By Sue Keno and Nancy Kruzel

As Microsoft prepares to roll out Office 2010, law firms should consider whether to invest in the latest version of the software. The answer is: It depends. It depends on the current state of your firm's hardware, what version of Office you are currently using, how your firm's other software applications integrate with an upgrade and--perhaps most importantly--your technology budget and goals for 2010. There are no clear-cut answers, so firms should consider their own unique situations, variables and priorities.

The Latest Version of Office

Last July, Microsoft introduced the technical preview of Office 2010, and the beta version appeared in November. While Microsoft initially forecast that the upgrade would be available in the first half of 2010, it is more realistic to expect it by the fourth quarter.

Office 2010 will feature extended file compatibility and user interface updates. According to Microsoft, the Office 2010 suite is designed to make work flows more efficient; to effectively use Web applications to make work available anywhere; and to make collaboration with others much easier.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

A recent study relating to data security breaches in the United States shows that total per-incident costs are substantial.  The average total per-incident costs in 2009 were $6.75 million, comprised of an average cost of $204 per customer with a jeopardized record.  Breaches included within the survey varied from 5,000 records to more than 101,000 records from 15 different industry sectors.  The most expensive data breach within the ambit of the study cost almost a whopping $31 million dollars to resolve.

PGP Corporation, an enterprise data protection company, and the Poneman Institute, a privacy and information management research firm, as part of their fifth annual U.S. Cost of a Data Breach Study, tracked a wide array of cost elements. These elements included outlays for detection, escalation, notification, and response along with legal, investigative and administrative expenses, customer defections, opportunity loss, reputation management, and costs related to customer support like information hotlines and credit monitoring subscriptions.  The study analyzed companies from 15 different industries. These industries included the financial, retail, healthcare, services, education, technology, manufacturing, transportation, consumer, hotels and leisure, entertainment, marketing, pharmaceutical, communications, research, energy and defense industries.

By Jay Kozie and Stan Rabin

Should an upgrade to Microsoft's Windows 7 be on the list of New Year's resolutions at your law firm? With the rollout of Microsoft's new operating system, it's time to think about whether your current version of Windows will meet your firm's needs or if it is time to invest in an upgrade.

For firms running either Microsoft's previous system, Vista, or the older platform, Windows XP, the question will be when, not if, they upgrade to Windows 7. Since Windows 7 was rolled out in 2009, we have found that it offers a very stable platform. To make the right decision for your firm, you should balance several variables. Check with vendors of the applications you use to determine if they are compatible with Windows 7. Expect that your applications will require some updating (i.e. newer versions) in order to be compatible. You should also consider when you will be replacing workstations, since that may be the logical start of the transition to Windows 7. If you want to use existing workstations with Windows 7, Microsoft offers a "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" tool on its Web site that will help decide if your current PCs will work, or if Windows 7 should be combined with workstation replacements.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

The days of reading a daily newspaper appear to be part of the past, and newspapers are trying to come up with solutions to remain viable. With online content available on the internet, less people are reading printed newspapers. Free online content is available, but will charging readers for online content save the newspaper industry?  The answer, unfortunately for now, appears to be "no," according to a recent poll.

An Adwork Media/Harris Poll of last month indicates that while 64% of Americans aged 55 and above still read a daily newspaper practically every day, the percentages of readership go down with age.  Indeed, 44% of Americans aged 45-54, 36% aged 35-44, and only 23% aged 18-34 read a daily newspaper most days.  And 17% of Americans aged 18-34 never read a daily newspaper.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

Once upon a time, and actually not that long ago, online social networking truly was the province of high school and college students.  Those days are over, and whether the youth likes it or not, older generations now are rampant on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networking sites like LinkedIn; who manage online social networking while they carry on other daily tasks.  

The demand for online social networking has become so ubiquitous that a recent reported outage of severe Internet controls in China was greeted with enthusiasm as usually blocked socially networking platforms briefly opened up.  While social networking does present a number of potential benefits, care must be taken that proper practices are followed, especially in the workplace.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

I have been writing weekly on technology issues the entirety of the past decade - and what a decade it has been!  Technology convergence has been fantastic, with more to come, but we need to make sure that our gadgets do not extract too much of a social cost.

Sure, when the decade began, there was the initial Internet novelty fascination and the Wild, Wild West free-wheeling mentality associated with all things Internet-related.  VC's were throwing money hand over fist for practically anything tied to a new online idea.  Valuations and share prices of start-up companies went through the roof, even if the supporting economic fundamentals were not in place.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

Whole body image scanning machines are designed to peer through clothing and capture three-dimensional images of individuals as if they are completely undressed. This raises a lot of questions about the impact of a citizen's civil liberty rights and a citizen's privacy interests.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a public interest research organization that monitors federal actions to determine their impact on civil liberties and privacy interests, has wanted to find out how whole body imaging machines have been used on US citizens by the federal government. 

Accordingly, EPIC submitted a Freedom of Information of Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Because the DOJ did not provide the requested information, EPIC has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

A General Public License (GPL) lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York this week. According to ARN, this lawsuit will feature a particularly large number of named defendants.

The GPL is a software license which cover much of what is commonly called "open source" software. It allows other to use the covered software, but under specific terms, including that modifications of GPL covered source code, if released to the public, be made openly available themselves.

Because a GPL work is copyrighted, a licensee has no right to redistribute it, not even in modified form (barring fair use), except under the terms of the license. The terms of the license require that users keep the software available for free.

A user is required to adhere to the terms of the GPL if the user wishes to exercise rights normally restricted by copyright law, such as redistributing the covered software or modifications of it.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

Tiger Woods has disappeared from the golfing scene while there has been a media feeding frenzy. Numerous women have come out of the woodwork claiming sexual relationships with the megastar.  And while Tiger has sought respect for his privacy in this delicate time for his family, his attorneys have taken a more aggressive approach in court to protect their client.  But can this approach work, especially in the Internet era?

As previously written about in FindLaw's Celebrity Justice blog, Mr. Woods' attorneys apparently have gained an injunction from an English judge that bars the publication of photos of Tiger Woods nude.  The sweeping UK injunction reportedly prohibits the dissemination of any photos, video or images of Tiger while naked, any naked parts of his body, or showing him in any sexual activity.  The order apparently threatens imprisonment, fines and the potential seizure of assets for violations.

We all know that as using social networking gains more and more ground, that it will eventually infiltrate our judicial system. Whether it is an alibi via Facebook status, violating a protective order via "poke" on Facebook, or even cyberbullying, social media is poised to enter the legal arena. It also brings up ethical issues for lawyers and judges.

We've already seen one judge reprimanded for discussing a case with defense counsel through Facebook.

Trying to head off such situations before they occur, the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has issued an opinion about the ethical issues that crop up when Florida judges use social networking sites. While this opinion addresses Florida judges, it highlights ethical issues that all legal professionals should think about. Here are some of the issues that were discussed in the opinion: