The Scout Report - January 10, 1997

January 10, 1997

A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

A Project of the InterNIC

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators, the InterNIC's primary audience. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Research & Education

Patent Searching from IBM and Optipat
http://www.patents.ibm.com/
USPTO and CNIDR Patents Database
http://patents.uspto.gov/patbib_index.html
IBM and Optipat, Inc. have made a searchable US Patent Database available on the web. Coverage is from 1971 to the end of 1996 at present (IBM intends to update it regularly), and retrieval includes bibliographic information about the patent, claims, reference, and abstract information. In addition, for patents since 1987, images of the patent are available. IBM intends to add images from 1974-86 patents early in 1997. Users can view the images, or order the patents online from Optipat. Patent number searching, as well as Boolean and field searching are provided. The provision of claims and detailed drawing image information distinguishes this site from the Patent and Trademark Office/CNIDR (Center For Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval) patent search site. Of course, as might be expected, both retrieval and relevance rankings of these two search engines differ, so patent searchers may want to use them in combination. [JS]
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Bodleian Library / Toyota City Imaging Project--Oxford University
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/toyota/
The Bodleian Library of Oxford University has released its first digital imaging project on the web. The John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera, one of the largest and most important collections of printed ephemera anywhere in the world, was the source of the thousands of motoring and transportation images now accessible at this site. This image database can be searched by keyword or by browsing through images categorized by type of transport (motor cars, carriages and coaches, bicycles, ships, and railways, among others). Images range from single page advertising leaflets for 19th century bicycles to complete early 20th century motoring manuals. There are three screen display formats: text only, thumbnail images with brief descriptions, and full-screen images. [AG]
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Chemical Education Resource Shelf
http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/chemistry/books/welcome.html
Journal of Chemical Education Online
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/
Produced under the auspices of the Journal of Chemical Education Online, this site is the basis for that journal's "Book Buyer's Guide." It provides high school and college-level chemistry educators with various teaching resources, including a comprehensive index to chemistry textbooks in print. The index is arranged by subject, under which entries are listed in chronological order, from newest to oldest. Subjects covered range from Biochemistry and Computers in Chemistry to Quantum Chemistry and Writing in Science. In addition to basic bibliographic information, when available, each entry includes citations of reviews and links to publishers' online catalogs. Another feature is "Hal's Picks of the Month," a growing archive of over 30 "books and recent articles for teachers of chemistry and related sciences" as recommended and reviewed by Professor Harold (Hal) Harris of the University of Missouri - St. Louis Chemistry Department. "Journals of Interest to Chemical Educators" and "Suppliers of Software for Chemical Education" are two other lists available at this site. [AG]
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Give Water a Hand Guidebooks [.pdf]
http://www.uwex.edu/erc
This nationally-known program based at the University of Wisconsin Environmental Resources Center is making a splash with the newly released second edition of its water resource education guidebook. Designed to engage young people (ages 9-14) in environmental community service, the Youth Action Guide (72 pages) includes step-by-step instructions on how to investigate local watershed issues, work with local natural resources experts, and how to identify, plan, and carry out a community service project. The accompanying Leader Guidebook (42 pages) provides group leaders with background information, suggestions on how to adapt activities to different age groups, and how to use the program within a K-12 school curriculum. [AG]
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WebEc--WWW Resources in Economics [Frames]
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/monitoring/exotics/cercopagis.html
No-frames version:
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/monitoring/exotics/cercopagis.html
NetEc
http://netec.mcc.ac.uk/NetEc.html
WebEc is "...an effort to categorize free information in economics on the WWW." Bill Goffe, author of Resources for Economists on the Internet (discussed in the May 31, 1996 Scout Report) notes WebEc is "...a particularly good place to look for a broader array of business and economic resources." In addition to every known facet of economics, other supporting sections are also listed. Produced as a joint and volunteer effort, the intended audience is academic economists. Version 2.4 is the most current issue available, although 3.1 is scheduled for release this month. WebEc is a part of NetEc, which also provides information on printed working papers (BibEc), on electronic working papers (WoPEc) and code for econometrics (CodEc). [ATW]
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Emerging Infectious Diseases--CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm
Text only:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eidtext.htm
FTP access:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/EID/
ftp to: ftp.cdc.gov
change directories to: pub/EID
The US National Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control, offers the full text of its quarterly, peer reviewed journal Emerging Infectious Diseases at its web site. The issues are divided into three categories: Perspectives, dealing with the underlying causes of infectious disease emergence; Synopses, summaries of specific diseases; and Dispatches, "brief laboratory or epidemiologic reports with an international scope." The current issue (October-December 1996) contains articles on protecting against dangerous emerging pathogens, "Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Virulence," and Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease in the US, among others. Issues are available in HTML, ASCII, .pdf, and PostScript format. A limited number of issues are available in Spanish. [JS]
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Dialog-Agua-L--Water-related issues mailing list
http://www.ces.fau.edu/online/index.html
List Archive
http://www.ces.fau.edu:7060/archives/dialog-agua-l.html
Dialog-Agua-L is an e-mail discussion forum for ecosystem managers, policy makers, scientists, students, and interested parties to share knowledge about water-related issues in a broad sense. Content on Dialog-Agua-L includes scientific questions and answers; software announcements; position announcements; and conference announcements, reports and proceedings. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
listserv@centauri.ces.fau.edu
In the body of the message type:
Subscribe Dialog-Agua-L your name
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General Interest

The Future of Technology and the Internet
Forbes ASAP--The Big Issue: where do we go from here?
http://www.forbes.com/asap/120296/the_big_issue.htm
apcmag.com Interview with Vinton Cerf
http://apcmag.com/profiles/213a_1ce.htm
For Internauts interested in the future of technology in general and of the Internet in particular, two recently released web resources are a must. Forbes ASAP (discussed in the May 10, 1996 issue of the Scout Report) has recently made "The Big Issue" available. The theme is "The Digital Revolution: Why and Whither." The site is composed of 52 articles discussing history and politics, private life, science and technology, and public life. Contributors include Stephen Ambrose, Paul Johnson, Simon Schama, William F. Buckley, Jr., Thomas Moore, Reynolds Price, David Berlinski, Richard Leakey, Bill Gates, Tom Wolfe, Virginia Postrel, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter, among many others. George Gilder also offers a large essay. Australian Personal Computer Magazine (apcmag.com), as the first installment in its "profiles" series, offers an in-depth interview with Vinton Cerf, one of the inventors of TCP/IP and an Internet pioneer. Topics of the interview include Internet II, government's role in regulating the industry, IPv6, and censorship. [JS]
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The Observatorium--NASA
http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/
The Observatorium is a cooperative project among NASA's Information Infrastructure Technology & Applications Program, BDM International, and West Virginia University. This site currently offers four new features: Applications of Satellite Data, Fun and Games, Tools & Data, and the Birth of Stars; it also features a new observation each week, as well as providing current headlines in space exploration. It also has its own Sites Reviewed and Search sections that allow for further and more direct exploration into the topic of your choice. NASA's educational projects (categorized by grade level and topic), NASA's Educational Outreach Programs, and other NASA-sponsored projects are discussed. A reference section offers educational articles and tutorials. The Image Gallery contains many stunning pictures of the universe, solar system, moon, spacecraft, and more. [TB]
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Impact of Armed Conflict on Children--United Nations Children's Fund
http://www.unicef.org/graca/
In 1994, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali appointed Graca Machel, a former Mozambican Education Minister, to study the impact of armed conflict on children in response to a call by the General Assembly for a detailed examination of the issue. This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the two-year study which included consultations with experts and officials from key regions, field visits, and interviews with the individuals affected. [EH]
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National Hockey League--On Frozen Ponds [AVI, MOV]
http://www.nhl.com
The NHL's official site is a good place to start for anyone interested in the professional version of Canada's national pastime. Unfortunately, the site doesn't contain an archive of boxscores and/or recaps of all games. However, extensive boxes and recaps are provided for the latest games. Updated statistics are available on a wide variety of team and individual variables, and information is available on the various teams. But what really makes this site interesting are the "Cool Shots" section (8 multimedia highlights from the previous week's play--archived back to the beginning of the season), and "Feature Files," a potpourri of information including weekly reviews, instruction, and special features highlighted by "A Day in the Life of the National Hockey League," a photo essay of the NHL on March 23, 1996. [JS]
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Driveways of the Rich & Famous
http://www.driveways.com/
Occasionally the Scout Report highlights sites that are an eccentric use of bandwidth, but are interesting or entertaining (we think, anyway!) in concept or content. Yesterland (discussed in the April 19, 1996 Scout Report) was an example. Driveways of the Rich & Famous is another. Produced by John Cunningham, host of the DRF public access cable TV show in Southern California, the heart of the site is made up at present of 59 celebrity driveways, from Andre Aggassi to Robin Williams. As if this weren't enough, there are also interviews with star's neighbors, doormen, and delivery men. This is one of the most exhaustive driveway sites on the Internet. [JS]
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The Economist--Politics and Business This Week summaries via email
http://www.economist.com/editorial/freeforall/current/index_summaries.html
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
The Economist (an "international weekly journal of news, ideas, opinion, and analysis") has launched a new email service which will deliver its Business and Politics This Week summaries directly to you. Subscriptions are free. Politics This Week covers the world's main political events; Business This Week looks at the most important happenings in business and finance. Summaries can also be viewed at The Economist web site, which also contains selected articles from the publication back to the beginning of 1996. [JS]
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Correction--Address for microbiz-list (MicroBusiness Discussion List)
Last week's Scout Report Annotation for microbiz-list (MicroBusiness Discussion List) contained incorrect subscription information. Our apologies for any inconvenience. [JS]

To subscribe send email to:
mb-list-request@gamma.pair.com
In the subject line or message type:
SUBSCRIBE
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Net Tools

Two Macintosh Application Announcements from Microsoft
Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download/
Front Page Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/
Scout Toolkit Web Tools Pages
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/webtools/authoring.html
Caught up in the excitement of Macworld Expo, Microsoft has announced two new applications for the Macintosh platform. Internet Explorer jumps directly from beta version 1 to full release, and includes a release version of Internet Mail & News, as well as a beta version of Personal Web Server. IE 3.0 is currently available only for Macs and Mac-compatibles based on the PowerPC chip, as Apple is currently reworking a software module necessary for 68K implementation. Also released this week is the first Mac beta version of Microsoft's Front Page application. This HTML processor includes both page and site management tools, and promises close integration with Microsoft Office applications. For more information on web browsers, plug-ins, and authoring tools, see the Scout Toolkit's Latest Internet Tools and Technologies pages. [ML]
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GVU's WWW User Survey Background
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/
Graphic, Visualization, & Usability Center's (GVU) WWW User Survey, from Georgia Tech, has been tracking various demographics of WWW users since January 1994. They have completed six surveys with the last released in November 1996. All of the surveys are available from the site. Demographic data include age, gender, location, marital status, occupations, political party, etc. Additional questions cover data privacy, censorship, security, information gathering and purchasing behavior, and a special section regarding web authoring. The survey included some 15,000 unique respondents. The results are presented in multiple forms from various summaries to graphical presentations to survey methodology. Full results and data sets are not yet posted. The press release contains various conclusions, and states that "the rate of introducing new users has slowed...[and will remain slow until the introduction of] new and inexpensive "plug and play" technologies such as Web TV or the Internet phone become widely available." [ATW]
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BBN Internet Timeline
http://www.bbn.com/roles/researcher/timeline/
This handy-dandy timeline, produced by the BBN Corporation, is a great place to begin a quick walk back into the ARPANET's (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) and, subsequently, the Internet's history. Timeline presents ARPANET's and various Technical, Political, Social and Entertainment events from the 1950's and 1960s in an easy-to-read format. It begins in the late 1950s with the creation of ARPA and ends with the Apollo II moon landing in the late 1960s. Timelines for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are also available. A 1996 Timeline is advertised as coming soon. Whether this is a walk down memory lane or all news to you, the Timeline is well done. Note: the timelines contain links, but they seem only to point back to that same item on the timeline. [ATW]
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1996. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The InterNIC provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.

The Scout Report Team:

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Matt Livesey
--
--
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Project Director and Managing Editor
Editor and Internet Librarian
Production Editor
Contributors:
Pete DeVries
Amy Tracy Wells
Aimee Glassel
Eric Hazen
Teri Boomsma
--
--
--
--
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Internet Tools Specialist
Internet Librarian
Internet Cataloger
Tech-support/listserv/web/graphic guy
HTML and Listserve Specialist

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