Tim at Cutting Through posts 10 things you can do with RSS/Atom feeds. There's some pretty cool things in there, such as keeping an eye on the weather or the arrivals board at your local airport. Here's another two that I'd add:
- Viewing my Gmail inbox. Subscribe to
https://gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atomand then use your Gmail username and password. You'll need an Atom Enabled reader that also understands HTTP Basic Authentification - FeedDemon users can follow Nick's instructions. - Finding out my ISP's service status. PlusNet has an RSS feed detailing service problems, so I can know in advance of any maintenance, or why something isn't working, for example.
I'm sure that there are many more cool things you can do - these are just a couple that I use personally. RSS and Atom are great technologies that I expect to really take off soon.
With the GMail inbox, it would be better to subscribe to http://gmailuser:gmailpass@gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atom/
Many users have been experiencing problems with Bloglines and GMail and also Feeddemon will not allow two channels to have the same URL in the same channel group — ie if you have more than one GMail account it makes life difficult!