As you're living in one of the world's financial centres you're probably more aware than most people about the industry and how it affects your life.

However, where do you go to get your information about how to leverage financial knowledge to help you with your life? The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned governments and industry that more investment is needed in financial education as many people have a poor understanding of the issues that affect their lives.

Surveys conducted in OECD countries and some non-member economies indicate that many people often over-estimate their understanding of risks and are typically not saving enough to secure an adequate retirement income.

To help you assess such risks the OECD has launched a new website, the OECD International Gateway for Financial Education at www.financial-education.org. The main objective of the site is to 'develop the first global clearinghouse on financial education'.

It's a pretty good objective and a resource that both Bermudians and educators on the island can use to boost financial knowledge on the Island.

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I'm a crime junkie, mostly fictional, but I also read a lot of non-fiction about criminal activity, whether it's murder or the bilking of millions from others. So I'm really pleased that the Humanities Research Institute and a number of UK universities have put 110,000 pages of transcripts from trials held at London's Old Bailey court from 1674 to 1913.

What a gold mine at www.oldbaileyonline.org, but other than the crime of the day, you really have to know some of the famous names to dig out the titillating bits. Typing in 'Oscar Wilde' in the site's search engine will yield the transcript of the writer's trial for gross indecency. All in all I have a lot of reading to do.

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TV on the internet received a big boost this month with the launch of Hulu, backed by media giant NBC Universal and News Corp. This is an online video-on-demand service that is free, and for now only available to those in the US. Still, the companies plan to expand the site, so if you go on it you can input your email address to be informed when it will become available in Bermuda. The site hopes to pay for the service with 15 to 30-second advertising spots.

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Timelines, most often seen on the pages of magazines or newspapers, make a wonderful graphic display. Now you can make any type of timeline you want at Dipity.com, a site created by three friends and which is now attracting attention as the latest craze to hit the network.

The searchable 20,000 timelines so far created include personal ones, ones melding personal with the world events and so on. You can upload photos and link to videos, and also geocode the timeline to incorporate a map. It's all quite fascinating.

But before you sign on read the terms of service so you know how your creation could be used. It's quite open. And one drawback is I can't see how you could use the timeline on your website or Facebook for example. Still check it out at www.dipity.com. Another site, www.xtimeline.com offers a similar service. According to one journalist blogger, he uses xtimeline.com as a way to add features to a multimedia story, and as a way of helping journalism students to think chronologically about a story. I can see history teachers use online timeline services to get students to think about events.

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Finally, it might be worth checking out if your doctor uses information and communication technologies in his or her practice.

It's not that ICT as it is called will replace a doctor's good judgment. After all the doctor with 30 years' experience and a stethoscope would probably diagnose most health problems at least as well as a freshly minted one armed with a laptop.

The use of ICT however is an indication of whether your doctor is using all of the resources at hand to provide you with the best care he can give you. According to a survey of 7,000 of Europe's doctors e-health applications have already improved healthcare through, for example, more efficient administration and shorter waiting times for patients.

The report also highlights where doctors could make better use of ICT to offer services such as telemonitoring, electronic prescriptions and cross border medical services.

The survey found that 87 percent of general practitioners use a computer, with 48 percent having a broadband connection. About 70 percent of European doctors use the internet and 66 percent use computers for consultations.

Administrative patient data is electronically stored in 80 percent of general practices, and 92 percent of those that do also electronically store medical data on diagnoses and medication.

The big move is toward telemonitoring, which allows doctors to monitor a patient's illness or manage chronic diseases remotely. However take-up is limited to a few doctors in Sweden, the Netherlands and Iceland.

Telemonitoring is going to be a big innovation in the medical profession I believe, with real-time monitoring providing patients with a ready-made service that could save lives.

Send any comments to elamin.ahmed@gmail.com.