INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
December 28, 2003
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #139 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!
A safe and happy New Year to all of my readers! See you in 2004!
And away we go…..
Breaking the habit?
A technology analyst wonders if Google is good for you. He vows to break his addiction to Google in 2004, and improve the quality of his searching. That's a goal I think any Web researcher should strive for in the coming year.Ultimate E-mail security
This is an old story, but I thought it was pretty interesting. It seems that the North Korean government is launching an e-mail service that "guarantees the privacy of correspondence." While I have no idea whether this service works or not, the article mentions that most North Koreans really do have the ultimate in e-mail security -- not having Internet access at all.Ubiquity -- is it a good thing?
Business Week notes in Google Here, There and Everywhere that the search engine is becoming a rival to just about every company on the Net.A Palm for all jobs (or tasks)
Jeff Beard has a great post on PalmSource's new expert guides, including a separate legal expert guide featuring Palm software geared specially towards lawyers. If you have a Palm-based PDA, take the time to browse through these pages.The future of search looks like abstract art
Search utility Grokker recently introduced a revamped product. Some say it could be the future of search. Grokker takes your search results and shows them to you in a visual representation.Locking the doors on spammers
Yahoo has been working in a new anti-spam technology that uses a digital domain name key. The technology is supposed to prevent spammers from forging their e-mail addresses, which is a huge problem.A minibar with no outrageous charges for peanuts
Early this month, I mentioned that my favorite meta-search tool Vivisimo had released a search toolbar, as well as a "mini-bar." On Monday Vivisimo officially announced the release. One of the cool features of the minibar is the "Query Catcher," which automatically catches any search term/phrase entered into any other search engine or toolbar. Internet News offers a review of the minibar, as well as the new Grokker tool.The Year in Internet Law
Doug Isenberg of the terrific GigaLaw site has an article on this year's Unexpected Twists in Internet Law.A shorter link...to spam?
Readers of the newsletter know that when I have a long link I want to share with them, I often visit TinyURL to make a shorter, more manageable link. CNet examines TinyURL and other similar sites, and notes that, unfortunately, spammers are also making use of the service.Does it annoy you when Word or WordPerfect automatically turns an e-mail address or URL into a hyperlink? There's a way to stop it in both programs. In Word, select Format, then Auto-Format, and choose the Options button. Under Replace, uncheck "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks." Click OK, and then Cancel (unless you would like to auto-format the document).
In WordPerfect, select Tools, then QuickCorrect, and choose the SpeedLinks tab. Uncheck "Format words as hyperlinks when you type them."
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
Genetics Home Reference
A service of the National Library of Medicine, this resource provides consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes responsible for them. There's a search box where you can enter your query terms, or you can simply browse for genetic conditions, from achondrogenesis to X-linked
Sideroblastic Anemia. You can also browse by a specific gene. The page for each condition contains a LOT of information -- this is a terrific resource for genetics information.How to Choose A Search Engine or Directory
This site is presented by the University at Albany, and the title is a bit misleading. The page is basically a chart with links to various search engines, based upon what you're looking for. The chart is broken down to Fields and File Types, Search Logic, Search Options, Search Results, and Specialty Searches; each option has a listing of search engines from which to choose. This is a nice page to keep handy.International Environment Law and Policy
Another university site, this one from Washington College of Law at American University. On the main page you'll find the Table of Contents, which will take you to outlines of the various chapters of this resource. Each chapter contains links to other environmental law pages. The links in the margin are also extremely helpful, leading you to recent developments, treaties, institutional players, teaching materials and teacher's manual, and book reviews, among others.TaxExpert Online ($$)
Available to subscribers of Kleinrock's products, the TaxExpert Online offers a wide range of tax resources, with 24 libraries of federal tax materials -- over 180,000 documents. In addition to Kleinrock's Tax Analysis newsletter, you'll get access to the Planning and Practice Library, Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, IRS Publications and Revenue Rulings, Tax Court Reports, Tax Treaties, and I'm just getting started! Although I wish the information was available for free, it's nice to see resources of this depth online.Links to Post Office Pages
Need to find an international post office? Look no further -- this inelegantly designed page contains links to many of the post offices of the world, in multiple languages.
Here are some fun and useful sites to begin the new year:
Have people really become "addicted" to Google, believing it can find anything on the Internet? Bet you didn't know that you can also use Google to find Mister or Miss Right, lost pets, or even the meaning of life? Well, not really.
Did you get a new appliance for Christmas? If you are already having problems with it, check out Appliance411, which provides a ton of useful information on buying, servicing, and replacing home appliances.
Well, that’s it for Issue #139 – 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 at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net, 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 at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net 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 at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net.