eBLAST

[Prentiss Riddle]

Here's another entry in the field of web tools based on reviews of web
sites:

        http://www.eBLAST.com/

This one comes from Encyclopedia Britannica and seems useful, although
it's far from comprehensive.  Presumably it will continue to grow.

As seems to be the trend nowadays, they don't just pick one thing and
do it well -- they also offer a daily guide to chat sessions, bookmarks
of the rich and famous, columns on web design, an Encyclopedia
Britannica bookstore, and other irrelevant stuff.  A better starting
point for researchers might be their "Expanded Outline" page:

        http://www.eBLAST.com/expanded_outline.html

And an aside -- Britannica is now offering a *free* search service for
their encyclopedia and Merriam-Webster.  One hitch is that it's not
web-based (or at least you can't just point your browser at it) -- it
runs as a Windows task-bar application(?!).  I haven't tried it.  I
wonder whether they've crippled it in some way to avoid undercutting
their pay service.  Details are at:

        http://www.eBLAST.com/freebie.html

-- Prentiss Riddle ("aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada") riddle at rice.edu
-- Webmaster, Rice University / http://is.rice.edu/~riddle
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