Geekly Times

Of course we know that all of our readers are backing up their data, whether it's onsite or online. (Right?)

i365 Inc., which is owned by Seagate and offers online backup and recovery solutions, just introduced the EVault Express Recovery appliance. It's a backup device that can be stored on-premise or at a remote or branch office as an enhancement to its EVault online backup and recovery service.

The neat aspect of this tool is that it stores data onsite and offsite - many backup solutions do one or the other. Offsite is great in case something happens to your office because your data is backed up, but onsite is great as the speed of recovery is faster. This combination delivers the best of both worlds.

The EVault Express Recovery appliance provides LAN-speed backups and restores and sends data to the onsite vault, then automatically replicates it to an offsite vault at one of i365’s seven secure SAS 70 Type II data centers in North America, ensuring both faster restores as well as offsite protection. In the event the appliance is unavailable, backups are seamlessly redirected to the offsite data center.

Laura Leites, Assistant Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com

PCs of 10 years ago were all about brute force. Now, all PCs are pretty much the same and the aspect of speeds and feeds is not so much a deciding factor anymore when choosing between vendors.

However, what does differentiate many computers is the range of added value service options and features on the computer, like its green-ness, user support, and overall operating cost for the life of the machine.

For example Dell's latest line of commercial desktop computers, OptiPlex, is touting:

• up to 43 percent less power consumption to reduce energy costs
  
• more recyclable packaging plus post-consumer recycled plastic in the product itself on some models
  
• remote system maintenance with Dell ProSupport options
  
• improved security including full disk encryption, solid state drives, improved chassis intrusion prevention, Dell Control Point security management and smart card authentication
  

According to Dell the OptiPlex models can cut ownership costs by 30 percent and automate 90 percent of routine maintenance.

Laura Leites, Assistant Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com

I was trying to figure out how to explain to you all that is involved in the case of the U.S. v. Lori Drew, the cyberbullying case that so many lawyers are expressing concerns about. I felt I needed a lawyer to explain it, but where would I find one who felt like doing some unpaid work, and over the Thanksgiving holiday to boot?

Then I had a brainstorm. I could show you the amicus brief [PDF] submitted in the case by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Public Citizen, which was also signed by "14 individual faculty members listed in Appendix A who research, teach and write scholarly articles and books about internet law, cybercrime, criminal law and related topics at law schools nationwide". Appendix A is at the very end. If you look at the list, you'll see that it's some of the finest and most knowledgeable lawyers and law professors specializing in cyberlaw. The brief was written by Jennifer Granick of EFF and Philip R. Malone of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society's Cyberlaw Clinic.

I think when you read it, it will turn your hair white. It did me. In fact, I don't think it's overstating it a bit to say that unless this case is overturned, it is time to get off the Internet completely, because it will have become too risky to use a computer. At a minimum, I'd feel I'd need to avoid signing up for membership at any website, particularly MySpace. Why particularly MySpace? The Times Online has their statement:

MySpace, which is a division of News Corporation, owner of The Times, said in a statement that it "respects the jury's decision and will continue to work with industry experts to raise awareness of cyber-bullying and the harm it can potentially cause."

If it respects this decision, I don't feel safe there. I didn't even want to visit its web site to try to find its terms of use. But according to this article, MySpace gets to be the one that decides if we've violated their terms:

MySpace users agree that the social networking site has the final say on deciding whether content posted by users violates a long list of regulations contained in the agreement.

There is no recourse. They make the law and if you mess up, you go to jail. You used a computer, after all, didn't you, and their server isn't yours, and if they say you have violated their terms, you have. I'd also never upload anything to YouTube, and I wouldn't use anyone's blogging software. I'd definitely stay out of the Cloud, because I don't own those computers either, leaving me open to CFAA allegations. In short, it'd be time for me to just pack up and leave, if this verdict stands. If you think EULAs were bad, imagine after this ruling if they can be tied to the CFAA. Do you think it'll be long before folks are tossed in jail for defining fair use in ways a copyright owner doesn't like? Would Microsoft hesitate to criminalize its EULA terms? You think? You trust?

The clerk that handles sending on notices of appeals for the US District Court for the District of Utah has sent SCO a letter, letting it know that the notice of appeal has been filed with the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and providing SCO with instructions, including to download the rules and forms from here. Just read the letter, and you'll immediately understand what appeals are like.

This is just the beginning, of course. SCO has to do a lot more than file a notice of its appeal. Next the SCO lawyers have to tell the Court of Appeals exactly what they think was decided wrongly at the lower court level.

I would guess that was mostly written some time back, beginning in August of 2007, with refinements added after July of 2008. Really, lawyers plan the appeal from day one, as far as strategy goes.

So much paper. So many picyune instructions. So much is at stake, and all of it depending on your lawyer getting every detail just right. To me, reading the instructions is a lot like reading IRS tax booklets, but without the refreshing illustrative examples. It's a legal specialty, actually, doing appeals, because not everyone can stand it.

Moving files from PC to PC using a USB key drive is very common. As USB keys are able to store more data, this method of transfer keeps getting even more convenient, but along with email and malicious web sites (intentional or not), it's a potential source of computer and file infection.

While most companies pay a lot of attention to securing their networks against email and web threats, many don't pay enough to how employees might be transferring files from one PC to another - especially if they work out of the main corporate office part of the time. Having an anti-malware tool built in to your USB key adds another level of protection to your network.

SanDisk has added McAfee malware protection to its Cruzer Enterprise USB drives. The software automatically scans the host PC for malware, and if it detects an infection it won't allow file transfers to the USB drive. It also scans any files once they are copied to the drive, so that malware can't be introduced from an outside PC back to your company network when it's plugged in to a network computer.

This new feature adds another layer of protection to the secure Cruzer Enterprise drive, which protects data using advanced hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption and a user password, making it difficult for unauthorized users to access the data if the drive is lost or stolen.

Laura Leites, Assistant Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com

If you believe a life with Google and hosted applications is the way to go, you'll want to check out the new Labs for Google Apps. It's a place for Google Apps users to try out new experimental features within Google Apps. Similar to Gmail Labs but focused on enterprise users, the lab on Google Enterprise blog lets users comment and vote on the applications and make suggestions to improve them.

One of the first applications built on the Google App Engine is called Google Moderator, which can be used to manage feedback or group discussions. From the Moderator overview:

"Keeping group discussions or Q&A sessions focused on important topics can be difficult. Google Moderator will help keep things on track by allowing users to both suggest questions and vote on others' questions.

Everyone has a chance to propose questions and the questions are collected in one place. Users can individually vote up or down on the questions they feel strongly about. Questions can then be addressed in popularity order, providing the best chance to answer the questions that the audience cares the most about.

It is flexible enough to be suitable for anything from a lecture to a team meeting or as a research tool to gather popularity-ranked feedback."

Google announced that it will be adding more experimental applications and also opening up the platform to third-party developers.

Laura Leites, Assistant Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com

SCO has filed a notice of appeal in the SCO v. Novell litigation, as they said they would:

567 - Filed & Entered: 11/25/2008
Notice of Appeal
Docket Text: NOTICE OF APPEAL as to [377] Order on Motion for Partial Summary Judgment,, Order on Motion for Summary Judgment,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, [565] Judgment filed by SCO Group. Appeals to the USCA for the 10th Circuit. Filing fee $ 455, receipt number 10880000000000796676. (Hatch, Brent)

Here's the website for the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which is where we are headed. You'll see at the bottom of the page a link to download some of the initial paperwork that SCO's attorneys are filling in these days, along with instructions. If you read the instructions, you'll get a taste of what appeals are like. It's below the notices about the resignation of one of the judges after allegations of judicial misconduct. There is also a link for a PDF of instructions for filing a petition for review.

It looks like things are going to get worse before they get better with the economy. The National Retail Federation forecasts that retail sales will expand only 2.2% between November and December, half the 4.4% average of the last ten years. With continued layoffs and decreased consumer and business spending, we all need to be smart about our marketing and spending.

Constant Contact surveyed over 2,000 small business owners and found that while 86 percent are concerned that the economy will hurt their holiday sales, they are still stepping up their marketing efforts to keep loyal customers and attract new ones. 76 percent are planning holiday promotions and last minute offers (up from 62 percent last year) and more than half will begin marketing earlier this year.

Small companies with limited budgets and resources are often the ones best equipped to survive and thrive in uncertain conditions, because they're already lean and responsive to customers. Constant Contact suggests "three important lessons that small businesses can teach the larger marketplace as we prepare for the worst: