In recent presentations and teaching I have been sharing some numbers about social network use compared against mobile use by Canadians. I have put those numbers together in a few slides that might be of interest–these slides are downloadable for anyone who would like to use them.

I have included a disclaimer (second slide) just to warn everyone these numbers are from a range of sources and therefore likely were compiled using different methods. So, these numbers are meant for general interest rather than to be used to make business decisions that would rely on the numbers.

I note these . . . [more]

I have in the past complained about the abysmal lack of online access to Canadian court dockets at the same time as trying to compile a list of known links to Canadian court dockets to my Case Law research page on my legal research and writing website.

In addition to the new LexisNexis Canada dockets service I mentioned last week, a colleague has pointed out the free Canadian Federal Courts dockets service at IPPractice.ca, a website maintained by Alan Macek of Dimock Stratton LLP, a great site that does not yet appear to have been mentioned on SLAW . . . [more]

At least according to this poll, conducted by private US research firm Harris Interactive. The poll includes some interesting numbers on the current (general) geographical distribution of e-readers, plans of consumers to purchase e-readers, and some broad numbers on the effects of e-readers on reading habits.

This report does not state how many people were polled, does not reveal standard measures of significance, and notes that the respondents were selected from “among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys” so your mileage may vary. Still, the results don’t seem unexpected to me.

The mixed results on . . . [more]

In what is very welcome news, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released a practice direction, effective 1 October 2011, authorizing the use of reliable online versions of court decisions for filing in books of authorities and providing for special citation rules:

Practice Direction Regarding Filing of Judicial Decisions from Electronic Databases, and Regarding Citation of All Judicial Decisions

Practice Direction

Judicial Decisions from Electronic Databases

Effective October 1, 2011, copies of judicial decisions obtained from approved electronic databases are acceptable for filing provided the report of the judicial decision contains paragraph numeration consistent with the numbering of

While Dropbox continues to lead the way in easy-to-use cloud-based file synchronization, recent security- and privacy-related lapses have left many Dropbox-loving lawyers looking for alternatives. To date there has been a lack of viable options, but AeroFS, a new startup, is looking to become the Dropbox for security-conscious users.

AeroFS offers the same ease-of-use that characterizes Dropbox, but adds a new spin to how file synchronization works: rather than storing your files in the “cloud”, as is the case with Dropbox, AeroFS synchronizes files directly between your devices via an encrypted channel. This “peer-to-peer” synchronization technique means your data never . . . [more]

Larry Bodine, former law firm marketing consultant known for his LawMarketing Blog, has been named the new editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com and Martindale.com. (If you are in Canada the Lawyers.com link may flip you to the Canadian site http://www.canadian-lawyers.ca/ unfortunately).

According to an article from the Law Technology News on September 16, Bodine has indicated he is going to overhaul the Lawyers.com site:

…the site could stand improvement, Bodine said. Currently its content is aggregated from other sites. “The switch that I want to make is generating our own material. You’re going to see a complete change

Looks like litbots and databases will soon be providing routine updates of structured information to human readers via newspapers and news websites in the form of machine written articles. Narrative Science is the company behind it.

Pretty soon, such litbots will be conversing with my own personal litbots, and negotiating the purchase of routine items I need and can afford, according to the budget I set and the priorities I identify. The prospect of the online grocery appears again: I need milk, eggs, and in-season fruit every Tuesday, for delivery Wed. afternoon. The grocery’s litbot can check my calendar . . . [more]

The Fifteenth Annual Canadian Information Technology Law Association (“IT.CAN”) Conference will be held in Toronto on October 27-28, 2011. For the full conference brochure including registration details, visit the IT.CAN website. (I’ve also included it here on Slaw.)

If you have any questions about the program contact Lisa Ptack, IT.CAN Executive Director, at lisa.ptack@rogers.com. This program is accredited by provincial Law Societies for CLE credit. . . . [more]

A short follow-up to a previous Slaw post on e- passports and privacy. Although there is no exact date, the Canadian government has announced that they will finally begin issuing the long awaited ePassports by the end of 2012.

The e-passport will now be valid for a period of 10 years and contain a data chip inside it that can be read electronically to provide border officials with the bearer’s information, holographic images and a hidden photo of the bearer that can only be viewed under ultraviolet light. Public ePassport readers will be installed in Passport Canada’s 34 . . . [more]

Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell have an excellent piece in Law Practice Today on 10 non-marketing uses of social media; very basic items such as ‘reconnecting’, or ‘learning a new subject matter’. It’s well worth a look.

One recurring thought that hit me as I read it, though, was that for each and every suggestion (whether intended or not) there was excellent marketing value being delivered. Marketing should never be considered simply running around flogging articles, or speaking like we’re reading from an advertising script. If those are the only activities someone takes part in online, you might . . . [more]

Once again Rich McCue has published the results of his annual survey of incoming law students at the University of Victoria. His executive summary of the results is as follows:

• 84% of incoming law students own “Smart Phones” that can browse the internet (up dramatically from 50% last year), with 42% of the total being iPhones, 13% Android and 27% Blackberry’s.
• 19% of students own tablet devices or ebook readers.
• 98% of students own laptops, and 16% own both a laptop and a desktop computer.
• 50% of student laptops are Mac’s, up from 44% last year.
• The average laptop price

At this moment, Apple’s iPad is without question the tablet that is defining the category and vastly outselling any competition. But it is too soon to write off competition from Android tablets. And Microsoft just yesterday officially unveiled its new Windows 8 operating system at a build developers conference. They gave away Samsung windows 8 tablets to everyone at the conference. Windows 8 is not ready for consumption yet – it will be some time in 2012 before it is ready for use. If you are keen to try it now, you can download the developer preview edition from the . . . [more]