October 17, 2004

Welcome to Issue #168 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!

Learning about RSS
If you don't already use RSS in your research, maybe you should. A few months ago CNet put together a nice collection of information on RSS called RSS: News You Choose. It helps you learn how to read RSS, features reviews of various RSS news readers, and even suggests a few technology RSS feeds to consider.

FreeEDGAR Now a Contradiction in Terms
If you use FreeEDGAR to obtain SEC filings, be warned: it won't be free any longer. EDGAR Online is no longer supporting the free site, and will now focus all of its energies on the fee-based Edgar Online Pro.

Go deep on newsmakers
FindLaw is offering a new service called Newsmaker Coverage, which provides a more in-depth look at high-profile attorneys running for office or otherwise a part of the government. Right now the site only has profiles on John Edwards, John Ashcroft, and John Kerry, but you can also find West Legal Directory information on lawyers in the administration as well as in Congress. The profiles also link to that person's Thomson Legal Record entry.

Google from your cell phone
If you can send SMS messages on your cell phone, you can search Google. Just send your query to 46645 -- try help as a test -- and soon you'll receive results right on your phone. Trouble is, I haven't actually been able to get this to work on my phone -- so I can't speak from personal experience. But that shouldn't stop you from trying it out.

FireFox to Go
If you have switched from IE to FireFox, or even if you just use FireFox as an occasional browser, you might want to check out Portable Firefox. It's a smaller, more portable version of FireFox that is stored on your USB thumb drive, and you can then install a fully functional version of FireFox on any computer. Best of all, when you stop using that computer, FireFox doesn't leave any browsing remnants behind. Very cool.

Blawgs of the Week
Here are some of the new law-related weblogs I found this week: Feedmelegal is a weblog about webfeeds, weblogs, and the legal profession, written by a lawyer who's interested in those topics. There's not much there so far -- let's hope there's lots more to come! Another weblog from the Law Professor Blogs has debuted -- LaborProf Blog. It's written by Rafael Gely, a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. There are a number of new blogs set to launch in the next few weeks -- keep an eye out for them. Al Nye The Lawyer Guy is published, as you might imagine, by Alan Nye, a Maine attorney with an interest in legal technology. JD Bliss is a blog for attorneys seeking career satisfaction and personal growth. Sounds like something we could all use. Anthony Cerminaro is blogging over at NanoTech Lex, which focuses on nanotechnology, nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, nanosystems, microsystems, nanoscience, MEMs and other nano technology.

Help Desk

If you own a Palm-based PDA, you'll want to make sure that no one can get to your private information if you lose it. Here's how to enable the Palm's password protection. On the main menu, click Preferences, then Security. Assign a password there, and then set Auto Lock Handheld to "On Power Off." If you like, you can set it to lock after a certain period of inactivity. The next time you try to turn on your PDA, you'll be prompted for the password.

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!

e-Lawyer Blog
Every now and then I spotlight a particular law-related weblog, and the e- Lawyer Blog is a great one to spotlight. The blawg was started by Jerry Lawson, in order to promote the use of technology and the Internet to improve the delivery of legal services. Jerry has added some other commentators along the way, who show up every now and again to talk about various lawbiz issues. They haven't posted during October -- I hope they're just on vacation. Because there are some great things going on here.

Financial Regulators Gateway
The University of Toledo College of Law hosts this site that is "designed to provide online access to financial regulatory agencies around the world and to relevant statutes and rules from all jurisdictions. The content here is pretty simple -- it's just a listing of financial regulatory addresses and links to online information from the United States (state and federal), Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and every other region of the world. A handy set of links for those interested in banking and financial regulation.

Economic Research Service Briefing Rooms
The Economic Research Service Briefing Rooms of the USDA is a terrific place to find research information on a wide variety of agricultural issues, from Agricultural Biotechnology to Wheat. Each Research Room analyzes the background of the issue, the trade and market outlook, as well as official government policy. In addition, the analysis links to other helpful links on the subject. Tons of great information here.

War Crimes Research Portal
Case Western Reserve Law School features this portal on international humanitarian law, and it's just jammed full of useful resources. First you'll find thousands of links to websites related to humanitarian law, from amnesty to torture. Also available are research memoranda from pending and past war crimes tribunals, including Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and more.

Idaho Business Portal
Here is your one-stop shop for doing business in Idaho. You'll find information on starting, running, relocating, or closing a business, with links to many helpful websites that can help. The site also offers several online services, including the ability to register a business, search for businesses, liens, and commercial properties, post job listings, and more.

The Network For Good provides loads of helpful tips and resources for those of you who do work with non-profits, or are interested in getting involved.

Well, that’s it for Issue #168 – 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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Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net.