stateperson: The "Space Rangers" series has done it pretty well as an ingame "Information Center." A player can use the centre on a station/planet to read news or pay a small fee to find stuff by the requirements they like, be it goods, equipment or hulls, etc. The only practical downsides of the implemented system, in my experience, are no option to explicitly sort nor any "give me the best for buy/trade" search queries. The result's items can be saved into the notification panel by pressing the "i" sign.
Has anything happend in this direction? Or is it not intended?
BTW: Do you still play Space Rangers?
I like some machanics, but others I do not. Much is a comic style and the ships do not give me the right feeling.
The combat on planets is a nice side game, but repetitive.
I would love to have a much bigger economy.
I will sure give it another try.