Does a copier pose a security risk?

Not too long ago, CBS News wrote about a security risk with copiers. The story described how copiers save copies which can then be removed from the discarded copy machine.

Here is a story refuting the initial CBS report. I think it is an interesting read: http://tinyurl.com/2ayj7p3

Social Networking for Lawyers

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Mehta at the State Bar of California 83rd Annual Meeting. We spoke on Social Media for the Law Practice.

I am sharing parts of our presentation. Counting down, here are 5 important considerations on social media:

5. Social Media is Useless without a Goal
4. Different Media Serve Different Purposes
3. Social Media is Not necessarily “social”
2. People hire people, not businesses
so “all things being equal, people will do business with those they know like and trust.”
1. Today, clients and opponents judge you based on your social media sophistication

Be aware if you drive without a valid license

Don’t drive on a suspended license or you could lose your car for 30 days. Today, June 30, 2010, the court ruled, in a case named Alviso v. Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, that it is legal to impound a car for 30-days if the driver of that car is driving with a revoked or suspended license.
The facts of the case were undisputed. A Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff pulled Alviso over and discovered that he was driving while his license was suspended. The basis for the stop was uncontested. He was arrested for driving on a suspended license and his car was impounded pursuant to Vehicle Code section 14602.6.1.

Even though Alviso argued that the law violated the vehicle owner‟s constitutional rights, the court did not agree.

A "black box" in your car

Congress is working on a law that will put a "black box" in cars. This is the like a "black box" that is found in jet. Here is an article from the Washington Post: http://tiny.cc/86v3g.

I am interested in watching this debate, and I wonder who really benefits? The cost of the box will be passed on to the consumer; the consumer will have to pay for the cost to obtain any information from the box. So how will the information be used and for what purpose? The "box" will not be able to tell us who ran a red light. It will not be able to tell us who made an unsafe lane change.

Stay tuned.

CA initiative: Prop. 17

I have never been a fan of the initiative process. It is too easy to create a 30 second commercial that is simply misleading.

For example, take a look at Proposition 17, which is on the June 8, 2010 CA ballot. Insurance companies, the main sponsor of the initiative, are promoting the Proposition by saying that “Under current law, drivers who have maintained auto insurance with the same insurance company are eligible for a continuous coverage discount. However, a flaw in law prohibits drivers from taking this continuous coverage discount with them if they switch insurers.” This quote is from the "Yes on 17" web site.

So what is the discount at issue. It sounds like nothing more than a discount anyone gets by being a good customer of one company. I get rewards from Office Depot and Staples. However, I cannot take my Staples rewards and apply them to Office Depot or vice versa. So I wondered why an insurance carrier would promote this idea.

What insurance carriers are not telling consumers is that the California Department of Insurance and the Attorney General have concluded that Prop 17 will allow insurance companies to raise premiums on drivers who, for virtually any reason, did not have insurance coverage for 90 days at some point in the past five years. It turns out that Mercury Insurance is Proposition 17's primary sponsor. They paid a petition drive management company over $2 million to collect signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.

So rather than save money, this is really just another way for an insurance carrier to charge a consumer more for the same product.

Crib Recall

If you own a Simplicity and Graco crib, purchased from Wal-Mart, Target, or Babier R US, be aware of a recall notice that came out today. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports injuries to infants due to a metal mattress frame that is either bending or detaching. No amount of money will compensate a child for suffering an injury at such a young age.

Here are some articles detailing the recalls:
http://www.techjackal.net/other/2010/04/29/wal-mart-target-recall-cribs-after-baby-suffocates/

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/crib.recall.Simplicity.2.1665103.html