Subject Tracers
THIS WEEK we start with a discussion on yet another useful tool, subject tracers, designed to further facilitate the Net information retrieval process.
It is very difficult for netizens to keep pace with the ever-growing web information base. Also, to tame this information explosion and to use the available data effectively, Net developers have developed a variety of information retrieval tools over time. Search engines, search directories, subject gateways, web logs and news aggregators are examples of products in this genre. Here, we will have a look at another product in this category called `Subject Tracer Information Blogs,' a tool created using bots and blogs.
Issue
One of the shortcomings of search engines is that many irrelevant links creep into its output. Also, if we are interested only in a specific subject, we have to weed out many unwanted sites. That is, for getting a focussed list of latest content available on a specific subject, we need to look at other alternatives. This becomes all the more important if the subject in question is a volatile and dynamic one.
For example, if you are doing research on the various trends taking place in the business process outsourcing (BPO) phenomena, a fast changing area, traditional tools like search engines or search directories will not do. You need a tool that regularly scans the multitude of Net resources for a specified information automatically and compiles/presents the collected information in an easily retrievable format. The `Subject Tracer Information Weblogs' is an attempt to address this need of netizens.
Subject Tracer
A program that automatically performs some functions repeatedly is called a software bot. The web alert program, `Watznew' (`http://www.watznew.com/download-freeware.html#free-1-6') which monitors specified web pages and collects/presents the new content in an easily accessible format is an example.
A subject tracer is a blog created with the help of bots that monitor/collect the latest information on a subject available on the Net. In an e-mail message to me, Marcus P. Zillman (http://marcuszillman.blogspot.com/), the creator of Subject Tracer, explained that the Subject Tracers are powered by his "personal bots that constantly monitor the Internet for the latest resources on various subjects and then update the blogs after determining the quality and competency of the source and data.''
Currently, around 24 publicly accessible Subject Tracers are available. These subject tracer Weblogs, which deal with a range of subjects that include Astronomy (http://www.astronomyresources.info/), Biological Informatics (http://www.biologicalinformatics.info/) Business (http://www.biresources.info/) and Statistics (http://www.statisticsresources.info/) are hosted on the site Virtual Public Library (http://www.virtualprivatelibrary.com/). All the subject tracers have their own URLs so that one can easily access them directly.
As the subject tracers are designed to `bring together' the latest content available on a specific subject on an `ongoing' basis, you will find lots of new/valuable/relevant content on these blogs. Take the subject tracer, `Internet Alert' (http://www.internetalerts.info/), for example. Here you will find many links to various alert services available on the Net. The information listed on the latest virus threats/tools to remove them, is another highlight of this blog.
Apart from the Subject Tracers mentioned above, a monthly newsletter that points out the latest resources on the Net is also available (http://www.awarenesswatch.com/) for free use.
Mozex: A Firefox add-on
It is likely that many regular readers of this column are users of the browser Mozilla Firefox. Apart from such advantages as tabbed browsing, pop-up window stopper and so on, a feature worth noting about this browser is the availability of many add-on tools that enhance its power. One such add-on certainly worth testing is Mosex (http://mozex.mozdev.org/) that enables a user to access external programs for such actions as `View Source' and handling e-mail (`mailto') links. For example, if you want to view the source of a web page through a specified editor like Notepad, you can use this tool. After installing the tool, restart the browser and do the necessary configuration adjustments using the `Settings' button (available under Tools/Options/Extensions).
Many PHP/PERL-based programs are available for floating project forums that can be used to access/store/edit project related data by the members of a project. But most of these programs demand some kind of computing skills to install them as you need to do tasks such as editing the configuration files, creating databases and so on. If you are reluctant to do those administrative tasks, but still want to create a discussion forum, check out the software, ProjectForum, which can be used by a project team to co-ordinate their work. The program, which is available on such platforms as Windows and Linux can be installed by just clicking on its icon. After the installation it will run as a server on your machine, whose admin page can be accessed through the web using the URL:
http://localhost:3455/admin/directory. html. A free version with limited features can be downloaded from: (http://www. projectforum.com).
Hotbot Desktop: A search tool
We are familiar with the browser add-on, search toolbar, which enables us to invoke a web search process directly from a browser (Google Toolbar — http://toolbar.google.com/ — is a good example). HotBot Desktop is a similar product that lets you start a search process not only on the Web but also on various folders on your local machine. Another notable feature of this software is the availability of an RSS news feed reader that can be used to subscribe/read your favourite news feeds. This software which functions only on IE can be downloaded for free from: http://www.hotbot.com/. After installation, the toolbar will get attached to the IE menu bar and with the necessary configuration adjustments you can start using it.
J. Murali
Email the author at:
murali27@satyam.net.in
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