INFORMATION UPDATE "Helping Businesses Find the Facts" February, 2001 Number 18 A Monthly Publication of Shamel Information Services mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com ============================================================ Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, the free monthly newsletter for business and healthcare professionals. For subscription information, refer to notes at the end of this newsletter. ============================================================ ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => DO IT YOURSELF - Travel Planning => DID YOU KNOW - Commercial Databases Cover Your Industry => Notes, News and Announcements => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ------------------------------------------------------------ DO IT YOURSELF - Travel Planning ------------------------------------------------------------ All of the "early adopters" among the Information Update readers will want to know about ITA Software's Air Travel Beta Test Site at: http://beta.itasoftware.com/servlet/cvgdispatch/ The ITA Home Page says "ITA Software's radical new airfare shopping technology revolutionizes air travel planning by rapidly examining every available flight and fare combination. ITA Software offers a faster, more comprehen- sive, more flexible and cost-effective low-fare search application than the legacy mainframe technology used by everyone else." Perhaps you have used Travelocity.com or Expedia.com in the past. These full-service travel planning sites have a lot to offer. One drawback, however, is that an airfare search on these sites does not reflect all of the options out there. Some airlines and flights are not represented. The ITA Software site seems to offer a pretty comprehensive look at air travel options. Another plus at this site is the ability to include multiple airports in one search. You do this by checking the box marked "add airports within 50 miles." This is handy when flying into areas such as New York City, Washington, D.C. or even South Florida where one airport can serve just as well as another. You can't actually make your reservations online, you have to call the airlines for that. However, you will get all the information you need to evaluate your options before you make the call. Safe travel to you all! ------------------------------------------------------------ DID YOU KNOW - Commercial Databases Cover Your Industry ------------------------------------------------------------ You wonder about the competition. You wonder who they are. You wonder about their products. You wonder about their plans. You search their web sites, and, if you've been reading Information Update for any length of time, you use NorthernLight http://nlresearch.northernlight.com to see what else you can find. This strategy may yield some interesting results, but it takes a lot of time, and now you wonder if you've found everything. Well, there are a number of commerical data- bases available from The Gale Group that will answer many of your questions. Shamel Information Services can search PROMT, Trade & Industry, and Business & Industry, all from Gale. Searching these three databases offers access to hundreds of important trade and business journals, local newspapers, regional business publications, national and international business newspapers, industry newsletters, research studies, investment analysts' reports, corporate news releases, and corporate annual reports. The information comes full-text and sometimes in bibliographic format. These sources can yield information on market size, market share, shipments, users, test marketing, company and industry forecasts, trends, demographics, company strategy, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, privatization, foreign investment, capacity, product development, intro- ductions, and recalls and information dealing with markets, such as the African-American market, Green market, Asian-American market, youth market, and baby boomers. The Dialog Corporation facilitates searching the Gale Group databases using very powerful selection, filtering and sort- ing techniques. This allows researchers to "slice and dice" the data in just the right way to meet your needs. Call Shamel Information Services at 858-673-4673 to learn how these databases can help your business. (Database descriptions taken from The Dialog Corporation Worldwide Database Catalogue) ------------------------------------------------------------ Notes, News, and Announcements ------------------------------------------------------------ Information Update articles are now searchable on the web. Visit http://www.shamelinfo.com and click on "Newsletters." From that page you can enter your search terms to locate articles from past issues of Information Update. Give it a try and let us know what you think. BioTekEd presents: “PRINCIPLES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY” FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2001, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM DoubleTree Hotel, Del Mar, CA 11915 El Camino Real For information contact Dr. Mel Green mailto:mgreen@bioteked.com First course in a series for non-scientists, featuring two distinguished scientists/educators - Dr. Mel Green, Professor of Biology at UCSD since 1963. Dr. Stephen Baird, Professor of Clinical Pathology at the UCSD School of Medicine and Director of Clinical Laboratories at the VA Medical Center. WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS COURSE Professionals who desire a rapid overview and basic understanding of modern biotechnology. No background in either chemistry or molecular biology is presumed. Testimonial: “ Dr. Green’s course is ideal for the biotechnology novice - whether they be investors, purchasers, lawyers, or other professionals. While attending his course, I think everyone agreed that his unique, engaging style cements home the material while arousing keen interest.” Edward O. Kreusser, Patent Attorney, Lyon and Lyon, LLP now with Brobeck). The Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you might have missed. -------------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE -------------------------------------------------------------- Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free. You may subscribe or unsubscribe by sending a message to: mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com with SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Copyright 2001 Shamel Information Services Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its entirety. Other uses without permission may violate copyright. Online archives at http://www.shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm =============================================================== Cynthia L. Shamel, editor Shamel Information Services Poway, California mailto:cshamel@shamelinfo.com Ms. Shamel is on the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Information Professionals http://www.aiip.org, a Special Libraries Association, San Diego Chapter Director and a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals http://www.scip.org Telephone: 858-673-4673 Toll Free: 800-330-9939