Digital Samurai

Google Docs Gets an Upgrade

Are you looking for a way to replace all of those USB thumb drives that you carry around? Google hopes that you are.

Google has just announced an increase in the size limit of individual file uploads (except for Microsoft Word docs) and the different file types that users may store on Google’s servers. Users may now upload files that cannot be converted into the Google Docs format such as photos, music and movies, and are provided with 1 GB of space to store their data. Google does allow users to rent additional storage space at the cost of 25 cents per year per GB.

While convenient (assuming your computer has an Internet connection), we don’t think that this service is going to have any effect on the popularity and usage of USB thumb drives, and instead we will continue to use our Ironkeys.

-John and Mike

(703)359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Encrypted USB Drives at Risk

SC Magazine reported that encrypted USB drives from SanDisk, Kingston and Verbatim can be read despite being encrypted. Each manufacturer has issued a warning that certain secure drives can be compromised if a skilled person has the proper tools and physical access to the USB stick. That doesn’t make them very secure does it?

Affected devices include:

• SanDisk's Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drive, CZ22 (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)
• SanDisk's Cruzer Enterprise FIPS Edition USB flash drive, CZ32 (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)
• SanDisk's Cruzer Enterprise with McAfee USB flash drive, CZ38 (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)
• SanDisk's Cruzer Enterprise FIPS Edition with McAfee USB flash drive, CZ46 (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)
• Kingston DataTraveler BlackBox (DTBB)
• Kingson DataTraveler Secure – Privacy Edition (DTSP)
• Kingson DataTraveler Elite – Privacy Edition (DTEP)
• Verbatim Corporate Secure USB Flash Drive (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)
• Verbatim Corporate Secure FIPS Edition USB Flash Drives (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB)

Apparently the problem is not with the hardware or firmware, but the actual computer application that accesses the device. SanDisk and Verbatim have updates to address the issue, but there’s nothing from Kingston at this time.

Boy are we glad that we use IronKey USB sticks for our secure encrypted storage.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Incentive for Upgrades

Our friend and colleague, Dennis Kennedy, just wrote an article in the ABA Journal, where he predicts that Windows 7 will be a non-starter for law firms. Of course we are paraphrasing Dennis’ article, but you get the drift. We have always held the position that you want to buy any NEW computer with Windows 7 rather than going through the pain of an upgrade, especially since there is no direct upgrade from Windows XP. That’s essentially Dennis’ advice too, but we amiably disagree with our good friend that Windows 7 will not get traction because of the upgrade pain.

We grant that our opinion has also shifted a bit, particularly since Microsoft just announced a 50 percent discount for users of Windows XP and Office XP as an enticement to upgrade. Of course there are some restrictions (e.g. applies only to the Professional versions of Windows and Office), but generally we would expect that a lot of our clients will take advantage of this new program. Up until the release of Windows 7 we have specified computers with sufficient “horsepower” to run the latest operating system, but had them loaded with Windows XP instead of Vista. The 50 percent upgrade price may make the reinstallation of the operating system more attractive since the hardware base is just fine.

It will be interesting to see if Dennis rethinks his position given Microsoft’s announcement.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Office 2010 Coming in June

The current word [bad pun] from Microsoft is that the next version of Office will be available in June of 2010. The beta is currently available if you want to get a preview.

Office 2010 is a big bet for Microsoft. The landscape has changed over the years, especially when it comes to office productivity software. Many firms are rethinking their upgrade strategy, which could really hurt Microsoft in the pocketbook. In fact, recent Forrester data suggests that 6 of every 10 information workers don’t need a full-featured word processor to get their job done. The skies get even darker if you also consider the pressures from cloud computing and SaaS alternatives like Google Apps and Zoho.

What’s the big enhancement with the new version? In a word - collaboration. Time will tell if users will flock to the Office 2010 platform, especially since there are so many other alternatives available.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Did Microsoft Really Lose the Right to Sell Word?

Yesterday was not a good day for Microsoft. It lost the appeal in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and must cease selling copies of Office that include Custom XML functionality by January 11, 2010. On top of that, it has to pay i4i (the Plaintiff) more than $290 million. It may sound like a big number, but it probably won’t hurt Microsoft much. We joke that $290 million is a little more than a rounding error for Microsoft accountants.

So what is all this hype about Custom XML? According to Microsoft, Custom XML is the support for custom-defined schemas (yawn). According to Mary-Jo Foley, Microsoft has already figured out a way to disable the Custom XML feature, which could be addressed via patch deployment. The injunction only applies to purchases after the 1/11/2010 date. If you already have Word 2007 or Office 2007, then you’re good to go without any additional patches.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Screen Capture Utility For Macs

Techsmith, the maker of the popular screen-capture software for Windows-based computers, Snagit, has finally released a version for Macs.

Snagit for Mac is currently in a beta version, and has similar capabilities to the Windows version. The screen capture software allows a user to create an image of what you see on your computer screen, including scrolling windows. This is a piece of software that we use frequently (the Windows version) when putting together presentations because it's great for capturing graphics from web sites.

The beta software can be downloaded from Snagit's web site at www.techsmit.com/snagitmac.

-John and Mike

(703)359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Add Another Service to Google’s List

Google Mail, Voice, Wave…. You get the point. What doesn’t Google have a service for? You can now cross URL-shortening off that list.

Google has launched their own URL-shortening service, Goo.gl. The “.gl” is the top-level domain for Greenland. How clever of them. This service works much like TinyURL, in that it takes long URL names and shortens them, making the links easier to “share, tweet or e-mail to friends.”  This service is currently integrated with Google’s FeedBurner and the Google Toolbar, and currently doesn’t allow third-parties like Twitter to access the site to use the service.

Right now, URL-shortening is hot. However, you don’t want to use a service that won’t be around in the future. That’s how you’ll end up with a lot of broken links, called link-rot. At this point it’s unclear just how successful this endeavor will be for Google, and whether this service is just their flavor of the month.

-John and Mike

(703)359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

TECHSHOW 2010 Program Announced

The program grid for TECHSHOW 2010 is now posted. This conference is full of great sessions and speakers. John and Sharon (our President) will be speaking this year and Mike has spoken at a prior show. The sessions are full of great information and developed by lawyers and legal technology consultants. As in past years, there are tracks dealing with Advanced IT, The Paperless Office, E-Discovery and Large Firm technology. This year has a full day of sessions devoted to the Mac, which is seeing increased usage in law firms.

Don’t forget to take advantage of early registration and save a few hundred dollars. Stop by and say hi to John and Sharon if you make it out to Chicago.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

2009 Holiday Gift Guide

Our friend and colleague, Reid Trautz, has just updated his annual Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers. Reid mentions some very unusual and some very practical gifts that are appropriate for lawyers or anybody else that has almost everything. It’s always great fun to read Reid’s list and this year is no exception.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

Blue Still Remains The Color

It was reported earlier this week that Microsoft had introduced a new color to its “screen of death” arsenal, adding black to the mix. The statements were first reported by a UK-based security company, and the news spread like wildfire throughout the blogosphere.

The security company stated that Microsoft’s latest round of patches caused a number of computer systems to experience the “Black Screen of death,” but in fact the problem appears to be caused by a virus infection, and not through the installation of Microsoft's patches. The company has since apologized to Microsoft.

Sounds like someone was quick to jump the gun on this one, and now the company has backed down from their claims and apologized to Microsoft. The blogosphere really is the place where anything goes...even if it's wrong.

-John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com