INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
August 17, 2003
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #122 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…..
A cautionary tale
This article shows that if you don't protect your computer from outside attack, you could be charged with child pornography.Step No. 1: Admitting we are powerless over technology...
A Yahoo! executive says that technology overload is causing New Economy Depression Syndrome, "a state of work-related stress brought on by information overload, constant interruption by technology (think e-mail, instant messaging and cell phones) and the increasing personal isolation that technology affords us."SearchDay Highlights
Gary Price is guest writing for Chris Sherman this week, and he always has something interesting to say. He first explores the great resources available at the Congressional Research Service. He also has a review of the Lookup Directory. I did a short review of this site back in January, and while I'm not a big fan of direct marketing (MelissaData targets the direct marketing industry), these tools are undeniably useful.New (and Improved) from Google
Google debuted two new features this week. First, the search engine now makes it easier to calculate online with its new built-in calculator function. You can do simple math problems, physical constants, convert cooking measurements, and lots of mathematical stuff I can't even pretend to understand. Give it a whirl. And if you haven't already, download the new Google Toolbar. It's out of beta testing, and it has some great features. I'm still amazed over how well the toolbar's pop-up blocker works -- I have only been using it 50 days, and already it has blocked 1700 pop-ups. Cool. And yes, for those of you who don't want Google to track your web browsing, you can still use the toolbar. When installing, just click on "Install Without Advanced Features," and you can surf in (relative) privacy.Blawgs of the Week
Another week, another hundred or so law-related weblogs to hit the Web. Here are just a few of them: Houston Lawyer William Dyer hosts BeldarBlog, the "online journal of a curmudgeonly trial lawyer and Internet dilettante." Livefree is written by Missouri lawyer Brian Scheiderer, who discusses "The Law: Freedom, Liberties, and the Pursuit of Justice." Fedlawyerguy is a new weblog from Jerry Lawson, and will deal with substantive law and practical concerns of interest to lawyers working for federal agencies. Declarations and Exclusions features News and Comment on California Insurance and Professional Liability Law (and other legal topics) from California lawyer George Wallace. Also new is a pair of intellectual property weblogs from the Intellect Law Group: The Copyright Blog and The Patent Blog. z., a legal reference librarian, publishes Legal References, "a blog covering law, librarianship, research, and technology." My kinda blog. Kelly D. Talcott, a registered patent attorney at Pennie & Edmonds, brings you recent events in intellectual property and technology law at Infringing Actions. Finally, coming soon (we hope): Inventio, featuring news, updates and thoughts on patent law and the protection of inventions...Do you use Alt-Tab to navigate between applications? If you don't, you should. It's available on most all versions of Windows, and there's a PowerToy called Taskswitch that gives XP users a little extra. The tool adds a preview of the application window and the open page in it, if applicable. This is very helpful when you have multiple sessions of a single application open. To download it, just head over to the PowerToys page and search for TaskSwitch -- it should be at the top of the right-hand column.
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
medilexicon
Formerly Pharma-Lexicon, this site provides A dictionary of over 70,000 medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical and healthcare acronyms and abbreviations. There are individual search boxes for abbreviations, definitions, pharmaceutical companies, associations, medical terms, and many more. You can also download a PC version of the search boxes, or a PDA-based edition with over 46,000 definitions. Sponsored by a grant from drugmaker Astra-Zeneca, there are a number of links to sites on specific medical issues (breast cancer, psychiatry, migraine, heartburn, etc.) sponsored by the company.Twenty Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities
Want to learn more about what makes your computer vulnerable to hackers? This technical page from SANS and the FBI provides two lists, one with the top ten vulnerabilities to Windows users, the other for Linux users. For each vulnerability you'll find an explanation of the problem and several suggestions for protecting yourself. You can also explore related resources, or check out upcoming seminars on improving your computer security.StockTransfer ($$)
The services offered by StockTransfer are impressive -- the site has evolved as a portal of information and services related to the transfer agent industry. Here you can find the stock transfer agents for over 16,000 companies or find your own stock transfer agent. The company will also print custom stock certificates for your company, assist with your EDGAR filing, and obtain a CUSIP number for you.President's Council on Bioethics
The President's Council on Bioethics advises the President on ethical issues related to advances in biomedical science and technology. Here you can learn more about those ethical issues, such as cloning, stem cells, sex selection, and more. Also available are many resources related to the work of the Council, including transcripts of hearings, reports, background materials, and publications. A number of good bioethics resources on this site.U.S. Federal Government Agencies Database
I always love a site that has the word "database" included -- I know there's bound to be a lot of useful information found there. And this site is no exception. Maintained by the Perkins Library at Duke University, this database is very simple in its goal: to provide access to web sites of and brief descriptive information about the major agencies of the United States Federal Government. You can search for agencies using keywords, including descriptions and acronyms. If you would rather browse, you can do so two ways: alphabetically or by hierarchy (Legislative/Judicial/Executive, etc.) You'll also find links to information clearinghouses that are not considered to be "agencies," but which may be maintained by governmental agencies. A terrific site!
Finally, a few fun and useful sites to begin your week:
Don't have enough obscure words in your vocabulary? Luciferous Logolepsy can help, with definitions for over 9,000 obscure words.
Adrian's Battlebots is a fun little addictive game that can help you waste an entire afternoon.
Well, that’s it for Issue #122 – 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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