Maritime & Aviation Consultants (MAC) has joined the World Wide Web and has a home page at http://www.mac-experts.com. Using the high technology of Mirror Systems (see the article on document management in vol. 11, issue 1, Spring 1995, of the EXPERT), we are in the process of acquiring new curriculum vitae from all of our Associates and posting them on our homepage database so that you, the user of our services, can search directly for the expert or consultant you need.
The capabilities of MAC in finding the right expert in the past were limited. While we had up to ten disciplines of each Associates identified and searchable on our own computers, we were not able to do a full text search of each of their CV's. For instance, an attorney was representing a vessel involved in a collision in the approaches to Singapore. He wanted someone who had navigated a ship into the harbor. We could identify numerous masters, people who had the qualifications to address navigational issues, but we lacked the capability to tie in the geographic location. Not only will this new technology allow us to make these searches, but you, the user of our services, can do it directly on your own computer. Enter the key words in our search field and the computer will identify the records which meet your criteria. You can then view each CV and even print them out.
There is no expense to access our homepage - its free except for your service provider connect fee which we address below. When you locate the individual you want to contact, call us with the record number and we will provide you with their name and phone number for the small fee of $75 each.
If you do not have access to the Internet, hopefully someone in your office does. In the larger offices, the librarian can usually perform the search for you.
The expense to be on the World Wide Web is minimal. For example, our Internet provider charges us $125 per year for 14 hours usage per week using a local phone number. There is no additional charge. AT&T is also coming online with inexpensive local service. Once you get on line, there is all sorts of useful information available.
Our homepage, that's where you end up when you key in our address given above, gives you information on our company and its founder, Captain Kirk Greiner, USCG (Ret), the ability to search on line for an expert and to read and print out their CV. It also has the ability to do full text searches on articles previously appearing in the EXPERT newsletter.
As a bonus, we have identified sites on the World Wide Web which we thought might be of interest to attorneys and experts and have established links with them so that you merely have to click your mouse on any of them and you will be immediately transferred to the new site. Topics available include government information by the Coast Guard and the International Maritime Organization in London (no long distance charge), legal databases, and maritime and aviation databases.
This new technology is waiting for you. Those of you who have been hesitant about entering the electronic age, fear not. It is simple to use and fabulously (a word I use sparingly) extensive. Come surf the net with us!
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