Legal Research

Something to Ponder

Posted on February 03, 2009
While reading this article about the state of the cellphone industry, this one quote jumped out at me: “The challenge is both simple and daunting: how to expand when four billion of the six billion people on the planet already have phones.” Four billion people with cellphones...

If You Turn on the Light, the Cockroaches Scatter

Posted on February 03, 2009
And if you boot ‘em off MySpace, they’ll just move on to Facebook. Simple as that. Sex offenders having access to social networking sites is, understandably, a hot-button issue for many people. But it’s important to have some perspective here...

Does this Make Sense to You?

Posted on February 03, 2009
Today Google’s Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer, along with 3 other company officers — David Drummond, Google’s Chief Counsel, George Reyes, former CFO, and another, unnamed person — will appear before the Milan Criminal Court, reports the NY Times’ Saul Hansell...

This Is What Happens When All Your Eggs Are In One Basket (Reprised)

Posted on February 02, 2009
Back in late November I blogged about how all those nifty Google services you love — Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and more — are tied to one email account. (Heck, I even had to have a Gmail account to activate my G1 Android phone.) If someone hacks your account, you lose your data — [...

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Google Discovers that the World is Mostly Covered by Water

Posted on February 02, 2009
Today Google released Google Earth 5.0, which features a new ocean layer that lets you zoom down to the bottom of the ocean, view data from ocean monitoring buoys, track tagged marine wildlife, play videos and other content from partners such as the BBC and National Geographic, and a whole lot more...

Retirement Tax Guide: Your Health, Home, Investments & More

Posted on February 01, 2009
By Twila Slesnick, John SuttleWhen you retire, your taxes and potential deductions change considerably.  The Nolo’s Essential Retirement Tax Guide explains all these changes. Library Record • Borrow it • More Titles

This Chart Tells You All You Need To Know …

Posted on January 29, 2009
… About search: Google’s market share continues to go up, while everybody else flatlines.  Game over.

Today is Data Privacy Day

Posted on January 28, 2009
This is the second annual gathering of people from the U.S., Canada, and 27 European countries to discuss privacy rights and practices in a wired-up world. Who knew? I didn’t. I wish I had, because there’s an interesting talk at Drexel that unfortunately started 50 minutes ago: “Data Privacy: Why Should You Care?” Oh, well, at least [...

Don’t Ditch Your Hard Drive Just Yet

Posted on January 28, 2009
One of the supposed benefits of Web 2.0 is “Cloud Computing” — all our apps and docs will be stored on the Web. No more MS Office. Heck, no more Windows. I’ve dabbled a bit with this.  I’m using Google Docs instead of PowerPoint for my presentations when I’m on the road...

Digital TV: It’s Back On For February 17

Posted on January 28, 2009
Though the Senate voted to delay the switch to digital TV until June 12, the House said, “Uh uh.”  So we’re back to February 17.

Comcast and AT&T: Music Cops?

Posted on January 28, 2009
Last month I posted about how the Recording Industry Association of America planned to enlist Internet Service Providers to battle music-sharing. Today comes the news that AT&T and Comcast reportedly are interested in participating in the RIAA’s “graduated response program”...

… And Speaking of Hard Drives

Posted on January 28, 2009
… Today I wiped mine and installed CrunchBang linux, a distro based on Ubuntu. I had a ton of trouble getting Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake to install on my 5-year-old Dell laptop. I couldn’t even install the last 2 releases. But CrunchBang installed in 30 minutes...

Kindle 2 Coming Next Month?

Posted on January 27, 2009
John Biggs of CrunchGear reports that Amazon has scheduled a press conference on February 9 at the Morgan Library & Museum in NY: “… unless they’re announcing a Bezos-themed amusement park in the Ukraine, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see the Kindle 2...

Senators Fail To Stop The Insanity

Posted on January 27, 2009
But at least they voted to postpone it by 4 months. If the House agrees and the president signs, the digital TV cutover will be pushed back to June 12. Senator Jay Rockefeller says, “I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition at this time...

China + U.S. = 34% of Internet Users

Posted on January 23, 2009
ComScore estimates that 15% of the planet — a billion people — are now using the Internet.  China and the U.S. together account for about a third of all users.  FYI, China’s Internet population passed the U.S.’s back in April 2008.

Eastern European Criminal Gangs, Moles, Pearl Harbor, and Rosa Parks, All In The Same Article?

Posted on January 23, 2009
Seriously, John Markoff’s article in today’s NY Times has some over-the-top quotes in it.  It’s about an Internet Worm known as Conficker or Downadup that’s making the rounds.  It’s hit at least 8 million PCs worldwide.  If your machine is infected, it’ll become part of a botnet: “The program uses an elaborate shell-game-style technique to permit [...

We’re Kinda Wired Here In Philly

Posted on January 23, 2009
Forbes has released its list of the top 30 most-wired American cities.  Philly barely made the list, at number 27.  Who did we beat?  Cincinnati, Columbus OH, and Austin TX.  Who didn’t we beat?  Pittsburgh, at #24. Yeah, but have I mentioned that the Phils won the Big One lately?

2.5 Million Macs, 22.7 Million iPods, 4.3 Million iPhone 3Gs

Posted on January 22, 2009
Apple had a very good first quarter.  On the other hand, Microsoft didn’t.

No Phones, No Lights, No Motorcar, Not a Single Luxury …

Posted on January 22, 2009
… Like Robinson Crusoe, it’s primitive as can be.  And, according to the Washington Post, it’s the White House. Actually, it’s not that bad.  But the article makes it sound like the White House is a sort of technological black hole: “Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack [...

Information Superhighway? Not Hardly.

Posted on January 21, 2009
TechCrunch has an interesting post today — The Day Live Web Video Streaming Failed Us — lamenting the problems most people encountered while trying to view the live video of the inauguration on their PCs and laptops.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Internet still doesn’t scale for live video: “When [...

Blog Digest, January 1-19

Posted on January 20, 2009
Here’s a digest of newsworthy items from the first 2 weeks of 2009. Apple Changes Coming to the iTunes Store Three price points: $.69/$.99/$1.29.  One-click option to upgrade your library to higher-quality, DRM-free versions that can be played on any MP3 device...

Book Review: Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age, Steve Knopper (2009)

Posted on January 20, 2009
I’m not terribly interested in the music business. Nor do I download digital music — my wife is the iTunes maven in our house. But I’m interested in how disruptive technologies — PCs, the Internet, and such — destroy business models that have worked well for years...

Obama Has Delivered On His Promises Already

Posted on January 20, 2009
Change has come … to the White House website.  Have a looksee at the redesign.

Tax Savvy for Small Business

Posted on January 19, 2009
By Frederick W. DailyCompletely updated, the 12th edition of Tax Savvy for Small Business provides the latest tax breaks, rules, forms and IRS publications. Library Record • Borrow it • More Titles

Future of Jenkins Survey

Posted on January 16, 2009
Jenkins has engaged Axelroth & Associates to assist with refreshing our library’s Strategic Plan.  Today, libraries face many challenges and we want to be sure that we are positioned to meet them over the next few years.  We need your help in identifying the library services and resources that you value most, as well as [...

Fearless: The Richard A. Sprague Story

Posted on January 12, 2009
By Joseph R. DaughenIn <i>Fearless: The Richard A. Sprague Story</i>, Joseph R. Daughen chronicles the significant events of a renowned Philadelphia lawyer who changed the landscape of the profession. Richard A. Sprague's philosophy holds that the law is sacred in this land, and as a lawyer he has always had the solemn obligation to [...

Courtroom Cowboy: The Life of Legal Trailblazer Jim Beasley

Posted on January 12, 2009
By Ralph CiprianoF. Lee Bailey on Courtroom Cowboy: “Ralph Cipriano has brought Jim Beasley back to life, jumping off the pages through chapter after chapter. . . . Don’t start this one if you have something important to do early the next day. It’s damned good, just like its subject...

PHRs Projected to Save $21 Billion Annually

Posted on January 12, 2009
The Center for Information Technology Leadership (CITL) recently published its research findings on the value of Personal Health Records (PHRs) and estimated that they could save $21 billion annually in the United States (full report). Their research also indicated that PHRs could result in an annual net value of $19 billion based on a [...

Real Estate Finance in a Nutshell, 6th

Posted on January 05, 2009
By Jon W. BruceThis book presents a thorough overview of the law of real estate finance. It covers introductory matters, the mortgage market, real estate financing devices, the underlying obligation, mortgaged property, and transfer of both the mortgagor’s interest and the mortgagee’s interest...

Jenkins Closed on Saturdays Beginning January 2009

Posted on December 31, 2008
Having reviewed usage on Saturdays over the past few years, we found that an average of 14 patrons, some of them members of the general public, use Jenkins on Saturdays. This is less than 3% of our membership The cost of keeping Jenkins open on Saturdays is about $30,000 annually...

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