Information Technology

November 21, 2007

A Group of Internet and Media Companies Push for Principles Regarding User Generated Services to Protect Copyrights

On October 18, 2007 a coalition of major media and technology companies released a set of guidelines designed to halt online piracy. Media companies involved include CBS, NewsCorp, Fox Enertainment Group, NBC Universal, Viacom Disney, and MySpace. Google was notable absent from the list. A You Tube spokesperson who asked not to be named said that Google had talked to Disney and You Tube about the guidelines but decided not to join the group out of concdrn that ‘ “industry-wide mandates would stifle innovation’ “. I

In a posting on LEXOLOGY by four attorneys from Arent Fox LLP “…The joint collaboration aims to eliminate infringing content on services providing user-uploaded and user-generated audio and video content (UGC) services, encourage uploads of wholly original and authorized user-generated content, and accommodate fair use of copyrighted content, and protect user privacy interests.” It is interesting to note that many of the concerns reflected in the guidelines are similar (except perhaps in context) to those confronted by libraries in their own efforts to resolve issues the reproduction and transfer of materials.

To provide added context for those interested in this topic, this posting includes the full text of an article published on FindLaw Corporate Counsel by Julie Hilden. Finally,some additional links to other sources are listed.

November 20, 2007

Amazon Device Doesn’t Need Computers

by David Badertscher

The following was published as an article in the November 20, 2007 New York Times.

By SAUL HANSELL

Published: November 20, 2007

November 16, 2007

McAfee Sees Cyber Criminals Targeting Web 2.0, Windows Vista, and Online Games

by David Badertscher

McAfee Sees Cybercriminals Targeting Web 2.0, Windows Vista, and Online Games McAfee also is predicting a 50% increase in VoIP attacks in 2008, compared to this year. Click here to see complete article in the InformationWeek Daily Newsletter.

November 15, 2007

Protecting Web Based Applications from Attack or Misuse

by David Badertscher

From Citrix Systems

Summary:

The threat profile facing enterprise organizations has undeniably shifted from network-layer exploits to more formidable attacks against applications, primarily Web and Web services applications. This radical change has been recognized by numerous IT security vendors, which have rushed to deliver products that shield Web applications from a new generation of attacks.

November 14, 2007

30 Books Every IT Leader Must Read

by David Badertscher

By Eric Chabrow

Society for Information Management’s 2008 list of leadership books covers a wide-range of subjects, except IT itself.

Books ranging from How to Read a Book to The Prince are among 30 books every CIO wannabe should read, according to an annual list of must-read books issued by the Society of Information Management’s Regional Leadership Forum.

November 13, 2007

Legal Risks of Uncontrolled E-mail and Web Content

by David Badertscher

“Email’s ease of use, speed and scale of distribution make it an invaluable business tool. However, these same attributes can also cause severe difficulties for employers if employees’ use of email and internet is not controlled adequately. This white paper outlines email risks employers face and how to address them.”

Legal Risks E-Mail…

Source: CIO Newsletter, November 13, 2007.

November 8, 2007

Review: Five Security Suites You May Not Know About

by David Badertscher

It seems everywhere we turn when it comes to information technology the topic sooner or later always turns to computer security. As mentioned below in this Review published on November 7, 2007 by InformationWeek, Norton and McAfee still dominate this field. The Review as posted consists of a major part of a piece writen by Serdar Yegulap. It does not however include many useful graphics included with the original piece. To see the entire article, including graphics, you will need to click on the URL listed below:

“While big-name security suites such as Norton and McAfee dominate the market, there are others out there that may be just as good — or better. We look at five alternative security suites.”

By Serdar Yegulalp, InformationWeek

October 22, 2007

Information Retrieval and Records Management: The 2007 Sedona Conference

by David Badertscher

Best Practices in Information Retrieval and Records Management: Analysis and Recommendations from the 2007 Sedona Conference

By Steven Essig

The Sedona Conference Journal, Volume 8, Fall 2007, includes much relevant commentary on possible best practices and other important concerns on effective information retrieval of legal documents. Issues raised range from effective precision and recall searching, appropriate sorts of indexing strategies, word choice, email retention policies for courts and other legal organizations among other major concerns. Of particular interest to librarians should be the section of the issue entitled “ESI Symposium”, which contains a report from “The Sedona Conference ® Working Group on Best Practices for Document Retention and Production (WG1), Search & Retrieval Sciences Special Project Team” (the August 2007 Public Comment Version).

October 15, 2007

Internet Inventor Says It Works Like a Charm

by David Badertscher

Recently a number of articles devoted to the history of technology and the internet have been published. Given the significant developments in these areas over the past 20+ years and the societal demands which continue to drive further research and development it is certainly appropriate to take some time to reflect on both the history and possible future directions of information technology–including the internet.

The following is a question, answer interview with Robert Kahn one of the pioneers in the creation and development of the internet and who continues to actively work on techniques related to information technology. The interview was published in the October 7, 2007 issue of The Star Ledger and is being reproduced here for the benefit of our readers:

Sunday, October 07, 2007

October 15, 2007

Internet Evolution: Don’t Fight the New Wave of Digital Content

by David Badertscher

Does access to social networking, video sharing, and other new media online capabilities mean wasted time, lost productivity, and possibly security concerns or are there legitimate business reasons to include them on organization web sites? Many of us are encountering these and related issues in our own organizations. Stacey Peterson, the editor of Information Week Daily Newsletter, raises these questions in the following excerpt to the October 15, 2007 issue. Also included is a link to a related but more extensive article by Aditya Kishre;

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“The U.S. Department of Defense earlier this year banned access to YouTube, MySpace, Photobucket, StupidVideos, MTV, and a bunch of other Web sites by soldiers stationed abroad. It makes sense. We’re at war, and soldiers shouldn’t be playing around on the Internet, sucking up bandwidth, and opening up the military network to security compromises.”