Author Archives

    Bryan Sims

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    I Have Screwed Up Some Computers Before, But Nothing Like This

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    Most people have seen the story circulating about the computer tech who screwed up and not only destroyed a hard drive full of information, but also destroyed the back up as well.

    I am sure that there are those who will point to these errors (I say these because the tech made several mistakes) and use that for justification for not storing information digitally. Based upon the news reports I have seen, however, that is not the lesson to be learned here. Instead, the lesson to be learned is that part of a reasonable backup strategy is making sure that your backups work.

    It appears that the owner of the records had, at first glance, a good backup strategy. The original electronic records were on a hard drive. A copy of those records existed on a second hard drive. And, a copy of the records existed on a tape backup of the original drive.

    This plan is good in that it contains certain redundancies. Not only is there a hard drive backup, but there is also a tape backup.  It is not clear from the story whether any of backup information was stored off site, however that is an integral part of a good backup plan as well.

    If they had such a good backup plan, how did this happen? Based on the reports, I see two reasons. First the technician accidentally erased the hard drive backup. I can envision a situation where a person accidentally erases original information. How, however, does the technician who just screwed up and reformatted a hard drive with critical information turn around and delete the same information from the backup?

    The final problem of course is that no one regularly checked the tape backups to ensure that they were working properly. A backup solution is not a solution if you cannot restore your original files from the backup. You should regularly test your backups to ensure that they are working properly and that you can restore from them. This is especially true with tape backups because tape is an unstable medium. It degrades over time. Because of this, you should have any tape backups on a regular replacement schedule. Most manufacturers recommend replacing your tapes at least once a year.

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    Treo Updates

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    Treonauts

    If you like your Treo (and I certainly do) you should be reading the Treonauts blog. The blog contains reviews of Treo accessories, helping you make the decision on which accessories may work best for you. The blog also keeps you updated with current news regarding the Treo. A recent post gives us a nice summary of things happening in the new future with Palm and the Treo.

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    Blogroll Update

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    It’s time to highlight some more blogs that I read on regular basis.

    A Criminal Waste of Space is a humorous column written by Justice Bedsworth. Without a doubt, he has the funniest footnotes around.

    Al Nye the Lawyer Guy. I just found this blog when Al contacted me. It did not take me long to get hooked on his blog. I really like his book reviews.

    Bag and Baggage by Denise Howell was one of the first prominent legal bloggers and is credited with coining the term blawg.

    Blog Maverick is written by Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Love him or hate him, Mark always has something interesting to say. He frequently asks provocative questions on the effect of technology on daily life or the law.

    Blonde Justice. Although my practice does not even come close to the criminal courtroom, I am still addicted to reading this blog.

    Home Office Lawyer is written by Grant Griffiths.  Despite the name of the blog, Grant provides great information that can be used by everyone who wants to leverage technology in their practice.

    Inter Alia by Tom Mighell. Tom seems to find every new blog that is published. His Blog of the Day posts have introduced me to a myriad of new blogs.

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    This Will Save on Business Card Expenses

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    I know that this really has nothing to do with technology, but I could not pass on commenting on this. Susan Cartier Liebel of Build a Solo Practice LLC posted a few days ago about a proposed North Carolina ethics opinion that (and no I am not making this up) prohibits an attorney from giving a client,a non-client, a fellow attorney or an allied professional more than one business card or one firm brochure. As quoted by Susan, the examples state:

    Inquiry:
    If a client, non-client, fellow attorney, or allied professional requests one or more business cards or firm brochures from the estate-planning attorney, may the estate-planning attorney oblige the request?
    Opinion:
    The attorney may give a third party one of his business cards or one brochure in response to a request. The attorney may not give the third party multiple cards or brochures because of the risk of in-person solicitation by the third party on the attorney’s behalf.
    Inquiry:
    Along with a thank-you letter from the attorney to a client for the client’s having allowed the attorney to provide services to that client, may the attorney include a business card and/or firm brochure with the suggestion that the client, if so willing, pass it along to someone who the client thinks might need similar services?
    Opinion:
    No, because of the risk of in-person solicitation by the third party on the attorney’s behalf.
    The actual proposals can be found on the North Carolina Bar’s website, about halfway down this page.
    This is one of the most ridiculous things I have seen. Chuck Newton has similar thoughts on the “merits” of this proposal.
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    Google Analytics and WordPress

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    As part of Google’s attempt to provide us with a solution for everything, Google now provides a service called Google Analytics to help you analyze traffic on your website. This solution appears to be geared primarily toward maximizing your revenue using Google AdWords. However, you need not be using AdWords to gain a benefit from this service. I have used Analytics for a few weeks now and I am pleased with the information that it provides in a very simple and easy to use format.

    For those of you who, like me, use WordPress to blog, this website provides you with instructions to enable you to easily add Analytics to your WordPress website.

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    Get Your Own Domain

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    There is a funny email exchange that has been linked to fairly often in the last week in which a law firm sends a job offer for a law clerk position to someone via email. Because the sender typed the address incorrectly, the email ended up in the inbox of a second grader.

    Futurelawyer draws some great advice from this story. He says:

    “However, the most important part of the exchange for me was the advice to avoid Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, and other common domains. It would be impossible to mis-type the Futurelawyer’s email address, because, since it is my own domain, any email addressed to it comes to me or a member of my immediate family.”

    His parting advice is simple but good: “So, if you aren’t in control of your own domain, get one.”

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    You Send It: Sending Large Files By Email

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    Most email systems limit the attachment to your emails to 2MB. Even if your email provider does not have such a limitation, you really should not be emailing such large files. What are you to do, however, if you need to send a large file to someone else and you want the convenience of email?You Send It

    A popular solution is You Send It.  You Send it has a variety of plans available from Free (always a favorite) to $29.99 a month. The various plans offer differing amounts of time that the files are available for download, password protections, and limits on file size.

    If this is an occasional need for you, the free plan will likely meet your needs. The utility of this service has previously been noted by David Swanner, Futurelawyer, and Jim Calloway.

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    Remove Your Hard Drive During Repairs

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    David Swanner at the South Carolina Trial Law Blog wrote about his experience sending his laptop to the manufacturer to repair a cracked case. Despite the fact that the only problem was with his case, the repair facility also replaced his hard drive. Unfortunately, David did not have his hard drive backed up.

    Normally, when you hear a story like this, you expect some one to lecture you on the necessity of keeping a backup. I certainly agree that backups are a great idea. However, the problem here is easily solved. The first time I had to send my computer to be repaired, my IT guy told me to remove my hard drive before shipping it.

    This is a simple solution that not only ensures that the data on my drive is safe, but it also ensures that I maintain the confidentiality of any client information that may be on the drive. I now also typically remove my battery to make sure that it is not accidentally lost in shipment.

    Protect yourself and your data, remove your hard drive before shipping it off for repair.

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    5 in 1 Treo Charging Kit

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    Treonauts points us toward a great accessory for your Treo: The SPE ExtraPower USB 5 in 1 charging set.This is the perfect accessory for anyone who travels.5 in 1

    The kit contains:

    • A retractable USB cable
    • A Treo HotSync and charge tip
    • A Palm power connector
    • A tip to charge SonyEricsson Bluetooth Headsets
    • A miniUSB tip (to charge other Bluetooth Headsets)
    • A 5v power connector (can charge a TomTom GPS receiver)

    This is a great product for people who use a Treo along with a Bluetooth headset. You can charge all of your devices with one simple kit. Additionally, you also end up with a nice retractable USB cable that you can use with any USB or miniUSB device.