INTERNET LEGAL
RESEARCH WEEKLY
July 24, 2005
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #198 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....
Expand your RSS Horizons
Sure, you have a newsreader and you read several RSS feeds every day. But are you ready to take RSS to the next level? Then check out this page of Things You Can Do With RSS. It's a wiki, so it's subject to being changed at any time. Make sure you check back periodically for new items.Firefox Finally Gets Google....or Vice Versa
Gee, it took a long time, but Google has finally released the Google Toolbar for Firefox. I have gotten used to using the Yahoo! Toolbar, but now I'll have another choice.
Surfing without a wire (or a license)
In what may be the first of its type, a man has been arrested in Florida for using someone else's wireless network. Apparently the man had been parked outside someone else's house, taking advantage of an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. My question: what charges were brought against the dumb guy who was running a wireless network without any security?More Uses for Google Maps
Here are even more ways you can use Google Maps: Google Weather Maps will show you the current temperature and weather for locations around the U.S. You can also see current webcams, if available. You can also find out who your neighbors are. Just plug in an address, and the application queries the Google address book and tells you the name, address, and phone number of everyone on that street. Great research tool, but I can see lots of people rushing to remove their names from the Google address book over this.Blame the 11 percent
One of the reasons junk e-mail is still mercilessly invading your inbox is that people continue to buy products from spammers. Wha....?? I certainly don't know anyone who has ever purchased a product from a spammer (or has admitted doing so, I guess). But it's true: in a recent survey, 11 percent indicated they bought something touted by a spam e-mail. What's even worse, nearly 40 percent of the users confessed to clicking on URLs embedded within the spam. Not surprisingly, 57 percent of those individuals reported receiving even more spam after having clicked on the link.Advice for ID Theft Victims
If you have ever been the victim of identity theft, you may be in the dark wondering exactly what your rights may be. Although there's a ton of great information on the ID Theft page of the Federal Trade Commission, you should also check out What to Do if Your Data is Stolen, from somebody who's been there.Blawgs of the Week(s)
A whole bunch of new law-related weblogs for you to peruse. First, Mark Johns is a Pennsylvania lawyer, and he's blogging about various legal issues at the self-titled Mark Johns. The New Hampshire law firm of Nelson, Kinder, Mosseau and Saturley is blogging about two very different topics. First, they are talking about medical malpractice issues at Differential Diagnosis. They also have an interest in the law of higher education, and you can see what they have to say about it at the College & University Blog. Religion Clause is the new blog of Professor Howard M. Friedman, of the University of Toledo College of Law. As you might expect, he's blogging about First Amendment freedom of religion issues. Some as-yet unidentified federal defenders of the Sixth Circuit are writing about some of the cases that come out of that appellate court at....you guessed it, Sixth Circuit Blog. Russ and Mike are two law students who are writing Barely Legal: The Blog. They stress that "everything on this blog is NOT an opinion or fact, just an attempt at humor." At Death in the Afternoon, a 2nd-year Yale Law student ignores "the pressing details of my life, the necessities of survival, in order to watch the spectacle around me." A Crow in the Snow is a 3L "from a highly-overrated ivy league law school who is visiting a small third-tier school for a year and who sees graduation and the bar exam rushing up on her like the Johnstown Flood." By now, school (and the bar) should be over -- how is she doing?David Hardy and Dave Kopel are the two lawyers behind Of Arms and the Law, a blog focusing on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Intellectual Property and Social Justice is a student organization at the UC Davis School of Law; it's also the name of their blog, which seeks to discuss civil liberties issues in intellectual property law. William Patry is a New York attorney and former copyright counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, among other things. He's bringing his considerable copyright knowledge and experience to The Patry Copyright Blog. Steve Terrell, otherwise known as the Hoosier Lawyer, is a lover of all things Indiana. Go see for yourself at Hoosier Daddy, where Steve "reflects on being a Hoosier and why South Bend is north, North Vernon is south, and French Lick isn't what you think it is." David Austin has another blog, in addition to his Benzene and Leukemia Law Blog. It's the more generally-titled Medical Malpractice and Product Liability Legal News Blog. Blawg De Novo is the product of Virginia lawyer Tommy C. Smith, III. Finally, Deirdre Wheatley is a shareholder in the firm of Fein, Such, Kahn & Shepard, which is located in Parsippany, New Jersey. She's blogging about her thoughts and comments on business law, estate and elder law, and tax law at the You and Yours Blawg.
Caught in the 'Net
A blast of new search tools
Gigablast is expanding its search services in a big way, with three new beta offerings:
-- Blog Search -- over 18 million pages indexed
-- Travel Search -- over 5.4 million pages indexed
-- Government Search () -- over 34 million pages indexed
Search by SMS
I reported a few months ago that Google was providing search results via SMS text messaging -- trouble was, I couldn't get it to work on my Treo. Well, whatever issues preventing me from using the service in the past have been resolved, and I have to say it's a nifty tool.
Now Yahoo! has rolled out its own version of SMS search (via its mobile search page) -- just send your search to 92466 (YAHOO), and in seconds you'll receive a message (or two, or three) back with your search results. Very useful.
Best Adware Solution = Buy a New Computer
This really makes me crazy. The New York Times is reporting on the number of people who, instead of trying to remove adware, spyware, and viruses from their computers, are simply purchasing new computers. There are several anecdotes of individuals whose computers were completely bogged down with junk, but only one of them even bothers to mention that it might have been the user's activities that caused the spyware/virus infection (now you know: visiting Turkish news sites = bad).
There's one small paragraph that almost takes the article in a rational direction:
There are methods of protecting computers from infection through antivirus and spyware-removal software and digital barriers called firewalls, but those tools are far from being completely effective.What? Firewalls and anti-virus programs are pretty darned effective at keeping bad things out, but only if the user uses them correctly. The article also states that Yale computer science professor David Gelertner "blames the software industry for the morass..." Again, nothing about the user's role in all of this. An article like this really makes me believe that users are unwilling to accept any responsibility for security on their computer. Maybe this is all part of some grand conspiracy by the computer manufacturers - to convince users to buy more PCs, rather than keep their computers clean....
You can never have too many keyboard shortcuts -- so here are more to help you navigate around MS Word:
CTRL+Page Up/Page Down -- jump to previous or next page in a document
CTRL+Home/End -- take you to the top or bottom of the current document
Shift+Any Arrow Key -- highlight text in the direction of the arrow
CTRL+SHIFT+ + (Plus sign) -- superscript type
CTRL++ (Plus sign) -- subscript typeDo 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
Federal Trade Commission
No doubt you have already bookmarked this page, but it has so much to offer, it deserves a second look. The left menu is where all the meaty stuff is located; there are substantial resources in the For Consumers and For Business areas, and you can read rulings on past and current FTC actions, including testimony and speeches. There are links from the Bureau of Competition, as well as Congressional, Economic, and Legal Resources.Governing Magazine Online
Governing is a monthly magazine whose primary audience is state and local government officials: governors, legislators, mayors, city managers, council members and other elected, appointed and career officials. But that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of this site's great resources. The home page provides breaking news from around the states, and in the topics of politics and legislatures. You'll also find some terrific information under the Management, Technology, Economic Development, and Politics and Policy tabs -- too much to mention here. Go take a look for yourself.New Mexico Accident Reports
You can now receive accident reports from the New Mexico State Police -- it's free to search, and the reports are only $1 per page. You'll get the police officer's narrative, as well as the accident diagram, all in PDF format.Databases on International Humanitarian Law
The International Committee of the Red Cross presents this database, which is divided into two main areas: the Treaty Database and National Implementation Database. The Treaty Database contains about 100 humanitarian treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and their commentaries, signatures, ratifications, and the full text of reservations. The National Implementation Database provides documentation and commentaries concerning the implementation of humanitarian laws at the national level.Who's Suing Whom ($$)
Want to check and see if your client is being sued for patent, copyright, or trademark infringement somewhere in the U.S.? This very simple page allows you to enter the name of a company, narrow it down by date or state, and you'll get a list of any lawsuits in the database involving that company. To review the docket reports, you'll have to pay $25. This site is provided by Interlingua.
Finally, some fun and useful sites to start off your week:
It's happened to all of us -- you're driving in your car, and a great song comes on the radio, but you don't know who sings it -- what to do? Now you can find out with Music on Command -- once you register for free, just call a toll-free number when you hear a song. Music on Command will tell you the name of the song, and also e-mail music purchase information to you. Cool!
Your time-wasting game of the week: Planarity, where you arrange the lines so that no edges overlap.
Well, that’s it for Issue #198 – 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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