INFORMATION UPDATE  
  February/March 2007                        Number 81

Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, a monthly resource for
information seekers and users.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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   => Do It Yourself - Internet Telephone
   => Did You Know? - Drug Safety Matters
   => Notes, News and Announcements
   => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information

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DO IT YOURSELF - Internet Telephone
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Have you heard of Skype? "Skype is a little piece of software
that lets you talk over the Internet to anyone in the world
for free."  http://www.skype.com

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?  Well, it's only a
bit of a stretch.  As long as "anyone" has Skype installed
on a computer with a broadband Internet connection, you *can*
talk over the Internet for free and even have video calling.
If you don't have a built-in microphone on your computer, 
you will also need that.  A headset is nice.  It's conveni-
ent and minimizes the chance of echoing.

To get started, just download the software from the Web site,
choose a Skype name, make a free test call, find friends or 
colleagues who use Skype, and start making calls.

Of course Skype offers advanced services for a fee, including
computer to ordinary phone calling ($.02 per minute) and 
SkypeIn which gives you a traditional phone number for $30 a
year.  Other fee-based services include voicemail and ring-
tones.

When I first tried Skype a year or so ago, the quality wasn't
all that great.  I'm not sure if it was my microphone or the
software.  I now use Skype 3.0 and a Logitech mic, and for 
the most part the conversations are smooth and clear.

Skype has become reliable enough that many businesses are 
using it for employees who travel and for global communica-
tion with customers and vendors.  Non-profits, associations,
and organizations use Skype conference calling for board and 
committee meetings among members who are scattered all over
the world.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  Remember, it's 
free.

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Did You Know? - Drug Safety Matters
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It takes about 15 years and $600 million to bring a new drug
to market.  Exhaustive research must be done to identify
compounds that will work, determine proper dosages, prove
safety, and generally navigate the Federal drug approval
process.  To get this done involves scientists in the labs,
doctors in the clinic, and yes, information professionals in
the library.

An important part of the drug approval process is to prove
safety, and there is a great deal of safety information 
tucked away in the databases and directories of the online
information aggregators.  Dialog, a large and longtime vendor
of commercial databases, offers over 40 databases containing
safety and toxicology information.  Some are as familiar as
MEDLINE and Material Safety Data Sheets.  Others may be less
familiar but no less important such as CHEMTOX Online, 
DIOGENES: Adverse Drug Events Database, and RTECS: Registry
of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances.

Consider the sources you have at your disposal for drug
safety information.  Should additional search assistance be
needed, call for a consultation.

Shamel Information Services 858-673-4673 or Skype c_shamel.

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Notes, News, and Announcements
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>>Information Seekers may now subscribe to Information Update
using the web form at http://shamelinfo.com.  If someone has
forwarded this newsletter to you, why not register for your
own free copy?  Use the form on the Shamel Information
Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com.

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Shamel Information Services Web Site 
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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.

Cynthia L. Shamel, editor

Shamel Information Services

Telephone: 858-673-4673

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SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
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Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free.  To subscribe use
the form at http://shamelinfo.com.  To unsubscribe, please send 
your request to cshamel@shamelinfo.com.  All requests are 
handled promptly.

Copyright 2007 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://shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm

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