TECHNOLOGY (UPS AND DOWNS)

Quite a few people have told me that they like following the blog but they don't know how often to check it, and wondered if they could be alerted when there's a new post to read. I had no idea how to do this, short of emailing everyone each time I post something (which would rather defeat the object), but I've discovered from the husband of a fellow patient that there is a way! involving a device called an RSS reader. Andy, who's at the clinic with his wife Jen, is extremely techno-savvy (their blog is impressively high-tech, putting mine to shame since half the time I can't even put photos where I want them!) and he's kindly given me permission to copy his instructions here for how to set it up. 


If you use Microsoft Outlook for your emails, you can configure it to download automatically any new content. To configure Outlook 2007:

• On the "Tools" menu, click "Account settings"
• On the "RSS Feeds" tab, click "New"
• In the "New RSS Feed" dialogue box, type the blog address (http://sylvia-sylviasnews.blogspot.com )
• Click "Add", then "OK".

The RSS feed can be renamed if required by right-clicking and selecting "Rename folder", and additional RSS feeds (for any other blogs you want to follow) can be added. Once you've done this, whenever I add new posts to the blog they'll automatically appear as unread items in your Outlook RSS Feeds folder.


Alternatively, there's an RSS reader app for iPhones and iPads, where you can add various RSS feeds (i.e. any blogs you'd like to follow regularly), and all new content will be downloaded to your device. The app is called MobileRSS, and can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store.


Hope this makes sense, and that you find it useful! Thanks to Andy for letting me know about these 21st century innovations... 


On the downside of technology, last week my email account started spouting spam, sending out junk emails raving about a cheap site to buy iPhones (if someone hacked into my account, they clearly don't know what a Luddite I am!). Apologies to anyone who received these. Hotmail quickly blocked my account, which is good, but unfortunately I couldn't prove that I'm really me until I got back to the UK yesterday, so I was incommunicado for a few days. All's sorted out now, and I'll be posting about my recent clinic visit as soon as I've caught up with my inbox.