Winner of Legal.online's "Best Web Site for Legal Research-Cases" and NetGuide Live's 5-Star Platinum Award, V. gives you access to current and archival case law from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, all Federal Circuits, and the U. S. Supreme Court. Our databases are updated three times each day with new opinions, and we employ a state-of-the-art, graphic based, point-and-shoot search engine which supports natural language or Boolean searches. In addition, we carry links to legal resources from every state, including state statutes, constitutions, and a wealth of other state and federal resources, legal forms, an online legal dictionary. We continue to expand our databases in terms of scope and depth each month and can assure you the consistency and quality of product that you are accustomed to.
We are offering you access to V. at no charge because we want you to learn how to best and most effectively employ the powerful tools available on the internet for legal research. Moreover, since V. is the largest web site of case law databases on the web, we want you to understand how our system works and the benefits it may hold for you upon graduation.
How does the VersusLaw Law School Program work? As long as you are affiliated with an accredited law school, either as a student, faculty member or member of your school's library staff, and as long as your usage of V. is related to your academic pursuits, you may continue to access it without charge. This program is intended for members of the law school academic community and is not intended to be used in conjunction with whatever employment you may have with a law firm or other organization.
In order to participate in the VersusLaw Law School Program, just access
the website http://www.versuslaw.com/law/school.html.
Internet search engines can produce an avalanche of hits. Searching
for sites in the "curnws" file locates sites that someone else has collected
and reviewed for usability and content. The "atleast" command makes sure
that the "www" is mentioned 20 times (prevents retrieving the irrelevant
stories). Normally an "atleast 5" will suffice.
Law Search Engines - Using one of the law-specific search engines will streamline the "hunt" and only retrieve material that is of a "legal" nature. The ones that I have used include:
http://www.lawcrawler.com
FindLaw - LawCrawler
http://www.CataLaw.com
CataLaw: Metaindex of Law and Government
http://www.lawguru.com
Lawguru.com
http://www.ilrg.com/indices.html
ILRG's Legal Indices and Search Engines
When I last used them, Findlaw appeared to be the most comprehensive, but things change and it's best to be alert for new developments and changes in coverage.
Some of these are on the Internet Legal Resources page of the College
of Law Home Page. Click on the graphic of the computer to see the sites
that have been collected. From the Legal Information Center portion of
the Home Page you can access additional Internet resources.
http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/buyersguide/index.html.
City Ordinances - Most of us are so accustomed
to going online to Lexis or Westlaw for primary legal research material
that when we find that something we need is not there, we feel "at sea."
One of the more common of these items is city or county ordinances. This
is one need that is being nicely filled on the web. The Municipal Code
Corporation has placed many (especially for Florida) sets of ordinances
on the web. They are present as folio infobases and are easy to navigate
and search. Locally, both the Alachua County and Gainesville City Codes
are available at: http://www.municode.com/database.html.
The "front page" of this site (http://www.allrise.com/LAW/
"Fred Korematsu Law Library") alerted my skeptical side, but the links
all seem to be valid and provide an easy access to law school web sites
and the individual sites' star features, as well as an expanding array
to links for state primary research materials. The site also ranks law
school web sites. Of the 25 listed, we rank 15th.
This site provides the same indexing that is available on the Readex UN CD-ROM product that we currently have loaded on our server. The Web product trial covers materials from 1990 to present. At the end of this month, the searchable materials will only be 1997-current. If you use United Nations materials, please let me know what you think of this Web product and if you wish for it to continue to be available. We have the microfiche of many of these materials in our collection. What we lack, is likely to be available elsewhere on campus.
If you are a searcher of International materials you have no doubt already
found the official UN site: http://www.un.org/.
You might also want to have a look at Yale's "UN Scholar's Workstation:"
http://www.library.yale.edu/un/unhome.htm.
The home screen of the Britannica offers several features besides searching.
Recent features have been: the Olympics, Black History, El Nino, and the
Titanic. Britannica also offers an Internet searching guide that showcases
sites selected and rated by Britannica staff. You may go directly to the
guide http://www.ebig.com/. Similar
to Yahoo, but much more selective, the guide may be used through its topical
structure or by entering search words.
http://www.1040.com Access to federal and state forms. Useful links, but not sure how up-to-date - the news page story was from January.
http://www.naea.org Frequently asked
tax questions. http://www.EL.com/elinks/taxes/
Very handy set of links with an easy to use layout - includes links to
forms, major sites, governmental sites, commercial sites, advice/tips,
discussion groups & more. http://www.hrblock.com
The grand-daddy of preparers. http://www.irs.ustreas.gov The Feds - has
forms and "publications."
Wehrli's Graduate School Rankings http://wehrli.ilrg.com/jddetail.html Wehrli does a composite of the U.S. News & World Report, since 1987; The Gourman Report, since 1980; U.S. News Academic Reputation Survey, since 1987 and U.S. News Lawyer & Judges Reputation Survey, since 1987. Gourman Report
http://wehrli.ilrg.com/jdgourman.html
This web version is loaded on the Wehrli site.
Legal and Business Forms
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~suefaw/buslegal.html. The site begins with the linked sites listed with a brief annotation and follows with a set of materials specific to Texas.
Among the sites featured are several that I have referred users to in the past:
FindLaw Forms http://www.findlaw.com/16forms/index.html (a large set of forms),
'Lectric Law Library's Business Forms http://www.lectlaw.com /formb.htm (general business, including real estate),
'Lectric Law Library's Law Practice Forms http://www.lectlaw.com/forma.htm (practice and litigation),
Legaldocs http://legaldocs.com/ (a combination of free and fee forms),
VersusLaw http://www.versuslaw.com/
versuslaw/forms/index.html (a small collection of forms on this growing
site that provides a fee-based alternative to Lexis and Westlaw for case
searching).
CALI exercises are available from two sources. The first is from the CD-ROM on the College of Law server. The exercises may be accessed from any PC at the law school. In the labs, click on the 'CD-ROM Apps' Program Group and the 'SeView' icon. CALI will be one of the options in the left-hand column. From the CD-ROM you may either run the exercise OR download the exercise onto floppies to take home. Bring plenty of floppies, most recommend 5 disks to complete the download.
The second option is to run, or download, the exercises from the Web site. The URL is http://www.cali.org. (If you go directly to the Webolis page referenced on the CALI flier, you will not see the download option.) The download option is on the top of the initial screen. To run an exercise, select the "Webolis' option on the left side of the screen. Ask the Reference Desk (or the lab assistants in Bruton-Geer) for the password to enter the site. Before you rely solely on the Web site, you might want to make sure the exercise you wish to run is on the Web. While not all exercises can be run from the Web, all are available for downloading.
A printed catalog of the exercises is available for viewing at both
the Reference Desk and the Media Services Lab in Bruton-Geer, as well as
appearing on the Web site. If you see exercises that you wished you'd known
about a while back, keep in mind that they also make good reviews for the
Bar Exam. If you wish to purchase your own copy of the CD-ROM, the cost
is $39.95 +s&h and may be ordered by calling 1-800-438-4504. This CD-ROM
contains all of the CALI lessons, plus a selection of legal research materials
(Federal Rules of Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, etc.)
and demos of over 50 law practice automation software packages.
I receive in the summer reflect the slower pace that many of us experience when the days heat up. I was asked recently if there's one Web site for legal material that I would recommend over all others. Immediately I responded that FindLaw would be my choice (http://www.findlaw.com). After saying this, I thought I'd check to see if my initial response was valid. FindLaw has received a number of kudos and I found quotes like: "the central site to keep in mind when you're researching the law," and "if you could bookmark only one site, it should be this." Findlaw is the winner of legal.online's award as the best legal information starting point.
Findlaw provides easy access to: subject areas of the law, law schools,
a law firm directory to law firm Web pages, access to state statutes and
case law, legal forms, links to law reviews, links to consultants and experts,
and much, much more. The site is also enhanced with a search utility that
includes the "Law Crawler" search engine. All of this explains why it is
the first site listed in the "Commercial Law Finders" of the "Useful Legal
Sites" section of our home page.
Since this site is from Bill Gates' stomping grounds, I thought I'd
take a look to see what other "goodies" they have. You can easily explore
on your own by clicking on the "Return to Government Collections" link.
The only one that struck me as valuable was the link to U.S. Government
Sites. It is well organized and easier than most to see what is there,
even if the emphasis is primarily for the public library crowd.
By Pam Williams, Associate Librarian
Primarily I share Internet sites that have a legal emphasis with you. But, every so often I find some "general interest" sites that are juicy enough to publicize. I heard about these two at a professional conference this summer and the speaker was very enthusiastic about their features. When I logged onto them, I was as well.
ZDPRODUCTS.COM http://www.zdnet.com/products
is a convenient method to locate and access reviews of computer equipment.
The site features links to information about the hottest products on the
market and a search utility to locate reviews of any hardware or software.
ZDNet is the Web location of popular computer magazines including: PC Computing,
Computer Shopper, PC Magazine, Family PC, Yahoo Internet Life, and many
more. The reviews are pulled from these publications, but since these are
most of the major computing publications, the results are extensive. C|NET
SHOPPER.COM http://www.shopper.com/
is an excellent source for finding the best price for a computer-related
item. Just enter the name/model of the item you want to buy and C|NET will
list, in ascending order, the prices available for the piece. The table
will have links to the vendor and other information to help you decide
which will really be your best option. Some will charge tax, some will
have lower shipping charges, AND you will want to be sure and check the
return policy before ordering. Not all vendors listed will have an Internet
ordering option, but most will have toll-free ordering.
FindLaw's list of lawyer's and law firms on the Web: http://www.findlaw.com/14firms/lawyers/index.html.
This site has a two-fold purpose. It provides an access point for us to
locate firm sites, but it is also a place for firms to either create a
page or link their URL.
FindLaw's directory of other Web sources for locating lawyers and law
firms on the Web: http://www.findlaw.com/14firms/directories.html.
If you can't find the firm you wish to explore in these directories, you
can always try the search utility at the top of the directory page.
FindLaw's index page to Lawyers and Law Firms has other career resources
to investigate: http://www.findlaw.com/14firms/index.html.
The Internet provided a vehicle for competitors to create alternatives
to online legal research. Two companies that are providing low-cost alternatives
to Lexis and Westlaw are LOIS and VERSUSLAW. LOIS is still the "new kid
on the block," and provides free access to state databases that are not
fully completed. Florida has been completed, however, but LOIS will grant
a one week free trial period to their services. "Free" states to search
are: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, and Maryland. The Florida
database includes caselaw from 1948 forward, statutes, current session
laws, the administrative code and court rules. Subscription can be via
Web or CD-ROM (2 discs) with weekly electronic updating. Information can
be found at http://www.loislaw.com.
I also have some descriptive literature - either send me an e-mail (willipam@law.ufl.edu)
or stop by my office (269 HOL) if you are interested. VERSUSLAW provides
free access to the law school environment. Another advantage of VERSUSLAW
is the ability to perform a search, retrieve a listing of case names with
dates prior to incurring any obligation for payment. I suspect this might
change in the future. For Florida the coverage begins with 1950. Details
on VERSUSLAW can be viewed at http://www.versuslaw.com.
I ran a search on VERSUSLAW, Lexis and Westlaw (I don't yet have access
to the LOIS search engine.) I used the word "lightning" and restricted
the search to date after 1949. VERSUSLAW found 76 hits, Lexis found 79,
and Westlaw found 78.
FindLaw: Legal Subject Index: International Law. The "crown jewels" of links. http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/24international/index.html
HIEROS GAMOS - The Comprehensive Legal Site Guide to International Law.
http://www.hg.org/internat.html
Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases. http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/
Library of Congress Country Studies/Area Handbook Program. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
The U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library Treaties and
international law. http://law.house.gov/89.htm
The World List. Non-US Law-Related Resources.
http://www.law.osaka-u.ac.jp/legal-info/worldlist/worldlst.htm
AccessUN (1996-1998) http://infoweb.newsbank.com
The Readex United Nations Index provides access to current and retrospective
United Nations documents and publications. (note: only accessible from
UF IP addresses.) Earlier years can be searched on the United Nations CD-ROM
on the College of Law server (available only in the labs.) Full text of
many of these materials are available on microforms in the Legal Information
Center.
Seasoned Web users may be familiar with MapBlast as a mapping utility. All Law labels the link as "Create a map." Site names have a tendency to be cutesy as well as descriptive, but All Law's approach takes out the guesswork of getting to the information you need.
The initial screen has a menu of over thirty sub-menus. Some of the
offerings include: business, computers, Federal law, forms, general reference,
government, jobs, law journals, law schools, news, office tools, practice
areas (the legal subjects area of All Law,) state law search, state resources,
weather, etc. The Florida page under State Resources was heavily laden
with links to the municiple ordinances, which I expected to find. The Law
Schools listing was incomplete, but it did include us!
Year 2000 Law Center
http://www.year2000.com/y2klawcenter.html
LLRX Newsstand
http://www.llrx.com/newstand/
ABANET Year 2000
http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/2000/home.html
Law Office Computing The Year 2000 Problem
http://www.lawofficecomputing.com/
Westergaard Year 2000
http://www.y2ktimebomb.com
Reed Smith Bulletin 98-10
http://www.rssm.com/bulletin/bull9810.htm
Year 2000 State & Federal Legislative Proposals and Lawsuits
http://www.itaa.org/Y2Klaw.htm
LEGAL TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
University of Florida College of Law
htttp://www.law.ufl.edu/college/lti
Future Lawyer (Columns)
http://www.futurelawyer.com/GenInterest.htm
What's NEWS in Information Technology! Year 2000
http://www.compinfo.co.uk/wnit/curry.htm
Also check
"Avoiding Y2K Problems; How to Contend with Those Math- Challenged PCS,"
in The Lawyer's PC, volume 15, number 18 (June 15, 1998) at the
Reserve Desk, call number P L4259.
The Consumer Law Page
http://consumerlawpage.com
One of the most frequently linked web pages on consumer issues. The
site has a wealth of links, online articles and brochures. Maintained by
The Alexander Law Firm, visitors can elect to be notified when updates
are loaded.
Consumer World
http://consumer.baweb.com/pages
A compact, easy to use set of links to the spectrum of consumer protection
concerns.
The Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Co.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov
The online version of the pamphlet available at the Reference Desk
(and advertised on TV.) A bonus of the web site is that a number of the
publications are available for downloading.
FedLaw - Consumers
http://fedlaw.gsa.gov:80/legal5c.htm
Online links to a number of Federal consumer oriented laws and regulations.
Legal Information Institute - Consumer Credit
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/consumer_credit.html
Links to online sources of the Federal laws and some states.
Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbb.org
Site contains alerts, directory, and ordering info for publications.
National Fraud Information Center
http://www.nfic.inter.net
Information and links dealing with telemarketing fraud.
The Lemon Car Page
http://www.mindspring.com/~wf1
My only concern about this page is that no date of revision, or creation,
is noted.
Political Correctness and Halloween
http://laffnow.com/humor/hallpc.htm
Includes advice to distribute toothbrushes with any candy you hand
out to the munchkins.
Research and study guides appear to be primarily from the William and
Mary and South Texas web pages. These pathfinders are similar to the "Research
Guides" on our home page http://www.law.ufl.edu/college/LIC/guides.html
and in print on the display rack across from the Reference Desk.
Other sections did not seem as strong, or as fully developed. My only
other criticism is that the site includes links to fee-based services with
no mention that the site will only be searchable to subscribers.
While I'm very impressed with the Florida Law Online site - especially
for those of us who know what we want, I'll still keep my link to LawFlorida.Net.
Florida Law Online
http://www.gate.net/~wyman/flo.html
LawFlorida.Net
http://www.lawflorida.net/
Warfield Florida Law and Hot Opinions- Florida
http://www.review.net/
1999
WebLUIS. One is a direct load of database material into the servers
that also house the "card catalog" and the other is the provision of a
gateway to subscription based materials. The
majority of these data sources are available only to individuals associated
with the University, or to those who use public access terminals in the
libraries. (If your home access is through an
Internet provider other than the University, proxy server access will
be available soon.)
I'm still very excited about the access to the Web version of the Encyclopedia
Britannica - even more than a year after its availability. It is easy to
search and navigate and lets an "information junkie" (like me) explore
the various tangents that arise in the articles.
Another vital source is Congressional Universe. The web product complements
the Congressional Information Service microfiche and indexes that have
become a staple of legal and documents collections. Users can search Congressional
reports, hearings and other materials. Much of the material is on the web
in full text; for the items that are not the CIS accession number is given
to locate the microfiche.
Some of the information available through WebLUIS is also on either
Lexis or Westlaw, which generally provide more frequent updates and have
more flexibility for interaction. To get information about the data sources
on WebLUIS click on the blue "I-ball" on the Databases A-Z list. Or, for
other assistance, or information, ask any of us at the Reference Desk.
The excellent coverage that the New York Times gives to national affairs
has been reflected in this showcase site for the United States Supreme
Court. The main features of the guide are brief summaries of recent decisions
with links to the full text New York Times articles providing detailed
coverage. The selection is limited, with only five or six cases receiving
this treatment. There is also a link that provides more comprehensive access
to NYT coverage of the Court.
The right-hand side of the screen provides links to other Supreme Court
NYT materials. These include biographical information on the Justices,
coverage of the past court term, relevant book reviews, the Court's current
docket, some primary source material, links to some related sites and a
discussion forum.
The discussion forum is an electronic "letters to the editor." Additionally
readers can submit questions to Linda Greenhouse. Her responses will appear
in her Court Q & A column.
As with all elements of the New York Times site, access is by userid
and password. There is no fee for a userid. The only demographic questions
that must be answered are your e-mail address, country, ZIP code, gender
and age.
BLUE MOON: THE FACTS - info and legend http://www.booty.demon.co.uk/metinfo/bluemoon.htm
1999 - Twice in a Blue Moon - info and astronomical phenomena calendar http://infoplease.lycos.com/spot/bluemoon.html
Blue Moon Song Lyrics - everyone has heard the Rogers & Hart tune http://www.katpaw.force9.co.uk/
Full Moon Names - names of the full moon for each month http://www.wicca.com/celtic/celtic/cc1106.htm
Moon-Watch.Com - online resource for Moon enthusiasts http://www.moon-watch.com/
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon - lunar feature and daily phase info
http://www.shallowsky.com/moon/
The Moon - moon stats, exploration, photos, etc http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/moon.htm
Lunar Resource http://www.seds.org/~rme/lunar.html
Lunar Rover Initiative - robotic explorers http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/projects/lri/
There are at least two ways to enter Statistical Universe. Keep in mind
that this is a fee-based service. Anyone with a UF userid (GatorLink, NERVM,
etc.) has unrestricted access to the database. Non-UF userids (AOL, etc.)
will soon have access via a proxy server through WebLUIS. The State University
System has subscribed to what is referred to as the "research package"
of Statistical Universe.
The direct link to Statistical Universe via http://web.lexis-nexis.com/statuniv
is the quickest access. If your bookmark list is already too long, or you
are an infrequent user of statistical material, there is a second way to
gain access to this material. On the WebLUIS Home screen http://webluis.fcla.edu
you may select Universe (Academic, Congressional, Statistical) in the
"Databases by Service Provider."
The full text resources available to us are primarily from the Statistical
Abstract. In most cases these will be too wide to print by simply pressing
the print option in Netscape or IE. Saving the file to disk and loading
it into a word processor (or graphics package) will allow you to print
the table in a landscape mode. Since Statistical Universe is primarily
an index, the full text of all material indexed is available in the companion
microfiche sets that are housed at Library West. Keep in mind that the
primary materials may also be in our collection. Ask any of us in the Reference
department if you need assistance obtaining any statistical materials.
While I'm speaking of statistical information, I also want to draw your
attention to the superb collection of Internet resources that my colleagues
at Library West have compiled - http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/hss/ref/stats.html.
The new Database Locator, also on the WebLUIS Home Page, just below
the link for the Database A-Z list, is an initial step towards making the
search easier. The locator has fifteen categories that may be selected
in "Browse by Subject Category." The four categories that will be of most
interest to legal research are: "General, Multidisciplinary & Reference;"
"News & Current Events;" "Social Sciences;" and "Public Affairs &
Law."
To maximize use of the Database Locator, be sure to make a selection
in the "Limit by your SUS University" box. The University of Florida has
purchased database access beyond the "core" collection subsidized by the
entire SUS (State University System Libraries.) For example, selecting
the SUS core collection for Public Affairs & Law yields 19 databases,
compared to the 25 that are available when the University of Florida is
selected. In every instance there will be more databases available when
"UF" is selected. [Next week's column will cover how to access the databases
if you use a non-UF ISP.]
The Public Affairs & Law category contains the majority of databases
that will be of interest to us. It includes the Statistical Universe that
was discussed here last week and the Britannica Online that was featured
earlier this term.
Since this is a new feature of WebLUIS, it will undergo revisions to
increase its usefulness. Please contact me if you have any questions or
suggestions about this feature, or any aspects of WebLUIS.
GEOBASE--Elsevier Science Publishers. Contains citations with abstracts covering worldwide literature on environment and much more.
PAIS Decade--Public Affairs Information Service, Inc. Represents the
last ten years of the PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) database,
which covers the spectrum of public policy/public affairs information.
PapersFirst® Database--OCLC. Provides access to individual papers
presented at conferences worldwide.
ProceedingsFirst® Database--OCLC. Provides tables of contents of
papers presented at conferences worldwide.
1040.com http://www.1040.com
Download state and federal tax forms and latest tax news.
Tax Time! http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reports/Special/Tax/
Reviews of tax prep software, links to tax advice and tips.
CyberInvest Guide to Tax Help Online http://www.cyberinvest.com/guides/tax.guide.html
User friendly guides to investing on the Internet and tax information.
Essential Links: Taxes http://www.EL.com/elinks/taxes/
Online resources to taxpayer tips and information on income tax preparation
assistance, rules, tax code, financial planners and tax preparers, forms
(from W-2 to Form 1040), publications, instructions, deductions and filing.
Ernst & Young http://www.ey.com/tax/
Features tax forms, easy to read federal tax rate schedules and deduction
information and good background information. Check out the lists of the
25 common tax filing errors and 50 easily overlooked deductions.
Personal Electronic Filing http://www.filetaxes.com
Access to free personal electronic filing software that you can use
to file your simple tax return from home.
FileYourTaxes.com http://www.fileyourtaxes.com
Not where to go if you have a complicated return.
FindLaw.com: Taxes http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/35tax/index.html
I can't do an Internet for a legal topic without a reference to Findlaw.
I still maintain they are the most reliable source for Web surfing of legal
topics.
Handilinks: Federal Tax Law http://www.handilinks.com/cat1/l/l263.htm
Includes link to TotalNews with "federal tax law" as the default search;
also a link to Tile - AllLaw newsgroups, listserves and FTP with "federal
tax law" as the default; and more.
Tax Information Headquarters http://www.irahelp.com
Emphasis is on IRA advice.
Internal Revenue Service http://www.irs.gov
The Home page for the Internal Revenue Service.
Internal Revenue Service: Forms and Publications http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms_pubs/index.html
Access to the forms and IRS Publications for download and print.
Internal Revenue Service: Index of Problem Alerts http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/hot/prob-alert.html
details of known problems with forms or processes.
Kiplinger.com: Taxes http://kiplinger.com/tax/
Tax tips, calculators, file 1040EZ online, etc.
NAEA Tax Channel http://www.naea.org
National Association of Enrolled Agents' site - taxpayer and practitioner
info.
NetGuide Money Guide http://www.netguide.com/Snapshot/Archive?guide=Money&id=1575
Net Guide's Money Guide with tax help.
How to do Your Taxes Online http://www.netguide.com/special/primers/tax/home.html
NetGuide's straight talk about getting online tax advice and categorized
links to what's out there.
NetTax 9X http://www.nettax.com
Free calculator shows your tax under current law and flat tax.
Nolo.com Self-Help Law Center http://www.nolo.com/ChunkTAX/TAX.index.html
Promo for one of their publications, but includes advice on surviving
an audit.
QuickFile USA http://www.qfileusa.com
Another electronic filing option from QuickFile USA.
Quicken http://www.quicken.com/taxes/
Advice on purchasable tax software.
Roth IRA Homepage http://www.rothira.com
Technical and planning info on Roth IRAs to practitioners and consumers.
SecureTax.com http://www.securetax.com
An IRS-authorized electronic filing option. Also has free downloadable
forms for federal and state.
SmartMoney.com: Tax Guide http://www.smartmoney.com/ac/tax/
Plain English explanations on deductions, penalties, capital gains,
etc.
Tax Wire: Today's Tax News http://www.tax.org/TaxWire/taxwire.htm
Today's tax news from Tax Analysts - free.
TaxAttack http://www.taxattack.com
A bit quirky, but does have some tax tips and links.
St. Pete Times Tax Site http://www.taxhelp99.com
Help for Federal or Florida taxes.
TaxHelp Online http://www.taxhelponline.com
Tax tips and audit advice, also has small business advice.
Tax Prophet http://www.taxprophet.com/
One of the "older" tax sites. Done by a tax attorney it offers advice
and an annotated links list.
Tax Sites http://www.taxsites.com
Excellent set of categorized links to tax resources on the Internet.
Thorough and well organized.
TaxWeb http://www.taxweb.com/
Consumer-oriented source for federal, state and local tax-related developments.
Tax Wizard http://www.taxwizard.com
A mixture of links to pay and free resources. "Cute" graphics.
TaxWorks http://www.taxworks.com
Web site for Laser's software. Has free news section that has some
substance.
T. Rowe Price Online http://www.troweprice.com
Substantial tax guide for investors - in PDF format.
Access Vanguard http://www.vanguard.com
More tax advice for investors.
Web TurboTax http://www.webturbotax.com
One of the two IRS-authorized filing systems. If your AGI is less than
$20,000, filing is free.
Bibliography.
The Washington Post, January 17, 1999, Pg. H06 "Online Tax Help."
The Washington Post, January 17, 1999, Pg. H06 "Tax Information
on the Web."
The Boston Herald, January 26, 1999, Pg. 034 "Preparing forms
on Web isn't taxing."
The Buffalo News, February 2, 1999, Pg. 1E "Here's a Quick Guide
to Income Tax Guides "
The Detroit News, February 4, 1999, Pg. E3 "Web sites make tax
work a lot less taxing."
Chicago Tribune, February 9, 1999, Pg. 3; "Psst, You Can Keep
Secrets from Irs (Sort Of); New Accountant-client Privilege Helps Taxpayers,
but It's Not as Broad as the One Involving Lawyers."
The Christian Science Monitor, February 16, 1999, Pg. 21 "Web
sites shed light on taxes."
St. Petersburg Times, February 21, 1999, Pg. 2H, "Need Help?"
InferenceFind http://www.infind.com
InferenceFind searches multiple search engines simultaneously. But,
unlike other multi-engine searchers, it combines the results into a single
listing, categorized. InferenceFind describes its process as searching
the best engines available (WebCrawler, Yahoo, Alta Vista, InfoSeek and
Excite) to retrieve the maximum number of hits allowed for each engine.
For engines that only retrieve ten hits at a time, it runs multiple searches
to get at least thirty hits. InferenceFind calls its categorizing "clustering,"
described as putting like items together. This differs from other engines
that display results based on the percentage occurrence of the search term.
For my search "treaties" the results were grouped by educational sites,
non-profit sites, commercial sites, government sites, etc. For my search
this was a useful breakdown, because it also had headings for several foreign
jurisdictions. InferenceFind clusters by the .edu, .org, .com, .gov, etc.
that exist in the URL. If sifting university, governmental and commercial
sites is relevant ; this would be an ideal starting place.
Google http://www.google.com
Google (the number, not Barney) takes the approach that sites frequently
linked are more likely to be what the searcher wants to see. This may sound
like it will overlook many relevant hits, but searches I've run produced
very useful results. An analogy illustrates this. Everyone uses Black's
Law Dictionary to look up legal definitions. There are other legal dictionaries,
but everyone gravitates to Black's. When someone walks into the library
and asks to see a legal dictionary - we show them Black's. Google does
the same. If many people have found a site useful enough to link to it,
it must be a comparatively good site. For my search "treaties" Google found
7022 matches. The first ten results included hits that I consider to be
the prime sites. Searching other, personal interests were also successful.
Google looks like an excellent starting point for exploring a new topic.
Google has another search option "I'm Feeling Lucky." Selecting that will
take you to a single site. This can be useful for finding a corporate entity's
web page. Many corporate web addresses are easy to guess, but some have
had to tag a word or letters onto their name. Google's great for finding
it fast when your first guess didn't work.
Ask Jeeves http://www.askjeeves.com
Ask Jeeves is another multi-engine searcher, but its uniqueness is
that it allows questions to be asked - similar to "natural language" searching.
Librarians seem to have been born with brains that function in Boolean
mode, so this held no special appeal for me; but it may help with complex
search strings. An example Ask Jeeves illustrates is "What is the total
weight of the earth without people?" - probably asked by someone who had
experienced a bad day at the office! My one-word "treaties" was probably
boring to Ask Jeeves. It searched AltaVista, Excite, InfoSeek, Lycos, WebCrawler,
and Yahoo and returned seven to nine matches for each. This was somewhat
skimpy, but then I hadn't really played by Ask Jeeves' rules - I didn't
ask a question.
To find the latest on search engines and their use check out http://searchenginewatch.com.
Comparisons, reviews, tips, etc. help you determine if your favorite engine
is still the gem you think it is! And, what is my favorite? - used to be
InfoSeek, but I think I'm switching to Google.
Any web search engine can retrieve a lengthy list of sources for quotations. Quote of the day, and random quotes are the most prevalent. There are quotation sites for mathematicians, journalists, etc.; but, only a small number of them are searchable. The major caveat with quotations sources on the web is accuracy. Many sites have the option to submit a quotation. So, while the web may be useful in identifying a phrase to use; it would be wise to verify it in a more reputable source.
Familiar Quotations - Bartlett's http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett/
Bartlett is the "King of Quotes." The only drawback to this site is that
it is the 1901 edition. Copyright restrictions prevent posting later editions
on the web. Searches can be done by word or author. There is also a clickable
list of primary authors, in the Bartlett's style of chronological order.
In addition, there is an alphabetical list of all the authors. My test
word "truth" retrieved 68 entries.
Quoteland.com http://www.quoteland.com/index.html
Quoteland gives the seacher a choice of picking a broad topic (life, dreams,
etc. as well as literary quotes.) My search for "truth" found 19 matches.
Credit is given to the author/speaker of the material, and in the case
of literary materials, the work is referenced by name, only.
The Quotation Guide http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/msr/quote.html
While this site is NOT searchable, I included it because of the extensive
breakdown of subject categories that are presented. "Truth" has sixteen
entries, but none of them indicate a source work. Some of them even lack
an author. The site also includes a select list of other quotation sources.
Quote World http://www.lionking.org/~wotl/
QuoteWorld presents an option to search by person, title, or quote. My
search for "truth" yielded 218 matches. For most matches the authors birth
and death dates are given as well a notation of why the person was famous
(e.g. Henri-Frederic Amiel 1821-81, Swiss philosopher and poet.) The site
also has a "quotation forum" where questions can be posted to seek help
in pinning down a source. The entries on the forum go back about three
and a half months.
Quotations Page http://www.starlingtech.com/quotes/
A bit different, searches are performed in your choice of "collections."
One of these is quotes from Dave Barry. Results are limited to fifty, and
the "collections" must be searched individually. "Truth" found a varying
number of hits in the various collections. All results only listed the
"author."
Quotations Archive http://www.aphids.com/quotes/index.shtml
The Quotations Archive allows searching by quote, author or source. A list
of topics, as well as authors may be browsed. "Truth" found twenty-four
references. Quotes for weddings receives special consideration in this
file - there are links to other quote sites, including ones for weddings.
Doug Turner's Quotation Server http://www.panix.com:80/~dturner/quotes.htm
One thing to watch out for in web-based quotations sites is contributed
data. This site helps alert users to this by including the name of the
individual who has submitted a quote. A quote by Emerson submitted by someone
named "Fairy Girl" would be slightly suspect in my thinking.
Quotations http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/quote.html
Technically not "searchable" this is a vast collection of quotations.
It is also honest about its accuracy - refers persons who need quotes for
doctoral work to print sources. The topic list is extensive. "Truth" was
one of the entries and had 44 entries. Author reference was given for the
entries, but not the individual work.
Serbian Ministry of Information http://www.serbia-info.com/news/index.html
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Official Web Site http://www.gov.yu/
Albanian World Wide Web Home Page http://www.albanian.com/main/
Hellenic Resources Network - Latest News http://www.hri.org/news/latest/
Institute for War and Peace Reporting http://www.iwpr.net/
Central Europe Online - Kosovo Crisis http://www.centraleurope.com/ceo/special/kosovow/intro.html
Human Rights Watch Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo http://www.hrw.org/reports98/kosovo/
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe http://www.osce.org./e/kosovo.htm
NATO http://www.nato.int (traffic
on this site has, no doubt, increased of late. I was able to get in after
repeated tries.)
NBC http://www.nbcnews.com Once
you finally get to a story (several clicks are needed to get to headlines,
then to an individual full coverage) the text is interspersed with photos
and other relevant graphic items. Links are provided to related stories,
as well as other Web resources.
BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/home/today/index.shtml
A feature in the Kosovo coverage includes the latest coverage that Belgrade
is providing. The page is also available in several non-Roman alphabets.
Kosovo sources: The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) March 24,
1999; page A13. The Times (London) March 24, 1999; overseas news.
There are several Web sites that provide entre to the sources available. The law review portion of Findlaw is a mirror for the University Law Review Project. Both sites have links to journals and include links to The Bluebook and articles by Bernard Hibbitts who predicts that print journals have a shrinking life-span. Journals are listed by broad topics. All journals with any level of Web presence are included. The brief information given includes if the coverage is full text or abstracts.
Findlaw: Law Reviews http://www.findlaw.com/lawreviews/
University Law Review Project http://www.lawreview.org
Coalition of Online Law Journals http://www.urich.edu/%7Ejolt/e-journals/
The site groups the law reviews by topic under the broader categories of
full text and abstract only. There are also links to proposals for citation
forms for electronic materials and a link to HyperJournal - a discussion
list for electronic journals.
WashLaw Web - Law Journals http://www.washlaw.edu/lawjournal/lawjournal.html
The alphabetical list provides a brief description that includes the level
of Web presence. The site also includes a search utility, presumably searching
the linked journals. A search for "fetal tissue" found one article. A search
for "zoning" found 109.
Legal Journals on the Web http://www.usc.edu/dept/law-lib/legal/journals.html
Journals are grouped into General, Commercial, Subject Specific, and Foreign.
The entries include the journal name and a coding indicating subscription
info, abstracts, or full text. The site also includes an E-Journal Locating
Service - it is not discipline specific.
Hieros Gamos - Legal and Law Related Journals http://www.hg.org/journals.html
No indication is given regarding the degree of Web presence. The search
utility searches the contents pages from law reviews and other scholarly
journals. The search for zoning found 3 hits. Hieros Gamos has some strong
points, but the journals section is not one of them.
The Cardozo Electronic Law Bulletin http://www.gelso.unitn.it/card-adm/Welcome.html
E Law http://www.murdoch.edu/au.elaw
Forensic Psychiatry On-Line http://www.priory.com/forpsy.htm
Intellectual Property and Technology Forum http://infoeagle.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/st_org/ipg/iptf
International Journal of Communications Law and Policy http://www.digital-law.net/IJCLP/
Journal of Information Law and Technology http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/default.htm
Journal of Law School Computing http://www.cali.org/jlsc/intro.html
The Journal of Military and Veterans' Law http://www.wm.edu/SO/MLJ
The Journal of Online Law http://warthog.cc.wm.edu/law/publications/jol
Journal of Technology Law & Policy http://grove.ufl.edu/~techlaw/
The Law Review of the Federal Courts http://www.fedjudge.org/fclr/lawrev.htm
The LBJ Journal of Public Affairs http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~journal/Default.htm
Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review http://www.law.umich.edu/mttlr/body_index.html
On-Line Law Review http://www.solent.ac.uk/law/ollrabo.html
The Online Journal of Ethics http://condor.depaul.edu/ethics/ethg1.html
Online Journal of Ethics http://www.stthom.edu/cbes/oje.html
Richmond Journal of Law & Technology http://www.richmond.edu/~jolt/
The Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest http://www.richmond.edu/~perspec/
Stanford Technology Law Review http://stlr.stanford.edu/STLR/Core_Page/contents_f.htm
UCLA Bulletin of Law and Technology http://www.law.ucla.edu/Student/Organizations/BLT/html/Home.htm
Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, Ltd. http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk
The West Virginia Journal of Law & Technology http://www.wvjolt.wvu.edu
Western Criminology Review http://wcr.sonoma.edu
Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal http://diana.law.yale.edu/yhrdlj/index_enhanced.htm
InfoSpace.com http://www.infospace.com/ both white and yellow pages. Can also search selected countries. Shows address and phone. Gives option to send flowers.
Internet Address Finder http://www.iaf.net/ can do a reverse lookup by e-mail address. (Didn't find me!)
Meta E-mail Search Agent http://mesa.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/
"The largest email address book worldwide." (Didn't find me - found
55 other Pamela Williams)
People Finder http://www.peoplesite.com/
leave a message and *maybe* the person you seek will find it.
Phonebooke http://www.phonebooke.com/
options lead to Yahoo's people search or business search.
Switchboard http://www.switchboard.com/
gives address, phone, map, area businesses, and web sites about the area.
Telephone Directories on the Web http://www.teldir.com/
provides links to other people finders (like those on this page.)
The Ultimate White Pages http://www.infospace.com/info.abii/index_ppl.htm
Same as InfoSpace.
The Ultimates http://www.theultimates.com/ Searches 6 crawlers with one data entry. Also has yellow pages search.
Usenet Addresses http://usenet-addresses.mit.edu/ Searches Usenet postings between July 1991 and February 1996.
Virtual Chase: People http://www.virtualchase.com/people_chase.shtml
Links to 9 crawlers arranged in a chart indicating features of the site.
Also has a grid of reverse look-ups, E-mail directories, and non-U.S. directories.
Whitaker Associates http://www.whitaker.com/opda.htm
Not technically a people finder it is an internet directory locator.
WhoWhere http://www.whowhere.com/
(via Lycos) neither the e-mail, nor phone book searches found me. Results
give address, phone, map and option to send a card.
WorldPages http://www.worldpages.com/
Provides address and phone, includes option to find e-mail. Also has a
yellow pages search.
Yahoo People Search http://people.yahoo.com/
gives address, clickable phone, and map.
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PeopleFinder.com http://www.people-finder.com/
Professional Strength LocateMe http://www.locateme.com/
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