ANYWHERE: 2nd May 2005 --  austraLasia goes RSS.  The acronym has several likely origins, the best known of which is that it stands for Real(ly) Simple Syndication.  Not a difficult acronym to adapt ever so slightly to a Salesian context - and austraLasia has done it.

    The ultimate difference between RSS and say, email, is significant.  It is the difference between 'push' and 'pull', to begin with.  The receiver becomes an active receiver.  RSS looks like email but isn't.  It avoids all the problems of email, like viruses, multiple mailings (!) and the like.  It works like a web browser, which it is.  The receiver, with an RSS reader, sometimes called a 'Feed Reader' to receive RSS 'feeds', receives any update to news or web pages to which he or she 'subscribes'.  The latter only means clicking an icon, not paying something.  The RSS Reader is likewise free, takes less than five minutes to download and install.  Some RSS readers may require you to also install .NET Framework 1.1 which is also free - another five minutes work!

    Most major news agencies and associated web sites the world over now have RSS feeds.  Go to a site, for example the FIDES Catholic agency site www.fides.org .  Pick your language and on the page, down right, you will see a small orange rectangle with either RSS or XML written on it.  That simply links to a page telling you that FIDES offers RSS feeds in six languages.  The RSS file usually ends in either .xml or .rss: they mean the same thing for all practical purposes.  But open your RSS Reader and put the site's usual address (URL) in there and it goes looking for the .xml file for you.  Subscribe and your reader will pick up any changes that ever occur in news or on the page for you.  'They', whoever they are, no longer need to send the changes or the news to you. 

    It really is that simple, and for the technically minded, it requires about 10 lines of additional code and 'basta' as they say in some parts, to make RSS functional on one's web page.

    The austraLasia page within Bosconet has gone RSS.  Soon the other pages will go RSS.  To simplify the process, put the URL in the RSS feedreader as www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xmland you're away.  Don't forget to subscribe.  Let me know when you've done that and I'll 'park' your email address for archival interest only or to advise you of likely developments in Salesian technology!