INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
January 5, 2003
Tom MighellHAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome to Issue #95 of the Internet Legal Research Weekly, a newsletter that delivers relevant and timely legal research information, and other fun stuff, to your inbox every Sunday. If you like what you read, please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to do the same! To subscribe, all you have to do is visit Inter Alia and fill out the subscription form -- it's free!
And away we go…..
News Update
Top Searches of 2002
This time of year, all the search engines issue reports on what people searched for during the past 12 months. Chris Sherman has all of the Top Searches of 2002 at SearchDay.Predictions for 2003
This past year, bloggers came to the forefront of news and political reporting. It's only natural to go to them now to see their predictions for 2003. Here's a list of bloggers' answers to 16 questions posed on issues facing us in 2003.New e-mail virus on the move...
The Yaha virus is rapidly spreading, and has been upgraded to a Category 3 threat by Symantec. You don't need me to tell you to update your virus definitions regularly.A whole mess o'blawgs worth mentioning
The folks at the Stark County Law Library in Canton Ohio (some of whom I count among my ILRW subscribers) have started the SCLLA Blawg, with lots of helpful information for the legal researcher.If you speak German, check out the German blawg, Handakte WebLAWg. It's maintained by Mainz attorney Rainer Langenhan, and it has links to this site, Ernie, LLRX, and other law-related sites. If you don't know German, you'll have to run it through a translator like Google Translator or AltaVista BabelFish.
Also up is NetLawTools, a brand new weblog from lawyer and Net guru Jerry Lawson, whose website of the same name has been around for some time.
Jerry pointed me to a new tax law blog, Tax and Business Law Commentary, authored by Maryland tax attorney Stuart Levine. (I love topic-specific blawgs; I can hardly understand anything I read there!). Another new single-issue weblog is Harlan's IP Law Blog, by Michigan IP associate James Harlan, Jr.
And if you're looking for the "many ravings of a Cherokee squaw hillbilly attorney," check out Res Ipsa Loquitur, featuring commentary on, well, just about anything, by an attorney who will only identify herself as Rita.
Finally, a non-lawyer weblog, but it definitely deserves a mention. The Political State Report offers state-level political reports "straight from the trenches," featuring volunteers from each state as reporters and contributors. This is a terrific way of finding grass-roots state political information.
Make no mistake about it, this list is extreme
Lake Superior State University released its 2003 list of banished words, including such overused terms as "untimely death," "homeland security," "must-see tv," and "weapons of mass destruction."Spanking, "skanks," and lap dancing -- gosh, I love the law
J.D. Jungle presents its first annual O.J.s, honoring outrageousness and stupidity in the law. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we might as well just pack it in.Time to Vote!
It's that time of year -- when all the weblogs put on their best faces and urge you to cast your vote for the Third Annual Weblog Awards, also known as the 2003 Bloggies. If you have a chance, head over there and show the rest of the blog world that blawgs are an important contribution to the blogosphere! My little 'ole website certainly isn't one of the best, but if you feel the urge to vote Inter Alia as the best new website, I won't complain.You should definitely vote for the Blawg Ring as the Best Weblog Webring -- with 71 blawgs, it's a great resource for lawyers and civilians alike.
Virus hoaxes are still catching people
Sophos released its Top 10 Viruses and Hoaxes in December, 2002 on Thursday. It's interesting to look at the hoaxes still making their way around the Internet -- I remember the "Elf Bowling" and "Frog in a Blender" hoaxes from years ago. Just in case you need reminding: the list at the top of the Sophos press release is where you need to be focusing your anti-virus energies. Before you delete a file on your computer, head over to Sophos or some other anti-virus site to make sure it's the right thing to do:
Counting on the Internet?
Those of you who have read this newsletter since the early days know that I'm a sucker for surveys. Ever since the Pew Internet & American Life Project launched, I have awaited the results of new surveys with keen anticipation. On December 29, the Project released "Counting on the Internet", and I have to say that while it's very interesting, I'm a little skeptical of the results.
As you might expect, the experience of Internet users has grown since the last survey of this type. In 1999, only about a third of Internet users had been online three years or more. In September 2002, 68% have been online three years or more, with 38% more than 6 years. The logical conclusion to draw from this is that these more experienced users are better able to find what they want online.
More and more, people know the types of information that can be found on the Internet. 97% of all Internet users surveyed expect to find information about government, health care, news, or commerce online. That's compared to 64% of non-Internet users. Interestingly, only 51% of senior citizens expect to find the same type of information, but that number jumps to 86% if the senior citizen is an Internet user. This makes sense, because of all age groups senior citizens have been slowest to learn about the Internet and what it has to offer.
The Pew Internet study also shows that 31% of all Americans would turn first to the Internet when seeking health information; 39% would look to the Web first for government information. The report doesn't compare those figures to past surveys, but I'm sure the numbers are up; more people than ever rely on the Internet for their information needs.
One of the most interesting aspects of this study is the number of people who claim they "always" or "most of the time" find what they are looking for on the Internet. Seventy-one percent of those surveyed state they "always" or "most of the time" find the government information they need on the Internet (20% say they "always" find what they need). For health information, this number is 76%, and a whopping 87% say they most always find the news information they're looking for on the Internet.
I have to say, I just don't buy it. In my opinion, the majority of Americans have a good working knowledge of searching the Internet, but too many people have come to believe that successful searching means going to Google and typing in a few words. While Google is certainly powerful enough to help you find the information you need, it's really only scratching the service of "searching" the Internet. I have always believed that most people think they know more about searching the Internet than they really do; I wish this survey would have tested those assumptions (I know, there are other surveys that have done this).
That being said, the survey results are encouraging; they demonstrate that confidence in the Internet continues to grow, and the number of people using the Internet for their research needs will definitely increase over time.
What are your thoughts? Read the survey results, then drop me a line at tom@inter-alia.net and let me know what you think!
Help Desk
If you have Internet Explorer 6, you may notice that whenever you download a picture from the Web it automatically shrinks the image to fit the size of your screen. It's a little annoying, especially when the shrunk-down version is too small for your viewing needs. If you don't like this feature, get rid of it. Click Internet Options from the Tools menu. Click the Advanced tab in the Internet Options window and scroll down to Multimedia Options. Deselect Enable Automatic Image Resizing and Enable Image Toolbar. You'll have to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect, but it's worth the wait.
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me an e-mail– I’ll post your question (don’t worry, I won’t use your real name) and try to get an answer for you!
Legally Relevant – Sites on the Internet
Constitutions, Statutes, and Codes
Need a quick reference to statutes of another state? Legal Information Institute at your service! This is a very simple page of links to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, and the constitutions and statutes of the fifty states. You'll also find links to uniform laws enacted in the individual states, the U.C.C., and rules of conduct governing lawyers. This is a great all-in-one site to keep handy for future reference.ElderLaw Practice of Timothy L. Takacs
This site is probably best directed at Tennessee attorneys and senior citizens, but anyone interested in elder law may find useful information here. Click on the Education tab, and you'll find several articles on elder law issues, as well as links to the Elder Law Fax and Elder Law Bulletin -- you can subscribe to either of these publications and receive elder law information on a regular basis. One of the best areas of the site is the Elder Law Resources page, with links to hundreds of useful websites for elder law practitioners, or anyone interested in that area of law.MelissaData
After I started looking at this site, I wasn't going to recommend it, because it's aimed at those in the direct marketing industry, and I am no fan of direct marketers. However, the resources here are pretty nifty, and might provide some good investigative leads for those of you trying to track down people or places. There are lookups for Zip codes, phone numbers, street names, campaign contributions, SIC codes, income tax statistics, and much more. This is a pretty good source of basic demographic information.Safety Facts
Part of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, this page provides terrific information on highway fatalities, in a number of different categories, including airbags, alcohol, antilock brakes, bumpers, daytime running lights, pedestrians, red light cameras, and many more. You can select any one of these from the menu at the top to see a listing of all the documents available on each topic, or browse fatality facts or Q&As for the topics. There are also links to "State Law Facts" that compare each state's highway safety laws.Calculators Online
Have I mentioned this site before? If I have, it's worth mentioning again. Martindale's Reference Desk is a collection of over 16,725 calculators for virtually anything you can dream up to calculate. Find calculators for blackjack, car pricing, clothing and apparel, energy consumption, engineering, nutrition, unit conversion, chemistry, physics, and I'm just getting started! This is a great resource to have around whenever you need a calculator -- any calculator.
For those of you with more conventional New Year's resolutions, here's a set of links to help you keep those resolutions on track.
And before we close the books on 2002, I always enjoy seeing Time's Year in Pictures.
Well, that’s it for Issue #95– I hope you liked it! If you did, pass this along to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to subscribe. Also, feel free to drop me an e-mail any time if you have questions, or if you have websites or other topics you want included in a future issue.
Tom Mighell
Subscription Information: If you want to keep on receiving issues of the Internet Legal Research Weekly, send me an e-mail, or visit Inter Alia and sign up there! If you no longer want to receive the newsletter, just click on the link at the bottom of this newsletter. Or, send me an e-mail and I'll remove you from the list.
Archives: Miss an issue? You can read previous issues of the Internet Legal Research Weekly in the Archives.
Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail.