by:
I. The Secret of the Internet, REVEALED!
II. Cheesy Simile Number Two
III. Let's Go Surfing Now. Everybody's Learning How. Come on a Safari With Me
IV. Doing Serious Work on the 'Net
V. Coffee Break: A Word About Java and Bandwidth
Includes Craig Ball's Informal Discovery Links Page
Also online and hyperlinked at
http:\\www.b-a-l-l.com/hotlinks.html
attorneys and counselors at law
6363 Woodway, Suite 710 Houston, Texas 77057
Tel: 713-914-9140
Fax: 713-914-9440
E-mail: craig@ball.net
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Getting on the 'Net
1. Computer
2. Modem
3. Internet Connection Software
4. Internet Service Provider
B. I'm On!!....Where the Heck Am I?
C. Where's All the Good Stuff?
The Internet, cyberspace, the information superhighway, e-mail, the World Wide Web. Seemingly
overnight, this Internet gizmo is everywhere and hyped as all things to all people. Want to be a
centimillionaire next week? Just go public with a business that might have something to do with
the Internet. What! You don't have a registered high level domain name and interactive Web
presence?! How DO you live with yourself? You can't tell the difference between a U.R.L. and
H.T.M.L.? Peasant! You think that Archie, Veronica and Jughead are comic strip characters?
Hopeless! At least that's how one can feel in the face of all the jargon and hype.
It's really not hard to understand, but we've got a little work to do. Let's cut through all the
techno-B.S. and get down to the essentials:
The Internet is a whole bunch of computers hooked together to share information.
That's it, you've mastered the Internet. It's Miller time.
You don't believe me? Really, honest, the Internet is just a bunch of computers, all over the
place, that are connected, mostly by fancy phone lines, to share information on their hard drives.
Think of the Internet as if it were the phone system. Personal computers are the telephones. E-mail is like leaving a message on someone's answering machine. What's that you say? Unlike
computers, the telephone system is familiar, easy to use and reliable. Sure, now. It's familiar and
the bugs have been worked out of it. Think how daunting it must have been for great-great-grandma. She had to turn the crank and yell, hope the dry cells had juice and remember the
exchanges. Can you imagine what it was like to place a long distance call through a dozen
operators shoving plugs into switchboards, waiting an hour to hear a faint voice that probably
couldn't hear you? Same for the Model-T Ford. New technology tends to linger in the realm of
the hobbyist, the tinkerer and the enthusiast before it becomes a part of the landscape to everyone
else. An unfamiliar lexicon of techno-speak is bandied about by those in the know until the lingo
creeps into the popular media and invades everyone's daily conversation. Don't you suppose that
"dial tone," "receiver," and "area code" were cryptic techno-babble once upon a time?
A connection to the Internet allows you to do some things that the phone system alone cannot do
(or at least not as well). Over the Internet, you can look at pictures, read text and send and
receive electronically-encoded documents. Using the telephone system, you could, during certain
hours of the day, call the reference section of your public library and, if the reference librarian was
willing and not too busy, he or she might look up the population of Washington, D.C. for you.
The librarian might be less willing to read you the history of Washington, D.C. and wholly unable
to help you find a hotel room there. Now, suppose you had used the Internet. You could
certainly determine that the population of Washington, D.C. is 585,221 persons. You could also
check the current Washington weather, examine a satellite photo of the city, take a virtual tour of
the White House, check the latest sports scores for D.C. teams, find out movie times and
locations, view a picture of the Apollo 11 command module at the Smithsonian Institution, check
residential real estate listings, identify streets favored for solicitation by male or female "escorts,"
peruse reviews of D.C. restaurants and find out what cultural events are coming to the Kennedy
Center. Three glorious, wasted hours later, you'll probably regret you didn't just call the librarian!
What distinguishes the Internet from the other information tools at our disposal is that it allows us
to access an enormous amount of information --useful, trivial, scintillating and tedious
information-- directly, without a human intermediary, from any location, at any time of the day or
night. Moreover, the Internet is interactive: we can contribute information -- put in our two
cents -- in many forms: offer an opinion about a movie, publish a novel electronically, send a
message to Uncle Bert or General Motors, share (via recorded audio) your personal song stylings
of the greatest hits of Neil Sedaka, post up-to-the-minute photos of your fish tank and pose
questions to persons around the world or around the corner. You can also talk to people over the
Internet (so cheaply as to be effectively free), but, economics aside, the telephone companies still
do a much better job of that.
Perhaps the "Internet is like the telephone system" analogy didn't thrill you. No sweat. Let's try
another cheesy simile. Think of the Internet like a big, big, BIG library, where anyone gets to put
anything they choose on the shelves. You would have wonderful encyclopedia and almanacs,
stunning art books, timely and insightful periodicals and useful reference tomes. But, you would also have comic books,
grocery lists, kid's drawings, terrorist manifestos, a fair amount of porno and lots and lots of
advertisements. But, wait! What's this? The books are connected together by threads.
Whenever you come across a point that interests you, just follow the thread and it leads to
another book on that specific subject. In fact, as you step back and look, all those strings seem to
be forming a web, a World Wide Web. Get it? Simple!
Welcome to the World Wide Web. E-mail aside, for most folks who have recently come aboard
the Internet juggernaut, the Internet and the World Wide Web are synonymous. In truth, the Web
is really only part of the Internet, but it is the most gee-whiz multimedia part, and it seems to be
the place where newcomers (dubbed "Newbies" by Internet old hands) spend almost all their
time. Thus, this paper will focus almost exclusively on the World Wide Web. Keep in mind that
there are tremendously useful, though less opulent, areas within the Internet that you should know
exist. For example, FTP sites, Gopher sites, Newsgroups and WAIS. These text-based resources
are the "guts" of the Internet for longtime users. Fortunately for the rest of us, the latest Internet
software offers ready access to these resources, often without much indication that you are
operating in a different realm.
On the Internet, "Web sites" are the books in our mega-library, and "Web pages" are the pages in those books. A "home page" is the first page of a Web site and often functions as a table of contents or hub of a site. We pay a visit to our mega-library by connecting our personal computer to the Internet and then browsing the stacks to grab whatever catches our eye. The pages appear on our screen, transmitted ("downloaded") over the modem by telephone or via our office's local area network (a LAN in technobabble). Text or pictures on the pages may be hyperlinked-- electronically tied to related information located elsewhere on the Internet. By simply clicking our mouse on the hyperlinked text or picture, a new Web page appears on our computer's screen, resplendent with text, sound, video, animation, still images or any combination of same. If you were reading this paper on the World Wide Web, each reference to a place, person or company would likely be hyperlinked. The references would appear in another color, usually underlined, and clicking on the reference with your mouse would present different or more detailed information for each reference.
Cowbunga! Surf's Up! Surfing the 'Net means jumping from hyperlink to hyperlink harvesting
information as the spirit moves you. It's like channel surfing your T.V., but with the Internet,
there's always something good on. Now, with the new Web TVs, you can even sit on the couch
with a remote and surf the `Net. Be a couch cyberpotato!
Getting on the 'Net for the first time can be a real pain. The hardware is unnecessarily complex
and temperamental, and the software is often obtuse and poorly documented. There are many
ways that an Internet hookup can go awry: faulty hardware, conflicting interrupt settings,
improper cabling, incorrect software setup, software incompatibility, substandard phone
connection and a flaky Internet service provider, just to name a few. Despite their amazing
technical prowess, the folks behind the hardware and software should be ashamed -- the word
"horsewhipped" jumps to mind -- that they can't make their products as simple and reliable as the
scores of other appliances and machines we use every day. Can you imagine having to "boot up"
a microwave oven or swap circuit boards and shift jumper wires inside a television set? We
wouldn't stand for it. Yet, we accept that absurdity in our personal computers.
As infuriating as it can be to get on line, perhaps the most amazing thing about the 'Net is that
more than fifty million people have connected in the U.S. and Canada alone. I promise you it's
worth all the trouble, and hey, you might be one of the lucky ones who get on without a hitch.
Offering recommendations of computer hardware is a bit like pointing out the prettiest cloud in
the sky. The technology is moving ahead so rapidly that a recommendation is stale before the ink
is dry. Keep that in mind as you consider my soon-to-be-outdated suggestions.
To begin, you should have the following:
You need one of them beige boxes with the little light up numbers: a "multimedia" personal
computer that includes an SVGA monitor and video card, a sound card and speakers. If you are
buying this computer, don't even think about spending money on anything less than a Pentium
processor, running at upwards of 133 MHz.(1) This week, the top of the line is probably the
400MHz Pentium II, but a fully loaded version of that powerhouse will set you back near three
grand. As a rule of thumb, get the largest hard drive and the most RAM (Random Access
Memory) your budget will allow. Computer neophytes often confuse the two. A hard drive is a
non-volatile storage device. Information saved on a hard drive remains there, even when you turn
off your computer. The hard drive handles bulk storage of programs, files, data, etc. The hard
drive is not the same as computer memory. RAM is the computer's memory. RAM is used by
the computer for the management and manipulation of blocks of digital data, such as your
programs, while the computer is running. When your computer is turned off (or when its power
is interrupted), all of the information in RAM goes directly to digital heaven, lost forever. This is
why it is so important to periodically save ("back up") your work to the hard drive, unless the
program you are running does so automatically. For that matter, you need to periodically back up
important data from your hard drive as well, to floppy disks, magnetic tape or another hard drive.
Think of the hard drive as the part of us that can remember our own name, how to ride a bicycle,
or that trip to Walt Disney World in '75 with Aunt Flossie and the cousins. Think of RAM as the
part of us that remembers a phone number for no longer than it takes to read the number in the
directory and dial it. A minute into the call, we would have to look up the number again.
When I bought my first personal computer a dozen years ago, I got a hard drive capable of
storing 20 megabytes (20 million units of digital information). I knew I could never fill up so vast
a drive. Today, it is not remarkable for a single suite of programs to consume dozens of
megabytes of hard drive space A 2 gigabyte hard drive (2 billion bytes) or larger is now bare
minimum standard. Your RAM needs will be dictated by your operating system (e.g., DOS,
OS/2, Windows 3.1, Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0) and the software applications you run.
Sixteen megabytes of RAM is entry level (up from 8 megabytes just a year ago) and particularly
with the latest operating systems, twice that amount can significantly improve system performance. I recommend Windows 98 and no less than 32
megabytes of RAM.
Don't cut corners on your video monitor as you may be spending countless hours staring at the
screen. SVGA (super VGA) resolution is standard. Look for a video card with at least two
megabytes of on-board memory, four or more is better. If eyestrain is a problem, steer clear of
the 14" monitors and consider going to a 17" monitor. They can cost twice as much as their little
brothers, but the larger screens significantly improve the Web surfing experience. Seek the
smallest dot pitch for the highest clarity and definition.
Many Web sites feature background music, sound bites or real-time audio. You can only
experience these features with a sound card and speakers. There is a substantial variation in
speaker quality, and quality is not always closely tied to price. Good speakers and a wave table
sound card can really make a positive difference. I like the Labtec LCS-3010 speakers combined
with a Creative Technologies AWE64 Wavetable soundcard, but many other selections will do a
fine job. Speakers are an easy component to upgrade, and you may want to start with a set of
inexpensive speakers until you determine your ultimate needs.
As most software is now available only on CDs, a CD-ROM drive is a necessity. Available
speeds vary widely from 12X to about 100X. Unless you want to watch movies on your
computer, you can forgo the DVD (Digital Versitile Disc) drive for the moment as there is no
software available in that format.
A modem is a device that allows your computer to communicate with another computer over the
telephone lines. Your modem is your link to the Internet. The speed of your modem connection
determines the speed at which you can send and receive information. Graphical information of the
type found on the Web can be tedious to receive on anything but the fastest modems. Don't even
consider 14.4K (kilobaud per second) modems. Entry level now is 28.8K, and you will probably
elect to go with a 56K modem using the now-standardized V.90 protocol, which may be able to
exchange data on optimum connections at up to 53 kilobaud per second (yes, 53K, not 56K, due
to an old FCC regulation). Avoid 56K modems that support only outdated, proprietary standards
such as x2 or K56flex. As higher speed connections are not available from every Internet service
provider, go with a modem that supports the fastest speed your IS provider --and the quality of
your phone line-- will allow. Brand names do matter where modems are concerned, so stick to
the best-known manufacturers.
If you are willing to foot the bill, an ISDN line will significantly enhance the pace of your Web
surfing. An Integrated Services Digital Network line is a special digital phone line that
facilitates transfer of a much larger volume of data more speedily than a standard analog
telephone connection; i.e., an ISDN line transfers data at 64 or 128K. An ISDN connection will
require that you have an ISDN terminal adapter, and ISDN connections are notoriously difficult
to set up initially. Again, be certain that your Internet Service Provider supports an ISDN
connection. Note that both your Internet Service Provider and the phone company will charge
you substantially more to connect by ISDN.
All connections to the Internet by modem start to feel very slow, very soon. The near future (two years?) holds the promise of much faster Internet access via ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or cable modems. As these technologies have not been widely implemented in mid-1998, they are little more than points on the horizon to watch and wait for. However, if your community actually offers cable modem Internet services, that is, without-a-doubt, the fastest way to connect.
You will need at least two pieces of software, sometimes built into your operating system (usually
Windows 95/98) or sold as part of an Internet connectivity package.(2) You must have software
that can establish a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol connection, called a
TCP/IP stack. You must also have a Browser, a program that creates the graphical user
interface for navigating the Web. Think of the TCP/IP stack as a telephone outlet and the
browser as the phone you plug into that outlet. There are many browsers available, but the
leading products are the Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Netscape is
currently used by more people, and historically, it has set the standard for browser technology.
The Microsoft Internet Explorer offers much to recommend it, perhaps foremost among them
being that it is offered without charge by Microsoft, the undisputed 800 pound gorilla of the
software industry.(3) The Internet Explorer is my first choice, but that choice seems to be, for
now, a minority opinion.
If you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or Widows 98 as your computer's operating system, the
TCP/IP features are built right in as part of the Dial Up Networking function (in the "My
Computer" folder). If you are not already a Windows 95/98 user, ease of Internet connectivity
may be reason enough to upgrade your operating system.
In addition to the TCP/IP stack and browser, you will surely want an e-mail program. All Internet
connectivity packages include some type of e-mail program and a number are available for
downloading over the 'Net. One of the most popular packages is called Eudora. The Windows
95 operating systems include an uninspiring-though-adequate universal e-mail program called the
Microsoft Exchange. Windows 98 contains a much better e-mail client called Outlook Express.
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape also build e-mail functions into their browsers. I use
the Microsoft Outlook 98 integrated e-mail and calendar program and like it very much.
While we are preparing our software wish list, add an FTP client program. FTP stands for File
Transfer Protocol, and it is one means by which you can send and receive files over the Internet.
FTP will prove important when you want to send or retrieve a document or download software.
Here again, an FTP client is customarily a part of all the principal Internet connectivity software
suites and is built into the Windows 95 operating system. Excellent shareware and freeware FTP
clients can also be downloaded from the Internet.
Files moved over the Internet are often compressed -- made smaller -- so that they take less time to transfer. These compressed files must be uncompressed before use. Some compressed files are self-extracting (meaning they uncompress themselves when run) and others will require the use of a utility program such as the wonderful PKzip shareware or the now popular WinZip (still more readily available software to add to your collection).
Last, but not least, you need an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPs run the gamut from small
businesses operating out of someone's garage, to universities, to online service giants like America
Online and to communication behemoths like A,T&T. Online services maintain their own in-house networks, available only to their members and also provide more-or-less direct access to
the Internet. These services have some advantages but they tend to be the most costly route for
an active Web surfer. If you expect to spend just a few hours a month online (perhaps just to
check stock prices or transmit some e-mail), you may find that one of the large online services is
for you. They offer a user-friendly interface, a complete software package and can usually furnish
a fair amount of hand holding to new users. However, if you find yourself spending many hours
on the 'Net each month -- and those hours do add up -- a fixed-price, unlimited access direct
connection to the Internet is probably your best bet.(4) Most communities now have ISPs offering
unlimited access ranging in price from $15.00-$30.00 per month, less if you prepay several
months in advance. In choosing an Internet Service Provider, consider several factors in addition
to price:
1. Are they likely to be around next year?
2. Do they support the connection speed you will use?
3. How frequently will a line be unavailable? A low cost provider is no bargain if you can't get
online.
4. Do they offer technical support at the hours when you will need it (invariably at night or on
weekends)?
How many mailboxes are included in the subscription price?
Do you get a home page and, if so, how much online storage?
Once you've gotten your hardware set up and your software packages installed, you will need to
configure your TCP/IP program so it can access your Internet Service Provider. To do this you
will need to know several things:
1. What is your service provider's Domain Name? A domain name (sometimes called a Fully
Qualified Domain Name or FQDN) is the registered word-based name of the system followed
by a period and a three letter extension signifying the kind of organization operating the system.
For example, the domain name for America Online is aol.com. The .com extension signifies a
company or commercial institution. The domain name for Rice University is rice.edu, with the
.edu extension signifying an educational institution. Other extensions include .gov for a
government site, .net for a network gateway, .mil for a military site and .org for private
organizations that don't fall naturally into one of the other categories. Domain names are
registered with the Internet Network Information Center or INTERNIC -- the closest thing the
anarchic Internet has to a central authority. Names are generally available on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. What is your Provider's IP Address? An Internet Protocol or IP address is a unique series of
four numbers joined by periods and sometimes called a Dotted Quad. It is the numerical
designation of the host system that connects you to the Internet and is cross-referenced to the
domain name such that either the name or the number can be employed to correctly designate
your host system. For example, the IP address for the author's host system is 198.66.160.253.
3. What is your User ID and Password? When you established your service account with your
ISP, you should have selected or been assigned both a User ID (likely to be based upon your
name or a favored alias) and a password, ideally a combination of letters and numbers sufficiently
long and complex to defeat a hacker's effort to decode it. As for using your birth date, child's
name or maiden name, forget it. In fact, avoid using just a word found in the dictionary or a
proper name because a hacker can use a dictionary program to try every word or name to uncover
your password. As you visit Web sites, you will occasionally be asked to select a user ID and
password for access to the particular site. As a security precaution, don't use the same password
that gives you access to your Internet Service Provider.
While we are on the subject of security, don't be put off by all the media hyperbole about the lack
of security on the Internet. Fact is, the Internet is about as secure as your phone service or the
U.S. Mail. If some determined soul wants to violate your privacy or learn your credit card
number, he or she will succeed. Phones can be tapped, mailboxes broken into and credit card
receipts stolen. Those risks do not stop us from engaging in day-to-day commerce and
communications and neither should we be deterred from using the 'Net. Think how often we hand
our credit cards to waiters and cashiers who are complete strangers to us or hold a private
conversation over our telephone...worse, our cellular telephone. The Internet is secure enough
and only someone with well-honed technical skills and too much time on their hands is likely to
breach that security.
You need to know the local or toll-free telephone number to connect to the system at the maximum speed supported by your modem. You might inquire if your Internet service provider offers access numbers that are less prone to busy signals or which offer better connection quality. Be sure that you are given a number that will not engender any hidden connect charges.
Where you start out when you first get on the Internet is likely to be a function of the browser
you selected. Until you change the settings, a Netscape browser will bring up the Netscape home
page and -- surprise! -- the Microsoft product brings up a Microsoft home page (which can be
customized to your personal specifications with respect to the, inter alia, news, entertainment,
financial and search engine links on the page). Once you have found your own familiar stomping
ground on the Web, you may want to change the start page. Your browser will allow you to
change the start page in an menu selection usually called "options," "preferences" or "settings."
Every place on the Web has a specific, unambiguous address called a Uniform Resource Locator or URL. URLs are those things with the colon and slashes that usually start "http://" (for HyperText Transmission Protocol) and which nearly every company now puts in its advertising. Every information item on the Web, including each of the pictures or sounds associated with each Web page, has a unique URL which identifies that item to anyone, anywhere in the world. The URL for the White House is http://www.whitehouse.gov, for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, it's http://www.ttla.com, for a less-than-five minute-old photo from atop the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, it's http://moon.kpix.com/live/big.html and for the daily Dilbert comic strip, the URL is http://www.dilbert.com. Computers are notoriously unforgiving of errors in case (that is, mixing up capital and small letters), incorrect spacing and misplaced punctuation. In these matters, computers are really, really stupid. Where URLs are concerned, never assume that proper names are capitalized. Expect the occasional error message, and when you get it, recheck the URL with care. If it's right, try again. The computer hosting the Web page may simply have been too busy serving other Web surfers. Keep in mind that Web pages and URLs come and go as often as Monica Lewinsky at the White House gate. It may be that the page you seek has moved or no longer exists. Sometimes, dropping the address information which follows the last forward slash in the URL will get you where you want to go. Also, if you pay careful attention to the structure of URLs, you may be able to correctly guess the location of a person or company on the Web.
Returning to the mega-library analogy, the World Wide Web has no official card catalogue, and
the stacks are piled to the ceiling with millions of books thrown on the shelves in no particular
order. Now you know why they call the software you use a "browser" and not a "finder." But,
don't despair, help is available in the form of many search engines that allow you to search the
Web by keywords and that, in some instances, index Web sites by progressively more narrow
subject topics. One well-known search engine is YAHOO (http://www.yahoo.com) which is a
friendly starting point for your first forays onto the Net. Other search engines are Lycos
(http://www.lycos.com), Excite (http://www.excite.com), Infoseek (http://www.infoseek.com),
Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.digital.com), MetaCrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com) and
Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com). Web surfers often find a search engine they like and make the
search engine's home page their browser's start page. Keep in mind that no search engine is
exhaustive, and you may want to run a search using several such services to be sure you have
identified all links which meet your search criteria. The search engines listed above may all be
used without charge.
Using the search engines is simple and fairly intuitive. Some, like Alta Vista, present you with a
search form (often just a blank entry box) and produce a cornucopia of sites that contain the
words you specify. Others, like Yahoo, offer a brief description of Web sites using a successively
more narrow subject index. Using Yahoo, you would be best served to enter a general subject
area by clicking on the subject name (i.e., Business and Economy, Reference, Government, Law)
and then search by keywords within the selected subcategory. Otherwise, if you search the entire
database of the search engine, you may find yourself wading through dozens or hundreds of
irrelevant references. Also, it's worth the effort to poke around through the topical indices as you
will gain some insight into the way in which the database is structured, the "style," as it were, of
the particular search engine. Be sure to read the instructions (the "help page" or "FAQ," for
"Frequently Asked Questions") which can be found at the home page for each search engine to
learn the best way to use the search engine to find what you are seeking.
Typically, Web sites will contain links to other Web sites. The hyperlinking of one site to another is the great strength of the Web, a feature that enables you to get where you are going even when you are not too sure of your destination. Hyperlinking is, at times, confusing, and the Web can easily be transformed into a confounding maze if you don't remember to leave an electronic trail of bread crumbs to mark your route. But, never fear, your browser will permit you to "bookmark" a site to which you want to return, usually by pushing a button icon near the top of your screen (look for a feature called "Add Bookmark" or "Add to Favorites"). Additionally, if you forget to mark your path as you go, browsers offer arrow keys that allow you to move back and forth along the path you have traveled, retracing your steps through intervening hyperlinks. Your browser maintains a history file of your last-traveled path, which can be reviewed to locate a site to which you wish to return. Customarily, a mouse click on the prior way station returns you to the selected site.
After you have gotten your fill of all the fun stuff on the Web, you may find that mounting
connect charges force you to earn a little money through the horror of gainful employment. The
good news is that you may not have to get off your computer to do it! Let's say that you have
been unable to find a respectable job, and like me, you have stooped to practicing law. (5) Let's
say you are pursuing a personal injury claim for a client involving a defective product. A search
of Web resources will help you on many fronts. You might begin your search by looking at the
Web site of the manufacturer of the product to collect product specifications, identify local
distributors, check out the company's balance sheet and learn the names of corporate officers to
be served with process. You could even download pictures of the product to use in the
preparation of demonstrative evidence. The Web will open the door to applicable government
and industry standards, let you access SEC records and help you locate experts and litigation
support professionals. Perhaps the greatest value of the Internet is the way in which it fosters
networking among persons of similar interests. Via the Web and e-mail, you can locate other
lawyers handling similar cases and share information and resources.
For example, if I were prosecuting a products liability claim for injuries arising from the failure to
equip a Caterpillar excavator with rearview mirrors, I might begin my exploration at Caterpillar's
own corporate web site (http://www.cat.com). While corporate Web sites are designed to depict
their corporate sponsors in a beatific light, such sites may nevertheless yield a treasure trove of
useful data. A visit to the excavator products directory of the Caterpillar site brings me
information about the excavator product line and distinguishing product characteristics. It also
acquaints me with some of the component terminology unique to the product so that I am better
able to mask my ignorance in drafting pleadings and taking depositions. While I'm there, I
download several handsome pictures of the product, including some depicting the mirrors we will
contend are essential to safe visibility. The site also offers a helpful electronic index revealing the
name, address and telephone number of the local Caterpillar dealer, who will cheerfully sell me
scale models of the killer excavator for demonstrative purposes and who will likely have exemplar
products on hand for inspection by consulting experts. Another corner of the Caterpillar Web site
reveals the inspiring fact that, during 1997, the company earned $1.7 billion in profit on over
$18.9 billion in revenues. Although a further look around the Caterpillar Web site reveals that the
company's Chairman is Don Fites and digs up a few officers and directors named in press
releases, a quick surf over to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Web site
(http://www.sec.gov) and a look through its EDGAR database pulls up the most recent
Caterpillar 10-K filing listing the names, ages, titles and compensation of all principal officers and
directors, detailed financial information, and the fact that the company maintains several plants
and facilities within Texas. A brief foray to a Caterpillar dealer's Web site in, jeez ya know,
Fargo, N.D., reveals a used exemplar product, offered for sale and now including the requisite
mirrors. The dealer site even offers high resolution photos of the equipment. The Web allows a
fast, cost-free check of applicable OSHA standards and a host of other industry standards
published online. The American National Standards Institute (home page (http://www.ansi.org)
offers a list of ANSI publications regarding operator visibility issues (including an option to
purchase copies online) and a hyperlinked index of organizations that promulgate standards, such
as the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (http://www.hfes.org) -- a fertile place to find
experts to assist in the development of the case.
A few keystrokes later, I stop by one of the many sites set up for lawyers, and collecting e-mail
addresses of other products liability counsel throughout the country, I can transmit a brief plea for
information to dozens or hundreds of other experienced products liability lawyers in hopes of
turning up someone who has collected the smoking gun documents about the defendant company
and its defective product. A stop at the Texas Trial lawyer's Association's DepoConnect site
(http://www.depoconnect.com) affords me the opportunity to search tens of thousands of online
depositions to gather information on issues and experts. Heading back into the wealth of
governmental data that has come on line, I pick up some useful statistics from the Department of
Labor and several social science statistics sources (say that three times fast!) to bolster my
damage proof with data reflecting the lifespan and earning capacity of the plaintiffs' decedent.
And so it goes. Cutting through the Internet hype, I obtained little information that I couldn't
have assembled through such other familiar channels as the public library, a corporate annual
report and a few phone calls, faxes or letters (now dubbed "snail mail" by the digiterati). The
Internet has not re-invented the wheel. Still, right at my own desk, with little expense and with a
modest investment of time, I can pull together a wealth of useful information that I might not
otherwise have bothered to secure or obtain until it was too late to use to best effect.
Of course, the practice of law is by no means the only endeavor that benefits from free or low-cost access to detailed information on people, places, companies and products. What business wouldn't benefit? A list of useful sites is attached as appendix "B" to this article. An interactive version of the same list can be reached online at http://www.craig.ball. net/hotlinks.html. Please keep in mind that the Internet is an ever-changing place, such that sites come and go and addresses change. If you fail to connect to a listed site, run the name of the site through a search engine or, if all else fails, e-mail me (craig@ball.net) and maybe I can find it for you.
Since the dawn of the personal computer a short sixteen or so years ago, computer users have
been faced with the old "Beta versus VHS" choice that new technologies too often present. With
computers, the choice has been do I buy an Apple product or do I purchase an IBM-compatible
P.C.? You had to choose because a program written for one wouldn't run on the other. The
competing "platforms" were incompatible. There were also compatibility problems between
operating systems such as DOS and UNIX. Although users of different platforms were able to
exchange e-mail because of the common information transfer schemes ("protocols") used for
Internet communications, they usually couldn't share applications (programs) or data, like
formatted word processor documents or spreadsheets.
Enter Java. Java is a computer language that will run on any of the platforms accessing the
Internet. The excitement surrounding Java stems from the concept that, rather than buying
personal copies of computer programs, like your word processor or a favorite game, you would
simply download an application over the Internet when you needed it, paying a modest fee to the
company supplying the software. It would be like "pay-per-view" for software. Ideally, your
computer, working hand-in-glove with other computers on the Internet, would recognize when
you needed a particular application to accomplish a task and download it for you on-the-fly. It
sounds great.
The problem with Java, as with many of the much-ballyhooed features of the still-to-be
Information Superhighway, is that current data transfer technologies are too slow for the
promised magic to materialize. The problem is one of "bandwidth." Bandwidth describes the
ability of a communication technology -- be it a copper wire telephone line, your cable T.V.
service, a direct-broadcast satellite or a fiber optic cable -- to transmit data over time. A pair of
copper wires like those found in a telephone line --even a fancy ISDN line -- can only transmit so
much data in a space of time and no more. A coaxial cable, like those that carry cable T.V. to our
homes, can transmit much more information than a telephone line, and a fiber optic cable much
more still when compared with a coaxial cable. Until we can increase the bandwidth of the
information "pipe" into our homes and offices, much of the promise of the Internet and the
Information Superhighway will be out-of-reach.
The company that wins the bandwidth battle and furnishes the information pipe will likely make a
whole bunch of money. That's why telephone companies are pushing ISDN lines and cable
companies are racing to develop and market cable modems. When the bandwidth problem is
licked -- and chances are we will see at least some interim solutions within the next two years --
the way we entertain ourselves, buy products, communicate and, yes, even earn our living, will
change; very likely for the better... at least one can always hope so.
An entirely new lexicon has grown up around the Internet. Some of the new lingo is hyper-technical and the balance a melange of acronyms and slang. This glossary tries to cover all of the
basics and some of the more advanced terminology. Simply reading through the glossary is a
good way to become familiar with the ins-and-outs of the Internet, and hopefully, it will come in
handy as you run into unfamiliar terminology while Web-surfing.
Addresses: Every Internet user and site has a unique address. The address of a page on the World
Wide Web is its Uniform Resource Locator (URL). URLs are those things with the colon and
slashes that start "http://" (for HyperText Transmission Protocol) and which so many
companies now put in their advertising. Every information item on the Web, including each of the
pictures or sounds associated with each Web page, has a unique URL which identifies that item to
anyone, anywhere in the world. For E-mail, a user's address is made up of a User Name (User
ID) and a Domain Name (the name of the Internet service provider or Internet server to which
the user is connected), separated by the "@" symbol. For example, the author's e-mail address is
ball@b-a-l-l.com. "The user ID "ball" and the domain name is b-a-l-l.com.
ADSL: See Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.
America Online: A beleaguered leading online service. America Online provides Internet access
plus a number of member services, such as news, special-interest areas, and virtual chat rooms.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII): Pronounced "ask-key."
ASCII files are plain text format files, containing letters, numbers and basic punctuation, but
without any special formatting, such as bold, italics, etc. ASCII files are generic, and
consequently, virtually any computer can open an ASCII file, and every word processor program
can create and save files in ASCII format.
Analog: It's tempting to describe analog as that which is not digital. Whereas digital describes
the representation of a continuous event (e.g., a sound or images) by a pattern of ones and zeros
("on" and "off"), analog describes continuous events by a similarly continuous representation.
Put another way, analog tracks an event while digital translates the events into a series of ones
and zeros that approximate the event very precisely; creating, in a sense, a mathematical record of
the event. An LP record is analog. A compact disc is digital.
Anonymous FTP: Anonymous FTP uses the File Transfer Protocol to allow access to files.
Users can log in to an anonymous FTP site using the login name "anonymous" and without a
password. Anonymous FTP sites usually contain public domain software and shareware.
AOL: See America Online.
Archie: Notwithstanding the presence of "Veronica" and Jughead" in this Glossary, Archie does
not refer to Archie Andrews of comic book fame. Instead, Archie is a search tool which you can
use to locate specific files among the vast array of information found on anonymous FTP sites.
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork): ARPANET is the precursor of the
Internet. Established by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s as a nationally-distributed
network better able to withstand nuclear Armageddon, ARPANET was later handed over to the
National Science Foundation, becoming NSFNET and then Internet.
ASCII: See American Standard Code for Information Interchange
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL): A method for transferring data at high speeds
over conventional phone lines. Once implemented, ADSL lines are expected to permit the receipt
of data some ten times faster than current modem speeds.
Bandwidth: Bandwidth describes the amount of data that can be carried over time via a wire (or
radio wave or beam of light). The greater the bandwidth of a connection, the more swiftly you
can receive information. The more information you can receive, the more varied and complex can
be the format of the information. For a given increment of time, voice communications demand
more bandwidth than text, music more than voice, and video more than music. An ISDN line has
greater bandwidth than a conventional phone line, an ADSL line more than an ISDN line, a
coaxial cable connection more than an ADSL line and a fiber optic cable more bandwidth than
anything else in the world.
Baud: Although not a synonym for "bits per second" (BPS), the two are often used
interchangeably as a measure of a modems ability to transmit information.
BBS: See Bulletin Board System.
Binhex (BINary HEXadecimal): A method for converting non-text files (non-ASCII) into
ASCII. This is needed because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII characters.
Binary: In two parts. Computers employ a binary language of ones and zeros to carry
information and to communicate with other computers.
Bits per Second (BPS): A measure of a modem's speed, usually expressed in kilobits per second
(Kbps).
Bookmarks: Also called "Favorites," Bookmarks are the trail of breadcrumbs you can leave
behind to mark your way while Web surfing. Your browser will allow you to mark any Web
address so that you can quickly locate and return to it.
BPS: See Bits per Second.
Browser: A software program that permits viewing and navigating the Web. The two principal
browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The former is more widely
used, and the latter is every bit as good but free. Some online service providers employ
proprietary browsers. Mosaic was the first browser to permit the viewing of both text and
graphics.
Bulletin Board System (BBS): One or more personal computers configured to automatically
answer calls from other computers and permit access to specified information and files. A BBS
allows callers to, inter alia, communicate with other callers, leave messages and upload and
download files. Once supporting a large and active community of users, stand-alone bulletin
board systems have largely been supplanted by the Internet.
Cache: Pronounced "cash." A cache is an area of your computer's hard drive where your
browser stores text, images and sounds you've already browsed. When you re-visit a Web page, if
the same information is found within your cache, it does not need to be downloaded again and the
page will load much more swiftly. You can set the size and lifespan of your browser's cache and
how your browser uses the cache. If you re-visit a page that changes frequently, simply hit the
"Refresh" or "Reload" button to download current information about the page.
Case-sensitive: Case-sensitive refers to whether or not a program or feature responds differently
depending upon whether information is typed in upper- or lower-case characters. In some
applications, "Ball" cannot be used interchangeably with "ball" or "BALL."
CGI: See Common Gateway Interface
Chat room: An area of the Internet reserved to realtime text communications between users
using Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Chat rooms run the gamut from the boring to the
pornographic and are in large part responsible for the Internet's naughty reputation. Despite
popular misconceptions, you cannot come upon a chat room by accident. You have to make an
effort to join in.
Client: As in "Client/Server," refers to the software program that connects with, and extracts
information from, a "host" server. Your browser is a type of Client software. The Client/Server
model harkens back to the "big iron" days of computing when all users connected via terminals to
a large mainframe which handled all computing tasks. Network computing has lately been
migrating toward a Client/Server model whereby a universal client program, not unlike or even
identical to a Web browser, is used to seamlessly communicate and exchange information with the
Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN) and one's own desktop computer.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI): A protocol which sets out how a Web Server
communicates with applications software (the "CGI program"). Any piece of software can be a
CGI program if it adheres to CGI standards. A "CGI Script" permits the interaction of CGI
programs on the Web server with input received via the Net and the return of program output to
the user via the Net.
Compression: A means by which data files can be "dehydrated" and "reconstituted" so as to
speed their transfer and to conserve storage space. The preeminent compression utilities are
Shareware programs called PKZIP (in the DOS environment) and WINZIP (for the Windows
environment). Compressed files are often called "Zipped files" and can be identified by their .ZIP
filename extensions. Unless a file is self-extracting, you must have an unzipping program (e.g.,
PKUNZIP or WINZIP) to expand the file so that it can be used.
CompuServe: Once the leading online service, CompuServe's head start gave evaporated in the
face of the hard sell of its once arch-rival and now its owner, America Online.
Cookie: A "cookie" is a piece of identifying information transmitted by a Web Server and saved
by a Web browser, to be re-transmitted to the server in later communications. Cookies are used
to simplify communications by saving information about the user peculiar to the particular Web
site, such as preset preferences, login information, etc. Because cookies can be used to identify
users and their preferences, they are a source of privacy concerns to some, and accordingly,
newer browsers allow users to turn off support for cookies.
Cyberspace: First coined by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer, "cyberspace" has become
the hackneyed term for the ether through which electronic communications travel when they leave
your computer and before they arrive at your correspondent's computer. Cyberspace is a
"virtual" place and refers generally to all the information that can be reached and shared via the
Internet.
Dialer: Communications software which enables you to dial and connect via your modem, to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the Internet. Common dialers include Microsoft Dial Up
Networking (a part of Windows 95), Trumpet Winsock and Shiva.
Dial-up: A Dial-up connection differs from a dedicated line in that the later remains connected to
its server at all times whereas a dial up connection exists only when a telephone connection is
established with the server via a phone call initiated by your communications software or
"Dialer."
Dial Up Networking: A feature of the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system that permits
connection to a server by conventional phone lines.
Digiterati: The digital version of literati, referring to smug know-it-alls who spend far too much
time Web surfing than can be good for a person and who arrogantly profess a superior knowledge
of the Internet and technology. See also "author."
Digital: Distinguished from "analog," digital describes the use of binary code -- a series of ones
and zeros -- to measure and record analog events. When a voice or image is converted to a series
of ones and zeros that can be interpreted or re-assembled to re-create the voice, the voice is said
to be "digitized." A compact disc is a digital recording in that the music is recorded, not by
grooves on a vinyl platter that vary continuously and "track" the music (analog data), but instead
by tiny "pits" on a reflective surface which are read by a laser as ones and zeros and re-assembled
by a computer chip so as to closely approximate the original sound.
DNS: See Domain Name Server.
Domain: The part of a Domain Name which indicates the type of entity which maintains a Web
server. Although imprecise at best and often misleading, degree granting colleges generally use
the extension .edu, commercial entities use .com, military sites use .mil, not-for-profit
organizations use .org and networks use .net. Although U.S.-based domains use no country
codes, foreign sites include a code indicating the country of origin (e.g., .UK for the United
Kingdom).
Domain name: A domain name uniquely describes a particular computer, server or group
attached to the Internet. It might best be thought of as a "location" on the Internet that, in turn,
houses people (the e-mail users) and things (the web pages and their component parts). A
domain name always consists of at least two parts, separated by a period, called "dot" when given
in conversation. For example, the author "owns" the domain b-a-l-l.com and he is ball@b-a-l-l.com (an e-mail address) and maintains a web page with professional biographical information
with an address of http://www.b-a-l-l.com/bio-1997.html. Analyzing this address, it describes
a web page coded in HTML (note the .html extension), called "bio-1997.html," located in a
world wide web domain (indicated by "www") named "b-a-l-l.com." The "http://" signifies that
it is a call to a document that will be read by the browser, which interprets information written in
HTTP or Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The entire address is called a URL (for Universal
Resource Locator). Every picture, sound, video, and document on the Internet has a unique
URL that allows one to identify it alone amongst the billions or trillions of information items
found on the Net.
Domain Name Server (DNS): The DNS is a computer database that matches domain names with
IP addresses and, in turn, tells your Internet service provider where the resource you are seeking
is located. Domain Name Servers act like behind-the-scenes as electronic phone books, linking
names with addresses.
DOS: Disk Operating System, the predecessor Operating System to Windows 3.1 and Windows
95, all Microsoft products.
Dotted Quad: See "IP Address."
Download: The online transfer of computer programs or other files from a remote ("host")
computer to your own computer. Downloading is usually accomplished with an FTP Client
program or your web browser. When you send software to a host computer, it's called an
"Upload."
E-Mail: E-mail is electronic mail. Its a means of sending written messages over phone lines to
other computers connected to the Internet.
Emoticons: Those too-too-cute sideways smiley faces that are used to express the emotion
attendant to a comment contained in e-mail. Emoticons are used to avoid misunderstandings
when one employs humor or sarcasm via a medium unleavened by facial expression and body
language. :-)
Encryption: A method employed to secure online communications and commerce by encoding
transmitted information such that only indecipherable gibberish passes between users. Encrypted
communications are decoded ("decrypted") by the intended recipient using a secret password.
"Public key/private key" is a powerful encryption system whereby the both sender and recipient
each have a pair of very complex numerical passwords called their "public key" and "private key."
The recipient's public key can be published or otherwise freely circulated to anyone who may
wish to send information. The public key is used by an encryption program to encrypt the
message. Once encrypted, the message can only be decoded using the recipient's private key
(known only to the recipient). Note that the American Bar Association has opined that attorney-client communications via E-mail are not confidential and protected communications absent
encryption.
EtherNet: The prevailing communications method for networking (interconnecting) personal
computers, printers,scanners and so forth to form a Local Office Network (LAN). EtherNet
allows transfer of data between computers at speeds above ten million bits-per-second.
Eudora: A popular e-mail program.
Extension: The part of a filename following the period (dot). The file extension typically offers a
clue as to the type of file it names; for example, .DOC for a document, .CFG for a file containing
configuration information, .EXE for an executable file (a program which can be "run").
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): FAQs are documents that list and answer the most
commonly asked questions on a particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on as many
subjects. Be sure to read the FAQ for a newsgroup before posing questions to the participants.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): A method of transferring files between two computers via the
Internet. A number of Internet sites permit unknown users to login and gain access to and
download files via FTP using the account name "anonymous" and without a password.
Accordingly, these sites are called Anonymous FTP servers.
Fire Wall: A combination of hardware and/or software that divides a Local Access Network
(LAN) into two or more parts (public & private) for security purposes. Fire walls are often
employed to permit a local network to connect to the Internet while maintaining a high degree of
network security.
Flame: Usually a derogatory comment to, or virulent attack upon, one who expresses a differing
viewpoint. A "flame war" describes the degeneration of an online exchange into a series of bitter
personal attacks rather than a discussion of the issues.
Folders: Windows 95's rendition of a DOS subdirectory.
404 Error: When a browser cannot locate or access a requested Web page it returns the error
message "404 Error: File Not Found." This may indicate the server is not on line or the page
has been moved or removed. As this error message can sometimes occur when a server is too
busy, it is a good idea to try the request a second time or at a different time of day.
Frames: Frames is a technology supported by newer browsers that allows a browser window to
be divided into several smaller windows, each of which can load different web pages or resources.
Frames allows navigation bars and ads to remain on screen while you navigate the Web site.
freeware: Software whose author permits its use without charge, customarily requiring only
credit where due, no resale and that the user refrain from re-writing the program.
FTP: See File Transfer Protocol
Gateway: A hardware or software set-up that connects different computer systems or translates
between different communications protocols. See also "Server."
GIF: See Graphics Interchange Format.
GIF animation: Newer browsers support a simple form of animation using sequenced GIF
images.
Gopher: Before the advent of the World Wide Web and its Hypertext Transmission Protocol
(HTTP), users navigated the Internet using file subdirectory tree-style menus on Gopher servers
(named for the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where the software was developed).
Although largely supplanted by Web pages, Gopher servers still abound and can be accessed
using most browsers.
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF): Pronounced "jiff." A picture file, easily read by most
graphics programs and all browsers. Still pictures on the Web are in the GIF or JPEG format.
Helper app: Programs that work alongside your browser to display or manipulate information
obtained via the Web. A browser can be configured to identify certain types of files and to start a
program geared to the handling of that file. A Helper App is similar to a "Plug-in;" however, a
Plug-in is an optional component of a Web Browser which, once installed, works from within the
browser, while a Helper App is a separate program that works alongside the browser, in its own
window.
Hits: Akin to a visit, a Hit is a request transmitted to a Web site to transfer information. Hits are
a very imprecise way to keep track of the number of visitors who stop by a Web site.
Home Page: With respect to your browser, usually the first Web page that appears on screen
when an Internet connection is initiated. With respect to a Web site, Home Page refers to the
first or main page of the site, which often serves as an index or hub of the site.
Host Name: The descriptive name for a particular site on the Internet, synonymous with but
easier to remember than its IP Address. B-A-L-L.COM is a host name.
HotBot: See "Spider."
HTML: See HyperText Markup Language.
HTTP: See HyperText Transfer Protocol
Hyperlink: Text or images found on the Internet which are tied together electronically using
HTML. By clicking a mouse on a hyperlinked image or text ("Hypertext"), your browser is
instructed to display the Web page that is referenced by the hyperlink.
Hypertext: Portions of Web pages that link to other Web pages or information on the Web. See
"Hyperlinked."
HyperText Markup Language (HTML): The coding language used to create Hypertext
documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML resembles the hidden codes used in some
word processor programs, where text was surrounded with codes that indicated how the text
should look on the page. In addition to offering page description information, HTML permits
hyperlinking of one reference to another, anywhere it may be found on the Internet. To see
what the HTML code for any given Web page looks like, you can view its Source Code by
selecting "View Source" from the "View" menu of your browser.
HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP): The communications protocol for moving HTML files
across the Internet. HTTP clients (Browsers) and HTTP servers (Web Sites) "talk" to one
another using this the hypertext transfer protocol. Such communications are signalled by the use
of a URL that begins HTTP://.
Information Superhighway: A new, fresh, not-at-all-overused and extremely helpful way to
describe the Brave New World successor to the crowded, cranky Internet. Right, sure. There is
no Information Superhighway. The Internet offers a whiff of its promise, much as the Wright
Brothers first plane allows us to foresee a Stealth bomber. Until and unless someone or
something spends a BUNCH of money --more even than what Bill Gates' house cost-- to bring
very high bandwidth connections (i.e., fiber optic cable) to large numbers of our citizens and
figures out a way to manage and deliver the torrent of data, all while somehow making a buck in
the process, there will never be an Information Superhighway. It's coming ... more slowly than
we are promised ... but nobody yet knows exactly what it will look like or precisely how it will
work.
Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN): A special digital phone line that facilitates transfer
of a much larger volume of data more speedily than a standard analog telephone connection; e.g.,
at 64 or 128K. An ISDN connection requires connection via an ISDN terminal adapter and is
significantly more expensive to obtain and difficult to configure than a conventional phone line.
Interactive: So overused as to be losing any meaning it once had, "interactive" refers to
technology which permits a user to exchange information with a computer program. It suggests a
substantial component of user activity and/or customization.
Interface: The mechanism (whether textual, graphical, auditory, mechanical or otherwise) by
which a user or device interacts with a computer system or software program.
Internet: A whole bunch of computers, located all over the world, hooked together to share
information. The exchange of information takes place using communications languages, called
"protocols," such as HTTP and FTP.
Internet Explorer: A Web browser program distributed without charge by Microsoft
Corporation. An excellent and ever-improving product, its principal competitor is the Netscape
Navigator program. As each of these programs is regularly revised and upgraded, superiority is
largely a matter of timing and personal preference at any given moment.
Internet Protocol (IP): The addressing function of TCP/IP, a packet-switching protocol that
allows large amounts of information to be divided into manageable packets of data which can, in
turn, be transmitted to a destination via disparate paths, arrive in any order and be re-assembled.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC): A real-time method of communicating between Internet users
where users can hold typed "discussions," open for public viewing. It's like talking over a CB
radio, only in written form.
Internet Service Provider (ISP): The entity (business, university, etc.) that furnishes the
gateway or dial up connection that affords access to the Internet.
InterNIC: The Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC) is a private company funded in
part by the National Science Foundation. As the closest thing the anarchic Internet has to a central
authority, the InterNIC handles registration of Internet domains.
IP: See Internet Protocol.
IP Address: A unique series of four numbers joined by periods and sometimes called a "Dotted
Quad." An IP address is all numbers in the format "000.000.000.000." It is the numerical
designation of the host system that connects you to the Internet and is cross-referenced to the
Domain Name such that either the name or the number can be employed to correctly designate
your host system.
IRC: See Internet Relay Chat.
ISDN: See Integrated Service Digital Network
ISP: See Internet Service Provider
Java: A computer language that will run on any of the disparate platforms (hardware and
operating systems) that access the Internet. If you use Netscape or Internet Explorer 3.0, your
browser can automatically run programs written in Java. Small programs written in Java (dubbed
"Applets") are currently used to enhance the appearance of Web sites. These applets generate
stock price tickers, scrolling marquees, games and other visual and auditory bells and whistles.
As faster Internet connections debut, the hope is that Java programs will become increasingly
sophisticated and allow the downloading and use of major applications over the Internet on an "as
needed" basis.
JPEG: A picture file, easily read by most graphics programs and all browsers. Still pictures on the
Web are in the GIF or JPEG format. JPEG employs data compression techniques to make
graphics files smaller.
Jughead: A search engine for locating information on selected Gopher Servers. Largely
supplanted by the World Wide Web, the name comes from an effort to find something that
complemented "ARCHIE;" hence, the acronym preceded the rather forced name: "Jonzy's
Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display."
Kbps: Kilobits per Second, See Bits per Second.
Keywords: Words used by a search engine to locate Internet references.
Link: See "Hyperlink."
Listserv: A computer program that allows a group of users with similar interests to share
information via an electronic mailing list devoted to a specific topic. By e-mailing a request to a
Listserv, interested users can automatically add their e-mail address ("subscribe") to a Mailing
List on any of thousands of topics. When a subscriber submits a message, the message is then re-transmitted by e-mail to all other subscribers. Listservs are similar to Newsgroups, except that
Listservs employ e-mail to communicate the online information.
Lurker: A visitor to a Chat Room or Newsgroup who reads the postings but does not actively
participate in the exchanges. As a matter of good Internet etiquitte ("Netiquitte"), new users are
encouraged to lurk and familiarize themselves with the nature and scope of the discussions before
chiming in with a contribution that may be repetitive or out-of-place.
Mail Server: A computer connected to the Internet which receives, stores and transmits
electronic mail.
Mailing List: A subscriber list of Internet users with similar interests who share information via
an E-mail pertaining to a specific topic. See "Listserv."
MIME: (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). An extension of conventional Internet E-mail
which allows transmission of non-textual data, such as data, executable programs, sound clips and
picture.
Mirror Site: An exact copy of a popular Web site located at a different IP address so as to
reduce overcrowding (busy connections) at the popular site.
Modem: An electronic device (either a small box with lights outside the computer or a printed
circuit card inside) which allows the computer to send and receive data over telephone lines. A
modem (short for "MODulator DEModulator") converts digital computer data to and from
analog tones which can be carried over the telephone system.
Mosaic: The first Web browser, largely replaced by the much more versatile Microsoft Internet
Explorer and Netscape Navigator programs.
MPEG: (for "Motion Picture Experts Group") A standard for compressing and playing back
full-motion video and audio streams for viewing on a personal computer.
Negotiation: An exchange of information between Modems when they first connect to establish
the speed and method of data transmission.
Netiquette: (for NETwork ETIQUETTE). An informal code of good conduct for Internet
users.
Netizen: An experienced Internet user, often used to denote an experienced user who views the
Internet as an important, constructive medium and who demonstrates social responsibility with
respect to such usage. Synonymous with "Cybercitizen."
Netscape Navigator: The most widely used Web Browser, sold by Netscape Corporation. Its
major competitor is Microsoft Internet Explorer, a free product. As each of these programs is
regularly revised and upgraded, superiority is largely a matter of timing and personal preference at
any given moment.
Network: Two or more computers connected together to share files and resources (e.g., printers,
scanners, modems, etc.).
Newsgroup: A collection of E-mail messages pertaining to a particular topic. Newsgroups on
thousands of topics are stored on News Servers and read by users of News Reader software (now
built into the major Web Browser programs).
News Server: A computer (usually maintained by an Internet Service Provider) that gathers,
stores and distributes Newsgroup postings.
Online: Connected to the Internet, a LAN or remote computer.
Operating System: The software program which establishes how a personal computer stores and
retrieves files, processes input and output and operates its hardware. Windows 95, Windows 3.1,
DOS, Macintosh, OS/2 and Unix are among the best-known operating systems.
Packets: Bundles of data, often components of a larger transmission, which are sent
independently over a network (including the Internet), sometimes by different paths and with
different times of arrival, and reassembled upon arrival at their destination.
PGP: (for "Pretty Good Privacy") A Public Key/Private Key Encryption program used to
obtain secure transfer of information (e-mail, credit card numbers, state secrets, etc.) over the
Internet.
Ping: ("Packet InterNet Groper") A program that checks the integrity of an Internet connection
by polling a remote site and measuring the speed and completion of the response. Presumably,
"ping" is also the sound that the data packets make in cyberspace as they bounce back from the
remote site.
Plug-in: An optional component that can be added to a Web Browser, expanding the capabilities
of the Browser. Popular plug-ins include Crescendo (for MIDI music files), Net Meeting
(Internet telephone and resource sharing), Quicktime (video), Shockwave (for audio and video),
RealAudio (realtime audio broadcasts), and MPEGplay (more video). See also "Helper Apps."
Point to Point Protocol (PPP): A common communication protocol permitting Dial-up access
to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider. See also "Serial Line Internet Protocol
(SLIP)."
Post: The contribution of information to a Newsgroup or other electronic communications
medium.
POP: Point Of Presence, an access point to the Internet.
POP3: See Post Office Protocol.
Post Office Protocol (POP3): A standard protocol for receiving e-mail. POP3 is a client-server
protocol in which e-mail is received and held an Internet Service Provider.
PPP: See Point to Point Protocol
Protocol: A set of rules or standards, in the nature of a machine-to-machine language, by which
computers communicate.
Router: A device that interconnects networks, allowing for the translation of varying protocols
and direction of data packets.
Search Engine: An online application that explores the Internet in search of information
containing Key Words or concepts selected by the user. Some search engines browse the Web
continuously using software programs called "Spiders," which record all of the words on all of
the sites they come across. In the absence of a master index, Search Engines are the best way to
locate information within the vast expanse of the Internet.
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP): A common communication protocol permitting Dial-up
access to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). See also "Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP)," which has replaced SLIP among many users.
Server: A computer that acts as a connection point for a network (Gateway) or enables the
sharing of resources (software, hardware and data) with other computers.
Shareware: A software marketing technique where users get to "try before they buy." Typically,
shareware is downloaded from the Internet without cost, and then freely used for a set period of
time before a registration fee must be paid for its continued use. Some shareware programs cease
to function after the trial period and others are not so limited, the developer relying instead upon
the honor of the user to remit the registration fee. A variant of shareware is "Crippleware," being
software that lacks some key aspects of functionality until activated after payment of the
registration fee.
Shell Account: An interface method used by Internet Service Providers (ISP) whereby a Web
browser can interact with the ISP's operating system, frequently Unix.
Signature: A message automatically appended to E-mail and Newsgroup postings identifying
the sender.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): The communications protocol used to transfer e-mail
between servers. POP3 is used to transfer mail from server to user.
SLIP: See Serial Line Internet Protocol.
SMTP: See Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
Socket: A socket is a method for connecting a client with a server on the Internet. The Windows
Socket, or Winsock is the software application which enables such a connection on the user
(client) side.
Source Code: For a Web page, source code refers to the HTML formatting commands that tell
the Browser how the page should look. To see what the HTML code for any given Web page
looks like, you can view its source code by selecting "View Source" from the "View" menu of
your browser.
Spam: Having nothing to do with the luncheon meat, Spam is the Internet's version of junk mail.
Spam is unsolicited, intrusive E-mail, often sent indiscriminately to all subscribers to a
Newsgroup, irrespective of the topic of interest to the group, and usually to promote some get-rich-quick scheme or worse. Spam is a serious violation of Netiquette, so when you see spam,
think "sham" and "scam."
Spider: A software program, dispatched by a Search Engine, which methodically crawls across
the Internet collecting detailed information on Web sites.
Stack: See TCP/IP Stack.
Subscribe: The addition of one's E-mail address to a Mailing List by sending a message to a
Listserv.
T1/T3: The ultra-high capacity digital phone lines used by Internet Service Providers,
universities, the government and corporations to connect to the Internet.
TCP/IP: See Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
TCP/IP Stack: The various utility programs that together enable the connection of a personal
computer to the Internet via the TCP/IP Protocol. This stack may consist of TCP/IP software,
sockets software (Winsock), and hardware driver software (packet drivers).
Telnet: A mechanism whereby a user can log into a remote (host) computer. Telnet is both a user
command and a TCP/IP protocol for accessing remote computers. Where the HTTP and FTP
protocols allow you obtain specific data from a remote computer, they do not actually log you on
as a user of that computer. With Telnet, you log on as a regular user with whatever privileges you
may have with respect to the specific applications and data on that computer.
Terminal Adapter: An ISDN modem.
Thread: A topical path through Newsgroup postings. Within a given Newsgroup, there may be
many postings -- both comments and replies-- touching upon a variety of subjects. A thread
refers to a chronological path through just the postings responsive to a single posting or through a
particular series of exchanges approximating an online conversation.
Throughput: Throughput describes the ability of a network component or device (usually a
modem) to transfer information. It is often expressed in Bits Per Second (BPS).
Time Out: The failure of a server to connect or return information within a preset period period
of time. A connection "times out" when either a call to your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
fails to establish a TCP/IP connection promptly or when a Web server fails to return information
on a selected Web page within a certain amount of time. The appropriate response in each
instance is usually to wait a moment and try again.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): The basic computer-to-computer
language of the Internet. A packet-switching protocol that allows large amounts of information
to be divided into manageable packets of data which can, in turn, be transmitted to a destination
via disparate paths, arrive in any order and be re-assembled. TCP/IP is a two-layer program that
every Internet point-of-presence (POP) or SLIP/PPP user must use. The Transmission Control
Protocol handles the packaging of data into the packets that get routed on different paths over the
Internet and reassembled at their destination. The Internet Protocol handles the address part of
each data packet so that it is routed to the right destination.
Trumpet Winsock: See "Winsock."
Universal Resource Locator (URL): Every place on the Web has a specific, unambiguous
address called a Uniform Resource Locator or URL. URLs are those things with the colon and
slashes that usually start "http://" (for HyperText Transmission Protocol) and which nearly
every company now puts in its advertising. Every information item on the Web, including each of
the pictures or sounds associated with each Web page, has a unique URL which identifies that
item to anyone, anywhere in the world.
Unix: An operating system used by many of the computers originally comprising the Internet and
still in wide use on many servers.
Unsubscribe: The deletion of one's E-mail address from a Mailing List by sending a message to
a Listserv.
Upload: The online transfer of computer programs or other files from your computer to a remote
("host") computer. Uploading is usually accomplished with an FTP Client program or your web
browser. When you receive software from a host computer, it's called a "Download."
URL: See Universal Resource Locator.
.
Usenet: A separate network from the Internet, but which can be accessed with a Web Browser
supporting Newsreader functions. See Newsgroup
User ID: The alias selected by the user or assigned by the system administrator to identify the
user. E.g., UserID@domain.com. Same as User Name.
User Name: The alias selected by the user or assigned by the system administrator to identify the
user. E.g., UserName@domain.com. Same as User ID.
Uuencoding: Uuencoding (that's right UU) allows the e-mail transmission of Binary,
non-textual files (such as programs and data), by encoding such files in an ASCII format.
Currently, most E-mail programs support attachments without the user taking any steps to encode
the attachment.
Veronica: A search engine for locating information on worldwide Gopher Servers. Largely
supplanted by the World Wide Web, the name comes from an effort to find something that
complemented "ARCHIE" and "JUGHEAD," hence, another acronym which preceded the
rather forced name: "Very Easy Rodent Oriented Netwide Index to Computer Archives."
Virus: An oftimes destructive program which replicates itself on computer systems by
incorporating itself into other programs which are shared among computer systems. Also called
Trojan Horses and worms.
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML): A programming language for creation of virtual
three-dimensional environments permitting user interaction. In VRML space, the user (or, more
specifically, the user's avatar or onscreen persona) can walk through a 3-D environment and
manipulate virtual objects within that environment.
VRML: See Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
WAIS: See Wide-Area Information Servers.
Web Page: If a Web Site were book, then each of the HTML documents at the site are its Web
Pages. Each HTML file has its own unique address (URL) and can be requested directly using
that address. Home Page customarily refers to the first or main page of the site, which often
serves as an index or hub of the site. Web pages are scrollable files, usually containing text,
graphics and/or interactive objects. Using Frames, multiple Web pages can be displayed onscreen
at the same time.
Web Site: Also "Web Presence." A Web site is a collection of related Web pages. See also
"Home Page."
Wide-Area Information Servers (WAIS): WAIS (pronounced "ways") is an Internet system in
which specialized subject databases are created at multiple server locations, kept track of by a
directory of servers at one location, and made accessible for searching by users with WAIS client
programs. The user of WAIS is provided with or obtains a list of these databases and can perform
a search of each selected database. The search provides a description of text meeting the search
criteria. The user can then retrieve the full text of identified references. WAIS has largely been
supplanted by the World Wide Web and its various search engines.
World Wide Web (WWW): The Web consists of all of the worldwide resources and users on
the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) or, in the words of the
Web's "creator," Tim Berners-Lee, "The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible
information, an embodiment of human knowledge." It is also a heck of a lot of fun.
WWW: See World Wide Web.
Zipped Files: A file or files compressed by the PKZIP compression program or by a program
using the same compression techniques. Zipped files carry the extension .ZIP. See
"Compression."
"Discovery" is the term lawyers use for the formal information gathering process which the law
allows litigants to prepare for trial. As anyone who has ever been embroiled in litigation knows, it
can be a costly, frustrating and time-consuming process. I use the term "informal discovery" to
encompass factual information about a litigant or their product or business, where such
information is obtained outside of formal discovery. For such informal discovery, the Internet and
several reasonably-priced online services offer a great deal. It will cost a little money to get some
of the information shown below (either on a per search basis or because access to the database
requires subscription); but, the cost is small relative to competing methods (e.g., hiring a private
investigator or a lawyer). For example, the following forms of traditional discovery can be
sometimes be begun, duplicated or supplemented by online resources.
Information re: individuals (parties, witnesses, jurors, etc.)
Driving record
Criminal Record
Credit Report
Bankruptcy filings
Property ownership
Social Security number traces
Voter registration
Date of Birth
Death records
Employment Histories
Residency Report
Phone Number
Automobile Ownership
Pleasure Craft/FAA Registrations
Real Property Ownership
Lawsuits by and against persons
Judgments
Professional affiliations
Usenet participation (hobbies,
political views, kinks)
Professional discipline (e.g., lawyers and physicians)
Information re: Entities
Credit Report
Financial statements
Property ownership
Bankruptcy filings
Identity and addresses of officers and registered agents
Principal place of business
Product lines and specifications
DOT records?
Lawsuits by and against entities
Judgments
Professional affiliations
Web presence
Information re: Expert Witnesses
Publications
Professional affiliations
Education verification
Testimonial experience
Professional licensing and discipline
Terminology and opinions in reports
Advertising
Medical information:
Online disease and injury database
Experts on particular injuries and diseases
Graphical illustration, radiographs and demonstrative resources
Products:
Recall notices
Patent information
Product specifications
Advertising
Consumer complaints
Regulatory filings
Human factors resources
Drawings and photographs
Distributors
Locate exemplar products
Government regulation
Trade associations
Media information items
Events:
Newspaper reports
Wire services
Television features and transcripts
Photos
Web sites
Index to Craig Ball's Informal Discovery Links:
Finding People for Free
Fee Based Investigative Resources
Search Engines
Search Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
Check Out Corporations and Associations
Check out Lawyers
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Products Liability
Medical
Banking
Maps
Travel
Selected Houston Links
Selected Dallas Links
Miscellany
Craig Ball's Informal Discovery Links
(a hyperlinked version of this list can be found at http://www.b-a-l-l.com/hotlinks.html and
at http://www.craig.ball.net/hotlinks.html)
wgator.htm FREE to check validity and state/time
of issuance for any SS# home.html Other
search
engines
engines.html form?beta Tell them your terminal type is ".vt100" onlineassocslist.html Hubble
faa-oai.htm faa-cai.htm public/NTSB_Accident_abstracts standards.html visible/ cgi/6b872df2-1-0-0?page=navigator_map Map_collection/map_sites/map_sites.html 1. Many people connect to the Internet through Apple Macintosh computers, and they are quite
happy doing so, thank-you-very-much. I am not one of them and so can't make useful hardware
or software recommendations for Apple products. It is not a snub. Also, Intel, maker of the
Pentium chip, is not the only company making the microprocessor chips that are the "brains" of
personal computers. Fully-capable chips are also made by, e.g., Cyrix and Advanced Micro
Devices. Just be sure that if you get another brand, it does all the same things at least as well and
as fast as the Pentium can do them.
2. CompuServe (now a part of America Online), Prodigy and America Online have their own
proprietary software packages and play by their own rules. If you elect to go the more costly
online service provider route, you will be provided with all the necessary software to get
connected.
3. Netscape recently announced that, bowing to competitive pressures from Microsoft, it would
begin offering its browser software for free. Better late than never.
4. America Online offers unlimited access pricing; however, the service problems this program has
engendered is the stuff of headlines and class actions. AOL's recent acquisition of Compuserve's
lines and equipment, combined with AOL's latest price increases, may alleviate some of the
reported headaches.
5. Under such circumstances, it is acceptable to tell family, friends and neighbors that you are a
piano player in a bawdy house, in order to save face.
Site Name or
Subject
U.R.L. (No spaces!)
Description
FINDING PEOPLE FOR FREE:
Directory Services:
AnyWho
http://www.anywho.com/
A simple, fast way to search over 100
million directory listings. More up-to-date than some. Reverse directory too.
Bigfoot
http://bigfoot.com
So-so white pages, yellow pages, web
pages and e-mail searches.
Information
USA
http://www.abii.com/
Listings for 113 million households and
10 million businesses
Info Space
http://www.infospace.com
Search telephone directories in USA,
Canada and other countries. Also yellow
pages search, E-mail finder, corporate
directory, toll free number database, fax
number database, and government
telephone number directory. An
excellent, wide-ranging site.
LYCOS People
Finder
http://www.lycos.com/peoplefind/
Search a massive telephone database.
Switchboard
http://www.switchboard.com/
A simple, quick way to find almost
anyone, anywhere who has a listed
phone number.
Ultimate White
Pages
http://www.theultimates.com/white/
Performs parallel search of other
directory services, including Yahoo,
WhoWhere, Switchboard, Four11,
Infospace and Worldpages.
WhoWhere
http://www.whowhere.com/
Find E-mail addresses and phone
numbers from among 90 million U.S.
listings. Also, toll-free numbers, yellow
pages and corporate web site locator
WorldPages
http://www.worldpages.com
Searches 112 million U.S. and Canadian
white and yellow pages listings, but
most valuable for its links to over 200
directories worldwide.
YAHOO People
Search
http://www.yahoo.com/search/people/email.html
Conduct surname searches via a national
criss-cross directory. Locate E-mail
addresses, home pages and phone
numbers.
Reverse Directory Services:
Reverse
Directory: DBA
http://www.databaseamerica.com/html/gpfind.htm
Both a people finder and a reverse
directory: If you know the phone
number, this database will return the
subscriber's name and address
Reverse
Directory:
InfoSpace
http://in-100.infospace.com/_1_165227325__info/reverse.htm
This directory offers reverse lookup by
phone number, fax number, U.S. street
address and e-mail address!
Reverse
Directory:
PC411
http://www.pc411.com/search.asp
Another reverse directory that will
return the subscriber's name and address
when you input the phone number.
Resources for Finding People
Missing
Persons
Resource
Center
http://www.pimall.com/nais/missingm.html
Articles and book descriptions on
professional methods.
"Searching for
People" Page
http://ddi.digital.net/~islander/
Links to resources for finding people,
includes link to Social Security Death
Index
Social Security
Death Index
http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm
Find information about persons whose
death triggered a Social Security benefit
(e.g., social security number, dates of
birth and death and place of residence).
Webgator
http://www.inil.com/users/dguss/
Excellent list of online Investigative
resources
FEE BASED Investigative Resources
Public Data
(Texas)
http://www.publicdata.com
A long-overdue resource! This
inexpensive database contains records of
Texas licensed drivers, sex offenders,
voters, Texas vehicle license tags, Dallas
and Travis County criminal records and
Dallas voter rolls. Search license records
by name, or TDL# and learn name,
address, weight, birth date, sex,
expiration date, status, class and
restrictions.
Information for
Business
http://www.info4business.com/
A primarily subscription-based resource
with reasonable prices and toll-free
telephone support. This well-run outfit
offers just about any type of data you
could want and an impressive
turnaround time for basic reports. The
helpful people give this service an edge.
American
Information
Network
http://www.ameri.com/
Purchase reports re: bankruptcies, birth
records, business background info,
credit reports, death records, driving
records, education verification,
employment history, financial
information, judgements, skip trace,
media reports, pleasure craft/FAA
registrations, criminal records,
professional licensure property
ownership, tax liens, etc.
InformUs
http://www.informus.com/
Driving records nationwide, Workers'
comp. claim searches in 40 States,
criminal record nationwide, previous
employment verifications in 72 hours,
national credit and address information.
KnowX
http://www.knowx.com
A reasonably priced (and often free at
off-peak times) search engine for
millions of public records, including real
property ownership, bankruptcies,
assets, UCC filings and many more.
National
Association of
Investigative
Specialists
http://www.pimall.com/nais/
A fascinating conglomeration of
investigative resources, spy equipment,
skip trace resources, P.I. publications,
etc.
National Credit
Information
http://pimall.com/nci/nci.html
Instant online access to e.g., SSN
traces, change of address info.,
determine date of birth, find unknown
SSN, surname searches, voter
registration info. and death records
Search Engines
Dogpile
http://www.dogpile.com
This inelegantly-named site permits
simultaneous searches of every part of
the Internet using all of the major search
engines. This is one of the best places to
start a key word search.
Alta Vista
http://www.altavista.digital.com/
Key word searches
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com
Topical search engine. Very user
friendly and the best place to begin a
topical search.
Infoseek
http://guide.infoseek.com/
Search Engines
Webcrawler
http://www.webcrawler.com
Lycos
http://www.lycos.com
Open Text
http://www.opentext.com
Excite
http://www.excite.com/
Starting Point
http://www.stpt.com/
Metacrawler
http://www.metacrawler.com/
BEAUCOUP
http://www.beaucoup.com/
Extraordinarily comprehensive links to
all manner of search engines (nearly 600
listed) and reference sources. Perhaps
the ultimate in one-stop searching.
INFERENCE
FIND
http://www.inference.com/infind/
This site calls out in parallel all the best
search engines, merges the results,
removes redundancies and clusters the
hits into neat understandable groupings.
A find indeed!
SAVVY
SEARCH
http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/
Another parallel search engine that
allows you to check the major search
resources in one fell swoop.
Search Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
Reference.com
Usenet Filter
http://www.reference.com/
Search through E-mail in USENET
newsgroups and mailing lists for specific
subjects. You can sift through 150,000
newsgroups, mailing lists and Web
forums.
Check out Corporations and Associations
Hoover's
Corporate
Information:
http://www.hoovers.com/
Profiles of corporations (some free,
some fee-based) and relevant links. An
excellent first stop for corporate
information.
Lexis
http://www.lexis.com
The old familiar legal research tool is a
superb way to identify the registered
agent for service of process and other
key information about any registered
corporation, P.A. or P.C. (Fee based).
You can search Lexis and Nexis via the
an Internet/Telnet connection if you are
a current subscriber by using the URL:
telnet://nex.lexis-nexis.com/
SEC EDGAR
Archives
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar
Online corporate filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Report Gallery
http://www.reportgallery.com/OT.htm
Many links to corporate annual reports
and web sites
A. M. Best
http://www.ambest.com/
Address, phone number and ratings for
insurance companies.
Insurance
Company
Locator
http://www.compuwork.com/company.html
Names, addresses and phone numbers
for about a zillion insurance carriers
Directory of
Associations
http://www.asaenet.org/gateway/
ASAE gateway to associations on the
World Wide Web.
Check Out Lawyers
The Bluesheet
http://www.bluesheet.com
Online guide to verdicts and settlements
in Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana
(free and fee based searches available)
Martindale-
http://www.martindale.com/
The online version of the ubiquitous
lawyer's decorative books. MH lets you
find just about any lawyer in America.
Texas
Electronic
Ethics Reporter
http://www.lawlib.uh.edu/ethics/
Online ethics opinions
Texas Lawyer's
Listings of
Lawyer
Disciplinary
Actions
http://www.texlaw.com/bar/disc1.htm
Make a request for disciplinary action
re: a specified lawyer.
West's Legal
Directory
http://www.wld.com/
Offers basic information on over
800,000 lawyers. Yikes!
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
FAA Aviation
Safety Database
ftp://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/faa-oai/
Information on FAA safety notices.
Airworthiness
Alerts
ftp://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/faa-cai/
Contains malfunction and defect reports
on aircraft and parts.
NTSB Accident
Briefs
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/raf/
A searchable database of National
Transportation Safety Board aircraft
accident briefs
NHTSA
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Regulations, standards,
recalls and a host of other automotive
safety information.
NHTSA Recalls
http://www.autosite.com/library/nhtsa/recalls/reclmenu.asp
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Regulations, standards,
recalls and a host of other automotive
safety information.
US Dept. Of
Transportation:
http://www.dot.gov/
Handsome site links to government
agencies with oversight function for
trains, planes, automobiles and boats.
Search a massive library and regulatory
database. A great resource
Accident
Reconstruction
Resources
http://www.c-design.com/accrec.html
Extensive list of links and phone
numbers to accident reconstruction
resources, including reconstruction
software packages
Kelly Blue
Book
http://www.kbb.com
How much was that car worth? FREE
online access to the massive market
value database (both wholesale and
retail values available)
Products Liability
Chemical
Health &
Safety Data
http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/docs/chem_hs.html
Toxicity and Safety data on chemicals of
every stripe. Sponsored by the National
Institute of Environmental Health
Services
ATSDR
http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080/atsdrhome.html
The Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry offers Data on toxic
and hazardous substances
Standards &
Specifications
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/
Links to standards for just about
anything you can imagine.
U.S. Dept. Of
Labor's
Occupational
Safety &
Health Admin.
http://www.osha.gov/
Complete OSHA standards online, plus
links to other safety and health sites.
Material Safety
Data Sheets
http://msds.pdc.cornell.edu/issearch/msdssrch.htm
Alphabetical compilation of Material
Safety Data Sheets for virtually any
compound.
Consumer
Product Safety
Commission
http://cpsc.gov/
The US Consumer Product safety
Commission shares recall info. And
publications. This site is especially good
for toy safety advisories.
The Consumer
Law Page
Defective
Product
Resource Page
http://consumerlawpage.com/resource/defect.shtml
This useful compilation of resources
(primarily geared to promote California's
The Alexander Law Firm), offers a host
of information about defective products
and lists many links to other resources.
Intellectual
Property
Resources
http://www.patents.com/resource.sht
"One stop shopping" for online patent
and trademark resources
Medical
American
Medical
Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/
Offers online member database
PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
The Nat'l Library of Medicine gives
FREE access to the 9 million+ citations
in MedLine.
Medscape
http://www.medscape.com
Medscape offers free access to Medline,
Toxline and Merriam-Webster's Medical
Desk Dictionary, as well as tens of
thousands of full-text articles covering a
range of medical specialities. An
excellent, fast-growing and easy-to-use
resource. Think of it as "Yahoo M.D."
Merck Manual
http://www.merck.com/!!vAopf3r3ivAoqC0up6/pubs/mmanual/
Although the latest (16th) edition is
circa 1992 and accordingly a bit
long-in-the-tooth in some areas, the
Merck Manual is the best all-around
medical reference source out there.
Thank you Merck & Co. Can't wait
until 17th edition next year!
New England
Journal of
Medicine
http://www.nejm.org/
Online articles back to 1990, with
weekly updates on significant research
and developments.
The Visible
Human
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/
They froze some folks solid, scanned the
heck out of them, sliced them up thinner
than pastrami and photographed it all.
An amazing, massive database of
anatomical information and stunning
pictures.
Banking Links:
American
Bankers
Association
http://www.aba.com
One of American banking's most
influential lobbying organization.
Banking links, products, services and
professional education.
List of Bank
Internet Sites
http://www.qualisteam.com/eng/conf.html
This site claims to link to over 95% of
all online bank sites.
American
Banker Online
http://www.americanbanker.com/
Headlines, financial data and a free two
week trial subscription.
Federal Reserve
Bank of Dallas
http://www.dallasfed.org/
The official home page of the Dallas
Fed, "the Banker's Bank." Offers
publications, economic data and links to
other Fed resources.
National
Information
Center
http://www.ffiec.gov/nic/
The Fed's National Information Center
of Banking Information. Offers data on
bank organizational structures and
finances.
Currency
Exchange Rates
http://www.uta.fi/~ktmatu/rates.html
Daily unofficial average cross rates for
major international currencies. Slick,
but easy to use.
Banking Law
Online
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/banking.html
Why waste money on high-priced
lawyers? Free online access to the text
of Federal and state bank regulations
and federal appellate decisions. Read it
and you'll quickly realize why you hire
the lawyers.
Bank Rate
Monitor
http://www.bankrate.com/
Geared to consumers of banking
services, offers mortgage, home equity
loan, savings, credit card and checking
account rates. Also tracks ATM fees
and online banking fees for >2,500
institutions, surveyed weekly in 117
mkts. and 50 states.
Maps
MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.com/
Free atlas, personalized maps of any
location and driving directions
Big Book
http://www.bigbook.com/showpage.
Enter any address and instantly get a
map of the specified location
Map-Related
Web Sites
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/
Comprehensive list of all the online map
resources. This is a map lovers
paradise!
Yahoo Maps
http://www.proximus.com/yahoo/
Another good site that gives you a map
if you give it an address, or even an
intersection.
Travel
Epicurious
http://travel.epicurious.com/
The online realm of Conde Nast
Traveler magazine. A lovely photo
gallery, useful online forums and editor's
choices make this site special.
Expedia
http://www.expedia.com/
Microsoft's online travel planner. It
offers some fine features, including flight
status information and 360 degree travel
views.
Fodor's Travel
Online
http://www.fodors.com/
An excellent site, especially useful for
locating restaurants and hotels and for
travel tips. But, you have to wonder
why Houston --the 4th largest city in the
US-- is omitted entirely!
Frommer's
http://www.frommers.com/
This "Outspoken Encyclopedia of
Travel" principally promotes the many
books and resources in the Arthur
Frommer series. Still, very useful.
Rick Steves'
Europe
Through the
Back Door
http://www.ricksteves.com/
Public TV's goofy travel guru knows his
stuff when it comes to enjoying Europe
on the cheap. Pack light and check this
site (especially the comments in the
"graffiti" section) before you go.
Realtime Flight
Tracking
http://www.thetrip.com/flightstatus/index.html
Up-to-the-minute data on planes in flight
between major U.S. cities. Cool!
Yahoo Travel
http://travel.yahoo.com/
This easy-to-use site lets you book
flights, cars and hotel rooms, as well as
linking to a wealth of destination
information.
Selected Houston Links
Houston
Sidewalk
http://houston.sidewalk.com/
Microsoft's Slick and savvy guide to
movies, restaurants, art & music and
entertainment in and around the
Houston area
Harris County
Appraisal
District
http://www.hcad.org/
HCAD offers on-line appraisal
information and maps, searchable by
name, address or account number.
Business, personal and mineral property
too.
Houston Area
Weather
http://www.weatherpoint.com/hci/
Local weather observations and
forecast. Includes current radar and
satellite views.
Houston Area
Realtime
Traffic
http://traffic.tamu.edu/traffic.html
This page is a bonafide glimpse into the
future. Cars with transponders are
electronically interrogated at 1 to 5 mile
intervals along freeways and HOV lanes.
Their speed data is sent to a central
computer that calculates travel times and
builds this Internet map.
Houston
Chronicle
Online
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
Houston's "leading Information Source"
has staked out its corner of the Web. A
searchable archive of more than ten
years of the late Houston Post and the
Chronicle is available online.
Houston Code
of Ordinances
http://codes.ci.houston.tx.us/folio.pgi/10123.NFO?
The City of Houston's Code of
Ordinances is online at this site.
Lake Conroe
Webcam
http://www.b-a-l-l.com/webcam.html
A realtime view out the kitchen window
of the Ball family lake house on Lake
Conroe: "Houston's Playground." Just
for fun.
Dallas Links:
North Dallas
Chamber of
Commerce
http://www.ndcc.org
The North Dallas Chamber serves as a
forum for discussion and action on the
vital issues of the business community
and helps promote the development and
continued success of its members.
Dallas Area
Rapid Transit
(DART)
http://www.dart.org/home.htm
DART on the Web. Slick site offers
system maps and service info.
D/FW Air
Traffic Control
http://www.audionet.com/simuflite/
Listen to LIVE conversations between
air traffic controllers and pilots of
aircraft arriving and departing the
Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Yahoo's Guide
to Dallas/Fort
Worth
http://dfw.yahoo.com/
Comprehensive guide to D/FW Internet
resources. The best place to start.
Dallas Morning
News
http://www.dallasnews.com/
Read the top stories in the morning
paper and search past issues.
Dallas Weather
http://www.wfaa.com/wx/index.html
Live link to WFAA Dallas storm track
radar
Dallas Fire and
Police Scanner
http://www.policescanner.com/
Listen to LIVE Dallas police and fire
department scanner broadcasts. Car 54
where are you?
Southwest
Airlines
http://www.iflyswa.com
Is there another way to get in and out of
Dallas? If you buy your tickets online,
you receive double flight credit on the
RapidRewards program. Thanks Herb!
Miscellany
FEDEX
http://www.fedex.com/us/tracking/
Track Fedex packages by airbill number.
Query: If you get something from
someone, can you run sequential airbill
numbers to see to whom else they are
sending FedEx packages? Probably a
real bad idea, ethically speaking.
UPS
http://www.ups.com/
Track any UPS bar coded shipment and
find out where it is at this very moment.
Political
Contributors
(query FEC
records)
http://www.tray.com/FECInfo/index.html-ssi
Search FEC records of political
contributions.
Webcams
http://www.steveweb.com/80clicks/
One of many Webcam link pages.
"Around the World in Eighty Clicks"
links to realtime images of people and
places all over the world.
NewsPage
http://www.newspage.com/NEWSPAGE/newspagehome.html
Personalized news reports
FACSNET
http://www.facsnet.org/report_tools/CAR/cardirec.htm
Master directory of online resources
used by news reporters (most are fee-based services)
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