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The 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100 - ABA Journal. Okay, I am honored to be listed in the Legal Tech Section of the ABA Journal Blawg 100 again this year. It is always nice when someone validates your work. However, just in case any of us get too big-headed about this, I offer a clip from "Annie Hall", in which Woody Allen explains why none of us really know what we are talking (blogging) about:
How to Participate in Computer Security Day - wikiHow. Today is computer security day. Really? This Wiki contains some good ideas, and some bad ones, about how to improve your own computer security. Reading the current workplace computer security policy is not one of the good ideas. Check your password strength, change them often, lock your computer down, never leave it running and unattended, install power surge devices, clean the dust bunnies out, know where all your USB sticks are, install a security system at your office, check the security options on all your software; especially, social media sites like Facebook, and, most important, back up your data as often as possible. Keep several backups, in several locations, and keep them current. If you don't do this, don't come crying to me if you have a catastrophic data loss, or a burglar steals your computer. Perhaps the most important advice I can give to you is that computer security is an illusion. You should never assume that you are secure. You just aren't. You just do the best you can, and take your chances. Kind of like life, isn't it?
The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte. Evan Brown writes to plug the show on TWIT that he co-hosts with Denise Howell, This Week In Law (TWIL). I thought about the fact that it is on Leo's network after I posted about TWIT this morning. So, here you are. If you are a lawyer, or interested in legal issues, you should give this podcast a listen.
The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte. You may be familiar with Leo LaPorte from his TechTV days. I learned a lot from watching Call For Help and similar offerings. I occasionally caught his TechGuy broadcasts on radio, and have often referred questioners to his material. If you are a lawyer who wants to learn more about tech; if only to defend yourself from people like me in your office, or from sales people who want to separate you from your money, you need to listen to some of Leo's current netcasts. He is a pioneer of Internet broadcasting, and I never miss his This Week In Google podcasts. He has many others, including the popular This Week In Tech program. They average 40 minutes long, and you can subscribe to, and download them, to your computer or iPhone or whatever. So, the next time you are waiting for your car to be repaired, or for a hearing that was supposed to start two hours ago, listen to, or view some of these. You will learn a lot.
How a Burnt Lady Gaga CD Helped Leak Thousands of Intelligence Files. The soldier who stole hundreds of thousands of official U.S. Government documents and then released them into the public domain said yesterday that he used CDs labeled with Lady GaGa logos to hide the theft. While most of the leaked information was not a risk to national security, the theft suggests problems with data security at the highest levels of Government, and further suggests that Internet and data security needs to be given a higher priority by everyone. Is your law firm data secure? Could another Bradley Manning be hiding in your law firm? Does your firm have a firm policy about data storage devices entering and leaving the firm? Computer data is invisible. How do you protect yourself from the theft of the invisible?
New York, Florida, Whatever - Lowering the Bar. I have seen a lot of ads touting legal representation for New York residents moving down here to Florida. However, this is the first one by a New York firm with a map of Florida in it. Maybe this firm was having a daydream about being down here in 80 degree weather during the winter? I guess this probably is aimed at New York residents who winter in Florida; however, it is a little confusing, no?
In case you didn't think privacy was dead.
Who will win the battle for control of the web? | Analysis | Features | PC Pro. This article examines the claims to Internet control of Apple, Microsoft, Google and Adobe. However, it neglects to point out that the Facebook behemoth is standing astride everyone else, in sheer numbers of users. However, can't we all just get along here? I realize that large multinational corporations want to squash their competitors; but, really, won't it be nice if all of these nice companies survive,and decide to use their market power for the benefit of the consumers who rely on them? Call it a Xmas miracle; call it a pipe dream; call it heaven.
Rare Apple computer sells for $210,700 | Apple - CNET News. As Exhibit A in my argument that Apple computers are more expensive than Microsoft PCs, I submit this Apple-1, which sold at Christie's Auction House yesterday for $210,700. It didn't have a pretty case, or a monitor, or a power supply, or a keyboard; but, it did come with the manual. And, in case you were wondering how Apple iPhone's got their nickname as "Jesus phones", a Christie's spokesman called the Apple-1 a "priceless relic". It had a whopping 8 K of RAM, and had the original shipping box, and a signed letter from Steve Jobs to the original owner. And, I swear, I am not making this up, you can buy an original IBM PC-AT here, for $175. I guess this settles it, once and for all. Apple computers are WAY more expensive than Microsoft PCs.
