If you haven't heard of RSS feeds, you're in for a treat.

"RSS feeds" is a dumb name for a fabulous technology. It's free and a cinch to use. Best of all, you can take advantage of this technology without needing to download any software.

An RSS feed lets you read in simple lists all of the headlines of the latest stories from your favorite websites and blogs.

Most of the top news websites, such as Washingtonpost.com, offer these feeds, too. So do travel sites and online travel agencies, such as Priceline.com. Once you start using RSS feeds, you'll be hooked.

By the way, "RSS" stands for: "I'm Ready for Some Stories!" (Okay, that's a fib. The acronym actually stands for "really simple syndication," and you can learn the nitty-gritty details by clicking here. But why bother?)

Let's get hopping. It'll take you about 10 minutes to simplify your Web surfing...

Create a free RSS feed at Yahoo (my.yahoo.com) or Bloglines.com. (To find other RSS feeds, click here.)

Then dial up your favorite travel site--say, BudgetTravelOnline--and click the link that says "RSS." This link is almost always in an orange box. Sometimes, it says "XML" instead. ("XML" stands for "extensible mark-up language." No, we don't know what that means either. Who cares? It works!)

Once you've clicked through, you'll find a list of story topics to choose from. For example, at BudgetTravelOnline, you'll find our list of RSS feeds by clicking here.

In the case of BudgetTravelOnline, you can opt to "subscribe" to stories on specific regions of the world, blog entries, or Real Deals. The stories you want--and only those stories--will come at least once a day, as our website is updated. The headlines will be stored so you can view them at your convenience.

Did our explanation leave you confused? Sorry! Try reading this explanation instead: "Finding Travel Deals Just Got Even Easier." Still confused? Post a comment and we'll help you out.