Really Simple Syndication or RSS is a new way to distribute information via the Internet. Anyone with an RSS 1.0 enabled feed reader, email, newsreader or Web browser program can subscribe to an RSS feed and have information delivered to their desktop during the day.
To launch this feature on the city's Web site, San Carlos selected their "What's New on the Web site" feature as the city's first RSS feed. This will enable interested Internet viewers with RSS enabled software to receive notification and copies of new information on the city's Web site the same day it is posted, without visiting the Web site itself or the need for an email subscription.
Flash Paper is a new way to distribute long documents on the Web. Unlike previous formats like Adobe Acrobat, Flash Paper loads each paper very quickly making for faster viewing of the posted material.
San Carlos Major Michael J. King noted that "The city of San Carlos is always looking for new and better ways of making information about the city and its programs, projects and services available to the public. Programs like the city's Web Site, San Carlos Cable Channel and Cablecasting of City Council Meetings are good examples of such efforts. The city of San Carlos was one of the first cities in the world to launch a Web site some 10 years ago in May 1994. So it seems only fitting that we continue to innovate and lead in this area with the introduction of new Internet and Web site features like RSS feeds and Flash Paper. I'm sure that both tech saavy and interested members of our community will appreciate these new enhancements to the city Web Site."
Assistant City Manager Brian Moura noted that the city's information technology staff is working on a new city Web Site that will debut in the next few months. He indicated that the new Web site will feature several additional enhancements as well as more use of the new features being introduced this week.
RSS Enabled Software
To use the city's new RSS feed feature, Web viewers will need to install software that is RSS enabled. This includes a number of low cost, and in some cases free programs including RSS readers such as Free Reader and Feed Demon, email and newsgroup programs such as Mozilla Thunderbird and Web browsers such as Firefox and Opera. More programs with RSS support are coming each month and it is expected that the next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer will have RSS support as well when it is released in 2006.
