INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
February 15, 2004
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #145 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…..
Become a search hacker
Tired of the same old search engines? Think you can build a better search engine on your own? Now you've got help, with the new publication Spidering Hacks. The book offers tips and tools for creating and running your own spiders, those software creatures that are used by search engines to discover web pages for indexing. Chris Sherman has a review of the book at SearchDay.Zip It....Zip It Good
Anyone who received a copy of the MyDoom virus may have recognized that the bug came concealed inside a Zip file, which is a relatively new and evil way of concealing viruses and other bad things. I say evil because zip files are commonly used to send larger documents or files via e-mail. Microsoft XP allows users to automatically unzip files, which people will often do without thinking. PC World's article Zipped Files Can Zap Antivirus Apps has a good discussion on the issue. The bottom line is, if you receive a zip file, run it through your anti-virus scanner first. If it's from someone you don't know, don't open it. If you receive a zip file from someone you do know, verify he or she actually sent the file before attempting to open it.Lost And Found Via RSS
In the United Kingdom, Bumblebee Auctions offers items up for auction as part of the UK Police Property Disposal program. Just subscribe to one of the RSS feeds, and receive immediate notification when new items are up for sale.Research that comes to you from Copernic Tracker
Copernic, the company that makes the great Copernic Agent meta-search product, has introduced the Copernic Tracker, a utility that automatically monitors websites for you and notifies you of any changes or new additions. I wish the Copernic folks could make the Tracker available on a trial basis -- I like to check out software before I shell out $50 for it.Check the Grid
Tara Calashain mentioned an interesting search tool the other day -- SearchGrid lets you try out different combinations of search phrases, and tells you how many results Google will bring back for that particular search. Very interesting.Bray On Search
Tim Bray, an early pioneer in the creation of Internet search engines, has published a series of essays called On Search, the Series. Chris Sherman reviews the essays over at SearchDay.And the Winner is.....[yawn]
Surprise, surprise. Google took away most of the awards at the 4th Annual Search Engine Watch Awards.Send e-mail to a cell phone over the Internet
Want to send an e-mail to your friend's cell phone, but don't know the address? No problem -- Teleflip it. The service essentially allows you to send an e-mail to a person's cell phone number just by using the address "number@teleflip.com." Pretty nifty.Mamma Mia
Mamma, the "mother of all search engines," (it's really a meta-search tool) unveiled new search features last week. Included in the new goodies are query term highlighting, customization of results, and something called "search math," which allows you to include or exclude certain terms from your search.Word for word, online
Several federal district courts are making the full transcripts of courtroom proceedings (mostly in civil cases) available online. You'll find them at PACER -- start at the PACER Service Center to sign up.What was that sound?
Now you can search for sounds on the Internet, of all things. FindSounds lets you search the Internet for sound effects and musical instrument samples. So if you need to download a hiss, a splat, a giggle, or a howitzer, you'll find them all here. Chris Sherman has a review.
Two...Dos...Zwei...Deux
Most people use two-word phrases when they use a search engine, according to web analytic provider OneStat. Over 32.58% of web searches are two words, with 25.61% of searches using three word phrases.Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing
With the sudden onslaught of spyware and adware, there has been a similar flood of utilities promising to rid your computer of the dastardly software. But, in classic "Trojan Horse" fashion, many of these programs are actually installing the types of software they are supposed to erase.Take searching to the next level
Chris Sherman has a review of the new book The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook, a collection of high-quality websites as well as tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Internet searching. There's also a companion Extreme Searcher's Web Page, with links to the sites mentioned in the book.
Clustered results from your favorite sites
My favorite meta-search tool Vivisimo has been working on providing its "clustering engine" search functionality for other websites, and the results are great. Now you can search FindLaw and receive clustered search results. You can also run Vivisimo-like searches with eBay, PubMed, and FirstGov. Nicely done.Blawgs of the Week
Here are the latest law(and not-so-law)-related weblogs to pass across my radar screen this past week: Collin Canright and Christina Paule Canright publish the Business Writing & Design Blog, with news, comment, analysis, opinion, and inspiration on writing and design in business and technology. Nipper's Patent Law Blog is the blog-child of Stephen Nipper, a patent attorney working in Idaho. Matthew Homann, a lawyer from Highland Illinois, has been blogging over at the [non]billable hour for a few weeks now, and he's got some great content. Matthew and I both are interested in high school mock trial competitions, so I feel like I know him already. And fellow Texan and Houston Attorney Tom Kirkendall recently debuted Houston's Clear Thinkers, which will feature his and his friends' "observations regarding developments in law, business, politics, culture, sports, and other matters of general interest to the Houston legal and business communities."Do you ever notice that the clock on your PC runs a little slow? If you'd like to change that, it's easy, especially if you're running Windows XP. Just right-click on the clock in your taskbar, select Adjust Date/Time, click on the Internet Time tab, and check Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server. Whenever your computer connects to the Internet, it will periodically check with one of the atomic clocks available on the Internet.
Earlier version of Windows? Just download a program that does the same thing. One such utility is AtomTime, which works with all versions of Windows.
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
ADD Consults
Maintained by Terry Matlen, MSW, ACSW, this site provides a resource to those researching Attention Deficit Disorder. As the name of the site implies, you can consult with an ADD professional, either by e-mail ($50) or by phone ($150/hour). But there's much more to explore here --there's a directory of ADD professionals and coaches, a nice collection of articles, a discussion area, and Internet links.The Aviation Home Page
Dubbed as "Your link to the world of aviation," this site is really just a directory to aviation-related websites. With 7,955 sites listed, there's a lot from which to choose. Categories include Aircraft, Air Transport Services, Training, Ground Support, Organizations, Publications, Events, Reference, Government, Airports, and more. Each category contains a few sub-categories to help you narrow your search, or you can search the entire site from the box at the top of the page.Diabetes Public Health Resource
A handy reference for anyone interested in diabetes research. The CDC provides a lot of great resources here -- the data includes diabetes maps, how to deal with diabetes in the workplace, Frequently Asked Questions, news and information, publications, state-based programs, and lots more. Once you drill down to the fact sheets, you can get lots of specific information on the condition and its treatment.Court Tech Forum
This site is hosted and maintained by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Orange and Osceola Counties in Florida, and it claims to be the largest court information forum in the world. The home page is dominated by news stories down the middle of the page, and there are links to many different areas in the left-hand menu. Next to the news, the Forum seems to be the busiest part of the site. I think the idea for this site is terrific, but I'd like to see a bit more in the way of content.Electronic Information System for International Law
EISIL is quick to tell you that it is a database "still in development." That's fine with me, 'cause what's there looks pretty good. The subject matter areas currently under development include General International Law,International Human Rights Law, International Economic Law, International Environmental Law, and International Criminal Law -- more areas are on the way. Each of the current areas provides basic sources and other sub-categories on the subject. You can save records to your own personal filing cabinet, too.
A few fun and useful sites to start off your week:
AccuTraffic takes you directly to traffic conditions in all 50 states -- it links to the transportation departments of each state. While you're checking on road conditions, AccuTraffic can also show you the current weather.
Certified e-mail? Use MsgTag and you'll be notified when your messages are received.
Prove that you're the ultimate party host(ess) by playing the Lifetime Dinner Party Game.
Well, that’s it for Issue #145 – 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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