Simon Fodden recently quipped that Apple was becoming so mainstream that he might have to switch to Linux to keep his “smug sense of computer specialness.” This reminded me that, a little more than a year ago, I posted a little note here indicating that I was thinking about getting a Linux netbook and an internet stick. I eventually did just that, and thought I would offer some reflections on my experience so far.

The bad news is that most people using Linux (at least those without IT support) are going to feel “special” at least some of the time, . . . [more]

Yesterday the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case of Ontario, CA, et al. v. Quon, Jeff, et al.. (No, not that Ontario; no, not that CA.) Quon is a police officer who sent hundreds of personal text messages to his girlfriend and others on a device provided by Quon’s employer, which had an informal policy that it wouldn’t inquire into an employee’s use of the device if he or she paid for the cost of extra usage. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals [PDF] ruled that the town’s review of Quon’s messages was an . . . [more]

Thinking about signing the LCO’s “seasonal” cards last week and as I receive the e-cards with their good wishes (for winter, it seems, given their images), I’m prompted to consider what part these cards play today. . . . [more]

Well, Dylan said it and December made it true: “accept it that soon, You’ll be drenched to the bone.” Winter finally arrived in Toronto, and in the world of biotech, it did feel like The Times They Are A-Changin’.

It may not have been “a battle outside,” but the Canadian Science Policy Conference did shake some windows and rattle some walls in October; and as of this week, you can check out the audio and video recorded there including Bruce Alberts and Preston Manning.

Dylan’s verse for “writers and critics” said “don’t speak too soon,” but for biotech founders toiling . . . [more]

In case you overlooked it in our selected #slawca retweets from last week, the ABA Techshow 2010 schedule has been released. ABA Techshow will be taking place March 25-27, 2010 in Chicago. View the quick web version of the schedule (session titles only, speakers aren’t listed here) or download the PDF schedule and registration info. Keynote is Ari Kaplan: “The New Big Bang – The Convergence of Technology and Marketing”. Faculty from our Slaw community and the larger Canadian legal industry include:

• Joel Alleyne
• David Bilinsky
• Jean-François DeRico
• Peg Duncan
• Dominic Jaar
• Nils Jensen
• Steven Matthews
• Donna S.M.

Volunteers are still need through the holiday period for the Lawyers Feed the Hungry Program run out of the cafeteria at Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto. Most everyone at one time or another has thought of volunteering and this may be the opportunity to do something that you have always wanted to do but never quite got around to it.

There is a particular need for help at the special holiday dinner this Wednesday, the 16th of December, when over 600 guests are expected. Dinner is served starting at 4:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed as early as 1:30 p.m. to . . . [more]

The American Bar Association’s Technology Resource Center has launched a search engine that enables you to search the “free full-text of over 300 online law reviews and law journals” as well as some additional material. There is a list of sources searched on the page where you’ll find the search box.

Because the search facility was constructed using Google Custom Search, it only searches those resources made available online by the journals and indexed by Google. The historical depth of such material will vary greatly, of course, from journal to journal.

Sensibly, perhaps, the sources look to be all from . . . [more]

The Canadian Government stunned the telecom sector last Friday when it overturned the CRTC’s October 2009 ruling that Globalive Wireless Management Corp. was not Canadian-owned and controlled as required by section 16 of the Telecommunications Act. The variance is effective immediately which means that it’s now clear sailing for Globalive’s entry into the Canadian wireless telecommunications market. . . . [more]

Herewith a few interesting tweets encountered by me and others during the past week. Please join us in sharing the best of Twitter: simply tag your tweets or retweets with #slawca.

• @ABAesq Best of #ABA #TECHSHOW: Ediscovery for solo & small firm attorneys – by Sharon Nelson & @dominicjaar
• RT @stevematthews Nominations Open for the 2009 Clawbies – Law Firm Web Strategy – by @smireau 
• RT @Ledjit: New post: The Portable Courtroom – The Case for Paperless Courtrooms – by @smireau 
• What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer? @WSJLawBlog via Tarlton Library News
• Calls for expansion of

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), an organization that assists lawyers around the world who themselves defend human rights, has published a “Protesters’ Guide to the Law of Civil Disobedience in British Columbia – Olympic Edition” [PDF].

The forty-three-page guide is anything but a sketchy pamphlet for marchers on the front line; it’s a serious, accessible, and well-written handbook. Produced by Leo McGrady originally in 1970 in connection with protests against the Vietnam war, according to a story in the Globe and Mail, and updated a number of times since then, it aims to

. . . inform

Following up on Connie’s post (thanks!) earlier this week, I’d like to thank everyone who has participated in the 2009 nomination season!

We’ve got one more fun item to announce… a new look for the site! Please drop by & have a look. And if you haven’t done so already, consider endorsing your own favourite bloggers!

Happy holidays!
Steve . . . [more]

“[T]his regrettable result is a necessary consequence of Canada’s commitment to policies of international comity and reciprocity. Any time sovereign immunity is asserted, the inevitable result is that certain domestic parties will be left without legal recourse. This is a policy choice implicit in the Act itself.”

Re Canada Labour Code, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 50 at 91, per La Forest J.

Last week, in a Montreal courtroom, Justice La Forest’s observation was put to the test. For the past three and a half years, Stephan Hashemi, the son of the late Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, has been seeking to . . . [more]