RSS

FeedJumbler

lazytom’s FeedJumbler is a web-based application that allows you to merge several RSS or Atom-based feeds into a single RSS and/or Atom feed. You can also convert an RSS or Atom-based feed into RSS, Atom and/or HTML and JavaScript. You enter the URLs of your source feeds and it generates a link to your merged feeds, which you can put into your feed reader. Alternatively you can register with FeedJumbler to get a personalized page where you can keep track of your merged feeds.

It is similar to RSSMix but there does not seem to be any limit to the number of headlines in your merged feed – with RSSMix it is 20 – and no limit to the number of feeds that you can combine. Any more than 4 or 5, though, and I think the resulting mega-feed would become rather unwieldy to scan.

Google

Google Video Search

Google launched its new Video Search just over a week ago. Its collection includes videos from news channels and web sites. Searching is relatively straightforward but it is quite difficult to find a video that is freely available for playing. Those that are, have a triangle icon next to their entry in the results list. Google suggests a number of terms you could use, including greenpeace, AdWords and breakdancing to find free videos. One searcher also managed to find William Shatner’s version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

In order to play the videos, you have to first download and install Google’s Video Viewer. It is supposed to be compatible with IE and Firefox but there have been problems reported with both. I cannot get it to do anything at all in IE. In Firefox (version 1.0.4) it is very temperamental. One minute it plays and in the next goes into a sulk, even with the same video. I have yet to see and hear Captain Kirk’s rendition of the Beatles classic, but perhaps that is just as well!

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Acronyma

Acronyma

Claims to be the largest database of acronyms and abbreviations on the web with over 471000 acronyms. Acronymfinder.com appears to have more definitions (it claims to have 2,020,000) and sorts the definitions into categories, for example Science and Medicine, Slang and Chat. Acronyma returned fewer results with my test searches but as well as English, it also offers definitions of Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese acronyms.

Yahoo

Yahoo to the Max

Yahoo to the Max is a new book from Ran Hock that tells you all there is to know about Yahoo together with recommended strategies for getting the best out of the service. I sometimes suspect that Ran knows more about Yahoo than Yahoo themselves!

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AskOxford: Collective Terms for Animals

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AskOxford: Collective Terms for Animals

A useful section of the Oxford Dictionaries site for settling arguments and checking your pub quiz Q&A. We were having a heated discussion regarding the correct collective noun for a group of hippopotamuses. Yes, sad, isn’t it? We had a laptop and mobile coms but a Google search came up with all sorts of terms, some of them hotly disputed. Where do we Brits go to in situations such as this? Answer – the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Unfortunately, we were not in a venue where I could access my own multi volume hard copy but AskOxford came up with the answer, or rather answers. For the record, a group of hippos can be a pod, a bloat, a herd or a school. Now you know!

Business Information

Zephyr M&A coverage increased

Zephyr M&A coverage increased

Bureau van Dijk’s M&A database, Zephyr, has been increased to more than 300,000 deals. Zephyr contains information on M&A, IPO and private equity deals and includes company financials. In addition to current deal information, historical deal information has been added for Asia and other regions. There is now five years of global coverage. Deals involving US or European companies go back to the beginning of 1997. More information on Zephyr can be found at http://www.bvdep.com/, or by calling +44 20 7549 5000.

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EEVL Xtra

EEVL Xtra

A new service from EEVL that helps you find articles, key websites, books, the latest industry news, job announcements, ejournals, eprints, technical reports,

and the latest research in engineering, mathematics, and computing. EEVL Xtra searches databases and resources that most search engines miss.

Search Strategies

Subject Finder – Search for educational Subjects & Information

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Subject Finder.

I found this site via the Internet Resources Newsletter: Issue 129

http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn129/irn129.html

“Subject Finder is developed by Teum Teklehaimanot to help students, teachers and lecturers find educational websites easily without being overwhelmed with a huge number of search results. It is designed to search only educational websites which contain tutorials, learning and teaching materials such as Accounting, Arts and Design, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computing, Construction, Counselling, Economics, Electronics, Engineering, Geography, Health, History, Law, Languages, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Reference, Science, Social Science, Sociology, Travel, etc.”

You can browse by subject or carry out a keyword search. Although the site says that it searches only educational web sites, that does not mean it is restricted to academic pages. I found some good quality resources on a number of topics from organisations such as trade and professional associations. I am definitely adding this service to my collection of “specialty” search tools.

News and comments on search tools and electronic resources for research