MELBOURNE: 18
February 2014 -- Recall the item a week or so ago
announcing a web version of Salesians A-Z, your helpful
quick reference
to Salesian terminology for GC27 members, Formation
communities, translators, Salesians or Salesian Family
anywhere? We also promised an app 'in due course'. Well, 'in
due
course' has arrived, and so has the app! You
can find Salesians
A-Z on Google Play.
Thanks to the respondents who offered
observations, clarifications, design possibilities etc. on the
basis of
the earlier request. It was all very helpful.
This is an Android app. As far as we know it would not work on
iOS, but
not having one of the latter - who knows! If anyone would like
to
develop this content for Apple just ask for the files and
we'll be
happy to provide everything you need. By far the larger market
these
days is Android so we've gone with the strength, so to speak.
But if you have no Android device, you still have several
possibilities:
1. You could install Android in a Virtual Machine on your PC.
It works
very well and costs not a cent so long as you know how to do
that.
2. The app has now become the basis for the website version,
not the
other way around, so you can see exactly the same as the app,
but full
screen
PC version on Bosconet. It is just as usable in that
form,
and for those not accustomed to small device screens, probably
more so!
3. You have a third option for downloading the app - from
the same
Bosconet site. Underneath the 'Livesearch' option on the
left is
the android app - click it and it will download as an .apk
file to your
device. If you are using a handheld of some description you
would then
need to go into security options and tick 'unknown source' to
install
it. Then it all depends if you device accepts an android app.
Incidentally, if you are searching on Google
Play for 'Salesians A-Z' you will end up with a handful
of Salesian apps, just two in English though.
One tip for use:
This app (and website) has a filtered search function built
into it -
as you type, any content with those letters begins to appear
below.
With something of this kind it is better to have a complete
word in
mind and even a complete phrase - that way you will reduce the
clutter. If you search 'temp' for example, you will end
up with 9
main headings (all expandable) and one of those will obviously
be under
'formation' (temporary vows, for instance). If you search
beyond that,
even just 'tempe', you will find a single heading you can
expand - yes,
you got it. Work and Temperance!
And on that note..... we can finish!
--------------
With reference to yesterday's story in the tragic events in
Venezuela,
one reader has written in with the following:
A few years ago I
was able to spend a weekend in Valencia. The community is
very poor,
built up on ruins of a failed business park by squatters.
The Salesians
have a school and training centre and a parish on either
side of the
residential area. They have formed teams of laity to
evangelize and
catechize the area, because the Salesians were always just a
handful of
people. The people are mobilized for the Gospel, and the
Salesians are
part of the community in an exemplary and leading way. I can
only
imagine the shock among the people of Valencia.
At our community
mass in Berkeley this morning we prayed for the victims of
this
violence, and also for the people and Salesians of Valencia.
