Issue #163 -- August 29, 2004

Welcome to Issue #163 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!

20 Minutes is All It Takes
A recent study from the Internet Storm Center found that an unpatched computer, when connected to the Internet, will be compromised by malware within 20 minutes. I assume that means without a firewall up and running, because otherwise we'd all be unpatched at some point or another. Here's a real-life story of what can happen to you if you don't follow this very basic (but extremely important) advice.

Knowing Your Judge
Check out Rate Philly Judges, a site that allows you to rate a Philadelphia judge online. Law.com has more on this I'm all for a site like this, as long as it keeps a tight rein on quality control.

We don't need no stinkin' keywords
Blinkx is a new search tool that doesn't rely on keyword searches to find sites for you. Instead, Blinkx takes up residence in programs like Outlook, Word, and your web browser, and sits quietly in the background, watching the words you write and the sites you visit. If you want to learn more about the site you're viewing, just click Blinkx and you'll see suggested links. This sounds like it might be a bit intrusive, but it's certainly an interesting concept.

New search tools at Lycos
Lycos has rolled out some new search tools, as reviewed by Chris Sherman. I agree with Chris that the PeopleSearch looks a lot like other people finders on the Internet. I also agree that the Lycos Discussion Search is pretty cool. It searches the Yahoo and MSN discussion groups, as well as other sites where discussions are being held. Worth a look.

Your one-stop URL resource
URLinfo from FaganFinder is a terrific resource -- just plug in a URL, and you can instantly connect to all kinds of information about that site -- general registration information, related sites, cached pages, and much more. This is definitely a tool to keep around if you need to research a website. Chris Sherman has a review over at SearchDay.

Intro to Spyware
Walt Mossberg, who always has something interesting to say about new technology has this basic but useful introduction to spyware.

The never-ending battle
This week's Tech Tuesday from Yahoo! should be of interest to everyone: Out, Out Damned Spam is just one of the articles featured on everyone's favorite computer problem. There are lots of helpful links, including recommended spam filters, helpful tips on how to avoid spam, and basic information on the scourge of the Internet. If you don't get to it this week, you'll find it in the Tech Tuesday archives.

Blawgs of the Week
As usual, a big helping of the latest law-related weblogs to hit the Internet The Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog is brought to you by the folks at Stark & Stark, a New Jersey law firm. Bob Coffield is an attorney in Charleston, West Virginia, and he's writing Health Care BlogLaw, focusing on "health care legal issues, HIPAA privacy and security, technology and other legal odds and ends that impact West Virginia." Finally, Sanford Hausler is blogging about special education law (what a specialized niche -- I love it!) over at The FAPE Page.

No Two Search Engines Are Alike

One of the ideas that I harp on in my seminars (and advice that I often fail to follow myself) is that a legal researcher should not rely solely on one search engine. A smart researcher makes use of multiple tools, including different search engines. Now there's a website that can show you the difference between the results you get at different search engines. Just type in a search query at jux2, and you'll see how the results differ between two search engines. The beta site includes Google, Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves -- hopefully it will eventually add more search engines to the mix.

While we're on the subject, Tara Calishain has been thinking about the differences between the two search engines, and came up with Four Things Yahoo Can Do That Google Can't (PDF File). Some good stuff there.

Help Desk

As you probably know, Google (among other search engines) often lists PDF files in its search results. Sometimes downloading these files is a pain. Save yourself some time by clicking on the "View as HTML" link -- the formatting isn't very attractive, but it will give you enough information to decide whether to download the whole file.

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!

BioethicsWeb
Styled as the gateway to evaluated internet resources in biomedical ethics, this site doesn't disappoint. You can browse for information by category, which includes Clinical Practices, Theory and Concepts, Research Conduct, Reference, Society, policy and law, and others (if you know what to look for, you can enter a search query, too). Each category contains a number of links, with comprehensive descriptions of each site listed.

CarFax ($$)
Say you have an auto accident case, and you suspect the other side's driver was involved in a prior accident -- but he won't admit it, and you can't find an accident record anywhere. Head over to CarFax, and maybe a copy of the car's history will tell you something. Just enter the VIN for each car, and receive a detailed vehicle history report -- $24.99 for unlimited reports, $19.99 for just one.

Collection of Laws for Electronic Access
A part of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Collection provides access to intellectual property legislation from countries and regions all over the world. You can search for laws by keyword, or by using several pre-defined fields, which include the subject matter, the type of legislative text, date, serial number, and country. A good concentrated site for this type of information.

Country Studies
The Library of Congress'Federal Research Division publishes guides on 102 countries and regions around the world, and this is the online version. Because the original intent of the publication was to focus on lesser-known areas of the world, you might not see several major countries, including Canada and France. But if you want to learn about Macau, you can read about its historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and communications, government and politics, defense, and internal security.

Disability Law Resource Project
The DLRP claims to be the Southwest's leading resource on the Americans with Disabilities Act. You'll find some interesting resources here, which include a guide to disability law, case law and statutes, publications, and other resources. There are six newsletters and e-bulletins to which you can subscribe, and the Project also provides training. Worth a look.

Well, that’s it for Issue #163 – 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.

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