Get free, automatic notification of new content

Thanks for your interest!

For now, my content appears in two principal places: Here (on Langa.Com) and over at AskWoody.com.

To follow the AskWoody.Com content: Woody Leonhard has launched a new newsletter that’s very much cast in the mold of the classic Windows Secrets newsletter. Many of the original Windows Secrets gang have signed on, including Woody himself, Susan Bradley, Tracy Capen, myself, and others.

My columns appear weekly in each AskWoody Plus newsletter, and for now it’s free and open to the public. Drop by, sign up, take a look, poke around the newsletters and the rest of the entire AskWoody site.

To follow the Langa.Com content: Meanwhile, over here at Langa.com, I’ll continue posting daily items. Send in your questions, and I’ll answer ’em if I can!

To follow along here, the two best 100% free and automatic methods are (1) to use an RSS reader, or (2) to use the follow-by-email-links that become available when you click on the Comments box on each post page.

(1) This is my favorite way: Use any RSS reader app  (there are many available for all major operating systems and browsers; most are free), and tell the app to monitor either or both of the two Langa.Com RSS “feeds:” Posts and Comments. You’ll then get automatic notice when new content or comments are posted here; along with a direct link so you can access whatever interests you with just a click. Effortless! (I’ll show you how easy it is in a moment.)

Why two RSS feeds? My WordPress setup keeps two separate databases: one for the main Posts — the articles and info that I publish — and a second one for reader Comments and my replies to those comments.

If you only want to follow one feed, choose Posts — the main feed. But often, reader Comments contain excellent additional information or (ulp!) corrections to the information I presented. Other times, a reader comment may spark an additional exchange of information from me, and them, and back again.

The Comments feed also contains some system-generated informational messages — they appear as from “Langa.Com,” instead of from, say, me (“FredLanga,” “Flanga;” etc.)

But a good RSS reader will clearly show who wrote a comment, so it’s easy to tell the system messages (those from “Langa.Com”) from those written by your fellow readers, and me.

My suggestion: Subscribe to both feeds for maybe a week or two to see what works for you!

Here’s an example of an RSS reader in action, using the free RSS Feed Reader for desktop Chrome; one of many RSS readers available in the Chrome app store. (Other browsers and operating systems have similar add-ons and apps.) Whenever there are new Langa.Com posts, the app offers me a notice like this:

RSS Feed Reader
This free RSS Feed Reader integrates with Chrome; the app’s icon shows when you have new unread posts; lets you see the posts’ title; and if you wish, to then directly access any item with a click. Simple!

(2) Another option built into this site: You also can choose to follow-by-email any particular posts of interest via the links found on each post page; the site will automatically email you (also free) when new related posts or comments are made.

To access the follow-by-email links, just find the Comment? Question? Reply…? box on each post page, usually towards the bottom. Here’s what it looks like:


Find the “Comment? Question? Reply…?” box on a post page (usually at the bottom) and then click anywhere inside the “Enter your comment…” box, even if you don’t plan to make a comment.

Click inside the “Enter your comment” area, and two options boxes will appear, letting you select “Notify me of new Comments via email,” or “Notify me of new posts via email,” like this:

Once you click inside the “Enter your comment” area, two selection boxes should appear (circled, above), allowing you to choose by-email notifications of future comments or posts.

Want more ways to follow along? Other excellent third-party alternatives include free services such as Blogtrottr, Google Alerts, and many, many similar offerings.

Following along has never been easier! 🙂

Thanks for your interest!

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