Newsletter No. 94
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Free Pint "Helping 40,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.com/ ISSN 1460-7239 16th August 2001 No.94 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from John Carson FREE PINT BAR & STUDENT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery JOBS Senior Research Associate | Researcher Factset Specialist | Business Analyst Assistant FREE PINT REGULARS TIPS ARTICLE "Further Voluntary Sector Resources" By Allan Pearson BOOKSHELF "A Guide To Finding Quality Information On The Internet: Selection And Evaluation Strategies" 2nd Edition Reviewed by Alison Turner FEATURE ARTICLE "Photography through the Web - Part 2" By Guy Aron EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT NEW CUSTOMERS? With over 18 years' experience and extensive databases, we can help * 18 million UK & European B2B addresses * Includes fax, telephone & contact names * Fully searchable on market sector, financial data, geographic area * FREE guide "Powerful Direct Marketing that Sells" from our website Call 0845 345 3085 sales@marketscan.co.uk http://www.marketscan.co.uk ALL NEW B2B OPTED-IN EMAIL DATABASE http://www.e-business-club.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ms941] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<< Free Pint is an online community of information researchers. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet. Joining is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and provides access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, jobs, industry news & events, with answers to your research questions and networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". Please circulate the newsletter which is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EDITORIAL It's wonderful to know that so many of you value Free Pint so much that you have become fully paid up Regulars. The weekly members-only Pub Crawl continues to receive excellent press, and so we've added a new "Regulars" section to this newsletter. This will give us room to make announcements about new features and enhancements to the Regular service, and there's a great testimonial today. If you haven't had a chance to sign up then do find out more about the benefits at <http://www.freepint.com/regular>. It's been a busy month for standard sign-ups too, especially following the announcement that Gary Price will shortly be moving his popular "Virtual Acquisition Shelf and News Desk" over to the Free Pint site. Gary is the ultimate Internet librarian and we're very excited about working with him. He produces (amongst other things) this well known and invaluable daily news and update service and it will be a super addition to the Free Pint site. More on that shortly, but in the meantime a big "Welcome" to all new members. We've packed a lot into today's Free Pint Newsletter. Along with the regular mix of tips and reviews, we also take a look at more voluntary sector resources, and there's the second part of the photographic sources article which went down very well in the last issue. If you find Free Pint useful then do pass this copy on to your friends and colleagues. Many people print it out to make sure they don't miss anything. Of course, signing up as a Regular means you won't miss out on the member-only content and will help us to produce this newsletter and run the Web site <http://www.freepint.com/regular>. Kind regards William William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Founder and Managing Editor Email: <william@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1784 455435 Free Pint is a registered trademark of Free Pint Limited (c) 1997-2001 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Online Patents Sources for Patent Searching: two hands-on training workshops at the British Library, 18 and 25 September 2001. The first is aimed at anyone wanting to use the Internet to access free patent information (principally on the Internet). The second workshop high- lights the benefits and exclusive features available from fee-based databases. It will enable participants to match their information needs with the databases available. Further details and programme visit www.bl.uk/services/stb/courses.html or tel 020 7412 7978. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [bl942] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> THE INNER SECRETS OF UK COMPANIES EXPOSED <<< A Financial Report from our UK company research gateway provides many detailed insights into the inner workings of a UK company. View our sample reports to find out what you get for your money, and perform a search and get basic details for free. <http://www.freepint.com/icc/sample/sample.htm> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from John Carson * Lockergnome <http://www.lockergnome.com/> has the best daily e- newsletter on computing, handy software and shortcut tips to make you work more efficiently - and it has a sense of humour too. * Media UK <http://www.mediauk.com> has all the links and information you could ask for in finding contacts in the media, including newsfeeds - a Free Pint Bar regular subject. * SiteOwner <http://siteowner.bcentral.com/default.cfm> has lots of free utilities to check your website, including meta tags and a function to see who is linking to your site. * I cannot recommend Bravenet Web Services highly enough, and have been using their free and totally reliable web tools for a few years now without a problem. One of my 'must-have' sites. <http://www.bravenet.com/> * Union Jack News is a site for ex-pats like myself who just have to get their daily fix of news from the UK! <http://www.ujnews.com/html/index.html> John Carson is the Online Content Manager for a supply chain magazine <http://www.mmdonline.com> and also has his own personal travel website about life on an Israeli kibbutz <http://members.theglobe.com/kibbutz>. Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm> and email <simon@freepint.com>. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The end of a day. A good day. A fantastic day. Facts at your fingertips. The power to search. Your way. Pinpoint precision. Best content. Dow Jones and Reuters. Two global leaders. One incredible new service. Factiva.com The basis of a good decision Factiva.com available from August 1st Visit http://www.factiva.com/factiva to find out more. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [fa943] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> HOW MANY INDUSTRY PUBLICATIONS DO YOU READ PER MONTH? <<< Free Pint monitors the Web sites of all information and Internet-related business publications and reviews news items and free full text articles of value to Free Pinters. This is sent by email every Friday to Regulars as the "Pub Crawl". To keep up to date with the latest industry happenings sign up as a Free Pint Regular today: <http://www.freepint.com/regular> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm#bar> Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar> ------------------------------------------- [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXXX in the address http://www.freepint.com/go/bXXXXX ] It's a brave person who offers to work for free these days, although online people seem to do it quite a lot. Anyhow, a Free Pinter is doing just that. So if you want an article researched and written, free of charge, you know where to ask (11936). I hope it pays off. But on to commercial stuff, for better or for worse. Several recent business related questions haven't been answered yet. There are questions about figures for the average cost of a visit to the doctor in the UK (11898), Intellectual Property consultants (11922), Fortune 500 companies that have manufacturing operations in South Africa (11803) and European telecommunications operators (11626). Also, some examples of IT Sales commission structures are sought (11779). But the vast majority of questions do get an answer, and I guess that's for the best. Other business postings have come from people looking for software-related contacts (11719) and businesses by area code (11718), designing and disseminating press releases (11815) and developing fee based information services (11737). There have also been requests for help finding traffic and advertising figures for the major portals (11575) and UK population statistics (11783). Finance and funding related queries have been prevalent too. How do you find UK company filings data (11597), historic interest rates on savings and mortgages (11927), share prices, historic (11679) and current (11850), UK bank sort codes (11583) and lists of fund of fund managers (11809)? Also, how do you give a valuation for ecommerce setups (11579) or obtain grants for expanding a business (11594)? Law related queries have been raised about inheritance in Germany and France (11918), personal injury in India (11682), European outdoor leisure legislation (11683) and data on the use of pepper spray to deter vicious dogs (11724). I'd be curious to know what vicious owners do when people use pepper spray to protect themselves against vicious dogs. Jobwise, we've heard from punters looking for telework (11769) and advice on becoming an information consultant (11759). There has also been an interest in the optimum number of students for an Internet training class (11921), sources for computer based training design (11808) and studying for a business or marketing related PhD from home (11726). It's nice to see a continued interest in language, with two Latin translation queries (11817, 11897). The subject of citation styles and the Web was also mentioned (11766). I reviewed a wonderful resource for writers, mainly for writers of poetry (11752). And an instructive question about gas gyratories was solved by the information that they are also called gasometers (11727). Search tools can sometimes handle spelling mistakes but they're not up to synonymies and regional variants yet. And on to software matters. These have spanned applications for scheduling (11755), Web indexing (11677), Web databases (11926), Eudora (11580), firewalls (11909), pop-up ad stoppers (11595), Internet Explorer (11720) and a utility that will check your bookmarks or favourites for dead links (11840). We are still looking for advice on the best database for compiling a dictionary (11853) and importing in Reference Manager, v9 (11586). There have been many techie questions and they've all received some sort of answer. They've ranged from minimum PC specifications (11775) and ISPs for Macs (11623) to learning Visual Basic (11654) and C minus minus (11810). General questions have been asked about free online drive space (11674), changing telecom providers (11624), slow PC performance (11665) and available memory on startup (11573). Others have been about recording radio on a PC (11691), including a song in an AVI video file (11818) and interpreting alerts from firewall software (11606). Researchers have been looking for photographs and images depicting patience and understanding (11849), tools for searching all newspapers at once (11822), thoughts on best practices for research and analysis (11670) and the role of corporate researchers (11656). A Bruce Springsteen fan has been trying to identify a song (11743) and a TV watcher has been asking about the name of the theme tunes for a couple of ads (11714). It was driving her mad! Finally, the miscellaneous group takes in campaigning and how to do it (11721), setting up an institute (11608), estimating the number of libraries in the world (11781), buying a house in France (11637), classifying environmental resources (11829), choosing a DSL provider (11588) and finding a printed source of themed days and weeks (11625). And has anyone got a Regma LR6 Microfilm Reader going spare (11834)? Free Pint Student Bar <http://www.freepint.com/student> ------------------------------------------------------- [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address <http://www.freepint.com/go/sXXXX>] It could hardly escape the notice of Free Pinters that queries about university rankings got a little out of hand. In future, we will not permit them. We have collected all the relevant sites we know of and have put them in our Student section for future reference <http://www.freepint.com/student/rankings.htm>. Aside from all that, students have been researching portals and their use in elearning (1709), export of cattle bones to the USA (1672), estimates of the number of articles written about a particular subject (1674), the advantages of completing a TEFL course (1654), jobs for part time or day release information students (1657) and househunting on the Web (1684). 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For the Student Bar Digest contact <studentdigest@freepint.com>. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = = *** VIRTUAL WEB HOSTING WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS *** JUST 10 POUNDS PER MONTH Pay no extra for "premium" features like PHP scripting or databases Unlimited mailboxes at no extra cost 200Mb web space, full server logs, regular backups, setup in one hour <http://www.datasnake.co.uk/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li944] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> WANT TO TALK TO OVER 100,000 BUSINESS WEB USERS? <<< Free Pint has a registered circulation of 40,000+ Redistribution raises the readership to 100,000+ Your message here WILL reach that audience: <http://www.freepint.com/advert.htm> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT JOBS <http://www.freepint.com/jobs> In association with Sue Hill Recruitment, Glen Recruitment, TFPL, City Professionals Free Pint Jobs has details of over 240 information-related vacancies. The following are a selection of featured jobs: Senior Research Associate <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1089> Do you have at least 10 years experience in a bank or consultancy? See our Senior Research Associate role in a Strategy Consultancy. Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited Researcher <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1082> Big 5 consultancy seeks graduate with previous experience of business information research and preferably language skills Recruiter: Glen Recruitment Factset Specialist <http://www.freepint.com/go/j857> A large Investment Bank is looking for a Factset Specialist to work within their existing Research team. Recruiter: TFPL Ltd Business Analyst Assistant <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1084> You'll be developing and maintaining database systems, providing primary and secondary research and market intelligence. 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Hairnet > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT REGULARS <http://www.freepint.com/regular> [Note: This section is aimed at Regulars, paid members of the Free Pint community. Regulars receive a weekly newsletter, discounts and publicity. Find out more at <http://www.freepint.com/regular>.] The Pub Crawl is growing week on week, as we keep our eye on an ever increasing number of publications for you. In the last two weeks alone we've reviewed unmissable articles in First Monday, Traffick.com, Wired, CNet.com, SearchEngineWatch, Competia.com, Online Journalism Review, Ananova, SearchDay, Commonwealth of Learning, The Times, Econtent, Competitive Intelligence Review, Internet Business, The Standard, iWon.com, CyberAtlas, australia.internet.com, CNN.com, CNet.com and BusinessWeek Because of its importance, the Pub Crawl now has its own ISSN, 1475-2387, and there's also a new Archive which makes all past issues available to all existing and new Regulars. One Regular even wrote to us just yesterday to say: "Latest news in the Pub Crawl saved my bacon! My regular Friday bulletin to colleagues was looking mighty thin until I picked up some of your news. Thanks." Other enhancements for Regulars include the ability to review ICC reports you've purchased today, past invoices, and an up-to-the-minute count of the number of people who've viewed your publicity profile in the Directory of Regulars. Access all of this by logging in now at: <http://www.freepint.com/regular> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU GET FREE RESEARCH HELP? MINUTES? <<< Practically all research questions at the Free Pint Bar receive an answer within a couple of days. Recently, however, a large number have received satisfactory answers literally within minutes. If you have a tricky Web-related question then the Bar is for you: <http://www.freepint.com/bar> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS ARTICLE <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm#tips> "Further Voluntary Sector Resources" By Allan Pearson This is a follow on from a previous article which appeared in Free Pint earlier this year <http://www.freepint.com/issues/180101.htm>. Whereas that article was a brief overview, this looks in a little more depth at some of the sites that deal in particular with funding, IT and management - all areas of current concern for the voluntary sector. Finally there is a miscellaneous section which mainly contains sites that should have been mentioned previously, but weren't. Funding ------- Funderfinder <http://www.funderfinder.org.uk> has a useful set of links to grant making trusts websites. In addition they distribute free software - Apply Yourself - aimed at helping groups make an application to a trust fund. There is also a set of advice packs on subjects such as putting together a budget, and problems that could arise with events such as sponsored walks, etc. Unfortunately these are a little hidden - go to 'what is funderfinder' then click on the link 'access online'. Access Funds <http://www.access-funds.co.uk> is another funding site, but quite a useful one. It covers funding news, has good links to grant-making trusts and offers a free monthly newsletter. Much of the information on this site covers funding from government sources. In comparison, Fundersonline <http://www.fundersonline.org> is included more for the sake of completeness. It aims to be a guide to Europe's Online Philanthropic Community, but it is not the easiest site to find your way around, especially if new to fundraising. There are also some broken or missing links. Co-financing <http://www.co-financing.co.uk> is one of the most useful funding sites I have come across for quite some time. It includes a useful range of information on both EU and UK Government grants as well as regional funds and lottery funds. It is also useful for anybody new to funding from statutory sources who will find the mind maps particularly useful. I wish I had found this site about a year earlier than I did. The European Social Fund <http://www.esfnews.org.uk> has its own site which will be essential for anybody concerned with ESF Funding. Also of interest may be the fact that the Learning and Skills Council also has a website at <http://www.lsc.gov.uk>. CAFonline <http://www.cafonline.org> is a huge site with a lot of resources. The best way to tackle it is probably to find the site map - try going to the Information Centre and selecting it from there. They also have another site at <http://www.charitynet.org.uk/>. BCConnections <http://www.bcconnections.org.uk> isn't really concerned with fundraising, but rather focuses on establishing wider links - such as volunteering, sponsorship, skills sharing etc. - between community organisations and businesses. A word of warning though, you will need to use Internet Explorer to see all of the organisations. Several sites, besides funderfinder, have a good range of links to other funders including City Parochial Foundation <http://www.cityparochial.org.uk>. This is a funding body based in London, so this site may also prove useful for London-based voluntary groups. IT -- The shortage of IT skills within the voluntary sector is well recognised, but fortunately there are a number of websites that can help. Techsoup <http://www.techsoup.com> is an American site providing a range of resources such as factsheets. They have quite a wide variety of material, including, oddly enough, a recipe for Thai Fish Soup. IT for Charities <http://www.itforcharities.co.uk> is a British site, similar to Techsoup, but with perhaps a larger list of links to other websites. They also produce a newsletter (as do LASA covered in the previous article). Amongst other things they have a useful page on recycled PC's. Otherwise, have a look at the Microsoft Community Affairs website <http://www.microsoft.com/uk/info/community> which also deals with refurbished computers as well as dealing with issues of accessibility, etc. The freeskills site has now moved and forms part of the beginners site <http://www.beginners.co.uk/?from=freeskills&>. This site contains around 250 online training courses and tutorials on a range of software packages, such as Access and Word. It also covers programming and networking, but not as extensively as the next site. There are even a number of what they term "softskills", covering areas such as leadership skills, management of change and assertiveness training. Webmonkey <http://webmonkey.com> is a similar, but less formal site. It is largely aimed at a more knowledgeable audience, but recent contributions to the Free Pint Bar have referred to the Webmonkey for Children section. There is a lot of material on web development, use of web- based databases, etc. Helping.org <http://www.helping.org> is a more general site that includes a section on IT resources. Especially interesting is the section on free software. Similar in some ways is the Benton Toolkit <http://www.benton.org/Practice/Toolkit>. It is a more general media and communications site and although aimed at nonprofits, is really aimed at those with a web presence. Includes sections on building online communities, etc. Management ---------- In many ways this is the hardest section to tackle. There are some books that deal with the subject, but many less than those which deal with management in profit making organisations; although many of these will be applicable, that is far from guaranteed. Idealist <http://www.idealist.org/tools.html> is an American site with details of over 22,000 voluntary organisations world-wide, plus details of voluntary opportunities, etc. However, this particular page gives details of resources for managing voluntary organisations (or nonprofits). The Internet Nonprofit Center <http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq> is another American site with lots of resources for management. It goes without saying though, that being American not everything is suitable for a British context, but lots of material here will be useful. Another large site is the Free Management Library <http://www.mapnp.org/library>, but not everything here is aimed at voluntary organisations which could actually prove to be useful. A slightly different approach is made by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management <http://www.allianceonline.org>. This site contains details of resources available for non-profit making organisations in the form of books, videos, websites, etc. Again, being American, most of the resources are American. More useful links to American non- profit making organisations can be found at <http://www.uwex.edu/li/learner/sites.htm>. In addition to the DTI site, the UK Government site has started a separate site for employment legislation. At the moment <http://www.tiger.gov.uk> only covers the national minimum wage and maternity rights, but the site is expected to develop further. Somebody within the Government evidently has a sense of humour as the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has now been given responsibility for freedom of information and renamed the Office of the Information Commissioner. They still have at least two websites - <http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk> and <http://www.dpr.gov.uk> with the first covering freedom of information. Unfortunately neither site covers the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) - despite a number of concerns having been raised in the voluntary sector press about accuracy of information amongst other things. Instead, the CRB has its own site <http://www.crb.gov.uk>. Miscellaneous ------------- Maps There are two good websites offering maps of the UK <http://www.multimap.co.uk> and <http://www.streetmap.co.uk>. It seems to be pretty much a matter of personal choice which you use. I find the range of maps on Multimap better as they are taken from the Ordnance Survey. Having said that if I am looking for street maps, I prefer the clarity of Streetmap. Both have a range of aerial photographs. Self-help Groups A number of websites deal with self-help groups. One of the largest of these <http://www.selfhelp.org.uk/> seems to have lost its fairly comprehensive list of self-help groups in the UK, but there is still a lot of information for anybody wanting to set up a self-help group and there are links to similar organisations in other countries. Otherwise <http://www.mentor-update.com> claims to have details of over 1,000 groups but I found navigation to be a bit of a problem. <http://www.self-help.org.uk/> seems to use the same database and is easier to use. <http://www.patient.co.uk/> is friendlier still and seems to be more comprehensive, but they don't say how many groups are included. National Groups NCVO was mentioned last time and whilst this has a lot of useful information for organisations outside England (particularly in the briefing section - see "about"), Scotland <http://www.scvo.org.uk>, Wales <http://www.wcva.org.uk>, and Northern Ireland <http://www.nicva.org> have their own councils. Regional Groups A couple of regional groups were mentioned in the last article. In addition to these, London Voluntary Service Council <http://www.lvsc.org.uk> are setting up a new website - Actionlink <http://www.actionlink.org.uk> which is aimed at increasing communication and the flow of information between voluntary and community groups in London. This site is still being developed, but should be available soon. Although aimed at London, early versions of the site had information that would be of interest to a wider audience. The North West also has its own regional site at <http://www.netcetera.org.uk>. Although aimed primarily at the North- west area, this also has a lot of information that will be of relevance to other groups. The Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Forum also has material useful for a wider audience and can be found at <http://www.yhregforum.org.uk>. Youth For anybody interested in youth work, the National Youth Agency <http://www.nya.org.uk> have launched a comprehensive site aimed at youth workers, advisors and careers staff, at <http://www.youthinformation.com>. Community Development --------------------- Although a number of websites exist on community development, I am only going to cover a couple of them as it is diverging a little. Adept < http://www.adept.org.uk/home.html> has a number of reports in the form of checklists on capacity building, regeneration and community development. The links page also gives details of a number of other organisations in the field. Bassac (the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres) <http://www.bassac.org.uk/index.htm> is a membership organisation for voluntary groups involved in community development. Their website contains a number of resources including a useful links page (under Info Bank). The BBC website contains a massive amount of information. Of particular interest to voluntary organisations are some of the factsheets from the Changing Places radio series. The series looks at how communities have been transformed. Go to <http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4> and select "Changing Places". Other sections worth looking at include the WebWise section, aimed at introducing people to the Internet. Other Sites The National Lottery Charities Board which has been renamed the Community Fund, has a new site at <http://www.community-fund.org.uk>. The Community Recycling Network has a useful page of links for anybody interested in recycling or the environment at <http://www.crn.org.uk/contact/links/index.html>. Finally, this is not strictly a voluntary sector resource, but it can be useful none-the-less (perhaps for training) and has an uncanny knack of being rather closer to the truth than is comfortable - <http://www.dilbert.com>. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Allan Pearson trained as an Information Scientist at Leeds Polytechnic and is the Information Worker at Voluntary Action Leeds <http://www.val.org.uk>. Email <library@val.org.uk>. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Nonprofits" articles and resources in the Free Pint Portal <http://www.freepint.com/go/p179> * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm#tips> * Post a message to the author, Allan Pearson, or suggest further resources, at the Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar> * Access the entire archive of Free Pint articles and issues <http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT DIRECTORY OF REGULARS - AN INTERESTING BROWSE <<< What do our members do? Who are they? Some Free Pint Regulars have set up profiles in our "Directory of Regulars". It's an interesting browse, and good publicity for them: <http://www.freepint.com/portal/regulars> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BOOKSHELF <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf> "A Guide To Finding Quality Information On The Internet: Selection And Evaluation Strategies" 2nd Edition Reviewed by Alison Turner As the Internet grows, so too does the multitude of books claiming to help us find our way through the maze. It's fair to say that many such books are merely lists of URLs and offer little else. This book is different. Written by a leading authority on the evaluation of Internet-based information, it throws a lifejacket to Internet users who feel they're drowning in information and offers practical advice. Cooke aims to assist anyone using the Internet to find high quality information, promising to help them filter out the inaccurate, questionable and just plain useless information to reveal the real gems of information we all know are there somewhere, if we could just find them. The book is based on empirical research undertaken by Cooke as reported in the first edition. Given the pace of change in the Internet world, this new edition is fully revised and considers new and growing areas. New and expanded sections appear on virtual libraries and searching. In summary, the book covers: - using search facilities effectively to improve information retrieval - assessing the quality of an information source - evaluating particular types of Internet-based sources of information - using checklists, kitemarks and other indicators of quality. It's safe to say this book will be invaluable to librarians and information professionals who constantly warn their users against accepting at face value all they read and see on the Internet. This book is full of useful tips for looking critically at Internet-based information and will inspire librarians in their training. But not wishing to judge a book by its publisher, I'm sure this is a handy source of help for researchers or indeed anyone involved in building a web site or using the Internet regularly. The highlight of the book is a series of checklists to use when looking at Internet-based information, whether a web site or a mailing list or a search engine. Cooke refers frequently to the health information sector in which, as you can imagine, quality is paramount. Health professionals using the Internet often complain of information overload and many GPs have commented on "Internet printout syndrome", referring to the huge pile of printouts from web sites, brought along by many patients. The first edition of this book was warmly welcomed but the second edition could be considered even more timely as increasing numbers of the population are accessing the Internet. Cooke's style of writing makes for a readable book and interesting read with plenty of screen dumps and graphics to illustrate points. My one criticism is that the book is a little detailed for the average Internet user and is perhaps better suited to information and IT professionals, who may wish to cascade this approach to their userbase/customers. The key message of the book is to be vigilant on the Internet and this book offers some real solutions to the reader. Given the ease of publishing on the Internet, we've all come across the occasional obviously dubious site (a site advertising shark cartilage as a cure for cancer is just one of the examples given by Cooke) but how many sites have we found that we're just not sure about? This book helps us to find the answer! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alison Turner, Knowledge Manager, National electronic Library for Health, NHS Information Authority. Alison joined the National electronic Library for Health <http://www.nelh.nhs.uk> earlier this year, having previously managed the library service at Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust. Alison has worked in the field of health information for seven years. Her current role within the National electronic Library for Health involves drawing together quality-assured content specifically for health professionals. The overall aim of the National electronic Library for Health is to make information about effectiveness of care readily available to NHS staff, using Internet and associated technologies. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/quality2.htm> * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk <http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856043797/freepint0c> * "A Guide To Finding Quality Information On The Internet: Selection And Evaluation Strategies" 2nd Edition. ISBN 1856043797 published by Library Association Publishing and written by Alison Cooke. * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Free Pint Bookshelf at <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf> * Read about other Internet searching books on the Free Pint Bookshelf <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/searching.htm> To propose an information-related book for review, send details to <bookshelf@freepint.com>. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> AM I MISSING SOMETHING? <<< The Help Page has a wealth of information about Free Pint. Find out about the team, see a detailed site map, view testimonials or a range of "Quick Tipples". <http://www.freepint.com/help.htm> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm#feature> "Photography through the Web - Part 2" By Guy Aron In the first part of this article, published in Free Pint 93 <http://www.freepint.com/issues/020801.htm> I looked briefly at portals and sites concerned with cameras and lenses, and classic and collectable cameras. Digital photography ------------------- Among the search engines there is a section on Google <http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Photography/Digital/> covering consumer information, equipment, services, resources and techniques. Digital Camera News and Reviews <http://www.dpreview.com/> offers reviews, not only of cameras, but accessories such as printers, card readers, and a great sounding gadget called the Monitor Spyder. Reviews are detailed, profusely illustrated, and list cons as well as pros. The Imaging Resource <http://www.imaging-resource.com/> is a well- organised and professional-looking site. As well as the usual news and reviews about cameras, scanners, and software, there are sections entitled Getting Started, Better Pictures, and How To. A newsletter is available. Steve's Digicams <http://www.steves-digicams.com/> has links to equipment reviews and pages such as a few scanning tips <http://www.scantips.com/> and it groups cameras by mega-pixel ranges. Links open in a new browser session. There is a section on camera manufacturers with links to their home pages, and quite a lot of information about accessories like batteries, memory cards, and add-on lenses and filters. Less comprehensive than these sites, but worth a look, is the section on digital camera reviews at photo.net <http://www.photo.net/learn/reviews-digital-camera>. There are reviews also of slide scanners and a section on choosing equipment. If you are after a review of a particular camera there is a list at PhotoLinks; go to the main site at <http://www.photolinks.com/cgibin/webc.cgi/cgihome.html>, click on the Site Map tab at the top, then scroll down to Digital camera reviews. The site is slow to load, but worth the wait. Accessories ----------- PhotographyTips has a good introduction to the wonderful world of accessories at <http://www.PhotographyTips.com/page.cfm> (scroll down and click on the links at the bottom left). Stuff covered includes filters, reflectors, tripods, tele-extenders, camera bags and light diffusers. Gary Pinkston's home page a has a commonsense section on accessories <http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6172/accessry.htm>. Ace has a useful selection of accessory manufacturers at <http://www.acecam.com/cr6index.html>, and there is a more eclectic list at Open Directory <http://dmoz.org/Shopping/Photography/Accessories/>. The latter includes pages like manuals2go <http://www.manuals2go.com/webmanuals.htm>, a good source of reprinted operating manuals for cameras and accessories. Collectors should take a look at <http://www.craigcamera.com/access.htm>. The manufacturers of Cokin filters do not appear to have their own home page, but there is a useful collection of articles about them at <http://www.geocities.com/cokinfiltersystem/index.htm>. Scroll down to the Users Guide at the bottom of the page, which includes explanations on the various filters and examples of how they have been used. Photographers can submit their work for inclusion. Types of photography -------------------- Photography is a difficult topic for which to provide a taxonomy. A site I looked at while researching this article split up its contents into People, Places, and Things, which made sense to me. People Taking portraits that don't make your subjects look (unintentionally) like Diane Arbus' pictures is a skill. Philip Greenspun's Photo.Net has a good section on portraits, with links at the bottom of the page <http://www.photo.net/photo/portraits>. The site also has articles on nudes, sports and action, and most other photographic genres. It also hosts discussion lists ("forums"), image galleries, and gear reviews. Recommended. A lot of learning in photography comes from looking at other people's work, and the web offers enormous opportunities for this. PhotoLinks has a good number; go to the main site at <http://www.photolinks.com/cgibin/webc.cgi/cgihome.html> and select "Portraits" from the list at the left hand side. Photojournalism gets somewhat ignored by art photography types, but there is a site for digital photojournalists at <http://www.robgalbraith.com/index.html>. Rob Galbraith's site is also a good news source in the fast-moving digital camera market. Forums for discussing various makes of cameras, scanners, and other digital gear are hosted, as is also the case for Nature and Wildlife, Portrait and Social, and Industrial and Commercial genres. Yahoo! <http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Visual_Arts/Photography/Photojournalism/> and Google <http://directory.google.com/Top/News/Media/Journalism/Photojournalism/> have extensive listings. Places My favourite landscape site is Luminous Landscape <http://www.luminous-landscape.com/>, which, in spite of its domain name, is completely non-commercial. Michael Reichmann uses both film and digital techniques, which means there is something for landscape photographers of both persuasions on this site. Recent articles include a comparison of three ultrawide lenses, understanding bit depth, monitor profiling, and colour theory. Regard-it has a huge collection of links to landscape photographers' sites at <http://www.regard-it.com/photolinks.htm>. There are links on this page to other categories of landscape sites if these aren't enough. Photolinks (see URL above) has its landscape photographers' sites under "Nature". Fodor's has a travel photography site "put together with the assistance of Jeff Wignall" at <http://www.fodors.com/focus/>. Topics covered include Getting Ready, The Elements, Composition, and Lighting. There are a few links to Fodor's titles, but the information still looks OK. Laurenz Bobke has a site with his travel photographs from many parts of the globe at <http://www.travelphoto.net/>; there are some good-looking links, including one to the travel photography ring at <http://phoebe.bomis.com/ring_home.fcgi?ring=travelphoto>. Travel photographers interested in Asia should take a look at <http://www.explorephoto.com/>; and for those planning a trip to the United States, visit <http://home.earthlink.net/~phototravel/>. Things Still life photography seems, unfortunately, not to have the profile of the other genres. A search on this pulls up mainly lists of commercial still life (often advertising) photographers. Try this yourself and explore this most absorbing and contemplative genre. Processing and printing (traditional and digital) ------------------------------------------------- Digital processing There are a few useful sites covering scanning; start with Wayne Fulton's Scanning tips <http://www.scantips.com/>. There is also a terrific set of links on every conceivable scanning and digital image processing topic. Adobe, as you would expect, has many useful Photoshop resources at its site <http://www.adobe.com/main.html>, including online tutorials and discussion lists. Jasc <http://www.jasc.com/> has a good number of tutorials for its PaintShop Pro product (the poor man's Photoshop, and my personal favourite). The Ulead site <http://www.ulead.com/runme.htm> has a smaller selection of tutorials; both sites have FAQs and a searchable database. Zonezero ("from analog to digital photography") has some interesting and useful content; go to <http://www.zonezero.com/default.html>. Digital printing Kodak's Digital Cameras and Technology site at <http://www.kodak.com/US/en/nav/digital.shtml> of course promotes the Great Yellow Father, but has good information, particularly for the novice. Inkjetmall <http://www.inkjetmall.com/store/index.html> is a welcome oasis of good, free, reliable information in the middle of a desert. If you want your prints to match what you are seeing on the monitor, and would like to understand why they don't, take a look at this site. Any discussion of digital printing leads to the black art (as it were) of photographic topics, colour management. Charles Poynton's Color FAQ site <http://www.inforamp.net/~poynton/ColorFAQ.html> has documents downloadable in PQD format about CMY, CMYK, and other mysterious acronyms. The similarly impenetrable topic of gamma also has a site at <http://www.inforamp.net/~poynton/GammaFAQ.html>. Norman Koren has a useful series of pages on fine art digital printing at <http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints.html>. Querandi in Focus <http://www.querandi.demon.co.uk/index.htm> has some tutorials, particularly useful for Photoshop users, but still instructive for other software. The Singapore-based Digital Darkroom <http://come.to/digitaldarkroom> concentrates on Epson printers and Hewlett-Packard scanners, but has useful information on allied topics such as monitor calibration and printing in colour and black and white. This site is getting a bit out of date now, but still worth a look. Traditional/Black and white This was going to be two separate sections, but as I was compiling it I discovered (unsurprisingly) that traditional photo processing goes hand in hand with black and white photography. A lot of the interest of B&W work lies in the fact that you can do it all, from the shooting to the printing. Less really is more! Barry McCartney's Black and White Darkroom at <http://www3.telus.net/drkrm/main.htm> is a good place to start; it is rather "text-y", but the information looks sound. There is quite a good list of traditional photo processing articles at Black and White World <http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/bwresources.html>. A resource without which no black and white photographer should be is the Massive Dev Chart; go to Digitaltruth: Photo Source at <http://www.digitaltruth.com/>. This site also has some useful resources (Techniques and Data). No discussion of black and white photography on the web would be complete without the Black and White Art Zone <http://www.artzone.gr/>. The site hosts galleries, articles, and practical stuff like a guide to papers. Take a look also at Black and White World <http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/index.html>. Navigate using the drop-down list at the top left, and check out the Tool Kit and Forum (discussion lists). For an interesting selection of black and white photographers' sites go to Paul Politis' site at <http://www.ftn.net/~pablo/photo/photolinks.html> and select "Recommended Links". (His site is well worth a look in its own right). Magazines and e-zines --------------------- The Hong Kong University Photographic Society has a good collection of links to photo magazines and e-zines at <http://www.hku.hk/photosoc/links.html#magazine>. DigitalTruth lists photo magazines in its Links section; go to <http://www.digitaltruth.com/photo/links.html> and scroll down. PhotoLinks has a good list of magazines and e-zines; go to the main site at <http://www.photolinks.com/cgibin/webc.cgi/cgihome.html>, select Directory, and scroll down to Publications. There is a list of online photo magazines at <http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~bmarcus/magazines.html>. This page lists 16 titles ranging from Digital Directions to WirEd. Clubs and associations ---------------------- Google lists over 100 worldwide photo clubs in its directory at <http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Photography/Clubs/>. Jessops lists almost 900 UK clubs at its site at <http://www.jessops.com/clubs/index.cfm?i=1> (under Information and Events if this link doesn't work). Fellow residents of Victoria, Australia, can find a club near them at the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies' web page <http://members.optushome.com.au/ausclubs/vaps/vaps.htm>. The Links section of this site has a good list of photographic clubs and societies. Institutions and courses ------------------------ An enterprising Russian site lists schools of photography world-wide; go to <http://www.caravan.ru/~jazz/pe/Eng/indexeng.htm> and select "Photoschools" at the left hand side. DeMontfort University has a small but worthwhile selection of links in its photography education web pages <http://www.photographyontheweb.org/idc/search.idc?Category=5>. 34 sites "with a high level of contextual/historical information about photography" are listed, each with a description of its contents. Take a look also at the Archives links <http://www.photographyontheweb.org/idc/search.idc?Category=11>. As usual, there is a good list at PhotoLinks; go to the main site at <http://www.photolinks.com/cgibin/webc.cgi/cgihome.html>, select Directory, then Online classes (right at the bottom). > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Guy Aron is Deputy Team Leader, Business and Social Sciences, at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Library. He has had an interest in black-and-white photography for some years, particularly landscape and still life. Professionally Guy is interested in knowledge management and how people use electronic information sources. His web page is at <http://sites.netscape.net/guyaron/homepage.htm>. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Arts and Humanities" resources in the Free Pint Portal <http://www.freepint.com/go/p187> * Post a message to the author, Guy Aron, or suggest further resources, at the Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar> * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks <http://www.freepint.com/issues/160801.htm#feature> * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content <http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< As more and more Free Pint Regulars have signed up, we've plotted their location with coloured dots on a map of the world on our office wall. The problem is that the map is now completely useless as a map, since certain areas are now obscurred from view. For instance, the UK has gone, and parts of the US are unidentifiable! The idea of course is to produce a visual representation of the geographic spread of Regulars and we're delighted to see dots spreading from bottom right (Auckland, New Zealand) to top left (Alberta, Canada). <http://www.freepint.com/regular/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FORTHCOMING EVENTS <http://www.freepint.com/events> There's a distinct pick-up in the number of information-related events in the first two weeks of September after the summer lull. Online Inc. are running their "Web Search University" in Reston, Virginia, and it looks like it's going to be another good one. They have a great line up of speakers, including a number of Free Pint Regulars and contributors. We wish them luck with the event and would like to hear from anyone who attends, perhaps at the Bar. Back in Europe there is a good selection of interesting events. In London, EPS and Keynote offer "Infomediaries: The New Publishing Value Chain", and CMP Europe are running the "E-business Convention". Outside the UK "Libraries Without Walls 4" takes place in Lesvos, Greece, and is organised by CERLIM (the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management). They are focusing on "The Delivery of Library Services to Distant Users: Distributed Resources - Distributed Learning" and we know that this will be of interest to many Free Pinters as distance learning is a regular topic at the Bar. Finally, the "5th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries" from Congress Online is in Darmstadt, Germany at the beginning of the month. Details of these and many other forthcoming conferences and exhibitions in the online-information and Internet industries can be found on the Free Pint Events page <http://www.freepint.com/events>. If you're organising an event then submit details via this page. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT GOLD Last year we had a good overview of tax links written by the experts at TaxZone, one of the communities produced by our friends at Sift. Popular contributor Anne Ku gave us another great introduction and tour around alternative medicine sites, focusing on reflexology. * Free Pint No.69, 17th August 2001 "UK Tax Resources on the Web" and "Reflexology Sources on the Web". <http://www.freepint.com/issues/170800.htm> This time two and three years ago we were taking it easy, with no mid-August edition of Free Pint. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES [Provisional] * UK Charity Information Jobs * Legal Sources * * Railways * Wales * Climate Change and Emissions * WAP * * Academic, Economic and Social Science * Virtual Reference * * Plastics and Rubber * Taxonomies * Technology Transfer * * The 3 I's of Information * Effective Problem Solving * B2B * * Women in Business * Communities of Practice * UK Taxation * If you have a suggestion for an article topic or would like to write for Free Pint then please contact me or sign up for the monthly Author Update on the Web site at <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>. Rex Cooke, Editor <rex@freepint.com> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = GOODBYE Many thanks for reading today's Free Pint and I hope you got a lot out of it. Do join us at the Bar to discuss anything in this edition and don't forget to check out Regular membership for all those great extra benefits. It's all available on the Web site at <http://www.freepint.com/>. See you in three weeks! William Hann, Founder and Managing Editor <william@freepint.com> (c) Free Pint Limited 1997-2001 <http://www.freepint.com/> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = CONTACT INFORMATION William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Founder and Managing Editor Email: <william@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1784 455435 Rex Cooke FIInfSc FRSA, Editor Email: <rex@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1342 316027 Simon Collery BA, Content Developer Email: <simon@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1865 434143 Address: Free Pint Limited, FREEPOST (SEA3901), Staines Middlesex, TW18 3BR, United Kingdom (Please add a stamp if you would like to pay for postage) Tel: +44 (0)1784 455466 Fax: +44 (0)1784 455436 Web <http://www.freepint.com> Subscriptions <subs@freepint.com> Letters & Comments <feedback@freepint.com> Authors <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm> Latest Issue Autoresponder <auto@freepint.com> Advertising <http://www.freepint.com/advert.htm> > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 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.com/> or email <admin@freepint.com>. Your registered email address is listed at the bottom of this message. Please note: Free Pint is a registered trademark of, and published by, Free Pint Limited. 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. Write to Rex Cooke, Editor <rex@freepint.com> for more details. 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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