Ask Jeeves Chosen for Another Gov't Portal
The newly redesigned District of Columbia portal has implemented JeevesOne’s natural language search. See also this FCW review of the site’s new features, cost and user community.
Net Gambling Bill Approved By House Cmte.
H.R. 21, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act, sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), was passed by the House Committee on Financial Services yesterday. See also Hearing on Proposals to Regulate Illegal Internet Gambling, Senate Banking Committee, March 18, 2003, and GAO-03-89 Report, December 20, 2002, Internet Gambling, An Overview of the Issues.
FirstGov Has Yet Another New Look
The FirstGov portal has undergone its third redesign since the site’s introduction September 2000, although the new lingo according to this press release (thanks Tara) is that the site has been ‘refreshed.’ From the release: “The new refreshed site allows users to go straight into a Citizen Gateway, which provides easy access to government services …
File Sharing Network Closed on Another Campus
Ohio State University (OSU) has shut-down dormitory-based computers running a network used to share music files with 3,000 students. The students were using a legal P2P file sharing application called Direct Connect. From the OSU student newspaper, the Latern, Raid pulls plug on illegal network, which states, “A group consisting of a computer crime specialist, …
NY City Portal Relaunched
Via Metafilter, news that New York’s Mayor Bloomberg was behind the launch of the newly designed MyNYC.gov Portal. This well crafted site provides updated news banner headlines about issues including public health and transportation, a quick search engine to locate city services and facilities, straight-forward links to the Mayor’s office, agency services, elected officials, live …
Law Day, U.S.A., 2003
According to this resource, “In 1961, Congress designated May 1 as Law Day, a time for Americans to reflect on the rule of law in a constitutional republic.” I missed the exact date on this one, but nevertheless thought it worth mentioning. Here is the link to Law Day, U.S.A., 2003, By the President of …
Book Review: Librarians, Reference and the Web
Here is a recent review of the Librarian’s Internet Survival Guide: Strategies for the High-Tech Reference Desk by Irene E. McDermott (reference librarian/systems manager at the San Marino Public Library in California).
A Flurry of Google PR
Google: An engine of change; Inside Google; Google CEO Has No Near Term Plans for IPO; and All Eyes on Google.
Students and Industry Respond to Music Piracy
From the May 5 USA Today (reg. req’d), an interesting article provides some background about and carefully crafted “no comments” from the three of the four students who settled file-sharing infringement cases with the RIAA. In related news from the same paper, see also Piracy has its hooks in. This article details the win/lose scenarios …
Advocacy Group Seeks to Block Transfer of European Passenger Data
European Digital Rights (EDRi), a non-profit coalition of privacy/advocacy groups based in Brussels, launched a campaign against the transfer of European travellers’ Passenger Name Records (PNR) to U.S. Customs. See the following related documents: EDRi campaign press release. Full text of Article 29 Data Protection Working Party: Opinion 6/2002 on transmission of Passenger Manifest Information …
CA Assembly Seeks to Protect Internet Users Info
California Assembly Bill 1143, as amended April 30, “would establish new procedures for the production by an Internet service provider or online community host of identifying information regarding a consumer..” The bill is now under consideration by the Committee on Judiciary.
Canadian Privacy Law Impacts E-Commerce
Canadian Privacy Law Deadline Approaching: “Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, all companies that collect, use or disclose personal information about Canadian citizens during the course of commercial activities will have to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.”