Finding Library Holdings with Google and Yahoo

Open WorldCat Pilot: A User's Perspective. Nancy O'Neill. Searcher. Nov/Dec 2004.
Begun in December, 2003, OCLC's Open WorldCat Pilot provides library records that are integrated into the search results of Google and Yahoo. O'Neill analyzes the program's progress and evaluates search strategies for locating WorldCat records and holdings in local libraries. [The Open WorldCat Program (OCLC)]

Wikipedia Creators Planning Collaborative News Service

Wikipedia Creators Move Into News. Joanna Glasner. Wired News. November 29, 2004.
The Wikimedia Foundation has decided to launch Wikinews, a forum where amateur reporters will post original news stories reflecting a neutral point of view. So far, 95 articles have been written.

Google's Secret Plans for Video Search

Striking up Digital Video Search. Stefanie Olsen. CNET News.com. November 29, 2004.
Google, Microsoft and Google, as well as broadcast, cable and phone companies, are looking into the provision of video search through a variety of technologies.

Laurence Lessig on FCC Chair Michael Powell

Technology Over Ideology. Lawrence Lessig. Wired Magazine. December, 2004.
Lessig evaluates Michael Powell's tenure as chair of the FCC and finds him less ideological than many people believe him to be.

Software Patents Opposed in EU

Torvalds Comes out Against EU Patent Directive. Robert McMillan. Computerworld. November 24, 2004.
As the European Union prepares granting patents on software, Linus Torvalds and other open-source developers are arguing that software is best protected by copyright. [Text of Proposed Directive] [No Software Patents!]

Ask Jeeves Launches New Search Tools

Ask Jeeves Launches 'Binocular' Search Preview Tool. Philip Buxton. Revolugion. November 27, 2004.
Ask Jeeves has introduced a search preview tool that allows users to examine search results by mousing over a binocular icon. [Doing so displays a small preview image of the page which is difficult to read, but gives an idea of what the site looks like. At this time, not all search results have this feature, and some of the ones that do have binocular icons do not yet display their pages. It is work in progress, but will be a useful way to save clicking time.]

New Travel Search Engines

Online Travel Search Engines Set to Take Off. Michael Liedtke. Associated Press (via Newsday). November 26, 2004.
An AP business writer looks at online travel agencies and the new generation of travel search engines.

Search Engine Resources

Keeping Up with Search Engines. Sree Sreenivasan. Poynter Online. November 23, 2004.
Sreenivasan, a Columbia University journalism professor, provides a useful list of blogs that focus on search engine news.

The Coming of the Ficiton-Writing Computer

Computers as Authors? Literary Luddites Unite! Daniel Akst. New York times. November 22, 2004.
In this essay novelist Akst fears that computers may give authors some competition. He looks at fiction-writing software StoryBook and Brutus.1 and provides samples of their writing.

The Intellectual Property Protection Act's Effect on Fair Use

Is 'Fair Use' in Peril? Eric Hellweg. Technology Review. November 19, 2004.
The Intellectual Property Protection Act would make illegal many things that we take for granted today, such as fast-forwarding through commercials in recorded television programs or sharing iTunes playlists.

Google Taking on Microsoft with New Products

Google Treads on Microsoft's Turf. Associated Press (via Wired News). November 21, 2004.
Moving beyond its Web search services, Google is invading Microsoft territory with its desktop search and other products.

British Library Providing Broadband Wireless

British Library Gets Wireless Net. BBC News. November 18, 2004.
The British Library is establishing a wireless network for the benefit of its 3,000 daily visitors, 86% of whom bring laptops with them.

Passwords May be Replaced by Biometric Scans

Gates: Passwords Passe. Dan Ilett. CNET News.com. November 16, 2004.
The Microsoft chairman believes that passwords will be replaced by smart cards and biometric technology in future corporate computing.

Quality of the Wikipedia

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia. Robert McHenry. TCS: Tech Central Station. November 15, 2004.
The former Editor in Chief of the Encyclopaedia Britannica reviews the Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia which can be revised by anyone.

Intelligent Jewelry and Pervasive Computing

When Invention Turns to Innovation. Jo Twist. BBC News. November 10, 2004.
Nick Donofrio, senior vice-president of technology at IBM and presenter of the 2004 Hinton Lecture, believes that, as technology leads to greater social change, computing will become more widespread throughout our daily lives. Computer interfaces will take the form of jewelry, clothing and everyday objects.

Microsoft Preparing to Take on Google

Microsoft Seeks Top Search Spot. BBC News. November 11, 2004
Microsoft has been testing its answer to Google and Yahoo since August, and the search engine will be finished by the end of the year. [MSN Search (beta)]

Another Look at Advertising and Search Results

In Search of Disclosure: How Search Engines Alert Consumers to the Presence of Advertising in Search Results. Jorgen J. Wouters. Consumer Reports WebWatch. November 8, 2004.
This report, WebWatch's third dealing with search engines, examines the progress that has been made in their disclosure of how their advertising affects search results.

'Gone with the Wind' an Issue in Copyright Battle

One Internet, Many Copyright Laws. Victoria Shannon. New York Times. November 8, 2004.
When Gone with the Wind was posted on the Australian site of Project Gutenberg, it prompted a protest from the estate of Margaret Mitchell. The book has been in the public domain in that country since 1999, but is protected in the U.S. until 2031. Recordings by Elvis Presley and The Beatles are likewise set to enter the public domain in Europe where the copyright period is also shorter than in the U.S.

IBM's Blue Gene to Reach 70.72 Teraflops

Supercomputer Breaks Speed Record. Jo Twist. BBC News. November 5, 2004.
Built for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, IBM's Blue Gene/L will attain the speed of 70.72 teraflops, five million times faster than the Cray-1 in 1976.

ISBN Running Out of Numbers

ISBN-13: New Number on the Block. Ann Chapman. Ariadne. October, 2004.
The International Standard Book Number, under current standards, will run out of numbers before long. In this article, Chapman describes changes underway that we should all be aware of.

Domains Proposed for Asia, Travel, Pornography

Progress on New Internet Domains. BBC News. October 30, 2004.
ICANN is considering new domains for Asia, postal services, travel and pornography, among others.

Nerd Recruiting at Google

To find top talent, Google uses nerdy recruiting stunts. Michael Liedtke. Associated Press (via Philadelphia Inquirer). October 31, 2004.
Google's efforts to lure top talent include posting brain twisters on billboards and placing aptitude tests in magazines.