…
What I like about this announcement is that it popularizes syndication. Despite its fast growth, there’s still a huge education job to do. The average Mac user doesn’t know about the technology yet, but putting it in Safari means they will know about it, and it gives the technology a kind of validation, an Apple seal of approval, for the people who are slower to look at new technologies.
It also may mean that Apple will evangelize RSS to publications that haven’t yet adopted it. Which is great: it’s not something we have much time for, and when CNN hears from Apple it carries a bit more weight than when they hear from Ranchero Software. [inessential.com]
From what little I’ve seen here — far far away from WWDC — it seems that Safari can render RSS instead of downloading or displaying an XML file which is what tends to happen. This is great for many people who have not yet figured out what RSS is, and what they need to deal with the link. BTW – Feedburner URls get the browser friendly treatment automatically…