INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
July 31, 2005
Tom Mighell

Welcome to Issue #199 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....

News Update

Test yourself on metadata
Think you know how to deal with the Track Changes feature of Word? Try this quiz on how to Get Rid of Track Changes in Word 2003.

A New Google Alert
Google has added a new source from which to set a Google Alert: Google Groups. Just plug in your keywords, and if they appear in the top 50 most recent Google Groups search results, you'll receive an e-mail. A good way to monitor the amazing number of conversations that go on in the Google Groups.

Google Maps in Court
Well, it's not exactly a matter about how lawyers can use technology to best represent their clients in court, but it's almost as good -- using Google Maps to get out of a traffic ticket.

A simple change, but what a difference
I'll go out on a limb and state that Google Maps is far and away the best mapping site currently available on the Internet. And it just keeps getting better -- last week the company introduced a new hybrid feature -- you can view maps in graphic or satellite view, or a combination of the two. You'll see the actual streets and buildings, and the streets will be named.

Blawgs of the Week
Just for you, another serving of law-related weblogs this week. First up, another Portuguese-language blog -- Ciberjus provides (as far as my bad translation can tell) the "point of meeting" of Portuguese and Portuguese-speaking jurists. Coyotelaw tells the tales of a fictional solo lawyer in Fiction Town, USA, which "can only be described as a malignant version of Lake Wobegon for lawyers and their self-destructive clients." It's written by Jeff Lahann, which may or may not be his real name. The Tech Law Geek is Nivine Zakhari, an IT/e-commerce consultant and law student at the University of Houston Law Center. The ip law library is brought to you by the research/reference librarian at a medium-sized IP law firm. It's designed as a searchable resource for other folks who work in the field of IP legal research. The New York firm of Turley, Redmond and Rosasco is publishing Disabled Worker Law Blog, providing "information and insight for injured and disabled workers in New York State." Lawrence Friedman is a trade lawyer at Barnes/Richardson, and his Customs Law blog features "Semi-random postings on the state of American customs and trade law, bicycle commuting, technology, the news and whatever else strikes my fancy." Finally, those folks at Burke & Eisner are busy. In addition to their other two blogs, they're also writing about legal news and developments in New Hampshire at the appropriately-titled New Hampshire Law Blog.

Help Desk

How long has it been since you last cleaned your PC? I'll wager some of you are saying, "I should be cleaning my PC?" Here are eight simple steps to increasing your computer's life:

  • Unplug the system and monitor, and disconnect all the cables.
  • Wipe down the exterior of the computer with a clean cloth.
  • Open up the case, and use a can of compressed air (available at any computer store) to clean out the built-up dust. Beware, you'll likely have a lot of dust!
  • Use your vacuum host attachment to catch any larger dust clumps living at the bottom of your case.
  • Clean and replace your fan filters.
  • Wipe down the exterior of your monitor with a clean cloth. Carefully clean the screen with a soft cloth and a weak solution of water and isopropyl alcohol. DON'T apply the solution directly to the monitor. Put it on your cloth first, then clean the monitor.
  • Use the compressed air to blow dust out of your keyboard, and use your vacuum's bruch attachment to get out the stubborn stuff.
  • Wipe down your optical mouse. If your mouse has an old-fashioned roller ball, pop it out, take a pair of tweezers and clean the build-up from the rollers. Wipe down the ball, and pop it back in.

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

Invest Wisely: Mutual Funds
Part of the SEC web site, this is a simple page giving practical advice on investing in mutual funds. Here you can learn how mutual funds work, avoiding pitfalls when investing, factors to consider and key points to remember, and you can read the glossary of mutual fund terms. Basic, but a good source.

Topix.Net Law News
In most all of my seminars I suggest using Topix.net for news searching: it pulls from thousands of sources around the Internet, and even provides RSS feeds so that you don't even have to visit the site to re-run your searches. This page just provides Top Stories and Current News in the law. Stay away from the ads on the right-hand side, and focus on the articles in the middle. If you do read your news in an RSS newsreader, subscribe to the feed, and you can entirely avoid having to visit this page.

LII Bankruptcy Overview
This is just one of many of the Cornell Legal Information Institute's great overviews of the law. There's a brief and basic introduction to bankruptcy law, but the meat of this page is contained in the right menu. There you'll find links to the Federal Bankruptcy Code, federal regulations on bankruptcy, state statutes, and a few key sites to use for your bankruptcy research. Especially great for non-bankruptcy lawyers.

LexisNexis Municipal Codes Library
The problem with finding municipal codes online is that they are all the property of their particular publisher, and there are several publishers of municipal codes. LexisNexis publishes codes for a number of towns in 33 states, so you'll find quite a bit here, from Alaska to Wyoming. The codes are presented in easily-navigable frames.

National Library for the Environment
Brought to you by the National Council for Science and the Environment, this site is designed as "a universal, timely, and easy-to-use single-point entry to environmental information and data." It's reasonably easy to use, but you need to look around first. You'll find 1,496 reports on environmental issues from the Congressional Research Service, as well as a number of online references, including the NLE Yellow Pages, Toxicology Resources, Environmental News, Education Resources, Earth Portal, and more. A good site to explore.

Finally, some fun and useful sites to start out the week:

If the reminder features in Microsoft Outlook drive you crazy, maybe it's time to look at RemindMe.com, which provides a software solution as well as free reminders by e-mail (coming soon).

If you don't have enough in your life driving you crazy, try making your way through The Doors.

Well, that’s it for Issue #199 – 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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Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail at tom(at)inter-alia(dot)net.

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