BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | The really simple future of the webThe really simple future of the web
Tense, nervous headache? Try a new way to surfE-mails coming out of your ears? No time to stop and read your favourite websites? Is the luxury of being able to "surf the web" just a distant memory?
An old idea, which could have ended up on the dot.com rubbish tip, might be just what is needed to help solve your problems.
Most people have never heard of this idea, let alone seen what it can do. But legions of techies, bloggers and website developers tend to get very excited about it, believing that it's the best way to keep in touch with the web. Some believe it could even spell doom for spam.
The idea - let's call it RSS - comes from a bit of work done in the 1990s at Netscape and elsewhere. The point of it was that key bits of websites, such as headlines, could be sent out in a bare form, stripped of all fancy graphics and layouts. These could then be incorporated easily into other websites.
So what is it about this idea which gets people so excited?
The most compelling use of RSS is that it lets users read dozens of websites, all on the same page. The sites can be scanned in seconds rather than having to be laboriously loaded individually.
How one RSS reader looksMany sites and most weblogs now provide a feed of their content in RSS format. More are likely to join them as the audience grows.
A program (usually called a reader) collects a number of different sites' feeds chosen by the user, and displays them in much the same way as an e-mail inbox.
Typically one of these programs (dozens of which are available) will have a window listing all the sites the user has chosen. Top, for argument's sake, might be the BBC News Online Magazine. Other sites chosen will be listed below.
When a new story is published in the Magazine, the listing would be in bold, perhaps with a number in brackets indicating the number of new stories available - just as an inbox would indicate the number of unread e-mails.
The right-hand window of the reader would show a menu of stories currently in the Magazine index (headlines and first paragraphs). If the user cannot resist reading the full story, they would click on the headline and the full webpage would load.
The beauty of the system, apart from the speed of looking at many different sites, is that all the feeds are chosen by the user. No-one gets to set their agenda, and crucially no-one can intervene to send spam.
BBC News Online and our sister BBC Sport site have made available feeds to every part of our sites. There are about 100,000 people using the site in this way - a number which has been growing at 50% a month since the service was launched last year.
E-mail breakdown
James Crabtree, of think tank The Work Foundation, says there's growing belief in the technology community that e-mail is a system close to breakdown, thanks in part to spam, unread newsletters, and sheer weight of messages.
"E-mail is becoming a very big problem, and RSS is perhaps one of the ways out of it," he says.
It's just a really handy way of getting the information you want without having to surf around for it
James CrabtreeDanny O'Brien, co-editor of technology newsletter Need to Know, says there's scope for very specific information to be sent out. "It's really not hard to have your own personal RSS feed - you could suck in your appointments or latest news from your boss," he says.
"If you're a regular eBay shopper, you could set an RSS feed to keep an eye for bargains there; Amazon RSS lets you look for new books in your favourite category. Apple's iTunes Music Store has RSS feeds so that you can see what new albums are available, and so on."
James Crabtree says: "At the moment, not many people really know about using RSS. But if more people knew what it was, I think they would use it. It's just a really handy way of getting the information you want without having to surf around for it."
So how to go about it?
There is a range of different RSS readers available, some of them for free (click the Google link on the right for more details). Mac users currently seem to have the edge in easy-to-use programs, but there are many for PCs too. There are also websites which will do the same job as a reader without the need for a download.
There is a step-by-step guide to using RSS on this page -Using RSS
Otherwise look for the words "RSS Version" on the bottom line of any index page within the site, and click it for full instructions.
August 17, 2009
RSS Predicted 2004: The really simple future of the web | Friday, 20 February 2004 | Magazine | BBC NEWS
BBC NEWS | Most Popular Now | Live By Section
BBC NEWS | Most Popular Now | Live By Section
Most popular stories now
THE DAY NY BANNED FATTY MOM'S LITTLE HELPER: NEW YORK BANS AMPHETAMINES AS A DIETING AID - New York Times
NEW YORK BANS AMPHETAMINES AS A DIETING AID - New York TimesNEW YORK BANS AMPHETAMINES AS A DIETING AID
Governor Carey signed a bill today that would make it illegal for a physician to prescribe amphetamines for the sole purpose of helping a patient lose weight.
The bill prohibits the use of such drugs for the ''exclusive treatment'' of ''obsesity, weight loss or weight control.'' A doctor who so prescribed an amphetamine would not be subject to prosecution, but Mr. Carey said the legislation would permit the state's Health Department to bring disciplinary procedings against physicians ''who persist in prescribing amphetamines for weight control.''
Carey Explains His Support
In a memorandum explaining his support of the measure, the Governor cited ''Federal studies,'' which he said showed that ''about 25 percent of the reported cases of amphetamine abuse were related to drugs obtained through legitimate prescriptions.''
The Medical Society of the State of New York, which normally resists restrictions on physicians' freedom to prescribe as they see fit, did not oppose the bill. It is consistent with the society's formal opposition to the use of amphetamines for weight control.
A spokesman for the Society said that the principal recognized uses of amphetamines were to treat minimal brain damage and narcolepsy, which involves uncontrollable attacks of deep sleep. He said the drugs were also used in connection with narcotics for the ''control of intractable pain.'' Bad Side Effects Cited
Dr. George Lawrence, the director of the Medical Society's division of scientific activities, said that amphetamines ''are effective in controling the appetite'' but had ''very harmful side effects.'' He said he expected the bill would cut down the prescription of amphetamines for dieters, since doctors could face the loss of their licenses to practice as the result of a disciplinary proceding.
Harriet Morse, the director of the State Senate's Health Committee, said the bill was directed primarily at what she called ''fat' doctors'' who ''specialize in weight reduction and within their specialty overuse amphetamines.''
Amphetamines are habit-forming drugs, which, if abused, can result in mental illness and cardiovascular difficulties. Wisconsin Impact Noted
The Wisconsin Controlled Substances Board reported in 1978 that sales of amphetamines had dropped by 97 percent in that state within three months after the board banned their use for weight control. Dr. Darold Treffert, chairman of the board, said today that since then ''the doses dispensed have dropped even further.''
Dr. Treffert said critics of the ban -which, like the New York law, does not carry criminal sanctions - had predicted when it went into effect that there would be an increase in ''street traffic'' of amphetamines, but Dr. Treffert said that ''interestingly, amphetamine arrests have dropped substantially.''
DRx. NICK PERJIFIES HIS EFFORTS TO CONTROL PRESLEY, JERRY LEE LEWIS' USE OF DRUGS - New York Times - October 31, 1981
DOCTOR TESTIFIES ABOUT HIS EFFORTS TO CONTROL PRESLEY'S USE OF DRUGS - New York TimesDOCTOR TESTIFIES ABOUT HIS EFFORTS TO CONTROL PRESLEY'S USE OF DRUGS
Dr. George Nichopoulos took the witness stand today in his own defense and flatly denied criminal charges that he overprescribed controlled drugs to Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and seven other patients. He asserted that his healing duties as a physician were always uppermost in his mind.
Dr. Nichopoulos acknowledged that, as Mr. Presley's personal physician, he prescribed numerous narcotics, sedatives and stimulants for the singer. But the doctor insisted he did this in the hope of gaining control of a drug dependence that was already established in Mr. Presley and the others. All those named in the indictment had been getting drugs from other sources, Dr. Nichopoulos testified.
''The goal with all these people was to control the medication,'' he said in a quiet voice from the witness stand. Prosecutors have produced prescriptions written in Mr. Presley's name over the last 31 1/2 months of his life, calling for more than 19,000 doses of narcotics, stimulants and sedatives.
However, the defense attorney, Jim Neal, has asserted that many of these drugs were thrown away and that placebos, or inactive pills, were substituted for others. The prescriptions were written, the attorney said, to convince the entertainer that he was receiving real drugs when he was in fact receiving many placebos. Relief of 'Pain and Suffering'
And there were valid medical reasons for Dr. Nichopoulos to prescribe many of the drugs to Mr. Presley, the lawyer added. ''Did you try to relieve the pain and suffering of Elvis Presley?'' Mr. Neal asked. ''Yes,'' replied the physician. ''Did you in good faith try to reduce Mr. Presley's drug habit?'' ''Yes.'' ''Dr. Nichopoulos, are you guilty of the charges in this case?'' ''No.'' Over the last seven months of Mr. Presley's life, Dr. Nichopoulos testified, he wrote seven letters to drug manufacturers ordering placebos. The last of these letters was dated Aug. 12, 1977, four days before Mr. Presley died inhis Memphis mansion, Graceland. The Shelby County medical examiner ruled officially that heart disease caused his death.
Dr. Nichopoulos also testified that Mr. Lewis, also a singer, and the seven other patients named in the indictment were in better condition today, mentally and physically, than they were when they first came to see him. (wow, Jerry Lee must've REALLLLLY been fucked up when he came to see Dr. Nick, because he almost died of a half-dollar size hole in his stomach about fifteen days after DRx. Nick perjured himeslf in court. --ed.)
The prosecutors, Jewett Miller and Jim Wilson, obtained the consent of Criminal Court Judge Bernie Weinman to postpone their crossexamination of Dr. Nichopoulos until Monday morning. They are expected to question him closely about the quantities of controlled drugs and the length of prescriptions he ordered for Mr. Presley, Mr. Lewis, Gail Clifton, Drew Smith, Ivan Smith, Barbara Kaplan, Barry Underberg, Alan Fortas and Marty Lacker. 'I Know I Helped Him'
However, Dr. Nichopoulos testified that he had helped all the patients either reduce or eliminate their drug dependency. When Mr. Lewis first came to see him in 1975, for instance, he was ingesting up to 30 amphetamines on nights when he would perform two concerts, Dr. Nichopoulos said. Yet, under his care, this drug intake was reduced to three amphetamines a night.
''My goal was to get Jerry drug-free,'' the physician said. This proved difficult, he added, since the entertainer would often ''backslide'' into taking street drugs. But, Dr. Nichopoulos said, ''I know I helped him. Today he's fine; he's off medication.''
Prosecutors called three doctors to the stand last week who testified that physicians should not continue prescribing drugs to people dependent on them. To do so, they said, violated accepted standards of medical practice.
However, Dr. Forest S. Tennant Jr., a drug researcher at the University of California in Los Angeles and a government drug consultant, testified yesterday that a doctor's best medical choice in some cases may be to maintain a patient on drugs. Recent research, he said, shows that some patients have such a strong physical craving for drugs that they are not able to function without them.
Such patients will buy drugs on the street in uncontrolled quantities if they cannot get them from a doctor, Dr. Tennant testified, suggesting that in these rare cases a physician's best alternative may be to supply limited quantities of drugs to control their intake while maintaining the health and productivity of these patients.