May has finally arrived, and with it comes several of our spring conferences.  Let's take a quick look at what is happening at ITI. 

This year's Buying & Selling eContent in Scottsdale (April 10-12, 2005) saw more than 200 executives gather to meet and network with colleagues, customers, and friends in the information industry.  From our annual golf tournament to the various conference panels, attendees enjoyed themselves and left with food for thought and new ideas to challenge them over the next year.  Many thanks to those who helped make this show a success.

The May conferences at the Hilton in New York City are almost here!  Enterprise Search Summit, WebSearch University, and Streaming Media East are all from May 17 to 18, 2005.  Each event provides a unique opportunity to network with and learn from both colleagues and experts in the field.  There is still time to register for all three conferences, although time is quickly running out.  You can access all three events through our home page, www.infotoday.com.

As for this summer, we are returning to Paris in 2005 with three Information Today conferences in June.  WebSearch Academy, Enterprise Search Paris, and Collaboration in the e-Workplace will all take place at CNIT La Défense in Paris, France from June 1 to 2.  Join other IT professionals who are interested in acquiring crucial knowledge, strategies, and tools that will enable them to increase the information ROI within their organizations. 

If you have any comments or suggestions on any special content you would like to see covered or on how to improve this newsletter and the information held in it, please let us know at newslink@infotoday.com. 

Best Wishes, 
Tom Hogan, Jr.

by Paula J. Hane

Computer users have lots of options available to them for search—Web search engines, professional online search services, desktop search tools (all the rage recently), and enterprise search applications. However, all of these rely on the user initiating a search and knowing basically where and how to look for information. And most of these search solutions rely on a few key words to initiate the search. Now, a new "push" product can operate in the background and present potentially useful information as needed. Watson is a desktop application from Intellext that automatically reads and understands the context of what you’re working on; it uses that knowledge to proactively find and deliver information to you as it’s needed, even if you didn’t know you needed it or where to find it.

The Chicago-based start-up company Intellext (http://www.intellext.com) calls itself the "Intelligence in Context" software company. Intellext emerged from its research and development stage in late January, changed its name to Intellext from Open Road Technologies, hired technology entrepreneur Al Wasserberger as its CEO, and is now commercially marketing and shipping its software solutions. Watson is the result of research conducted by Intellext co-founders Jay Budzik and Kristian Hammond at Northwestern University. Budzik, now the company’s CTO, said that Watson "removes the burden of search from the shoulders of computer users." 

Watson can bring relevant data into a user’s work flow from multiple online and offline information sources, including: 

•  Search engines 
•  Desktop search applications 
•  Online content providers 
•  Subscription services 
•  Corporate databases 
•  Enterprise extranets and intranet portals 
•  Enterprise search systems 
•  Knowledge management solutions

The software works automatically in the background; it turns the gray light bulb icon yellow when information is available. Users can also request updated results and can even highlight words, phrases, or large sections of a page to provide context for Watson. Users are also able to  add search terms to refine results. According to a FAQ on the Intellext site, Watson uses a combination of application-level semantics and statistical language analysis techniques to arrive at a characterization of the user’s document or page. As a user works with a document, Watson pays attention to the section a user is editing and tailors its results to that section. Watson also understands how to separate the "junk" surrounding an article on a Web page from the article itself.

The Watson client for Windows is available in several options. The Watson Standard edition ($99.95 for a 1-year subscription) is for individual business users and provides content from a standard list of information sources, including search engines like Yahoo! and subscription services like HighBeam Research. Watson Professional is available for small and medium-sized businesses with up to 500 users. Watson Professional users can access corporate data sources such as corporate portal intranets and extranets, knowledge management solutions, and corporate databases; the software can easily be configured to search new information sources. 

Federated search vendor MuseGlobal (http://www.museglobal.com) has incorporated Intellext’s Watson technology as an optional add-on component to its MuseSearch products and services. Kate Noerr, CEO of MuseGlobal, said: "Watson as a front-end application driving the MuseServer powered back-end makes a very powerful information discovery system. As we expand into new markets such as legal and financial services, we expect this new functionality to make us an even more compelling choice."

Intellext is also offering the MuseSearch MuseServer as part of the Watson solution for large organizations—aka the Watson Enterprise Edition. Users of this software are able to access the 3,000-plus preconfigured information sources available through the MuseServer and have access to the software management and reporting tools in the Watson Enterprise Server. 

At the recent Software 2005 conference, Intellext introduced its latest commercial solution, the ActiveContext iSuite. This product suite, which is based on the Watson technology, offers a set of tools for publishers and Web content providers to offer contextual search features to their users. It will be available at the end of June in three modules: 

•  ActiveContext Client—client software (a menu bar button or toolbar) that can be distributed to users to provide contextual information from a content provider 
•  ActiveContext Server—operates as a Web service to suggest relevant content (from internal or external sources) to site visitors 
•  ActiveContext Component—a component that lets content providers build their own applications 

You can try Watson free for 30 days. Download it from the company site and then just say to the handy, unobtrusive assistant: "Watson, come here. I need you."
 

Paula J. Hane is Information Today, Inc.’s news bureau chief and editor of NewsBreaks. Her e-mail address isphane@infotoday.com.

NewsBreaks for Monday, May 2, 2005

Wondir Launches Volunteer Virtual Reference Service
by Barbara Quint 

While librarians across the country wrestle with virtual reference desk service schedules, Wondir, Inc. (http://www.wondir.com) has come out of a 2-year beta and launched a live Q&A service that “connects people with questions to people with answers.” Using a combination of search engine, instant messaging, and other technologies, it aims to allow “answer-full” volunteers to provide personal responses to queries and to generate automatic links to appropriate Web sites and news articles. In the course of development, Wondir has already tallied more than 1 million Q&A base pairs with answers coming from 100,000-plus people—more than 75,000 of whom have registered in the “Wondir community.”

-->https://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb050502-1.shtml
 

NewsBreaks Weekly News Digest

Westlaw Expands Government Affairs Resources
Thomson West (http://west.thomson.com) recently introduced a customized Government Affairs interface on Westlaw, with appropriate content organized around users’ work flow. The January 2005 acquisition of NETSCAN made it possible for Thomson West to enhance its government affairs coverage. NETSCAN iPublishing (NETSCAN) publishes pending legislative and regulatory information to government affairs professionals and lobbyists.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/wnd050502.shtml#1

Knovel Offers Free Access to Nine Reference Works
Knovel Corp. announced a new program called K-Essentials that offers businesses, academic institutions, and government agencies unlimited access, free of charge, to nine science and technical reference works on Knovel’s research platform. Knovel offers a virtual library of important industry reference works and handbooks for those in need of technical research. Using a Web-based platform enhanced with embedded software, Knovel makes the references work as productivity tools, enabling researchers to create, manipulate, and customize research reports. 
-->https://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/wnd050502.shtml#2

Yahoo! Introduces My Web
Yahoo! introduced the beta release of My Web from Yahoo! Search (available at http://search.yahoo.com). My Web is a “personal search engine” that provides a simple way to save, recall, and share online information with friends and colleagues. It enables users to create their own personal online archive by saving their favorite pages, search results, and search history to itself. In addition, users can share their information with friends and colleagues via integrated tools such as e-mail, instant messenger, and personal networking provided by Yahoo!’s new Yahoo! 360° tool.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/wnd050502.shtml#3
 

INFORMATION TODAY
Protecting Private Information
By Phillip Britt 

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 10 million people were victims of identity theft in 2002, the most recent year for which it has data. According to Gartner, Inc., 9.4 million online U.S. adults were victimized between April 2003 and April 2004. The losses amounted to $11.7 billion.  ChoicePoint reported that the personal information of 145,000 Americans may have been compromised in its breach, in which con men posing as businessmen looking to do background checks on their customers were given access to its credit information database. The company reported that about 750 of those people whose information was released were defrauded.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/it/may05/britt.shtml

ONLINE Magazine
Searching Books Between the Covers
By Greg R. Notess

To find information inside a printed book, people traditionally rely on an index or, for a few works, a concordance. With the advent of e-books, however, people could search the entire text, assuming they bought the e-book. Although a growing number of copyright-free books are now on the Web, those still under copyright remained unsearchable—until now.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/online/may05/OnTheNet.shtml

COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES
There's No Need to Fear Open Source
By Janet L. Balas 

Many of you may already be using open source software without realizing it. Firefox, the Web browser that is growing in popularity as an alternative to Internet Explorer, was developed by the Mozilla Foundation's open source project. Mozilla.org, which is overseen by the Mozilla Foundation, is an organization of people who are interested in using or improving the Mozilla source code. More information about the foundation and its philosophy, as well as a free Firefox download, can be found on the Mozilla Web site. An e-mail client, Thunderbird, is also available for download as is Mozilla Suite, a set of Internet applications that includes a Web browser, an e-mail and newsgroup client, an IRC chat client, and an HTML editor.  Documentation for these programs as well as other resources are also available on the site.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/may05/balas.shtml

SEARCHER Magazine
Tsunami Blogs Respond to Disaster 
By Miguel Ramos and Paul S. Piper

The tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, has become another defining moment in the evolution and use of blogs. These distributed, interactive resources rallied around the disaster in ways that allowed readers to learn of the disaster, find ways to help through direct donations or volunteer opportunities, and cope with the grief that such an event inevitably brings.
-->https://www.infotoday.com/searcher/may05/ramos_piper.shtml

MULTIMEDIA & INTERNET@SCHOOLS
A.I. vs. the Pen: Cutting-Edge Tools for Teaching Writing
By Charles G. Doe
 
Advances in technology—including artificial intelligence (AI), as well as computer- and Web-based technologies—have led to the development of exciting instructional and testing applications for teaching writing. Many new capabilities are appearing, yet most are just enhancements or improvements to processes and methods that have been around for a while. Equipment such as wireless classroom setups and hand-held devices offer exciting possibilities, but some of the radical changes in writing instruction are stemming from the development and relatively widespread use of computerized essay correction technology.
-->http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=9858

LINK-UP DIGITAL
Making Travel Plans
By Roberta Roberti

Everyone has different travel needs, but you can get enough information online to make the best choices for your personal circumstances. Some people want to be pampered to the limit, while others are happy to simply have a clean room and fresh towels. So whatever your tastes, use what the Internet has to offer to plan the best possible trip.
 -->https://www.infotoday.com/linkup/lud050105-roberti.shtml

CONFERENCE REPORT/UPDATE

Streaming Media For the Business World
Streaming Media East 2005, May 17-18 at the New York Hilton, is the only event that brings together an independent, knowledge-based conference, a robust exhibit hall, and high-level networking opportunities all under one roof - and in New York City.  Learn how streaming and digital media can solve your business challenges and increase productivity. Go to http://www.streamingmedia.com/east for more program details.

ITI's May Shows Are Almost Here
ITI proudly presents two of its May shows, Enterprise Search Summit and WebSearch University, May 17-18, 2005, at the Hilton New York.  Come hear the leading industry minds offer business solutions to information professionals. It's not too late to register for these events.  Go to www.enterprisesearchsummit.com and www.websearchu.com for more information. 

CONFERENCE CALENDAR

May 2005

May 12-14 AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INDEXERS, Pasadena, CA
Contact: American Society of Indexers, 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033; Phone: 303/463-2887; Fax: 303/422-8894; E-mail: info@asindexing.org; Web: http://www.asindexing.org

May 16-18 ENTERPRISE SEARCH SUMMIT, Hilton New York, New York, NY
Contact: Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055; Phone: 800/300-9868; Fax: 609/654-4309; E-mail: custserv@infotoday.com; Web: http://www.enterprisesearchsummit.com

May 16-18 STREAMING MEDIA EAST, Hilton New York, New York, NY
Contact: Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055; Phone: 800/300-9868; Fax: 609/654-4309; E-mail: custserv@infotoday.com; Web: http://www.streamingmedia.com/east

May 16-18 WEBSEARCH UNIVERSITY, Hilton New York, New York, NY
Contact: Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055; Phone: 800/300-9868; Fax:609/654-4309; E-mail: custserv@infotoday.com; Web: http://www.websearchu.com

May 17-19 ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION & IMAGE MANAGEMENT (AIIM) EXPO,
Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
Contact: AIIM, 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1100, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Phone: 301/587-8202; Fax: 201/587-2711; E-mail: aiim@aiim.org; Web: http://www.aiim.org

For the complete Conference Calendar visit https://www.infotoday.com/calendar.shtml
 

"A comprehensive and readable guide to Yahoo! by one of the world's savviest online searchers."— Chris Sherman, Associate Editor, Search Engine Watch, and author, Google Power

With its many and diverse features, it's not easy for any individual to keep up with all that Yahoo! has to offer. Fortunately, Randolph (Ran) Hock has created a reader-friendly guide to his favorite Yahoo! tools for online research, communication, investment, e-commerce, and a range of other useful activities. In Yahoo! to the Max, Ran provides background, content knowledge, techniques, and tips designed to help Web users take advantage of many of Yahoo!'s most valuable offerings - from its portal features, to Yahoo! Groups, to unique tools some users have yet to discover. Of course, Yahoo! is not going to sit still, and neither is Ran Hock: As with all Extreme Searcher guides, the author's regularly updated Web page helps readers stay current on the new and improved Yahoo! features he recommends.

"We review many new publications, good and not so good, but we know straight away that if it's a Ran Hock title then it's going to be great." — William Hann, Managing Editor, FreePint

June 2005/272 pp/softbound
ISBND: 0-910965-69-2
Regular price: $24.95 

To purchase this title, please go to https://books.infotoday.com/books/yahootomax.shtml.
 

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EContent Xtra: http://www.econtentmag.com/ecxtra
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CRM eWeekly: http://www.destinationcrm.com/newsletter/