Digital Practice of Law

Broadband Use Increases

3-11-04 - Broadband overtaking dial-up in major cities. "Broadband is rapidly becoming the preferred way residents of major U.S. metropolitan areas are accessing the Internet, according to a study released Wednesday.

San Diego currently has the highest broadband penetration rate in the nation, with 52 percent of its residents connecting to the Internet using a high-speed service, according to online measurement firm ComScore Networks. Boston ranks second with an even split between broadband and narrowband customers. New York City is in third place with 49 percent.

The San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles rank ninth and tenth with 44 percent broadband penetration each.

Despite gains in certain major cities, dial-up services remain the preferred choice for Americans to go online. Sixty four percent of all online Americans still use a dial-up services such as America Online, MSN and EarthLink. AOL still holds the lead, counting 28 percent of the U.S. Internet population as subscribers."

Yahoo's New search Engine

Yahoo! Birth of a New Machine (February 18, 2004)
"Yahoo is rolling out a brand new search engine today, with its own index and ranking mechanisms, casting aside its long-standing use of Google-powered search results. The move is bound to roil the industry and sets in motion a new race for the claim of web search champion."

Is Your Web Browser Infringing?

Microsoft enjoined from using technology January 15, 2004

"In a patent battle with wide ramifications, a Chicago inventor won an injunction Wednesday to stop Microsoft Corp. from using his browser technology in future versions of the popular Internet Explorer.

Michael Doyle, founder of Eolas Technologies Inc., also moved one step closer to collecting a $521 million jury award, one of the largest in patent litigation history, for the software giant's past infringements.

The disputed technology allows surfers to use their browsers to launch programs such as plug-ins that play music and make Web pages interactive."

Google Adds More Search Features

Google continues its dominent ways with the addition of the the following search areas:

"Parcel tracking IDs, patents and other specialized numbers can be entered into Google's search box for quick access to information about them. For example, typing a FedEx tracking number will return the latest information on your package. Other special search by number types include :

• UPS tracking numbers example search: "1Z9999W999999999"
• FedEx tracking numbers example search: "999999999999"
• USPS tracking numbers example search: "9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 99"
• Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers example search: "AAAAA999A9AA99999"
• UPC codes example search: "073333531084"
• Telephone area codes example search: "650"
• Patent numbers example search: "patent 5123123"
Remember to put the word "patent" before your patent number.
• FAA airplane
registration numbers example search: "n199ua"
An airplane's FAA registration number is typically printed on its tail.
• FCC equipment IDs example search: "fcc B4Z-34009-PIR"
Remember to put the word "fcc" before the equipment ID."

Comment: Broadens your search capability for various litigation support and factual research projects.

Largest Citie's Research

"Living Cities Databook Series" - Brookings Institute - Statiscal research on the 100 largest cities in the United States.

Search Results by Thumbshot

What about having a "thumbshot" of the first page of your search results? Check out dmoz - open directory project. Preview by Thumbshot.