INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
May 4, 2003
Tom MighellWelcome to Issue #110 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!
It's that time of year again. Time for Bar None, the show I produce each year. For those of you not in the Dallas area, Bar None is a group of lawyers, judges, and others in the legal community who get together to sing, dance, and generally make fools of themselves, all for charity. This year our show is called "My Big Fat Geek Lawyer." If you want to learn more, listen to clips of our songs, or buy tickets to the show, head over to www.barnoneshow.com. Because of rehearsals, the newsletter will be a little shorter until June 21. Let's call it "ILRW-Lite."
And away we go…..
Daypop v. Google News
Regular readers of this newsletter know how much I love both Daypop and Google News. Although both sites describe themselves as portals for searching news and current events, both approach the task in very different ways. Google News is a great place to learn the major news events of the day, but it's pretty much just the news. Daypop, on the other hand, will provide the quirky, interesting, and unusual, but not as much in the way of "meat and potatoes" news.Best of Reference
The New York Public Library has announced its Best of Reference list for 2003. Included in the list are several terrific legal research sites, including The Scout Report and Archives, Librarians' Index to the Internet, Statistical Resources on the Web, OnlineNewspapers.org, and Newslink.The Coalition gears up for spam regime change
The war on spam moved into high gear this week. First, those improbable allies AOL, MSN and Yahoo! have joined together to fight spam. And in the U.S. Congress, two bills are being introduced, both targeting spam from very different angles. The first bill will be introduced by Senator Charles Schumer, and will establish a do-not-e-mail list similar to do-not-call lists established to stop telemarketing. The second, named the Restrict and Eliminate Delivery of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (REDUCE) Spam Act, will offer a "bounty" for identifying and reporting a spammer, equal to 20% of the fine levied by the Federal Trade Commission against the spammer. Good luck with that one. Finally, Virginia has enacted probably the toughest anti-spam law in the country, making it a felony to send spam through fraudulent practices.Spam-fighting tools reviewed
In case the laws above don't help reduce the spam in your Inbox, CNet takes a look at eight spam-fighting programs -- if you don't have a spam filter yet, what are you waiting for? Take a look at one (or more) of these programs.New tool for science searchers
If you find yourself constantly searching for scientific, technical, or medical information on the Internet, check out the Scirus Toolbar. Once installed, the toolbar becomes a part of your browser, allowing you to easily search science- related websites using the terrific Scirus website.Top 100 Federal Forms
FedForms, a great site providing one-stop shopping for federal forms most used by the public, offers this listing of the Top 100 forms downloaded by users.Spring Semester must almost be over...
That would explain the large number of law student weblogs this week, many of them in the early stages of development:There's in pari delicto, from Rob Sherman; Miscellaureous, from former teacher and soon-to-be-lawyer Laura Gleason; Just Opinions, A mix of political, legal, and social commentary from the liberal perspective of Jeremy and Jason; Omer Poos, from an anonymous first-year law student (how interesting for a blog to be named after a former federal judge and law school library); and Obiter Dicta, from a law student at UT Law School (Hook 'Em!)
And there were several weblogs from lawyers this week, too. Texas Lawyer Bill Wiese publishes the Internet Law Blog, a weblog "by, for and about computer, technology and Internet law." And Direct Appeal provides "commentary and summaries of federal criminal cases decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit." This is a perfect application of the weblog format to a legal practice -- criminal practitioners in the Tenth Circuit can have new caselaw summaries delivered to them (via the RSS feed) on a daily basis.
This week, several weblogs cite Elwyn Jenkins' post on simplifying your Google searching. It's a simple proposition, but one many Internet searchers overlook. Next time you do a Google search, instead of asking a question, type the answer instead. Try to visualize the sentence that would answer your research question, then just type that partial sentence (minus the answer, 'cause of course you don't know that yet) into Google (for example, "The Digital Millenium Copyright Act was enacted by Congress in") If someone has answered your question on the Internet, Google should provide it to you.
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net – 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
Geniusfind
Billing itself as "the smartest search on the web," Geniusfind wants to make your Internet search easier by pointing you to search engines that can help you narrow the focus of your query. The site has compiled a directory of thousands of search engines, databases, and archives organized into convenient categories and subcategories. The major categories range from Arts & Humanities to Webmasters, and each contain a good selection of subcategories to help you narrow your search. As good as Google and AllTheWeb are, they can't narrow your search as well as some of the search engines found at this site. Give it a try.National Aviation Safety Data Analysis Center
As usual, the federal government comes through with another great collection of databases, this time on aviation safety. To enter the site, you have to accept a session-only cookie; once you've done that, you'll get access to databases, subject areas, and a centralized repository of aviation studies. The databases include the Air Registry, Aviation Safety Reporting System, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Near Midair Collision System, and more. The Subject Index also lists several databases, as well as information on accidents, advisories, and voluntary reporting systems. This appears to be one of the better comprehensive sites for all your aviation safety research needs.Marler Clark
Marler Clark is a Seattle, Washington law firm with a specialty in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Although you'll find information on other practice areas here, the links on foodborne illness are pretty substantial. The firm sponsors a number of sites with specific information on particular illnesses -- e.coli, Norwalk, salmonella, campylobacter, listeria, and shigella. Also helpful are the archives of news on each of these conditions, including video clips.Evaluating Health Information
One of the most important things to determine while conducting Internet research is the quality of the information you find. This page from the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus provides links to help you evaluate the quality of health information on the Internet. Here you can read the latest news, articles from the National Institutes of Health, general overviews on health information, research, and articles on specific conditions.National Technical Information Service
Okay, so this week's sites are heavy with federal government information. What can I say? The feds provide terrific, *free* information. Unfortunately, this is one of the few fed sites where you'll have to pay to for the reports you need. NTIS stands for National Technical Information Service, and it claims to be the central source for U.S. government scientific, technical, and business information. It offers over 2.5 million products in a variety of formats, including online, electronic, multimedia, CD-ROM , paper, and microfiche. You can browse the general Business, Environmental, or Health Collections, or consult such specialty collections as Agricultural Economic & Statistical Information, Bureau of Mines Publications, EPA Superfund, Military Publications & Manuals, National Transportation Safety (NTSB) Reports, and Toxic Substances Control Act Unpublished Reports. Reports under 20 pages are often free; other reports range from $8.95 to download a PDF file, to $25 for a paper copy.
Finally, some fun and useful sites to begin your week:
If you're traveling and you need to access your e-mail on vacation, Cybercafes is the place to go. The site contains a database of 4208 Internet cafes in 104 countries. Search by city, country, or continent.
And for a challenging game, play Reflections.
Well, that’s it for Issue #110 – 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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