Legal Technology

Backseat drivers ...

... can be a hazardous lot, but they can also save you from an accident. It used to be that storage was always a backseat driver of content-centric law firm IT projects -- something tacked on to the back end of content-driven processes to store data. But EMC is changing that with its recent purchase of Infra Corp. Infra develops infraEnterprise, a Web-based solution for automating IT Service Management processes throughout an enterprise.

The infraEnterprise solution includes incident, problem, change, configuration and availability management processes, all certified under ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library).

With Infra technology and an already-tight grip on content with their storage and virtualization products, EMC aims to control IT processes and reduce service interruptions and downtime -- they look well-equipped to take the wheel.

Odin Should Rule

Er, that's actually ODF or The Open Document Format. But I did not think it would command the attention that Odin commands. The ODF has a lot of promise in providing a standardized document format that all the word processing and office suite vendors can read and write to. Alas, Microsoft has yet to make the format available in its new Office Suite 2007. To bring your copy of Office 2007 into the "open document" world, see Sun Microsystems' ODF Plugin 1.1 for Microsoft Office.

Virtualize IT

A new Web site popped up on virtualization: VirtualizationReview.com. This site aims to cover all aspects of virtualization from servers and desktops to applications and storage. It does happen to be a bit Windows-centric, but then aren't we all to some extent.

Microsoft at work ...

Microsoft has been busy in Las Vegas, and it hasn't been with the slot machines. At MIX08, Microsoft announced the availability of a new beta version 8 of Internet Exporer, a new Silverlight 2 beta, and a new beta version of Expression Studio 2.

IE is infamous and needs no introduction. But for those who have not seen Silverlight yet, it is a cross dresser. That is, a cross-browser, cross-platform (yes, that means there's a Mac OS version), and cross-device plug-in to deliver rich media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Yes, it has support for mobile devices. Because that's where everyone is going. Or, I should say because everyone is going somewhere.

Expression Studio includes Visual Studio 2005 and PHP support and promises to deliver a richer development experience for Web sites and Web 2.0 projects.

Patchwork e-filing

When you visit Cook County Courthouse in Chicago to retrieve a filing, "you hope for a bit of luck ... that it's going to be there," says litigator Victor Henderson. Cook County, along with other counties, including San Diego in California and Kings in New York, have not enabled electronic filing systems.

The 'network is the computer' for Verdical

Verdict Systems, makers of award-winning Sanction and Verdical software, announced the release of the full network version of Verdical litigation support software. Following a sneak peek at LegalTech show in New York, last month, Verdical has made the product available for download at www.verdical.com.

High tech persuasion ...

I hear a lot about litigation support tools in e-discovery and early case assessment, but not too much when it comes to presenting a case to the jury. C.C. Holland explains how to present a case to a jury that they will remember. And if that does not convince you, check out Clairre Duffet's report on how a simple video at trial can make "being there," the next best thing to actually being there.

Boys will be boys ... girls will be girls ...

Some people are still at the Mac vs. PC wars, more aptly named Mac vs. Windows. Rich Georges of the Futurelawyer and Ben Stevens of Maclawyer square off in the ABA Journal and take their respective sides. Ernest Svenson of Ernie the Attorney and Cheryl Sisk Schelin of The Inspired Solo also kick up some dust. But really, ladies and gentlemen, what's the point?

Application support is a non-issue, since you can run Microsoft Windows inside MacOS with Parallels. And since MacOS now supports Intel processors, hardware components will become interchangeable. Hence, a discussion about component hardware support is better left to the experts. So what's left: personal preference and ease of use in your compute platforms.

Use the platform that is easy for you to process, store, and retrieve information and exchange it with all your devices. Because soon, your refrigerator will come into the mix along with your motorcycle. And when you choose that platform, note that there are plenty of places to try out a Mac. And if you choose a side and make a purchase that disappoints you, return it to sender and try another -- the process is not much different than buying a new pair of shoes.