Newsletter Archive

Newsletter No. 47


« Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter »
                             Free Pint
         "Helping 26,000 people use the Web for their work"
                    http://www.freepint.co.uk/

ISSN 1460-7239                                 7th October 1999 No.47
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

                           IN THIS ISSUE

                             EDITORIAL

                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
       "Sources of UK Financial Information on the Internet"
                         By Mark Southgate

                             BOOKSHELF
      "A Guide to Finding Quality Information on the Internet
              - selection and evaluation strategies"
                       Reviewed by Mark Kerr

                          FEATURE ARTICLE
                     "Getting Good References"
                          By Sheila Webber

                           FREE PINT BAR
                   http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar

                   FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES

                        CONTACT INFORMATION

              ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
            http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/071099.htm

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

  ACCESS KEY INFORMATION ON THOUSANDS OF SOFTWARE PROVIDERS - FAST

Computer Software & Services Online (CSSOnline), produced in
association with The British Computer Society, is a fully searchable
database of over 12,000 software products, 5,500 software companies
and 3,700 IT service providers. For more details, subscription
information and to conduct free test searches, visit
http://www.cssonline.co.uk/

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li471]

                          ABOUT FREE PINT

Free Pint is a free newsletter with help on using the Web for your 
work. It is published by email every two weeks and free copies can be
reserved at http://www.freepint.co.uk/. The site also houses a full 
archive of articles, reviews and discussions. The newsletter may be 
freely distributed in its entirety, so please do pass it on.

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

                             EDITORIAL

I hope you're bracing yourself for another feature-packed issue of 
Free Pint. As you know, we strive to bring you the best authors and
original content, and as one reviewer of Free Pint quite rightly 
stated: "You won't find a lot of this stuff elsewhere folks".

We start with a super article on UK financial sources, and it's the
sort of article I love - loads of top quality Web sites reviewed.
This is followed by a look at a great new book with tips on how to
assess the quality of Web sites. The author is, in my opinion, the 
leading authority on Web site evaluation, and so this is a valuable
review. 

I always receive a lot of good feedback whenever we publish real-life
case studies with experience of searching or site promotion. For this
reason I know you're going to enjoy the feature article in this 
edition. The author is the Webmaster (Webmistress? Webmeister?) of
the one site everyone always cites when talking about finding 
business information on the Internet.

I have to say that you are a helpful bunch. I mentioned in the last
issue that I have a lot of A5 leaflets if anyone would be able to 
distribute some in their company or organisation.  Well, the response
was great and I've sent out thousands. Thank you to all who responded,
and if you can help then let me know and I'll pop some in the post.

I do hope you enjoy this issue, and please email me with any feedback.

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/

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

              *** READ THE FREE PINT ON A LCD MONITOR ***
Available on line from Trident Displays Ltd. at
http://www.tridentdisplays.co.uk/lcdmonitors/  is the full range of
NEC and Samsung LCD and plasma monitors. LCD monitors range from 
15.1" to 20.1" and plasma multimedia monitors from 33" to 42".

  ** FREE UP THAT SPACE ON YOUR DESK AND GIVE YOUR EYES A BREAK **
  Tel: 01737 856125   Home Page: http://www.tridentdisplays.co.uk/

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [tr47x]

      >>>  ADVERTISING HERE ACTUALLY WORKS. ENOUGH SAID.  <<<
                http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =


                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

       "Sources of UK Financial Information on the Internet"
                         By Mark Southgate

In recent years, the Internet has to some extent 'levelled the playing
field' in terms of access to financial information.  Anybody with a
computer and an Internet connection is able to gain access to a vast
amount of information previously only available to large companies and
professionals and to do so at little or no cost.  

Amongst other things, the Internet can be used to research companies;
to order free annual reports; compare financial service providers and
products; buy and sell shares; discuss finance and investment with
others in newsgroups, mailing lists and bulletin boards; purchase
investment books and software; get real time share prices and
information on share volumes and trades.

One problem with this information overload lies in deciding which are
the most useful and reliable sources of information.  To help 'sort
the wheat from the chaff' this article has brought together a
selection of the best sources of information on various financial
subjects from my current list of favourite sites.


General Sources of Information
------------------------------

Business Information and the Internet
http://www.business.dis.strath.ac.uk/ is an excellent starting
point, acting as a gateway to sources of information on where to find
business and financial news; company and industry information;
business advice and opportunities; self employment advice and general
reference resources for financial and business info.

Find (Financial Information Net Directory) http://www.find.co.uk is
a directory of UK personal finance service providers with hundreds of
links to relevant companies.

Using the Internet for Business Information
http://www.tka.co.uk/search/ provides a guide to finding business
information on the Internet by using search engines; newsgroups;
e-mail discussion lists and other sources.


Investment Portal Sites
-----------------------

There are several 'portal sites' providing UK investors with financial
and investment information, many of them providing basic information
services for free and more in-depth features for a monthly fee.

Electronic Share Information (ESI) http://www.esi.co.uk provides
share trading information; a busy bulletin board for subscribers only;
share prices; company news information and forecasts and portfolio
tracking.

FT Quicken http://www.ft.quicken.co.uk is another comprehensive UK
personal finance site which offers business news; portfolio tracking
and information on a wide variety of financial services from
insurance; mortgages and tax to savings; pensions; loans and currency
markets. 

Interactive Investor http://www.iii.co.uk is another good site for
tracking a portfolio of shares and also offers busy e-mail discussion
lists; share prices and a vast amount of information on financial
products.

Market Eye http://www.marketeye.co.uk is similar to ESI with company
news; share prices; a bulletin board; market news and reports etc.

MoneyeXtra http://www.moneyextra.com is a new entrant, offering the
usual portfolio tracking; share prices etc and is very useful for
doing price comparisons to search for best buys in personal loans;
credit cards; mortgages and savings accounts.

Moneyworld http://www.moneyworld.co.uk is yet another UK site
offering comprehensive information on personal finance, including a
useful 'best buy' search facility for financial products as well as
excellent general information on personal finance.

Motley Fool UK http://www.fool.co.uk is an excellent site on UK
shares and investing, particularly for beginners. A witty writing
style encompasses articles on company analysis and suggested
portfolios as well as market news and comment.  Other features include
numerous bulletin boards; a portfolio tracker and a useful glossary of
financial terms.

Yahoo! UK Finance http://finance.yahoo.co.uk/ from the popular
Yahoo! directory offers share prices and portfolio tracking as well as
links to company news and information.


Business and Financial News
---------------------------

While the best sources of immediate news on individual companies are
the investment portal sites listed above, these are usually only
provided for paying subscribers.  For more general business and
financial news there are a number of good free sources on the web.
BBC Business News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/default.htm offers an
excellent business news service as does NewsNow
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/-NewsFeed.BusFin.htm which is frequently
updated during the day.  


Company Annual Reports and other Company Information
----------------------------------------------------

The annual reports of publicly listed companies can be ordered free
online from the Financial Times Annual Report Service
http://www.icbinc.com/cgi-bin/ft.pl and annual reports can also be
read online, albeit for only a small number of companies at Company
Annual Reports Online (CAROL) http://www.carol.co.uk.

Other information on UK companies can be found at Hemmington Scott
http://www.hemscott.co.uk as well as at the useful Wright Research
Centre http://profiles.wisi.com.  Amongst the information provided
by these sites are brokers' forecasts; information on major
shareholders; company contact information; profit and loss history and
forecasts and historic share price graphs.  The New Online Investor
http://www.cix.co.uk/~ptemple/linksite/ is another useful site,
providing links to the homepages of hundreds of UK companies.


Investment Bulletin Boards
--------------------------

A number of bulletin boards exist to enable investors to discuss
shares and investment with each other.  There is however no substitute
for doing your own research and investors should never rely on 'tips'
provided on online bulletin boards.  

The busiest free bulletin board for UK shares is the Hemmington Scott
Information Exchange http://www.hemscott.co.uk; but the structure
and volume of the messages means that informed and useful comments
often get 'lost in the crowd'.  

By far the best of the free bulletin boards is provided by UK Shares
http://www.ukshares.com which is logically structured into subject
folders making it easy to follow discussions on a particular company
or other topic.  The quality of posts at this site is also usually
high and the boards are moderated by volunteers, to prevent 'ramping'
of shares and keep debate focused.

The ESI http://www.esi.co.uk bulletin board is another good
discussion forum but available to paying subscribers only. You can
however read a weekly summary of the discussions from this board at
the useful Bulletin Board Bugle
http://www.angelfire.com/al/bbbugle/index.html which also includes
information on director and institutional share sales and purchases.


A round up of other useful sites
--------------------------------

Finally, there are a number of subject specific sites that are very
useful.  These include the Inland Revenue Site
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk, an informative and well designed
site with plenty of information on tax including copies of forms that
can be printed out.  For data and information on ISAs; Unit and
Investment Trusts Trustnet http://www.trustnet.co.uk is a good
source of information as is the Interactive Investor
http://www.iii.co.uk already mentioned above.  Both of these sites
offer a free information service; daily prices and performance league
tables.  Free real time share prices are also now becoming available -
they can be obtained from Freequotes http://www.freequotes.co.uk
although this requires free registration with an ISP called the Mutual
http://www.themutual.net. You do not seem to be required to use the
Mutual as your ISP in order to gain access to free real time prices.

To conclude - the Internet opens up a wealth of information to the
private investor and personal finance consumer.  The key is to be able
to find and make best use of that information and to decide what is
useful and what is not.  Hopefully this article will have helped you a
little bit in that respect.

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mark Southgate is a student at the University of Nottingham and has
published several web guides on the Internet.  These include a guide
to London for visitors; a guide to affiliate programs for webmasters;
a guide to the most useful web sites and a guide to finding UK
financial and investment information on the Internet.  He can be
contacted at the e-mail address lqyrms@nottingham.ac.uk.

Financial and Investment Guide.
 http://www.hotelsandflights.com/invest.html
Internet Resources "Best of the Net'.
 http://www.hotelsandflights.com/hotlist.html  
Affiliate Programs Guide.
 http://www.hotelsandflights.com/opportunity.html  
London Links London Guide.
 http://www.hotelsandflights.com/london.html    

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Related links:

* Chat to the author now at the Bar
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar
* Hyperlinked version of this article
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/071099.htm#tips
* Previous business related articles in Free Pint
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/guide/html/sgp28.html

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

                    *** SAVE 200 US DOLLARS ***
                         
Register today for eretailing '99. Attend the world's largest
gathering of online retailers.  Click here
http://www.eretailing99.com.

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [bc473]

         >>>  FREE PINT SEARCH ACROSS ALL OUR CONTENT  <<<
                 http://www.freepint.co.uk/search

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

                        FREE PINT BOOKSHELF
                http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf
       Find out about some of the great books we're reading


      "A Guide to Finding Quality Information on the Internet
              - selection and evaluation strategies"
                       Reviewed by Mark Kerr

The growing size and importance of the Internet in our daily lives
brings with it growing problems. How do we find the information we 
need, and how can we be sure we can trust the information that we 
find? Searching skills are covered by many writers, most of whom 
mention evaluating only as a sub-topic. This book brings the crucial 
skill of evaluation up to its proper position in the list of skills 
required by effective information professionals.

This book approaches the process of evaluation from several 
directions. An introductory chapter explains the background to the 
topic, followed by a chapter which explains thoroughly how effective 
searching maximises the retrieval of quality information. As the 
author, Alison Cooke, takes the reader through various styles of 
searching - index, directory, gateway and metasearch - she highlights
the potential problems with each one both in terms of information 
retrieval and evaluation of the resources retrieved. 

At the end of the chapter on searching, the author uses the first of
many checklists. It is these checklists that give the book real
usability by the non-academic searcher. Providing a simple list of
features, issues or questions enables the novice user to extend 
skills and awareness, whilst reminding the expert of key areas of 
concern.

The third chapter covers assessing the quality of an information 
source. Coverage, authority, accuracy, currency, accessibility, 
presentation, ease of use and overall quality are all examined with 
an accompanying checklist. As well as providing an aide-memoire, the 
checklists offer an opportunity for the reader to conduct almost a 
dialogue with the book. Looking at the checklist and answering the 
questions allows the opportunity to test the hypotheses offered by 
the author. Are they exhaustive? Can they be answered at all? Is 
there a 'correct' answer? The answer is almost certainly no in most 
cases - rather, they provided the starting point for developing a 
critical approach to everything found on the Internet.  

The fourth and final chapter looks at evaluating particular types 
of sources. These include organisational, personal and subject-based 
Web sites as well as FTP, Telnet, Email and Newsgroup resources. 
Again a checklist for each item provides not only a reminder of the 
method, but also a reminder that different sources and media require 
different evaluative methods.

Extensive references and an annotated bibliography both reveal the
academic underpinning of the book - it is the topic of the author's 
PhD research - and provide the basis for further use of the book as 
a teaching and training support tool - whether self-teaching, or for
others. Exhaustively researched and clearly presented, the author has
provided an accessible guide to one of the essential skills of the
information professional - the ability to find, assess and select
information sources in a methodical and reliable manner. This book
should find its way on to the bookshelf of all who intend to use the
Internet as a credible information source in the course of their work 
or study.

         Find out more about this book on the Web site at
          http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/quality.htm

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mark Kerr is centre manager of London ASPECT, a DTI-funded Local 
Support Centre based at South Bank University giving advice, support 
and training to small and medium sized businesses as they seek to 
compete in the new electronic trading environment. He develops and 
delivers training courses on Internet topics for a wide range of 
organisations, and has written reviews, articles and a book, How to 
Promote Your Web Site Effectively. Further details can be found at
http://www.sbu.ac.uk/aspect/ and http://www.sbu.ac.uk/training/.

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Related links:

* "Information quality on the Internet" article in Free Pint No.30
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/210199.htm#tips

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

    HALF DAY SEMINARS - DEPLOY SUCCESSFUL E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS
Discover how to maximise the e-commerce opportunity for your business
with these seminars from the UK's leading e-commerce software 
supplier. Learn how to make e-commerce pay by keeping development 
costs down and providing a low cost, functional, secure solution for 
your clients. Real life examples will be used to demonstrate how 
Actinic partners are already profiting from web sales. Register at: 
http://www.actinic.co.uk/seminars or by telephone: 01932 866440.

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ac474]

                 >>>  VISIT THE FREE PINT BAR  <<<
                   http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar
          "THE place for questions, answers and comment"

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =


                          FEATURE ARTICLE

                     "Getting Good References"
                          By Sheila Webber

"I believe that in years to come the amount of links a website has
will be a key indicator of the value of that website and will be
accounted for on its balance sheet ... Even though many might not
follow a particular link to us, the fact that they keep seeing our
name and a link to our website impresses them." (Gerry McGovern. To
Link or Not to Link. New Thinking 4 (34) 23 August 1999).
http://www.nua.ie/.

Internet guru McGovern is not the only person to see links as
important. There is a now minor industry of 'experts' wanting to
advise you on how to get listed on other people's sites. Some of the
search engines (notably Google) make the number of links to your site
the key criterion for ranking. It seems likely that more of the search
engines will take this factor into account in future. 

This article offers some tips from my own experience in this area. My
qualifications are that: 

a) I have got hundreds of links to my site, Business Information
Sources on the Internet http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk/business/,
including one from the main 'Business and Economy' page on Yahoo! UK
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Business_and_Economy/. My site had about
21,000 page views in July 1999 and 25,000 in August 1999. In both
months, about half the hits were referrals from other sites (either
direct links, or the result of someone doing a search and retrieving
the site as one of the hits);

b) I get regular requests from people wanting links from my site;

c) I studied usage patterns of the site created for the Business
Information and the Internet project
http://business.dis.strath.ac.uk/project/ over a year. There is a
PDF file of the chapter containing these results at
http://business.dis.strath.ac.uk/project/final/BII-5.pdf. (The full
(182 page) project report can also be obtained from the British
Library Document Supply Centre).

The referring links to my site include (roughly in order of
importance):

- Directories to the Internet (e.g. Yahoo!; CeoExpress
  http://www.ceoexpress.com/)

- Search engines (the top ones for my site are Alta Vista, Google and
  Excite.)

- Academic libraries which have created subject guides for their
  users, and other educational sites

- Business advice sites: both official agencies or commercial sites
  (e.g. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 
  http://www.accc.gov.au/; the Enterprisezone)

- Investment sites

- Sector-specific sites which include a section on business generally
  (e.g. Delia Venables' useful Portal to Legal Resources in the UK and
  Ireland at http://www.venables.co.uk/legal/welcome.htm)

- Media sites: newspapers etc. including 'cool site' accolades and
  references in articles (e.g. in Free Pint issue 25
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/291098.htm#tips)

- Sites with commercial business information content 

- Personal pages

The following are some pointers from my own experience.

- Build Something Good and They Will Come (Eventually). In this
context 'good' means 'meeting a real need'. I only got my best
referral (the Yahoo! UK one) last year - but it was worth waiting for.
Usage shot up by about 50%. It's a virtuous circle, in that the more
people that link to you, the more will realise you exist, and the more
will link to you. However, just as a reference book doesn't become a
'classic' overnight, and a new product is not immediately trusted and
widely used, you can't expect everyone to want to link to you from day
1 (unless you've already got a well-known brand like the FT,
Encyclopaedia Britannica or Penthouse; or unless you have something
genuinely unique to offer). You can obviously speed up the process
through effective off- and online promotion, but building trust
usually takes a while.

- The sites bringing the most referrals are sites that one imagines
get a lot of hits themselves. This is not exactly surprising. However,
the popular sites relevant to you may be outside your country or
operated by someone who is not at all 'visible' off the Internet. 

- Stability is vitally important. People prefer not to link to
something that may be gone tomorrow. If a site ignores a linking
request from you when you have just started up, it might be worth
trying them again after a year, emphasising the fact that you have now
been around for a while and have improved the site. If you change the
address of the site, make sure you redirect from ALL your old pages,
not just the old home page (see the next point...)

- Links to pages internal to your site may bring lots of visitors.
Many of my hits come from people linking directly to the 'reviews of
search engines' page and the company/financial information pages.
After the home page and search page, these are usually the pages with
most hits every month. In my view, organisations that deter people
from linking to an internal page are not thinking Internet. In many
cases, people will not bother to link at all, if they can't link
directly to the section that is relevant to them.  Obviously, you have
to make sure that people can then navigate easily to other parts of
the site (if you are a better web designer than I am, you could 'lure'
them into other parts of the site with effective design). I would
think a good strategy is to identify popular pages from your usage
statistics and 'encourage' people to use them as a jumping-in point.

- When requesting a link, ask yourself 'how does this add value to the
other site? Why should someone bother to add it? Does it complement
rather than compete?'. Begin by looking at the other site, and reading
any information about the scope of the site. If you are appealing to a
person (rather than a computer), you are more likely to succeed with a
CONCISE personalised request which makes it evident that you have
bothered to find out what the site is about.

- Do not request a link when you have already got one. I periodically
get 'Dear sir, please link' requests from organisations which have
been linked for some time: evidently they are just scattergunning
sites without bothering to check the site or personalise the request.
Call it perverse human nature, but if I have been thinking of weeding
that particular site, then this might tip the balance towards
de-selecting it.

- Research has shown that people tend not to scroll down pages, so
having a link from the top of a web page is better than having one
from the bottom. For example, I imagine that my high-ish listing on
http://www.startpage.com/html/business.html is the reason why I get
quite a lot of people clicking through from that page. In many cases,
you can do nothing to influence this, but in some cases you might be
able to buy a higher placement (or you could try offering a free page
redesign that happened to include a higher listing for your page ;-)
Having a site name that starts with a letter early in the alphabet
might also be useful, but you can't guarantee that people will quote
it correctly.

- Offering a reciprocal link may encourage someone to link to your
site. You could also invent a 'cool site' award with a fancy logo and
link which you might hope that your selected site would display.
However, in both cases your selected site would expect you to actually
have the reciprocal link in place, and neither link nor award would
be much of an incentive if the site you are applying to already had
lots of links to it.

- If you do not have access to your own web usage logs, you can at
least use search engines to get an idea of how many sites are linking
to yours. There is some guidance on this on the Searchenginewatch site
at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/popularity.html. This
page does not mention Google http://www.google.com. To find your
links via Google, search for your page on Google (e.g. by typing in
the URL) and then click on the bar on the left hand side of your
site's description.

It is worth making the point that I am not operating a commercial
site, and so do not measure success in terms of sales. My performance
indicators are fuzzier and are more to do with recognition,
invitations to speak, informal feedback from visitors etc. However, it
does show that you can get quite a few visitors to your site without
paying anyone else to do promotion or web design ('the site isn't
fancy, just helpful' is one of my favourite compliments for the site,
in a USA Today review).

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Sheila Webber is a lecturer in the Department of Information Science
at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.  Her personal page is
at http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk/people/sheila/ and Business Sources
on the Internet is at http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk/business/
She can be contacted by email to sheila@dis.strath.ac.uk.

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Related links:

* Chat to the author now at the Bar
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar
* Previous Free Pint articles and reviews on how to promote your site
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/guide/html/sgp15.html

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

      >>>  RECOMMEND A FRIEND AND HELP FREE PINT FLOURISH  <<<
      Do you know someone who might enjoy their own Free Pint?
   We'll send them a courteous introduction if you visit this page
                http://www.freepint.co.uk/reco.htm

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 


                           FREE PINT BAR
                   http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar

Thank you as always to all those who've been answering queries posted
at the Bar.  I'm still staggered by the quality and speed of the 
reponses and it is all credit to you.

Please remember, if *you* have a Web-related query (perhaps about a 
search you're doing, or how to enhance your Web site) then do pop 
along and post a message ... we're all terribly nice you know.

                   http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar


Small businesses
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=731
  Research into how small UK businesses are using the Internet.

How to pull a pint
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=735
  Information requested on how to pull proper pints.

Frequency of Digest - suitable?
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=742
  If you receive the digest then please vote on frequency in the poll.

Researching gift vouchers
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=749
  Information requested on the gift certificate market.

Reference.com - where is it?
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=750
  Including suggestions for alternatives.

Reverse phone number lookup
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=751
  How to do this (or not) in the US and UK.

Dewey classification
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=770
  Sites with help on classification using the DDC system.

Electronic and paper versions of journals
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=771
  Request for pointers on research into use of electronic and paper 
  journals, especially in nursing.

Domain statistics
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=778
  Disparity highlighted between the actual number of ".com"s and the 
  registrar's statistics.

Library automation
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=780
  How to link a simple database to a Web site?

UDC classification
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=782
  On the Dewey theme ... any simple guides to the above?

National Medical Society - anyone know them?
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/config.pl?read=785
  Any one have contact details or know them?

Please note: It is likely that responses will have been posted to 
some of these queries and so please do check out the latest replies.

Digest: To get the latest postings emailed to you every other day,
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: Dormant postings older than 45 days are moved automatically
to http://www.freepint.co.uk/cgi-bin/webbbs/archive/config.pl.

Email: If you would like to write a letter to the Free Pint team, 
then please send your email to feedback@freepint.co.uk remembering 
to include your name, title and company or organisation.

> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

                   FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES

* Researching for TV * Help and Welfare Services * Internet surveys *
     * Water Industry Information * Travel Industry Resources *
  * Legal Information *  Unified messaging * Getting good references *
     * Library and Information Sources * Architectural sources *
       * Music Sites * Associates and Affiliates Programs *

                                                        [Provisional]
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Well, I'm afraid that's it for another fortnight. I'd love to hear
your thoughts on this issue - what you like and what you don't. 
Please do email me direct william@freepint.co.uk or why not join
me at the Bar http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar. Either way your 
feedback is very important so that we can continue to provide a 
newsletter you enjoy.

                       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/


> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =


                        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