OS X Software: Jefferson
In my line of work, Jefferson isn't exactly a handy application, nor will it be for anyone working outside of politics or law. That said, if you are constantly looking up information from the Library of Congress, then Jefferson will easily fit the "killer app" category for those in need. The small app provides an Aqua front-end for THOMAS - an online database of legislation maintained by the Library of Congress. But instead of paging through ungodly amounts of data, Jefferson allows you to search by bill number, by subject matter (i.e. "Estate Tax"), or by a bill's sponsors (last names of Senators, Representatives). You can also pick from the 108th Congress all the way down to the 101st in your search requests. Even for those who don't need the data, Jefferson is an interesting application to monkey with, especially for political junkies like myself, and would actually make a perfect add-on tool for Watson (hint, hint).
Comments
Not just politics and law folks (whom I fear are hideously under-represented in the world of Mac) but anyone interested in keeping their gubmint officials in line. For instance, with the recent Eldredd case now settled in the Supreme Court, I spent hours searching through THOMAS to find the original sponsors for the Sonny Bono Act. I'm hopeful that Jefferson will make that task a lot easier.
Thanks for picking this one up, Todd, you da man.
Posted by: Jim at January 20, 2003 1:32 PM
Whoops! Here's the link
Posted by: Jim at January 20, 2003 1:35 PM
