Gillmor spots OS/2 Warp bug
Dan Gillmor of the San Jose Mercury News received mention in the December issue of Bug Net after he identified an installation problem in IBM's new OS/2 Warp software.
Bug Net, a newsletter devoted to "computer bugs, glitches, incompatibles and their fixes," noted that Gillmor's discovery prompted IBM to recall a number of its Warp packages in order to correct the problem.
Buchanan heads up online
Freedom Forum's Brian Buchanan, a great supporter of computer-assisted reporting and NICAR, has received a promotion. He's now director of online journalism programs. He remains in charge of fellowship programs for the Arlington, Va.-based journalism foundation.
Overview delayed
Uplink was about to do a review of last year's computer-assisted stories when a ton (that may be an accurate figure) of newspaper clippings submitted for the IRE awards dropped in from the mailroom. There was too much good stuff to digest in a few days so we're delaying the review until next month.
New books
Two terrific books for online journalists have just been released.
"The Online Journalist" by Randy Reddick and Elliot King is a solid introduction to using online services in a practical way. It covers the basics of getting connected to the complexities of using the Internet on deadline. It's published by Harcourt Brace.
"Washington Online" by Bruce Maxwell is a user-friendly look at significant government bulletin boards including defense, health and medicine, and almost any other subject you can think of. It's publish by Congressional Quarterly Inc.
Billboards private in California
Is your name up in lights? If it is in California we may never know it.
NICAR recently called to obtain the California Highway Department database from its Adopt-a-Highway program. This always makes for a festive, easy story with quick turnaround. On the 110 in LA, for example, there is a sign reading: "the next 2 miles sponsored by Bette Midler." Because of privacy laws, however, Bette's name never appears in the database.
The database, which is difficult to obtain electronically, does not contain the name of any individual who sponsors sections of California's highways, so the only way to get that information is to drive around and find the billboards bearing their names.
WDIV launches Web page
WDIV-TV in Detroit is combining its online presence with its CAR work. The station's World Wide Web home page at http:/\www.wdiv.com\ recently featured the results of reporter Mike Wendland's CAR analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Reports. Interested citizens could find out crime statistics for their city by clicking on its name.
New SSA database available
The Social Security Adminstration is making available new database that tracks changes in who receives benefits among the elderly and the disabled, according to a recent issue of the newsletter of the Association of Public Data Users.
The database contains demographic, employment, marital and income information. For the elderly, it includes data on efforts to get post-retirement jobs; for the disabled, it includes their efforts to return to work. It also tracks those surveyed during several years.
The agency reportedly plans to make the information available on the Internet. For more information call Dr. Hoard Iams at (202) 282-7092.