INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
January 19, 2003
Tom MighellWelcome to Issue #97 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
"Gatored" getting to be a dirty word
Gator used to be one of my favorite utilities -- I could call it up whenever I needed my credit card information or to fill in a form, and Gator performed the task effortlessly. Then the pop-ups started -- Gator started sending me ads of competitors whenever I visited a commercial website. That ended it between me and Gator. Since then, Gator has been sued not once, but twice. Undaunted, this week Gator unveiled a new service, which triggers a pop-up window when Gator members search on sites like Google and Yahoo.It's hard to stay #1 forever...
Sure, Google's the hottest search engine going these days. But can it last? BusinessWeek Online reports on Google's gaggle of problems.Time to vote for your favorite search engine
Search Engine Watch presents the 2002 Search Engine Watch Awards. Head over to the site and cast your votes. Betcha can't guess who I voted for...The blawgs....the blawgs!!!
Not a week goes by that I don't find out about some new law blog on the Internet, and this week I have two more for your consideration. First up is Balkinization, featuring commentary on law, politics and culture by Yale law professor Jack Balkin. Also new is LegalOutreach, Building Transparent Legal Structures Worldwide, maintained by Texas lawyer Griffen Pivateau- Burke. You should also check out "Legal Weblogs Revisited" over at LLRX -- it has a nice mention of Inter Alia.Teoma unveils advanced search options
Actually, Teoma announced its advanced search options last November, but the search engine has now gotten around to creating an advanced search form.Electronic discovery is booming
Law.com has an article about the increased use of electronic evidence in litigation.SearchDay's Guest Columnist
While Chris Sherman is away, Gary Price of ResourceShelf fame steps in at SearchDay to post a few words, and what he has to say should not be missed. His first two articles are about online full-text databases provided by public libraries, and non-commercial Web directories.Supreme Court Rules on Copyright Case
This week the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Eldred v. Ashcroft, upholding the law extending copyrights on books, movies, and songs. Donna Wentworth at CopyFight has a great set of links on the decision, mostly opposing the decision.
Help Desk
The next few issues I'll discuss some tips for that most under-appreciated piece of hardware: the mouse. You can find your Mouse Properties in Control Panel; there's a Mouse icon right there (it's under "Printers and other hardware" in XP's Control Panel Category View). Depending on the type of mouse you have, the tips I'm going to discuss may be slightly different on your system, because each mouse has its own software. If one of these tips doesn't work, dig through your Mouse Properties to check out all your options.
This week, we'll learn how to fine-tune your double clicks. It happens to all of us: double-click too slowly, and nothing happens, or you inadvertently change the name of whatever it is you're clicking. In your Mouse Properties box, select the Buttons tab (or Basics, depending on your mouse), and adjust the slider in the double-click speed box to make it faster or slower. You can even test your click speed until you get it just right.
Do you hate to double click? You can change that, too. Just go to any folder window, and select View|Folder Options, or Tools|Folder Options, depending on your version of Windows. Select the General tab, and if you're using Windows 95 or 98, the Settings button. Then select Single Click to Open an Item. When you click OK, your desktop and all your folders will act more like a Web page; just click once and you're there.
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
American Group Psychotherapy Association
This site is designed primarily for members of AGPA or other mental healthcare professionals, but you can still find some gems here even if you don't have a medical degree. You can find a helpful description of the concept of group therapy, as well as current ethical guidelines for group therapists. There's also a directory of state contacts for the AGPA, in case you need to find a group therapist in your area.Family Law Summaries
Ah, a site summarizing a particular area of law in each of the fifty states! I love sites like these. I wish I could get more excited about this site, although the information is undeniably helpful. There are twelve tables here, on categories such as Custody Criteria, Marital Rape Exemptions, Child's Name Change Standards, and Property Division. Each table is available only in MS Word format. When you download a table, you can find out if certain elements of that topic apply in that particular state. Not incredibly helpful, but a good snapshot view of these issues. Also, it hasn't been updated since March of 2002, so there might be some information that is out of date.Business Ethics
This is an extremely informative page of links that was apparently put together by a librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. Here you'll find some great resources on business ethics, with articles and publications, case studies, corporate codes of ethics, professional organizations, and more. Very interesting information.Canadian Patents Database
CIPO, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, makes over 1.5 million patent documents available for you to view and download. Search by keyword, patent number, with Boolean terms, or in Advanced mode. You can also search Commissioner's Decisions on patent cases, as well as patents from other countries. If you're looking for Canadian patent information, this is the place to find it.eCopy ($$)
eCopy claims to be "where paper is going." It may be right. eCopy provides a software solution that turns any document into a digital file that can then be easily e-mailed. Essentially, eCopy connects your copy machine or scanner to other software applications in your office. Place a document in the copier, where it's scanned and sent on to the appropriate fax or e-mail application. This is a great way to reduce paper and overhead costs.
Finally, some fun sites to explore this week:
The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch awards top prize in its "Wacky Warning Label Contest" to a robotic massage chair that warns "Do not use massage chair without clothing... and, never force any body part into the backrest area while the rollers are moving."
inter-Face allows you to manipulate Dominique's facial expressions -- oddly addictive.
Couldn't make it to Consumer Electronics Show 2003? No problem. CNet provides you with the Top 10 products unveiled at the show.
And our top news headline of the day..."Nudist Travelers Ready for Takeoff." A nudist club has chartered a plane to Cancun, and once passengers are "free to move about the cabin," it's clothes off. The report mentions that no hot foods or steaming beverages will be served, and that each passenger will be given an embroidered beach towel to sit on. Well, that's a relief.
Well, that’s it for Issue #97 – 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
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