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through what is on offer, including a few photographs of historical
documents.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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