Criminal Law Library BlogNEWSLETTER
AUGUST 2008 Volume 1, Issue 4 Firewalls From the Desk of David Badertscher
What is a firewall and why should I use one?
Articles Posted in Information Technology
Real Time Text Aims to Improve Internet accdessibility for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
From: The Internet Society Newsletter, July 31, 2008.
The blossoming of multimedia content on the Internet in recent years has revolutionised personal interactions, business communications, and other online services. But for millions of Internet users with sensory disabilities, many of the communication tools remain frustratingly out of their reach.
Arnoud van Wijk, Disability Projects Coordinator for the Internet Society (ISOC), who was born deaf, knows only too well the frustration Internet users with a disability experience from many current Internet services.
New York City Mayor’s Office: Upcoming Public Broadband Advisory Committee Meeting
From: Internet Society, New York. Announcement July 28, 2008.
On Wednesday, July 30th at 11:00am there will be a briefing from the Mayor’s Office and iamond Consultants for the Broadband Advisory Committee regarding the Bloomberg administration’s plans for bridging the digital divide in New York City.
The Broadband Advisory Committee was established in 2005 with the passage of Introduction 25-A creating a joint public broadband commission to advise the Mayor and the City Council of New York on how the resources of City government can be used to stimulate the private market so that residents and businesses of New York City have more options in terms of high-speed internet access. The goal of the committee is to educate the general public about broadband and the newest communication technologies, and to give New York City residents the opportunity to comment on how the digital divide in New York City can be closed. To support these efforts the Broadband Advisory Committee has held public Broadband Hearings in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The Committee will hold its fifth and final hearing in Staten Island this fall.
How Trustworthy Are State-Level Primary Legal Resources on the Web?
David Badertscher*
How trustworthy are state-level primary legal resources on the Web? The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) published the State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources (Authentication Report) that answers this very important and timely question. The comprehensive report examines and draws conclusions from the results of a state survey that investigated whether government-hosted legal resources on the Web are official and capable of being considered authentic. The survey was conducted by the Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee of AALL. The principal authors and editors of the comprehensive report were Richard J. Matthews, Editor in Chief of the 2005-2006 Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee and Mary Alice Baish, Executive Editor, AALL Washington Affairs Office; volunteer authors were responsible for sections within the comprehensive report devoted to individual states. The survey and comprehensive authentication report could not have been completed without their efforts.
The Authentication Report follows the publication in 2003 of AALL’s State-by-State Report on Permanent Public Access to Electronic Government Information that researched and reported what, if anything, state governments were doing to meet the enormous challenges of ensuring permanency and public accessibility of government information on the Web. The Permanent Public Access Report raised national awareness and encouraged states to take steps to ensure permanent public access to electronic state government information. As a result, several states have enacted legislation requiring permanent public access.
Regisration for Web 2.0 Challenge
Bonnie Shucha has asked us to “spead the word” about the exciting Web 2.0 Challenge that is being sponsored by the Computer Services Special Interest Group of the American Association of Law Libraries. We are happy to do so. Here is part of Bonnie’s announcement:
Are you interested in learning about applications like blogs, wikis, and Second Life, but don’t have a lot of time?
Take the Computing Services-SIS Web 2.0 Challenge!
Microsoft’s Top Ten Innovationss by James Rapoza
” Let’s face it, during the reign of Bill Gates, Microsoft hasn’t exactly been Xerox Parc when it comes to inventing and creating new technologies. For the most part, Microsoft has been content to buy or copy new technologies and focus on incremental improvements to its products. But that doesn’t mean that Bill Gates and Microsoft weren’t innovative. In the areas of business strategies and cutthroat competition, Microsoft has used a combination of unique and very effective innovations to make itself the dominant tech company of the PC era.”
Ten Tests for Microsoft’s Document Inspector: Does it Satisfy the Metadata Management Needs of Law Firms
“Ten Tests for Microsoft’s Document Inspector: Does it Satisfy the Metadata Management Needs of Law Firms?” runs through a battery of tests to determine the answer to the question posed.
Report: 2008 Internet Security Trends
“For a time, security controls designed to manage spam, viruses, and malware were working. Loud, high-impact attacks abated. But, as a result of this success, the threats they protected against were forced to change. In 2007, many of these threats underwent significant adaptation. Malware went stealth, and the sophistication increased.”
Computerworld Resources, May 26, 2008
To highlight and address these threats and related issues in 2008 and to offer suggestions as to how to cope with them, Cisco and Ironport, two specialists in these areas, have recently published a comprehensive report: 2008 Security Trends: A Report on Emerging Platforms for Spam, Viruses, and Malware.. According to the Introduction to the Report: “This report is designed to help highlight the key security trials in 2008 and suggest ways to defend against the sophisicated generation of internet threats certain to arise in the future.”
State Security Breach Notification Legislation: State Laws Chart
The following link is to a Chart prepared by Perkins Cole to provide information regarding information security breach notification legislation which has been enacted in U.S. jurisdictions. It has been updated to May 14, 2008:
AALL State-by-State Survey and Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources
An Introduction*
David Badertscher
How trustworthy are state-level primary legal resources on the Web? The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) published the State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources (Authentication Report) that answers this very important and timely question. The comprehensive report examines and draws conclusions from the results of a state survey that investigated whether government-hosted legal resources on the Web are official and capable of being considered authentic. The survey was conducted by the Access to Legal Information Committee of AALL. For a quick overview, the Authentication Report’s Executive Summary provides an excellent introduction to some of the underlying issues and facts surrounding the pressing and timely issue of the authenticity of state primary digital legal materials.