I also agree that NewsGroups are not that useful (espeically if you are
busy). But I also feel swamped when a bunch of MEMS e-mail arrive.

One solution is how the SPM (scanning probe microscopy) mailing list
works. You have two choices: 1) Receive all the mails individually (like
we are now) or 2) subscribe to the Digest. The digest is just all of the
emails for a day strung together with a list of the topic sentences at
the top. It is a great way to go thru stuff quickly. And I know its 2:03
pm when my mail system 'pings' me. I think this digest is automatically
put together. The people at Digital Instruments run this mailing list
and would have all the details about it.

   Ken Westra
   MicroFab at the University of Alberta