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offer, including a few photographs of historical documents.
________________________
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
