December 2004 Archives

You've heard of the Google Toolbar and the Yahoo Toolbar, and, of course, the OCLC- Yahoo Toolbar. Then there's the Groowe toolbar which combines several toolbars into one. It seems like just about every search engine offers its own browser toolbar in hopes that they will be your first choice when it comes to searching. But really, how many browser toolbars can one person use? But wait! How about a library toolbar branded with your very own library logo and offering easy access to YOUR library's resources! Stanford's Jackson Library's has one. I want one, too!

In a surprise move, at least it was a surprise to me, Interface Software announced today that it has been acquired by LexisNexis. Interface Software is the maker of Interaction, the most commonly used CRM (Client Relationship Management) tool in law firms.

Many firms choose to incorporate at least some relevant third-party content, including company news, profiles, financials, etc. into their implementation of Interaction. I would think that with this acquisition, enrichment with LexisNexis content will be faciliated. That could be a good thing, as long as it's not to the exclusion of good stuff from other sources!

If the introduction of Google's Desktop Search (Beta) was a challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the desktop, as many reported, Microsoft isn't taking it lying down. They've announced a beta version of their very own desktop search tool as part of the MSN Toolbar Suite.

Let the games begin! Desktop search tools have been the hot trend this year, and with the introduction of the free Google Desktop Search, the gauntlet has been thrown, tossed, dropped, whatever it is that's done with gauntlets. Yahoo has accepted the challenge and today announced that they are licensing X1 technology for desktop search and plans to start testing in January on their own desktop search tool. X1 is considered one of the top products on the market, but at $74.95, it's also a little pricey, especially when compared with the free products, such as Google Desktop Search and Copernic. But with Yahoo bringing the X1 technology to the masses, presumably free, the desktop search arena is going to be a competitive one!

While you might expect news and search sites to offer RSS feeds, there's other content that is quite suitable for RSS as well. For example, if you'd like to monitor new, published patent applications, try FreshPatents.com where you can grab a feed for all new applications by industry, inventor, location or agents. You can also sign-up for a weekly email alert with new applications that match the keywords you select.

It just goes to show that just about any site that publishes new information on a regular basis could use RSS feeds to keep readers/researchers coming back.

[Spotted on RSS in Government]

Joy London, of Excited Utterances fame, describes blogging technology and its growing popularity in the legal community in her article, Blogging with Lawyers. She discusses blogging basics and explains the natural partnership between blogging and KM. Great article! And thanks, Joy, for including LawLibTech in your list of favorite blawgs!

Wired News notes that "not all web surfers think spyware is a problem" in the recent article, "Spyware on My Machine? So What?" Apparently, many users just consider spyware to an acceptable trade-off for the ability to use free tools, and aren't concerned about the possible privacy implications. Or maybe they've just given up.

If you're tired of your browser decor, or just want to add a bit more functionality to your "browsing experience", you might want to try a few of the add-ins for IE or Firefox as described in the January issue of PC World in the article "Better Browsing: Add-Ons, Plug-Ins, and Extensions." For example, MyIE2, an IE "shell" adds tabbed browsing to the basic browser display. If you're not ready for quite THAT much change, try the Yahoo Toolbar, which now includes an anti-spyware tool. If you've already added too many plug-ins and want to get rid of the clutter, use the browser options to clean house. And don't forget about Firefox extensions.

Don't ask me what the last section of the article, "Oval Office Eavesdrop" has to do with better browsing, but it's interesting, nonetheless. If you'd like to listen to recorded conversations with six American presidents, visit the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs' WhitehouseTapes.org, which offers audio of 5,000 conversations secretly recorded between 1940 and 1973. There's something for everybody!

For those of you who are non-librarians, I should probably explain that we tend to get excited about any depiction of librarians in the media that doesn't involve glasses, a bun, and oh, especially shushing. With that in mind, if you're looking for something to watch on Sunday night at 8:00, tune into TNT for The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. While it's true that the hero is described as "a bookish nerd", I can forgive that one slight, since this IS an action picture.

While we're on the topic of fiction, if you're doing any holiday shopping for your favorite librarian, you might want to consider a recent fiction release, The Librarian. But be forwarned, as one Amazon review said, this book is "not for Republicans." I haven't read it yet, but plan to, assuming that I'm someone's favorite librarian!