Resources of the Week
-
News
International Security
Country News and Reports From the Overseas Advisory Safety Council
On The Overseas Advisory Safety Council (OSAC) web site you learn that the organization “was established in 1985 by the U.S. Department of State to foster the exchange of security related information between the U.S. Government and American private sector operating abroad. Administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, OSAC has developed into an enormously successful joint venture for effective security cooperation”.
The web site is home to numerous resources aimed at those with an interest in international security. Included on the site is a calendar of “significant dates and dates to watch” around the world.
-
OSAC Public Newsletters are worthy of a special mention. Three newsletters are available and could be of value to people in business, the news industry, and other fields.
1) Daily News
“�a daily compilation of global news, to include cyber crime and terrorism. It is automatically generated every morning at 0830 EST and delivered via email�” The Daily News and an archive of past issues is also available on the OSAC web site
2) Executive Alerts
“�timely information on various subjects. This deliverable is written by the OSAC Executive staff for the purpose of distributing needed information.”
3) Report Updates
“�information based on your region of interest. As new Web Reports are added to our site, they are delivered to you via email based on your region of interest.” Regions include: South and Central Asia, Europe, The Americas and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific. Reports are also available and searchable (back to 1986) on the web site. They can be found (by type) under the �Web Reports� section near the top of the page. Reports categories:
* Safety and Security
* White Collar Crime
* Crime and Safety Reports
* Warden Reports
“Messages issued from an Embassy to the U.S. Citizen population regarding the local security situation.”
* Foreign Press Reports
* Homeland Security Events
* Country Council Reports
—
—
Product Searching
Amazon Light 2.0
It seems like every time you search the Amazon result pages are full of more ’stuff’ including advertising links. Amazon Lite (first mentioned on ResourceShelf about a year ago) helps get you to book, cd’s, or other listings easily and quickly and then provides a clean and uncluttered entry page for each item. Since the beginning of this year, Alan Taylor, Amazon Light’s creator, has been developing a beta version of Amazon Light 2.0. Btw, Amazon Light’s original interface and functionality still work perfectly.
-
Version 2.0 offers you the chance to search books, music, dvd’s, and nine other categories of merchandise. It also offers you a chance to browse by categories (left column). The rest of the main page is made up of a search box (upper left), a ‘list’ box, (upper right column) where you’ll find the items you’ve selected for possible purchase, a �history box�, listing queries from your current visit and a “recent search” box that offers a “mini-copy” of your search results once you click on an item. Entry pages for books, cd’s, dvd’s, and other products, are clean and uncluttered. An entry page for a book contains title, author, ISBN, image of the book cover, related items, and a couple of customer reviews (if available). A direct link for that item on the Amazon.Com site is also provided on each entry page. Demo both interfaces and see which one works best for you.
Note: Amazon Lite is part of Amazon’s affiliate program.
See Also: Amazon Light UK and Amazon Light DE are also available.
See Also: DVD New and Future Releases Calendar

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2003 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.