1391 Cyber information
austraLasia 1391

Two items of cyber information which are bound to help you have a nice Sunday

ROME: 14th January 2006 --  Really.  There are items that come to one's attention from time to time and they do make a difference.  Here are two of them.
1.  ANS has gone RSS (or XML).  'Big deal', you say?  Well, yes, it is actually quite a big deal.  It helps you take control of your viewing, and that has to be good news.  You can receive your Salesian news from ANS the moment they publish it, or when you want to view it, and if you are viewing it that way, it can be one email less.  RSS and XML mean the same thing in the end, though the acronyms don't of course.  RSS possibly stands for Really Simply Syndication, a way of getting news out simply and to many people.  XML stands for Extensible Markup Language, an 'open-ended' type of html (hence 'extensible').  But you need know none of that really.  All you need is a feed reader - they are downloadable from the internet for nothing - then copy the link from the ANS page in your language of choice, and there you have it. If you simply click on the link (the little orange oblong) you get a barely readable page.  It is not intended to be clicked on but the link copied instead.
2. Papal Encyclicals online.  'Big deal' again?  Actually, again, yes!  This site was voted one of the best resources on the internet in 2005 by the American Library Association.  You can find any papal document from the Middle Ages to Benedict XVI.  Looking at the homepage today ( www.papalencyclicals.net ), amongst documents listed they have one by Benedict XIV!  It is not an error. They call it a 'relevant document from the past'.  The site is maintained by a Catholic layman at his own cost.  He explains its story, and how there were once several sites, between Vatican City, Australia and the US all hosting documents of this kind.  Some of them have gone off line but he has gained permission to host the lot, clearly has no intention of going off line and runs an attractive as well as an easily navigable site.  It would be worth a Sunday 'stroll' through what is on offer, including a few photographs of historical documents.

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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.  It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.  For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml