Newsletter No. 45
« Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter »
Free Pint
"Helping 25,000 people use the Web for their work"
http://www.freepint.co.uk/
ISSN 1460-7239 9th September 1999 #45
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
"File finding, file filing"
By Richard Eskins
BOOKSHELF
"The Battle of the Portals"
Reviewed by Phil Bradley
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Intranets and extranets"
By Martin White
FREE PINT FEEDBACK AND BAR
"Latest from the Free Pint Bar"
"RE: Web catalogue data protection enquiry"
"RE: Interview: Reva Basch, Super Searcher"
FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/090999.htm
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The e-business [99] event is almost us upon with registration for
free passes closing at the end of the week. The three day event which
starts at the NEC on the 14th of September features stands from
Microsoft, ICL, Compaq, BT, Royal Mail and 110 other specialists.
Other highlights include, the free seminar and case study programmes
featuring Heinz, Hamleys, currantbun.com and Toyota and a major Remote
working feature. Register online at http://www.redman.co.uk or call
01923 261663 for your free delegate pass.
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [re451]
BOOK YOUR ADVERT IN THE FREE PINT NEWSLETTER AND ON THE WEB SITE
http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
EDITORIAL
We now have 25,000 subscribers ... and virtually all thanks to
word-of-mouth recommendation. So a BIG THANK YOU to all readers for
spreading the word so far and wide.
We're out and about a lot at the moment doing our bit to spread the
word also. We have a stand at the e-business [99] show at the
Birmingham NEC next week (14th-16th September) so if you want to
support us by popping in and saying "Hi" then reserve your free
ticket at http://www.redman.co.uk/. It promises to be a great show.
If you've ever tried to locate files on the Web (such as program
updates) then you'll love our Tips article in this issue. This is
then followed by a great review of where to find resources on the Web
about Intranets, from a popular regular contributor to Free Pint and
seasoned Intranet professional.
The Free Pint Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar is really buzzing
with lots of interaction and research questions. I've summarised the
latest postings in the Feedback section along with a couple of letters
from readers. Whenever people write to me now I try and encourage
them to use the Bar - that way they can often get an immediate
response (sometimes within minutes!).
If you enjoy this issue then please do pass it on to someone else ...
Kind regards,
William
PS: If you haven't yet signed up for the Bar Digest (an email every
other day with the latest postings from the Bar) then send a blank
email to digest@freepint.co.uk.
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/
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
ONLINE INFORMATION 99 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED
The Online Information 99 conference offers you the chance to hear 125
experts from 20 countries give their insights into the latest
developments in the information industry. No other conference can
provide the same concentration of expertise under one roof. For full
programme details and online registration visit
http://www.online-information.co.uk/
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[li45x]
FREE PINT GUIDE
http://www.freepint.co.uk/guide
Visit our Yahoo!-like index to all past
Free Pint issues and book reviews, as well as
many resources for Webmasters and Searchers alike
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
"File finding, file filing"
By Richard Eskins
Since the creation of Free Pint I've been hoping to write an article
that would share my Internet skills with the world! The stumbling
block has always been what to write. The biggest fear is preaching to
the converted, talking to my peers about a subject that they know far
more about than I. And of course there is the age old problem of
actually doing it! Anyway, here I am at last in print (if it gets past
the editor) and resigned to the fact that some of you may know all
that I am about to divulge, but hopefully there are some of you to
whom this may be of help. Perhaps those in the know can add their
advice in the Free Pint Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar.
File finding, what do I mean. I'm talking about the type of files that
keep your computer going, not the type of files that contain documents.
I'm talking drivers for video cards, drivers for sound cards, missing
files for your operating system etc. (OK Mac people, I'm talking PC
here, but the basics are the same when that USB driver still doesn't
work on that G3 and Epson printer). But hold on you say, is this all
too techie. Well no. This is about searching, what you do with the
files is up to you. Either get techie yourself or call on a friend.
Ok, so finding these files. Where, well on the Web of course.
Why? Well I'll give you a couple of examples. Example one; a couple of
weeks ago I was configuring a new PC for a friend. The PC thoughtfully
came with a CD-ROM with all the drivers for sound, video etc.
Unfortunately either the drivers didn't work, or they weren't where
they should have been on the CD-ROM. Second example; installing a
printer on a PC, no disks with the drivers available, the drivers are
on the NT CD-ROM, no CD-ROM drive! I could go on, but I'll step back
and go through my personal approach to finding the files. Before we do
let's remember in days gone by that you would wait and make sure that
you had the files in a format that you could use (on a floppy?). You
would install them and if they didn't work you would approach the
manufacturer for possible updates.
Now on the Web I have a variety of tactics. Since I do this
quite frequently I have bookmarks. Favourites have to be sites like
http://www.drivershq.com/, http://www.windrivers.com/ and
http://www.winfiles.com/drivers/. These sites tend to let you choose
what you are looking for, drivers for a modem, video card etc. Then
they let you dig for the manufacturer. There are usually links to the
manufacturer's Web site, and often their driver library.
Of course you could be much more impatient and guess. That is guess
the URL of the company involved. If it's a Matrox graphics card, guess
http://www.matrox.co.uk (as a Brit I always look for a Brit site
first). No good, scrap the co.uk and slap in a dot com. If it has
worked, your next step is usually looking under Support/Downloads or if
they are organised, under Drivers. Identify the right drivers and
download. You don't generally download files? Get used to it. Make
very good friends with WinZip http://www.winzip.com/ as this will
help you deal with compressed files in the world of MS Windows.
Guessing didn't work, or worse still you've got the product's model
number but no manufacturer. Call in the big boys. My first port of
call is always Altavista. Although if I had the manufacturer's name
Yahoo might be easier. A company name search in Yahoo under the
'Computers and Internet' section should bring up the right sort of
links. If the company is big enough, using Altavista and its RealNames
facility may work wonders.
Altavista is definitely my first port of call if I have the model
number only. This may retrieve the manufacturer's own adverts on the
Web, IT shops (you'll get the manufacturer) or perhaps postings on
lists where the model gets mentioned. Throw in the word 'driver' with
the 'model' as your search terms and it may be Bingo! Quite often I
find postings to lists etc where other people are asking about the
same model. Hopefully someone else has provided them with the answer.
If I'm getting really desperate I search IT related lists via
somewhere like http://www.deja.com/. Someone somewhere has made the
plea for those files before you. Incidentally I read somewhere about
FIC codes. All electrical items have to have this code in the USA.
Somewhere on the Web is a searchable database of these codes. This
would help identify your mystery product. I may have got this wrong,
but if someone has the URL please post it to the Free Pint Bar.
OK so you have found the manufacturer, but where are those drivers? If
the hardware is too old the drivers may be long gone. If the
manufacturer is slow or small time they may not have any on the Web
yet. The other week I was tracing drivers for an old printer. I ended
up mailing the manufacturer in Japan, who then gave me a URL in
Australia where the files where hidden.
An example of an easy find. HP printers, Web site http://www.hp.com
as you'd guess. Search 'hp' at AltaVista and drivers pops up in the
first ten and Hewlett-Packard is the RealName. And when you get there,
a lovely little icon for the Drivers Library on the home page and
inside a searchable database for all their products.
Now another approach. It is often just one or two files that you want,
eg. thth225.exe. If luck is on your side and the product is pretty
common then this one is easy. Again Altavista (or Hotbot) for me.
Throw in the filename and see what comes back. If it is a hit, check
out the site, decide on validity (manufacturer, university), look for
a date, are these new drivers? Are they the right ones for your
operating system? Are they for the Chinese version? Watch out!
Another route of mine is to use the wonderful Fast FTP Search at
http://ftpsearch.lycos.com/?form=medium. This mines its way through
a vast number of FTP sites and will often find the file you want on a
manufacturer's own FTP site, or mirrors of those sites closer to home.
Systems teams the world over seem to put key files up for ease of
access which can often be a bonus. If you see the term 'warez' in the
file path name you would be wise to question the validity or
authenticity.
Success depends on a variety of things. Luck, the age of the hardware,
the Web profile of the company involved and your perseverance. Those
PC Sound, video and modem drivers all downloaded, installed correctly
and work properly. The printer, yep that part of the NT CD-ROM is all
over the Web.
Well that's the finding. Just a tip on filing. If you are doing this a
lot then create a download folder, and always create a sub-folder for
the latest download. And to install them, save yourself some hassle
with an install directory which can always be deleted after use. And
keep that Virus checker ticking over.
Happy Hunting.
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Richard Eskins is the Information Officer for the Department of
Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan
University. The Department's Web site is at
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/h-ss/dic/, with Richard's pride and joy, his
Search Tools page at
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/h-ss/dic/main/search.htm.
[Chat to the author now at the Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar]
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
THE LOWEST ".co.uk" DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION JUST GOT LOWER
NOW ONLY 25 POUNDS
As of today, we are delighted to announce that UK domain name
registrations now cost only 25 pounds plus VAT
This INCLUDES all fees for 2 years (previous price 45 pounds)
http://www.willco.co.uk/services/domreg.htm
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [wc445]
FREE PINT BOOKSHELF
http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf
"The Battle of the Portals"
Reviewed by Phil Bradley
I'm sure that many of you will be aware of what a portal is in Internet
terms, but it is described by the authors as '… Websites that are used
as launch pads for customers looking to surf the Web' and they go on to
use AOL, Yahoo!, MSN and Excite as examples. This short (110 A3 pages)
book attempts to inform the reader about portals in some depth, indicate
their value and potential future developments. This is achieved in ten
chapters, covering definitions of portals, the battle taking place
between them, pocket portals and so on. The prose is easy to read, and
the entire book took me two short train journeys to get through, so if
you want a quick overview of portals you might want to take a look it
... [continued]
... read Phil's full review on the Web site at ...
http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/battle.htm
Find out about the other great Web-related books we're reading at
http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf.
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
SEARCH THE FREE PINT SITE IN SECONDS
http://www.freepint.co.uk/search
We have substantially upgraded the search facility on the Free Pint
Web site, with most searches now averaging two seconds! Remember,
there are 88 articles on the Web site, as well as book reviews,
discussions, links to useful resources. Why not give a search a go?
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Intranets and extranets"
By Martin White, Intranet Focus Limited
In researching the sites for this article I have made an intriguing
discovery. Although without any doubt the number of intranets in use
is increasing rapidly, the number of useful sites providing
information about the deployment of intranets seems to be diminishing.
At first I thought this to be somewhat strange, but on reflection I
think that the answer can be found in the fact that intranet
technology is only internet technology.
The challenges of building an effective intranet site are not related
to the use of technology. They are instead related to the problems of
identifying the information that staff need to perform their regular
tasks, and only then deciding how best to use an intranet judiciously
to provide some or all of this information in an effective and
efficient way. In effect every intranet will be different, and so
reading about case studies, and even various design and management
techniques, may be of little assistance in building an effective
intranet.
In this article I have included only those sites which seem to be
updated on a regular basis, and which contain, in my view, quality
resources. There are many other sites which were set up in 1997/98
which seem to have been frozen in time. With a few exceptions I have
omitted these. If you feel I have missed your favourite site, do post
it at the Free Pint Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar.
US sites
I will begin with the two regular electronic journals. These are
Intranet Design Magazine http://idm.internet.com and Internet
Journal http://www.intranetjournal.com. The coverage of both is
heavily biased towards the USA, and includes case studies, new
products, and articles on current issues. There is nothing to choose
between them. In addition there is the Intranet Journal, from McQueen
Consulting, which I refer to later.
Next come some sites which are just lists of other sites, and there is
nothing wrong with that approach though occasionally I do wonder if
anyone looks at the articles cited and edits out the truly
dated/terrible ones. There are also usually broken links, and I do
feel that site owners should take more care over checking their links,
especially ones to articles in news magazines, which tend not to have
a full archive up on the Web. Of the ones that seem to take at least
some care are http://www.brint.com/Intranets.htm and the Intranet
Research Center of CIO (Chief Information Officer) Magazine at
http://www.cio.com/forums/intranet. The CIO site is really quite
good, and in the July 1999 issue of CIO they selected their top 50
internet and top 50 intranet sites, and this is well worth reading.
You can get there from this URL. The case studies are good.
Then there is the Complete Intranet Resource guide at
http://www.intragenics.com. which does give some good references,
but with little or no annotation at all, which annoys me
considerably. The other comment is that it isn't! A couple of years
ago Carolyn Kotlas at the University of North Carolina developed a
really good list of readings and resources on intranets, but this
seems not to have been updated since mid-1998. Even so it is worth a
look as some of the references cited do not appear elsewhere. Because
of the age of the site there are also a number of broken links.
http://www.unc.edu/cit/guides/irg-34.html.
Let me move on to some sites which offer more in the way of
substantive guidance on intranet design. Top of the list by a mile is
a report published by the Mitre Corporation, a US R&D organisation.
The report is entitled Improving the Usability of a Corporate
Intranet, and is a detailed account of the way that Mitre reengineered
its own intranet. You can download it as a pdf file from
http://www.mitre.org/support/papers. Netscape used to publish an
Intranet Executive briefing column, and the archive of these papers is
still useful at
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/columns/intranet/index.html. More
recently the site has migrated into a Net Economy column at
http://home.netscape.com/columns/neteconomy/index.html. At present
there are no specific intranet articles, but a watching brief might
may pay dividends. One of the pioneers of intranets was Dr. Steve
Tellen when he was at Amdahl Corp., and his book, Intranet
Organisation, is available on the web at
http://www.iorg.com/intranetorg and though it dates from 1997 is
still worth reading. There is also a rather unusual site produced by
Manual 3 Inc which claims to be a definitive guide to intranet
deployment. The text is well laid out, which also conceals how little
there is of it, but it might get better http://www.manual3.com.
Rather by accident I came across a sample intranet user satisfaction
survey just a few days ago, so I will include it here without the
chance to do more than glance over it, though first impressions were
good. http://www.gausa.com/CustomerSat.com/intranet.html
Finally, and by no means least, come two sites from people who have
real experience on how to design intranets. First up is Dan
Tricklin's site on how to write good documents for an intranet. A
pleasingly high wisdom content, as you will see at
http://www.gooddocuments.com. Also have a look at the site developed
by Howard McQueen, of McQueen Consulting. Howard publishes Intranet
Professional, and has a lot of expertise in this area, so bookmark
http://www.mcq.com.
UK sites
Undoubtedly the best at present (though there is little competition!)
is the Intranet Cafe from EPIC, a multimedia/web-design company based
in Brighton. Some excellent advice, good links and great design can
all be found at http://www.intranet-cafe.co.uk. There are two
'special interest groups' in the UK where intranet managers can
exchange views and news. The Corporate Intranet Forum is a very
tantalising site, as much of the information that (hopefully) the site
offers is only for members. If you are not a member, don't bother.
If you are then you probably already know that the site is
http://www.corporate-intranet.com. Then there is the Intranet Group,
a non-profit independent forum organised and administered by Momentus.
Again there is not a great deal on the site, but we can always live in
hope! Keep watch at
http://www.momentus.com/TheIntranetGroup/pages/homemain.html. Lest
you think that I have forgotten Intranet Communicator, apparently this
publication is changing its title to Virtual Communicator, but no one
has told the web site at http://www.intranet-communicator.com!
Having sifted through all these sites I have decided that there is a
gap in the market. This month I will be launching Intranet Focus
Ltd., and if you care to look at http://www.intranetfocus.com over
the next few months I hope that you will find that the site develops
as a source of information and advice on intranets, extranets and
ebusiness.
Conferences
Two conference organisers have taken the plunge and set up
intranet-specific conferences. I took part in Intranets 99 in San
Francisco in April, and learned a great deal from the papers and the
coffee bar chat. Many of the papers can be downloaded from the site
developed by Online Inc. at http://www.intranets99.com. In
particular have a look at the papers from Microsoft, and from Tony
Carrozza at Hewlett Packard who illustrates just what an expertise
database should look like. Plans are already advanced for the
Intranets 2000 conference in San Jose in February 2000, with initial
details at http://www.intranets2001.com. In Europe Intranets
International 2000 is being staged on 5-7 June 2000 in the Hague by
Infonortics, and initial details can be found at
http://www.infonortics.com/intranet/index.html.
Extranets
There are only a few specific extranet sites. On first inspection the
Extranet Resource Centre looks promising at
http://pw2.netcom.com/~bakerpub/extranet/tools.html, but many of the
links are broken, so do not get too excited. Probably the best
'independent' site is the work of Kerstin Forsberg in Sweden.
http://www.netg.se/~kerfor/extranet.htm is the URL for
Extranets - a reference page, though in fact there are ten pages of
citations. The site was last updated on 21 March 1999, and again some
links are broken. The site offers an email update facility, but I have
not tried this. http://www.extranet-strategist.com/index.html is a
very good site sponsored by Aventail, a US software and services
company, but do not be put off by this, as the site does offer some
good white papers. CIO Magazine also has an extranet page
http://www.cio.com/forums/intranet/extranet_sites.html, but the
coverage is not as good as the intranet version. There is also a
promising Belgian site at http://www.itworks.be but a working
knowledge of Flemish/Dutch is an asset, though some of the information
is in English.
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Martin White is Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd. From 1995 to
1999 he was a Principal Consultant with TFPL Ltd. www.tfpl.com where
he was involved with a wide range of projects on intranet deployment,
and also ran training courses and workshops. He was the lead author of
the TFPL Guide to Intranet Management. Prior to joining TFPL he held
senior management positions with a number of consulting companies,
including International Data Corp. and Logica. Intranet Focus Ltd.
www.intranetfocus.com offers consulting, research, training and
publishing services on intranets, extranets and ebusiness, with
particular current interests in electronic journals and data
protection legislation. He can be contacted at
martin.white@intranetfocus.com.
[Chat to the author now at the Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar]
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
RECOMMEND A FRIEND TO FREE PINT
Would you like us to send a courteous introduction about Free Pint
to a friend or colleague of yours? If so then please enter their
details at http://www.freepint.co.uk/reco.htm. We'll include
the latest issue, and guarantee their details are not kept on file.
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
FREE PINT FEEDBACK AND BAR
This issue's feedback subject index:
* Latest from the Free Pint Bar
* RE: Web catalogue data protection enquiry (Free Pint No.44)
* RE: Interview: Reva Basch, Super Searcher (Free Pint No.44)
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Subject: Latest from the Free Pint Bar
From: William Hann, Managing Editor
Well, what a place the Free Pint Bar is turning out to be. People
post a research query in the morning, and the answer is there by
the afternoon; fabulous. If you've got a tricky Web-based research
query or other comment then this is the place to be. Even people new
to the Web have posted queries, and I'm pleased to say that we
haven't even had any bar brawls ...
http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar
Digest: Remember, to keep an eye on the Bar without having to visit,
simply subscribe for the Digest - a free email sent to you every
other day with all the latest postings. Send a blank email to
digest@freepint.co.uk or sign up direct at
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?subscribe.
Archive: To keep the size of the message list down, we've set up an
Archive where all postings older than 45 days are moved automatically
to http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/archive/config.pl.
We've also set the default display for the message list on the live
Bar to one week, but you can change this simply by choosing "Set
Preferences" from the main page. Alternatively, follow this link
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?reconfigure.
Summary of postings
-------------------
It's taken a while to formulate (as always), but here is a quick
summary of the latest major topics ...
Discussion, help and site suggestions
-------------------------------------
Free book - Net study skills
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=475
A Free Pint subscriber offers his book for free
Inflation over the centuries
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=476
Sites which allow cross-relating from the past to costs today
Donating computer equipment to charity
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=464
How do you find companies willing to do this?
US company information
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=460
Finding data on US companies on the Web
Search engine submission
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=455
Discussion on the the most effective ways to do this
Socio-economic categories
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=451
Web sites which define these
Setting up a Web site
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=429
How do you register a name and find a host?
Content/Design: an Information Design approach
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=424
Some further thoughts on this earlier Bar topic
Worldwide longitude & latitudes
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=421
Web sites which give you these details for places around the world
Website visitors
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=402
Discussion and tips on monitoring and measuring site traffic
Requests for information
------------------------
Bots and spiders
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=490
What are they, what are they capable of, who uses them and what for?
Historical share price data
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=471
Where can one get access to raw data for UK companies
UK Internet trademark agents
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=457
Request for companies specialising in Internet trademarks
Citation anaylsis, bibliometrics
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=450
Anyone know of any software to do this?
Data mining and research using the Web
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=427
How do you search on specific topics, especially technology?
Credit cards - penetration in Europe?
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=423
Request for sources of information on numbers and usage
Good quality affiliate programmes
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=415
How does one find these?
How do you access newsgroups?
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=493
Details of accessing postings with or without a "feed"
Share ownership sources
http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=536
Anyone know about the online share ownership source called GEO?
Please note: responses may well have been posted to these questions
by the time you read this, so please do check for the latest details
by following the links above.
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Subject: RE: Web catalogue data protection enquiry (Free Pint No.44)
From: Various
Following the letter in the last issue from Doreen Broom regarding
data protection in Scotland, we've had some super responses to her
questions from readers. For the interest of all, the discussion
points and respective responses are included here.
In Free Pint No.44 Doreen Broom wrote:
> I note you refer to the Data Protection Act applying in England and
> Wales - it does in Scotland too. The only thing which differs in
> Scotland is our implementation of the Freedom of Information Bill
> which I believe is to be different. Under the English system - DPA
> takes precedence over the Freedom of Information Act but whether
> that will be the case in Scotland I am not quite sure.
Martin Nail
-----------
As far as I can see, the provisions about access to personal data
under the draft bill are no different in Scotland and England. The
consultation paper (which includes the draft bill) is online at
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/foi/index.htm.
Doreen Broom
------------
> While we are on this topic - I wrote to the Home Office Website
> three months ago to ask if the Crime and Disorder Act affected
> Scotland too - to date I have not received a reply.
Martin Nail
-----------
Some of it does and some of it doesn't. In many areas there are
separate provsions for England and Wales on the one hand and
Scotland on the other. The Act is on line at
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980037.htm.
Neil MacInnes
-------------
The convention for any Act of Parliament in Westminster is that one
of the last few paragraphs ('sections') defines 'Extent': to what
countries of the UK the Act applies. This is normally stated as the
general rule for the bulk of the Act, specifying any exceptions
(e.g. 'this applies to England but sections 1,7,9, apply to
Scotland too').
There is a site where all Westminster Acts, Bills, Regulations
('Statutory Instruments') and draft Regulations for the last few
years are available in full (very handy if you want to access such
stuff): The Stationery Office http://www.hmso.gov.uk/.
It has a search facility. I tried "Crime and Disorder Act" and found
a pointer to the Act, and worked to the page with the answer to your
query. Extent of the Act: answer to the question is given at:
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80037--s.htm#end
In brief:
(1) This Act may be cited as the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
snip
(4) Subject to subsections (5) to (12) below, this Act extends to
England and Wales only
snip
Doreen Broom
------------
> My view is that any Act is an Act which affects the whole of the
> UK - the only difference with the Crime and Disorder Act is that
> the law in Scotland is slightly different to that of England and
> Wales - can anyone clarify for me please?
Martin Nail
-----------
No, this isn't really true. I think I'm right in saying that unless
stated otherwise an Act would be presumed to apply to the whole of
the UK. However, it is very common for an Act to apply to just England
and Wales or just to Scotland or to England, Wales and Scotland but
not Northern Ireland or for different Sections to apply to different
parts of the UK. An Act normally has its 'extent' specified in one
of the its final Sections, labeled something like 'Short title,
commencement and extent'. Section 121 of the Crime and Disorder Act
1998 is particularly complicated, but often it is something like
Section 13(2) of the Trustee Delegation Act 1999 'This Act extends
to England and Wales only'.
Free Pint readers may like to know that the texts of Acts of
Parliament since 1996 are available on the HMSO website at
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts.htm.
Bills are on the Stationery Office site
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/pabills.htm
although the FOI Bill isn't here as it is only a draft bill and hasn't
been laid before Parliament.
The Stationery Office's useful UK Official Documents page
http://www.official-documents.co.uk/menu/uk.htm has links to both
of these, and many other classes of official document.
Neil MacInnes
-------------
There are big differences between Scots and English (/Welsh/N.Irish)
law, and not only on account of Acts. Main areas of difference are:
legal/court/police procedures; personal/family law (e.g. most matters
relating to children, marriage/seperation/divorce, death); housing and
land. In many other legal subject areas, while the broad sweep of the
laws may be similar, the differences are significant. (And that's before
Holyrood has passed its first Act ;-).
I have some knowledge of the differences between the 2 legislative
areas, and also of the info resources at the new Scottish Parliament.
And I'm happy to chip in my tuppence worth to the Free Pint Bar (from
which I also drink).
William Hann
------------
I would like to make special thanks for Martin and Neil for taking
the time and trouble to give such complete answers to Doreen's
questions.
Special thanks again to:
Martin Nail, Library and Information Commission
http://www.lic.gov.uk/research/information_retrieval/index.html
Neil MacInnes, Scotland
Doreen Broom, Data Administrator, Scottish Borders Council
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Send your letter to feedback@freepint.co.uk
or discuss it online at http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Subject: RE: Interview: Reva Basch, Super Searcher (Free Pint No.44)
From: M. Sullivan
Date: Friday, 6th August 1999
Reva Basch and Marylaine Block are two of my idols. I've always
thought Free Pint was great, but now I consider it indespensible!
Terrific idea - interviews. Terrific choice of people. Terrific
interview. Thank you.
William Hann replies:
Thank you for your wonderful feedback. All credit and kudos to
Marylaine Block http://marylaine.com/ for a great interview.
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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 or post your
message at the Free Pint Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar.
[NOTE: Remember to include your name, title and company or
organisation, and let us know if you wish your contact details to
be withheld. 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.]
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Well, that's it for another two weeks. If you've enjoyed this issue
then please let me know, either direct or at the Bar. If you'd like
to distribute some A5 leaflets about Free Pint where you work then
send me your details (name, company and address) and I'll pop some
in the post. Perhaps you could leave some in the coffee room?
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
* Legal Information * European Information * Unified messaging *
* Getting good references * Financial Sites * Architectural sources *
* Animal health * Music Sites * Associate/Affiliate Programs *
* Data Protection and Web sites * Internet surveys *
[Provisional]
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
CONTACT INFORMATION
William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Founder and 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
Authors - http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm
Latest Issue Autoresponder - auto@freepint.co.uk
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239 is a free newsletter written by information
professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information
on the Internet. Useful to anyone who uses the Web for their work, it
is published every two weeks by email.
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, Willco
Limited http://www.willco.co.uk/, providers of Internet 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.
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
« Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter »
About this Newsletter
- Publication Date: 8th September 1999
- Plain text
- Link: https://www.jinfo.com/go/newsletter/45
What's new at Jinfo?
Community session
11th December 2024
2025 strategic planning; evaluating research reports; The Financial Times, news and AI
5th November 2024
- 2025 strategic planning; evaluating research reports; The Financial Times, news and AI
5th November 2024 - All recent Jinfo Subscription content
31st October 2024 - End-user training best practice research
24th October 2024
- Jinfo Community session (TBC) (Community) 23rd January 2025
- Clinic on contracting for AI (Community) 11th December 2024
- Discussing news and AI strategies with the Financial Times (Community) 21st November 2024
Learn more about the Jinfo Subscription