W. Lawrence Wescott looks to address what companies should expect when handling backup tapes during the eDiscovery process in his article Shedding Light on Backup Tape E-Discovery.

Items addressed in the article include:

• A look at the original intent of backups -- Disaster Recovery
• A look at the common use of backups -- Data History
• Backup tapes subject to eDiscovery (duty to preserve, storage & tape costs, data collecting, culling, review, retention and spoliation)
  
• Accessible or not?
• Strategies to minimize risk

This article is a great overview of backup tapes and the role they play in eDiscovery and definitely worth reading and sharing.

If you would like more information about backup tapes (the ins-&-outs, the different types of media, restoration times, etc), visit eMag's resources page.  We have links, whitepapers, you name it, everything you ever wanted to know (and some things you didn't) about backup tapes.

It appears there is now a National (fill in the blank) Day for everything.  That being said, I am 100% behind the celebration and adoration of this particluar item. 

So how does one celebrate National Coffee Day?  First, take advantage of free deals being offered by some of the large chains.  For instance, in New England, participating McDonalds are offering free Newman's Own coffee Tuesday and Wednesday while on the West Coast, Panera Bread is having BOGO coffee is you say the magic phrase, which, by the way, is "Pay it Forward".  Be sure to check your local news affiliates as they are sure to have listings of participating restaurants/cafes in your area.

Or how about brushing up on the history of coffee?  According to Wikipedia, "the word 'coffee' entered English in 1598 via Dutch koffie.This word was created via Turkish kahve, the Turkish pronunciation Arabic qahwa, a truncation of qahhwat al-bun or wine of the bean."  Now just pray that question pops up next time you play bar trivia.

Happy National Coffee Day, everyone!

Every day the internet gives us access to more than what was available just the previous day.  Technology changes at such a rapid rate that sometimes the law is barely able to keep pace.  According to Boston lawyer Harvey Silvergate's new book Three Felonies A Day, the average American unknowingly commits, you guessed it, about three felonies a day "because of vague laws."

I'd be interested to know what the most common felonies are and if there's anything currently being done to address the issue regarding these common missteps.  This book is going to straight to my Amazon wish list! 

For the full WSJ article discussing Silvergate's book, click here.

Have you seen the series Hoarders on A&E TV?  The show focuses on those people who are obsessed with hoarding/stashing/saving anything and everything they can because they just never know when they may need that 15 year old Coke can in the corner.  You just never know!

I think a great many people who guard their company's ESI feel just like that.  They want to tidy up to make searching through the needed ESI more efficient and more cost-effective, but first they have to know what is considered 'needed' and what can go out with the garbage.

In Tom Lahiff and Deidre Paknad's article 4 Dangerous Myths about Data Disposal, Debunked, you learn of 4 commonly held beliefs from which many suffer:

Myth 1: We need to keep everything.

Myth 2: Storage is cheap.

Myth 3: There's no way to tell what data is garbage.

Myth 4: It's too hard and it can't be done perfectly.

Do yourself and your company a favor: read this article and learn ways in which to make your life and your working day and lot less stressful and more manageable.  It can be done.