Category Archives: General Technology Posts

Do Black Swans Swim in the Mains of Monterrey?

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in General Technology Posts

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This post isn’t about e-discovery or computer forensics.  Not at all.  But as it’s about the near-fatal, self-inflicted wound Knight Capital suffered from a software snafu early on 8/1/12, it will touch on the immense power of technology

Doesn’t the whole fiasco bear an uncanny similarity to the old Matthew Broderick movie, “War Games,” where the NORAD W.O.P.R. computer thinks its being tested in a bracing game of “Global Thermonuclear War” but is actually connected to live warheads poised to annihilate hundreds of millions?  Indications are that Knight Capital’s shiny new software was running test trades in the 24 hours after its installation, but no one at Knight Capital realized that W.O.P.R. was actually executing those trades on the New York Stock Exchange!  Forty-five minutes and $440 million in losses later, the Big Board interceded, perhaps sparing us all from another financial meltdown.

Someone in IT needs to start packing up his or her Star Trek bobbleheads. Continue reading →

Bad Soup: Boiled Frog, Mouse Balls and Lawyer Eyes

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in E-Discovery, General Technology Posts

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Writing an LTN column about boneheaded mistakes, I’m reminded of one of my own.  I use a fancy Lucite mouse pad, swag acquired at some long-ago ABA TechShow from Corel, purveyor of WordPerfect.  It emits a cool blue glow, and incorporates a four port USB hub along its edge.  That pad’s seen many miles of mouse trails, and I like it.  But, it has a solid black tracking surface, polished from years of use and sebaceous exudate.  That was okay when mice used rubber balls to track hand movements (friction cares little for color or reflectivity); but modern mice have eyes.  I didn’t adapt to my seeing eye mouse and   gradually accepted diminished performance as the norm.

That’s the difference between tossing a frog into a pot of boiling water or into one filled with cold water and bringing it to a boil.  They say that he’ll leap from the hot pot but stay in the cold water until he slowly boils to death.  [In fact, froggie will do nothing of the sort.  The boiling water will kill him handily, and he will escape the rising temps, if he can.  But, let’s not let facts spoil a good metaphor].

My mouse pad is a metaphor, too: for the problems I accept in Word despite years of using the program, for the demise of Corel and WordPerfect and for the biggest hurdle lawyers face in e-discovery.  Continue reading →

Is Google Docs Secure Enough to Store Client Files?

31 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in General Technology Posts

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A colleague posed the question, “Is Google Docs Secure Enough to Store Client Files?”  I shared my two cents and thought maybe some readers might be wondering the same thing.  I replied:

That question has been debated almost as long as the web has been around.  I’m not sure if you mean is it secure enough against intrusion or secure enough against loss?  My answer to both is “yes.”  Continue reading →

When Books are Trash

14 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in General Technology Posts

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Before I have my say, know that I love books–the kind with bindings and jackets and heft and creamy paper. Books on paper hold as cherished a place in my heart as yours.

But books on paper are not long for this world. Some will survive, much as vinyl records have endured the advent of tape, CDs and digital audio. But like vinyl records, books on paper will become a niche product for purists and oddballs. The rest will be collectors’ items and garage sale curios until, finally, books on paper are trash. Sad, but inevitable.

We have a transition problem. I want to own my books in digital formats, but I don’t want to have to buy them again when I’ve already paid for the content on paper. And, I want to be able to give or loan parts of my library to others. After all, the greatest joy of owning a book I’ve benefitted from reading is to pass it on to a new reader. Continue reading →

Down Under

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in Computer Forensics, E-Discovery, General Technology Posts, Uncategorized

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Dear Reader,

I’ve been in Australia for a couple of weeks, at an e-discovery conference in Sydney and traveling to see this beautiful and engaging country. Please forgive the paucity of posts while I’m enjoying the land down under.

Sydney may be the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen, and save for a few in South America and South Africa, I’ve seen most of them. Having fabulous weather and generous hosts helped, but all the Sydneysiders we met were friendly and helpful. Nuix mounted a heck of a great users’ conference that encouraged a lot of advanced thinking about the direction of EDD. There aren’t enough superlatives to do the event justice. Peter Mercer of Vound Software kindly shared a day showing my wife and me the glorious northern beaches most tourists never see. So many kindnesses shared by friends and strangers.

The Blue Mountains (two hours west of Sydney) and the Great Ocean Road (southwest of Melbourne) are extraordinarily beautiful, rivaling any vistas, anywhere. Yes it’s expensive to visit Australia right now, and it’s a long flight, but it’s well worth every penny and every hour. My only regret is that I didn’t get here sooner!

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

20 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in Computer Forensics, E-Discovery, General Technology Posts, Uncategorized

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I christen this blog with words from David Copperfield, my favorite book by my favorite author, Charles Dickens.  I want the heroes of this site to be its readers: the lawyers, judges, support personnel and others with the wisdom to know they must master electronic evidence and the temerity to try.

Blogging is an indulgence and a responsibility.  If I want you to visit, I’ve got to give you something worth your time.  Here, I’ll share things I’ve picked up about electronic discovery and computer forensics, striving to make those topics as interesting, exciting and engaging for you as they are for me.  If I occasionally eke out a well-turned phrase or make you smile, all the better.  Now and then, I may indulge in a personal post about something else, but I trust you’ll skip anything that doesn’t catch your fancy. Continue reading →