Newsletter No. 39
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Free Pint "Helping 22,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN 1460-7239 27th May 1999 #39 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Lingo on-line - Languages resources on the World Wide Web" by Emma Thompson BOOKSHELF "The Internet: The Rough Guide 1999" http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf FEATURE ARTICLE "Central and Eastern European Web Sources" by Micky Allen FREE PINT FEEDBACK "Patent information on the Internet" "Dublin Core, not here! - Blame the Porno Industry" "Lack of image alternatives" "Lists" "Free Pint Praise" "Non-profit Web marketing" "Request for information on online tutorials" CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/270599.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = *** HEALTH CARE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET *** Two training courses help you find the critical up to date information you need. Consumer Health Care Information on the Internet, June 1st (half day), price 100 pounds exc. VAT. Biomedical Information on the Internet, 17th June repeated 18th June (full day), price 175 pounds exc. VAT. Venue: The British Library, St Pancras, London NW1. Details from Maureen Heath, tel. 0171-412 7470, e-mail maureen.heath@bl.uk. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [bl391] EDITORIAL Many readers have written to us with suggestions for enhancements to the Free Pint Web site, and one of the most common requests was for an area to exchange ideas and questions with other readers. Therefore we would like to officially announce the opening of the "Free Pint Bar", where you can discuss ideas with other subscribers and meet the editors of Free Pint. We have also invited the authors of the articles in this issue to join us for a virtual drink to answer your questions and comments on their contributions Why not pop in now at ... http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar If you're in London on the 8th June then why not let me buy you a real free pint at the Castle Pub in Cowcross Street. I'm giving a talk for the Institute of Information Scientists about my experiences with Free Pint, and anyone who stays for the talk can have a free pint on me with the buffet afterwards. All readers are welcome (if you're in town) but places are limited, so email richard.wakeford@bl.uk now to reserve your free place and real Free Pint. Another great new feature on the Web site is the Free Pint Guide. This navigation aide (a bit like Yahoo!) will help you find articles and book reviews on your area of interest, as well as linking to invaluable resources for the searcher and Webmaster. You can also search the entire site using keywords. Why not check it out today ... http://www.freepint.co.uk/guide Back to the newsletter and we have some outstanding articles in this issue. If you've ever wanted to learn a language online then you'll love the tips article, whilst the feature article gives some great resources for researching central and eastern European happenings. As always, I would really value your feedback on this issue. Therefore please do send me an email or pop into the Free Pint Bar online. Also, don't forget to send this issue on to anyone who might like to see it. Kind regards, William William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Managing Editor e: william@freepint.co.uk w: http://www.freepint.co.uk/ t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 "Free Pint" is a trademark of Willco Limited http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Investext Group, IFR Securities Data and CDA/Spectrum merged to form Thomson Financial Securities Data, the world's leading provider of comprehensive business intelligence and financial data on companies, industries and markets throughout the world. Together, we offer the highest quality resources available to evaluate companies, analyse securities ownership, monitor industry trends, gather company financial data, and conduct in-depth research and analysis. Visit our web site at www.tfsd.com or contact us on (+44) (0) 171 369 7622. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [iv392] >>> THE ONLY WAY TO CONTACT 22,000 KNOWLEDGE PROFESSIONALS <<< It's popular. It's proven. It works. Full stop. http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = QUICK TIP ... INTERNET CONSULTANCY This one comes from a reader (thank you VM). A hint for anyone advertising jobs on the Internet: many people only have the use of the Internet at work. Many who do, have their usage monitored. They will therefore be reluctant to access a Web site which uses the word "jobs" in the URL in case they are rumbled by their employers. William Hann http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Lingo on-line - Languages resources on the World Wide Web" by Emma Thompson It has never been a better time to learn a language - access to the Web offers hundreds if not thousands of ways to learn a language from scratch or improve your skills by using ready made free on-line courses and tests, and accessing information on the country where the language is spoken. I will not attempt to cover every language available, but give some pointers to useful gateways, and some good examples of how the web can change the way you learn a language. The eagle-eyed will note a Hispanic bias in the sites I have chosen, as Spanish is my second language, but I hope there will be something of interest to information specialists, language learners, travellers, or teachers of languages in general. When I first learnt Spanish at school the only real Spanish resources available to me were crackly radio broadcasts, very boring and dated audio cassettes and Hola magazine - the only Spanish language media available in Northern Ireland at that time, which as those familiar with its English language equivalent will be aware, is not renowned for its in depth journalism. It was only when teachers visited Spain and returned with Spanish goodies that the language I was learning would be put into context, until I finally had the chance to visit Spain. Now the possibilities are endless - you can converse with an email penfriend in your chosen language, listen to radio stations, discover the culture or a country, test your grammar skills and receive instant feedback, all without leaving your computer. Some particularly useful sources follow, divided according to broad categories: 1. On-line lessons and progress tests 2. Media sources 3. Reference 1. On-line lessons and Progress tests ===================================== The BBC languages site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/languages/ offers resources in French, Spanish, German, and Italian, and there are links to English as a foreign language materials through the World Service Pages. The materials are mainly at beginners and intermediate level. These lessons compliment BBC Learning Zone programmes and print and audio publications. They are truly multimedia - including video and audio clips (you will need a sound card, and Shockwave and Real Audio plug-ins to take full advantage of the lessons). There is information for teachers, who subject to certain restrictions can use these resources with their students. The site is easy to navigate, clear and comprehensive. Fast and friendly French for fun: http://library.advanced.org/12447/ is a comprehensive site for beginners, but it is wholly textual, with no sound or video. The German for Beginners site hosted by the University of Victoria in Canada is another good site where you will find on-line lessons with Real Audio clips of German speakers, and exercises and tests http://castle.uvic.ca/german/149/. If you are studying a language without formal classes it can be difficult to check on your own progress - now sites have been created with freeware such as Hot Potatoes that enable you to test your grammar and vocabulary and get the results of your test instantly. Some good sites to try are: Centro Virtual Cervantes http://cvc.cervantes.es in the Aula de Lengua pages you will find vocabulary and grammar tests from beginners to advanced, as well as games to improve your Spanish. Juan Ramon de Arana's Spanish Language Exercises Web Page http://mld.ursinus.edu/~jarana/Ejercicios/ hosted by Ursinus College presents a series of language exercises, covering a variety of topics and progressive difficulty, all with instant marking. If you want to create your own tests visit the Half-baked software site at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ to use the freeware Hot Potatoes software, created at the University of Victoria. This site also gives links to many more tests created using the software. 2. Media Sources ================ Nothing beats hearing the language you are studying spoken by a native. Until quite recently this meant accosting foreign visitors, visiting the country yourself or buying an audio course. Book/tape courses are very good for beginners, and intermediate levels but if you are already proficient in a language and need to maintain and update your knowledge there used to be few options open, except for reading. Now you can access radio stations via the web - and listen while you get on with other work. A good listing of European Radio Stations in dozens of languages, including minority language stations has been compiled by Steve Thornton at http://www.barry-t.demon.co.uk/radio.htm. It includes links to stations in Lithuania and Luxembourg, Hungary and Turkey. Some more radio stations and a very good listing of worldwide newspapers within and outside Europe can be found at Kidon Media link at http://www.dds.nl/~kidon/media-link/. Most newspapers now have websites, and some have sections specifically aimed at language learners. For example Lire Francais http://www.lire-francais.com/ is a partnership between the Bordeaux newspaper Sud Ouest and the University of Bordeaux - it contains grammar and comprehension lessons based on articles from the newspaper. Television stations have of course realised the potential of the web, like the BBC, already discussed. The French satellite station TV5 http://www.tv5.org/ has produced a range of teaching materials and suggestions for use of their programmes in the classroom. They are probably best suited to teachers at sixth form or university level rather than independent learners - you will need access to the programmes themselves via satellite to make use as there are no audio or video clips available, unlike the BBC site. 3. Reference ============ If you are regularly translating to and from another language I think nothing beats a good paper dictionary for speed and user-friendliness - but if you suddenly need to find a word in Yiddish, or Finnish, on-line dictionaries can be useful. The Human-Languages page at http://www.june29.com/HLP/ has a good listing of these, as well as general listings for popular and lesser used languages, from the obscure to the ridiculous, from Cornish to Klingon. Other good language gateways are: http://www.travlang.com/languages/ - basic words for travellers in over 70 languages The Computers in Teaching Initiative Centre for Modern languages in Hull http://www.hull.ac.uk/cti/ has lots of useful links, and is aimed at the Univeristy sector http://www.linguanet.org.uk Lingu@net - the virtual language centre is good for tracking down commercial publishers of language materials. http://www.livjm.ac.uk/language/ - the World languages page at Liverpool John Moores University has a good section on the pros and cons of using the internet to learn a language, as well as some useful links. To search for information about a specific country avoid the USA centred search engines and directories and try one in the country you want to learn about, e.g. Lycos Germany at http://www.lycos.de/ or specify a country and/or language within a search engine like Northern light http://www.northernlight.com (choose the Power Search option). Lastly, a word about free translation services, I am not convinced that machine translation yet rivals a human being - just try translating a page into your first language to get an idea of the limitations. Some people may find these services very useful, and they are free, but use with caution. One to try is Systran, available through AltaVista http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate? > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Emma J. Thompson BA Hons Dip.Inf., (formerly Emma J. Orr) is a graduate in Hispanic studies and professional librarian. She has worked in the fee-based and public information services, and in Academic libraries and now manages a multi-media languages library in the University of Plymouth. She has been using the WWW as a reference tool since 1993. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> SEARCH THE FREE PINT SITE <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/search > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = *** DO YOU NEED TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE INFORMATION INDUSTRY? *** If so, then you should be reading Information World Review. With key coverage of online, Internet, intranet and CD-ROM content worldwide, IWR is all you need to stay informed. For further details on how to keep your finger on the pulse of the information industry, visit http://www.iwr.co.uk or email: customerservice@learned.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li393] FREE PINT BOOKSHELF http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf "The Internet: The Rough Guide 1999" Reviewed by Nick Lloyd "I first encountered this book when I bought an earlier edition of what has since become one of the classic internet 'bibles'. What struck me about the earlier edition - the wealth of information, detailed coverage of practical issues, comprehensive glossary of internet terms, extensive internet site directory, etc. - is still true of the current edition. The latest edition has become (if anything) an even more focused and practical book for those wanting to know more about all things Internet ... [continued]" ... read Nick's full review on the Web site at ... http://freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/rough.htm Nick Lloyd is an Internet consultant with extensive experience of using and searching the Internet including creating and managing Internet and intranet sites for major government agencies. His interests include Internet design and 'content creation' with a background in both information work and art and design. He can be contacted on the Web at http://www.nicklloyd.com/. Find out about the other great Web-related books we're reading at http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf and send your comments or suggestions to bookshelf@freepint.co.uk. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> EASY ACCESS TO PAST ARTICLES BY SUBJECT <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/guide The Free Pint Guide provides many easy ways to access articles, book reviews and Web sites for the searcher and Webmaster. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = QUICK TIP ... INTERNET TRAINING Sometimes you'll have a disruptive person on your course who clearly doesn't want to be there. Don't take this personally but use the first private opportunity (coffee break?) to chat to them and find out what the problem is. It's usually that they've been sent by their manager. William Hann http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE "Central and Eastern European Web Sources" by Micky Allen INTRODUCTION In November 1989, The Berlin Wall came down, one month later I was in Budapest and on behalf of a British mining company was investigating the feasibility of purchasing a 50% share in the Hungarian State Marble Company. My one abiding memory, apart from the seemingly endless round of banquets and alcoholic toasts that were an obligatory part of doing business in the former Eastern Bloc, was the definition of a Hungarian. "A Hungarian is someone who goes into a revolving door behind you and comes out in front of you !" The subsequent history of the Pannon Marble project proved the truth of this phrase only too clearly, but as they say that's another story http://www.insead.fr/Research/RandD/cases/case-61.htm. In those 10 years since the wall has come down, the region formerly known as the Warsaw Pact and now known as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), has changed beyond belief. Who for example who would have thought that some of those ex-socialist states would now be members of NATO! Just like Western Europe the region has its boom and bust sectors, indeed there is a group of 5 CEE countries that are doing so well that they are on the fast track to membership of the European Community (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia). There is no real definition of what is an Eastern or Central European country (Central being more of a geographical label, and Eastern being more of a political one). However there are around 15 states that have emerged from their "cold war" cocoons and can be classified as members of the CEE as such - the situation being somewhat fluid as a result of the Kosova / Serbia conflict. THE ENVIRONMENT The overriding legacy of socialism in the CEE was one of heavy industry which gave rise to a variety of environmental disasters throughout the region, ranging from Chernobyl in the Ukraine to the Black Triangle of Poland / East Germany / Czechoslovakia. The European Union (EU) has through the Phare programme been funding various programmes to help bring the CEE nations up to EU standards to assist in their accession to EU membership. Useful links are : Accession to the European Community by Eastern European Nations http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/s40000.htm Austrian environment minsitry http://www.bmu.gv.at/ Bulgarian Ministry of Health http://www.zpg.org/ Business and Environment Program of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) http://www.rec.org/business Chornobyl CyberSpace Parliament http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/ishwa/index.html Czech Environment Ministry http://www.env.cz/ Czech Republic ISSS Conference (Local and Regional Information Society) http://www.brezen.cz Energy security issues in the region of the Baltic Sea http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg17/riga.htm Estonian Green Movement oja@erl.ew.ee Estonian Ministry of Environment Agnes@ekm.envir.ee Environmental Management Training Center (EMTC) Network http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/EMTC/Insight/ European Commission (DGXIII) and the Open Society Institute, CEE Electronic Publishing Development Program http://www.osi.hu/ European Commission's DGXI enlargement unit http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg11/enlarg/home.htm European Round Table of Industrialists http://www.ert.be Online Europe http://www.isys.hu/online-europe Orientation Bulgaria http://bg.orientation.com Orientation Romania http://ro.orientation.com Orientation Russia http://ru.orientation.com Prague Business Journal http://www.ceebiz.com/czech/ Press Fellowship Programme at Cambridge http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/~pressfel/ Quarterly newsletter of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe http://www.rec.org/REC/Bulletin/Bull83/ Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) http://www.rec.org/business REC publications http://www.rec.org/REC/Publications/ Slovakia's Society for Sustainable Living http://www.seps.sk/zp/stuz/eng/ Slovenian Environment Ministry http://www.sigov.si/mop/vsebina/angl/index.htm Green Horizon is a free newsletter (Funded by European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) designed to help journalists stay ahead of environmental news in Central and Eastern Europe, for a free subscription, research assistance, or to find a source, send e-mail to: media-info@rec.org. Telematics (the application of information and communication technologies and services) for the CEE region http://www.rec.org/telematics includes background information on many EU funded Environment Telematics projects. Many projects in this field have been financed by DGXIII and have been launched to support the growth of the European Information Society in CEE. In doing this, the Telematics Programme also serves to support the EU accession processes of CEE countries. For more information on the European Commission's activities in the field visit http://www2.echo.lu/telematics. The CAPE Database of Local Government Environment Experts in CEE lists contact information for over 550 environmental liaison officers based within the largest local authorities in the ten European Union Accession Countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/LocGov/LocGovFind.html. THE KOSOVO CONFLICT The other major tragedy to strike Central and Eastern Europe is the ethnic dimension, which is now being played out in the conflict between Serbia and NATO. Marshall Tito's iron rule kept the Yugoslavian Federation intact during the 'cold war', but after his death and the fall of Communism came the rise of Nationalism. In the case of Kosovo, a battle that the Serbs lost in 1389 being the catalyst for the present conflict in the region. In war the first casualty is the truth, however the Internet is managing to play a role as a more accessible source of information than was the case when news was reported through 'official channels'. Whilst it must be admitted that most of the news available on the Internet is biased towards the viewpoint of the presenter, there are still a plethora of sources (official, unofficial, propaganda etc) available to give the wider picture, including: A) Mainstream media ABC: Coverage of Kosovo http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/world BBC: Kosovo Crisis, Balkan Flashpoint http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/kosovo/ CNN: Strike on Yugoslavia http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/27/nato.attack.03/index.html France Press http://www.afp.com/ MSNBC: Special on Kosovo http://www.msnbc.com/news/KOSOVO_Front.asp Reuters http://www.reuters.com/news/ Washington Post: Balkans Special Report http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/balkans.htm B) Independent media Anti-NATO web site http://www.welcome.to/nato Common Dreams News Center http://www.commondreams.org/kosovo/kosovo.htm eGroups: Kosovo Reports http://www.egroups.com/list/kosovo-reports/ Father Sava Janjic, a Serbian orthodox monk who lives in the 663-year-old Decani monastery http://www.decani.yunet.com/ Kosovo Dies For Independence, Out There News http://www.megastories.com/kosovo/index.htm Mother Jones http://www.motherjones.com/mustreads/032299.html#TC Press Now http://www.dds.nl/~pressnow/ Radio 21 http://www.radio21.net/english/headlines.htm Radio B92 http://www.b92.net/ Z Magazine on U.S./NATO Bombings http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/kosovo.htm C) Background Articles Net Dispatches from Kosovo's War http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18755.html Documentary on Slobodan Milosevic http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/karadzic/trial/scharf.html Kosovo's Slippery Slope http://www.inthesetimes.com/kenney2309.html Prospects for Peace in Kosovo http://www.nonviolence.org//wrl/nva0199-2.htm D) Information Centres Albanian refugees searchable database http://www.refugjat.org Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/kosovo/index.html Balkan Action Council http://www.balkanaction.org/links.html Balkan Internet Resources http://www.balkaninstitute.org/internet.html Balkan's Page http://www.igc.org/balkans/raccoon/kosovo.html Bosnian Culture and Heritage http://www.bosnet.org Central Europe Online http://www.centraleurope.com/ceo/special/kosovow/intro.html European Council on Refugees http://www.ecre.org/ecre.html Institute for War and Peace Reporting http://www.iwpr.net/ International Action Center http://www.iacenter.org/ Kosovo Crisis Center http://www.alb-net.com/index.htm Kosovo Focus on Human Rights http://www.hrw.org/hrw/campaigns/kosovo98/index.htm Kosovo Info http://www.kosovainfo.com/ENGLISH.htm Kosovo Liberation Army http://www.zik.com/rubrika.htm Newsgroups soc.culture.yugoslavia and soc.culture.albanian No to NATO http://www.iacenter.org/bosnia/balkans.htm One World: Special News Reports http://www.oneworld.org/news/reports/special/kosovo.html Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.uk Transnational Center for Peace http://www.transnational.org/new/index.html UN Convention on Prevention + Punishment of Genocide http://www.un.org/icty/ UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia http://www.un.org/icty/ War Criminal Watch http://www.wcw.org/wcw/ E) USA-NATO Military and Military Analysis British Ministry of Defence http://www.mod.uk/news/kosovo Center for Defense Information http://www.cdi.org Federation of American Scientist's Military Analysis Network http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/kosovo.htm Jane's Defense Weekly http://defence.janes.com/ NATO http://www.nato.int Pentagon's Operation Allied Force http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/kosovo/ Satellite Images http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/kosovo_clouds.htm US Air Force News http://www.af.mil/current/kosovo/ US Information Agency http://www.usia.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/ US State Department http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/kosovo_hp.html F) Yugoslavia Government Yugoslavia Foreign Ministry http://www.smip.sv.gov.yu/ Yugoslavia Ministry of Information http://www.serbia-info.com/ Yugoslavia Official Web Site http://www.gov.yu/ AND FINALLY In spite of these problems, Central and Eastern Europe is still a wonderful place to do business. In the past each country tended to specialise in one particular field according to the diktat of the central planners. As a result East Germany concentrated on Chemicals, Bulgaria on Agriculture, Romania on Textiles, Hungary on Buses etc etc. However with the rise of the market economy, the new specialisations tend to be somewhat different, as incoming multinationals craft their corporate strategies according to the a country's political and economic potential http://www.storycpra.com/FTArticle. Hungary is now no longer 'On the Buses' and has moved into tourism in a big way http://www.hotels.hu, however banquets and booze still remain an obligatory part of doing business in the land of the Magyars! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Micky Allen runs a website dealing with contaminated land issues http://www.contaminatedland.co.uk, and still has fond memories of 1989 vintage Bulls Blood and Tokai wines !! http://www.ContaminatedLAND.co.uk/marx-bro.htm Sig-micky@salamander.co.uk > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To make a comment about any aspect of this article then please join the Editors and author at the Free Pint Bar ... http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FACT One year ago we published issue number 15 of Free Pint. It had 8,000 subscribers and contained 3,600 words. Today it is being sent to almost 23,000 readers and contains over 6,600 words. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = QUICK TIP ... INTERNET PUBLISHING One of the best and cheapest ways to promote your online offering is offline. Use imaginative methods to make your product stand out. For example, everyone I meet gets a Free Pint beer mat. William Hann http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FEEDBACK Many thanks for all your wonderful letters - it's great to know that there are real people out there. Please keep your feedback coming in as it is that which helps us make sure Free Pint covers what you want. This issue's feedback subject index: * Patent information on the Internet * Dublin Core, not here! - Blame the Porno Industry * Lack of image alternatives * Lists * Free Pint Praise * Non-profit Web marketing * Request for information on online tutorials > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Patent Information on the Internet (Free Pint No.38) From: June Dawson, Engineering Subject Librarian Lanchester Library, Coventry University, UK Date: Thursday 13th May 1999 We have been using the Worldwide option on the European Patent Office's Esp@cenet very regularly and have found patents back to 1976 although I understand that there are some (unspecified) going further back. There are quite a large number of US ones but how complete the set is I do not know. As you say, the searching technique is crude so we use the Espace Access CD-ROM's to do the initial keyword search. Once we have a patent number, we use Esp@cenet to print off the diagrams (using Adobe Acrobat) and also the full text of the description and claims. However, if you are on Netscape there is a problem with printing the text because, on our set up, the Acrobat tool bar disappears (!) when you click on the description or claims and all you get is the header. Just click the mouse on the frame when it comes up on screen and then print off using the Netscape print option. One further use for patents that not many people seem to realise, is that it is possible to keep an eye on developments in a company's commercial markets - where are competitors patenting / are they patenting in a country where you have had a strong market previously / are possible alternative products appearing on the market / etc. All good stuff for business studies/marketing students! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Send your comments to feedback@freepint.co.uk or discuss them online at http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Dublin Core, not here! - Blame the Porno Industry (FP No.38) From: Helen Leech, CIRCE Project, http://www.gloscc.gov.uk/circe/ Date: Thursday 13th May 1999 Er, Nick Luft, search engines are already using metadata. Altavista's my favourite, and I usually use its title search: I say I'm looking for the word "chocolate" in the title, and Altavista brings back a manageable number of hits. It's searching the information within the field metatagged "title", which is a crude form of metadata. Imagine how much more accurate search engines could be if more parts of the web page were metatagged? > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email feedback@freepint.co.uk Web http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Lack of image alternatives (Free Pint No.38) From: Various "I agree entirely. We have a beautiful example locally: our local newspaper published a website with a nice city map providing the navigation to lots of useful sources of information. However, the map took 3.5 minutes to load even on reasonably powerful machines, and there were no alternative texts given. Result: they're not pursuing the website at present "due to lack of public interest" - Wonderful! If you're a genuine potential customer etc. to a commercial website, I suggest you complain both to the webmaster and to the highest level of person who's address you find on the site. We're not in it for fun or to make a show - we're in it for results. If our customers complain to the MD, the problem gets fixed - FAST!" Jenni Ferrans, Webmaster, BHR Group Limited http://www.bhrgoup.co.uk/ "In Free Pint No.38 you had an email from an Australian Mineral Explorationist who seemed to be peeved by the lack of 'ALT' tags and the prevalence of images on websites. If he would care to go and visit http://www.Contaminatedland.co.uk he will see a website that is entirely image free (as long as you using Netscape or Sun's Hotjava as your browser). It is designed using 'gopher icons' (a relic of the 'Old days of the Internet') which are inserted by the user's browser without any images being sent over the Internet." Micky Allen > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - feedback@freepint.co.uk http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Lists (Free Pint No.38) From: Matt Hurst, Press Officer, Central Office of Information, UK Date: Thursday 13th May 1999 "Mark Thomas's piece on email lists was interesting. They're certainly the single most useful purpose I've found for the Net, and I'm on several. It's worth mentioning too that it's easy to start one. A company called OneList http://www.onelist.com/ host lists - all you have to do is register with the site and put in a few introductory details, and they run the list for you - digests, archives, bulletin boards etc. One other thing. For me, the big benefit of Free Pint is that like lists, it's push technology. I don't have to go to a website - which I'd invariably forget to do - because it gets delivered to my mailbox. I do hope the beefed up website isn't going to distract anyone from the newsletter." William Hann, Managing Editor, replies: Thank you Mark for your concern about distractions. Hopefully you can see from this issue that although we have been working hard to make the Free Pint Web site an even more valuable resource (with the addition of the Bar, Guide and search facility) this has not distracted us from bringing you another brimming issue of the newsletter. Free Pint will always be our first love and we hope the Web site will only ever enhance what it has to offer. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - feedback@freepint.co.uk http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Free Pint Praise From: Various "You asked for feedback. Well, in my humble opinion, Free Pint is the BEST free online publication. In every way it is admirable and useful. I will forward the current issue to EVERYONE on my e-mail list, in the hope of inducing some of them to subscribe and thereby help keep the enterprise going. Thanks very much again." Johannah Turner, Charleston, West Virginia, USA. "I've just joined Free Pint. Had a good look at the format and think I will find your the Free Pint Guide very useful even if I am not a professional user. I particularly enjoyed the articles on search engines. Thanks for an interesting afternoon. Ann Speakman, Housing Officer, London Borough Of Camden "Just a note to let you know how superb I think your publication is. I work as a full time employee within the Health provider environment (NHS Trust, Midlands, UK) and your recent Free Pint issue on 'Health Information On The Net' has proved to be immensely useful to my colleagues. In my spare time I co-administrate Netheader Web Design - I am Webmistress for this site - and Free Pint has provided invaluable information to me as a Web site designer. I subscribe to many newsletters, but Free Pint is by far the most informative, reliable and interesting. Congratulations and keep up the most excellent work." Bel, netheader web design http://www.netheader.co.uk/ > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - feedback@freepint.co.uk http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Non-profit Web marketing From: Philip Walker, Chairman, CAADE http://www.caade.net (The Campaign Against Age Discrimination in Employment) Date: Monday 17th May 1999 Though I have not been receiving Free Pint very long I can say that I have really enjoyed and learned a lot from its content, one of the reasons of course is that it is UK based. To make it even more relevent might I suggest that you occasionally address the needs of the huge voluntary sector that now uses the Net. My own organisation CAADE is typical. I believe that we have an excellent website. However we have precious few products to sell, we are governed by Charity regulations and our main aim is to get a message across, in fact the 'message' becomes the real reason for our content. We constantly need to drive up the throughput to our sites and most of us have very little money with which to do it. We are non-commercial and yet we have that hunger that is necessary to drive us on. Mostly we need to acquire our services for free or very cheaply which makes life very hard often. Perhaps Free Pint can help or at least motivate other readers to help us progress. Even our hardware is primitive as we are forced to rely on donated equipment; CAADE has a single 486 on permanent loan. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - feedback@freepint.co.uk http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: Request for information on online tutorials From: Simon Collery Date: Thursday 13th May 1999 I have found Free Pint very interesting and I usually snip bits of it and send them to people I know would be interested. I have always looked out for sites or sources of information on the Web itself, its capabilities, past and future. I have not found good sources of information. Do you know any online tutorials or courses, free or otherwise, or anything like this? As I write one of my colleagues has thanked me for sending one of your letters on the Dublin Core. I think he'll be following that up. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION, COMMENT OR REPLY? Let us know your feedback or favourite site by sending an email to the Free Pint team now to feedback@freepint.co.uk remembering to include your name, title and company or organisation. Please note, if you write to us we may publish your letter in whole or part for the interest of our subscribers unless you request otherwise at the time of writing. Please let us know if you wish your contact details to be withheld. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> WANT TO MEET US ONLINE? <<< Don't forget to visit the Free Pint Bar ... http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Thanks for reading this issue of Free Pint ... I really hope you've enjoyed it and can find time to visit the Web site. Also, please continue to tell other people about Free Pint and in return we'll keep working hard to bring you the best of the Web. See you in two weeks! Kind regards, William Hann, Managing Editor william@freepint.co.uk http://www.freepint.co.uk/ (c) Willco Limited 1999 http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES Weather Sources * Archaeological Sites * Graphical Formats Rubber and Plastics * Search Engine Business Models * Intranets Toolkits for web online services * Unified messaging Information overload * Full text online * eCommerce [Provisional] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = CONTACT INFORMATION William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Managing Editor e: william@freepint.co.uk t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 Rex Cooke FIInfSc FRSA, Editor e: rex@freepint.co.uk t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 Jane, Administrator e: jane@freepint.co.uk Address (no stamp needed) Willco "Free Pint", FREEPOST (SEA3901), Staines Middlesex, TW18 3BR, United Kingdom Web - http://www.freepint.co.uk Advertising - ads@freepint.co.uk Subscriptions - subs@freepint.co.uk Letters & Comments - feedback@freepint.co.uk Latest Issue Autoresponder - auto@freepint.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a free email newsletter for anyone who uses the Internet to get information for their work in any business or organisation. The newsletter is written by professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information on the Internet. To subscribe, unsubscribe, find details about contributing, advertising or to see past issues, please visit the Web site at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ or call +44 (0)1784 455 435. Please note: Free Pint is a trademark of, and published by, the Internet consultancy Willco Limited http://www.willco.co.uk/ ... providers of consultancy, training and publishing services. The publishers will NEVER make the subscriber list available to any other company or organisation. The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers. Product names used in Free Pint are for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Free Pint disclaims any and all rights in those marks. All rights reserved. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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- Publication Date: 26th May 1999
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- Link: https://www.jinfo.com/go/newsletter/39
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