INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
July 3, 2005
Tom
Mighell
Fourth of July Edition
Welcome to Issue #196 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!
Have a happy and safe 4th of July holiday!
And away we go....
The Cheat Sheet to End All Cheat Sheets?
Last year I mentioned the GoogleGuide, a great resource for fans and users of Google. She's got a terrific page of Google Advanced Operators that provides just about all the shortcuts and syntax you'll need to use Google.Invisible Web Searching on Yahoo!
While I have been otherwise occupied, Yahoo! (and Google, for that matter) have been busy unveiling lots of new features, which I'll try to cover over the next couple days. First up is Yahoo! Subscription Search, which allows you to search access-restricted news and reference content. You can search among Consumer Reports, FT.com (last 60 days), Forrester Research, IEEE Publications, the New England Journal of Medicine, TheStreet.com, and the Wall Street Journal (last 30 days). Given Yahoo!'s invitation to other publishers to join the site, I'd say they expect this site to grow. Good stuff.Blawgs of the Week
Another week, another crop of cool law-related weblogs. First up: Knight on Family Law is presented by Stephen C. Knight, an attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. As you might expect, he's discussing Tennessee divorce and family law there. Buslaw Blog is the creation of Nina Yablok, a business and corporate law attorney who works with small and mid-size privately-held businesses. David Stewart is writing Patent Reexamination to discuss current developments in patent reexamination law and practice. A Florida registered patent attorney, David "has been on the bleeding edge of Inter Partes Reexamination and has participated in obtaining Director initiated reexaminations of 5 U.S. Patents for his clients." TECHtransfer101 provides discussion on "everything technology transfer -- from asset discovery to IP protection to commercialization and beyond." It's written by Pam Roth. The Airport Lawyer is "Your source for current legal news and analysis concerning airports and the aviation industry." It's presented by Sheryl Schelin of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Gee, two South Carolina blawgs in a row. This one is called sc county attorneys, and it features "a forum for discussion, news, and analysis on legal issues affecting County Attorneys in South Carolina and maybe beyond..." It's a group blog being published by 6 lawyers at present. Finally, Patrick Lamb is a partner with the Chicago litigation firm of Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd, and he's blogging about the billable hour and other "business of law" issues at In Search of Perfect Client Service.
We're nearing the end of our series on "10 Things to Do Before Calling Tech Support" -- this week, Number 9:
#9: Access Crash Logs. If you're using Windows, you have a program called Dr. Watson available to you -- it saves information about your memory and configuration into a crash log file, so that you can see exactly what went wrong when your computer crashed. It's typically located at
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson.
The crash file is usually named Drwtsn32.log. You can open it in Notepad or Wordpad, or you can send it via e-mail to that tech support person you finally call.Next week -- #10: Backing Up.
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
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
The AAFS is a professional society "dedicated to the application of science and law," which has been in operation since 1948. The society's web site gives you access to general information about the organization, information about the Forensic Sciences Foundation, and general resources for society members. About the only page of real value to the legal researcher (non-member) here is the Forensic Links page, with quite a few links to forensic organizations and publications.Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions
Trying a case in Alaska any time soon? If so, you'll need a copy of the pattern jury instructions, which are available in their entirety online.BankruptcyData.com ($$)
Billed as the "premier business bankruptcy resource on the web," BankruptcyData provides access to information on over 270,000 business bankruptcies filed nationwide. Although the best services are only available via subscription, you can access many items on this site for free, including news headlines, bankruptcy search, a court directory, court and PACER links, publications, and more. Subscription prices cost $75/month, $450/6 months, or $750/year.Business 2.0 Blog
Here's a weblog you won't find as a Blawg of the Day, but deserves mention nonetheless. Business 2.0 is one of the better business information sites on the Internet, and its blog is a nice complement to those services. Here you'll find daily postings in such categories as Biotech and Healthcare, Innovation and Startups, Labor and Human Resources, Management and Work Life, Manufacturing, Retail and E-Commerce, and much more.cg-research.com ($$)
The Cadence Group is a "woman-owned and WBE-certified information management company that helps businesses and organizations efficiently acquire, organize, and disseminate information." The services provided here will help you with a research project, records management, taxonomies, or the staff to run a physical library. On-demand research is a $385 flat fee, with premium research requiring a $500 advance payment. If the researcher has to use pay services like LexisNexis or Factiva, those costs will be passed along to you.
Finally, some fun and useful sites to begin your Fourth of July Holiday:
The Library of Congress always has great information on its Today in History page, and the entry for July 4 is no exception.
Will you be eating one of the 150 million hot dogs consumed on July 4? This and other Independence Day statistics are available courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau
And in case you get carried away with the celebratory activities, check out the National Council on Fireworks Safety.
Well, that’s it for Issue #196 – 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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