Show and Tell: Strategic Courtroom Graphics
Studies have shown that many jurors make their decision based on the opening and closing
statements. It is the first and last chance a trial team has at making a good argument directly to
the jury for their case.
Two dimensional computer graphics are the most widely used in trial and can be created to
educate and convince a jury without confusing them. Most are easy to produce and present.
"Static" demonstratives used in court are in their final presentation format and are not interactive
or dynamic. The entire graphic is shown on a "two dimensional" palette such as a foam core
board or a computer generated graphic that has no "moving parts." Static graphics are
sometimes useful and can be effective. However, sometimes last minute changes to the
demonstrative need to take place. Any veteran trial lawyer or consultant can tell you that this kind
of change is inevitable. Objections and rulings can change the exact content of a graphic. If
changes are required to these "static" graphics, a trial team can find itself at the mercy of an offsite
graphics technician or an overnight courier service. In addition, a graphic produced on a
board can only be viewed by those who are positioned in front of it.
Graphics that are "interactive" have the effect of involving the jury or judge, focusing on points as
they are introduced or "build." The "strategy" behind these dynamic graphics is to use motion to
"liven" up the graphic for the courtroom audience.
For example, a graphic illustrating the relationship between a company and certain entities, such
as officers, accountants, lawyers, should employ a step-by-step presentation which helps the
audience to more clearly understand the relationships. Using this simple technique, an attorney
can slowly "build", both graphically and "mentally", the relationships.
One of the most powerful applications of the "build" technique is in the presentation of a timeline.
In almost every case some style of timeline is used. Building the timeline, one event at a time,
becomes very important in emphasizing the importance of each event and its significance to the
case. Also adding supporting documents to the timeline build adds credibility to the presentation.
Opening statements, examinations of key expert witnesses and closing arguments can be
enhanced with good strategic graphics. Keeping the audience's focus on key graphics is critical.
The methodology and techniques used by trial teams can sometimes backfire if their approach to
the graphics is not carefully considered.
How to Secure Your WiFi Network Over Your Lunch Break
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Wifi access points can be a great convenience facilitating simplified network setup without the hassle of running cables. However, when improperly configured, they introduce a security vulnerability. Many people skip the recommended setup instructions once they establish a working internet connection ("hey it works, good enough"). Bad idea. We've created a short four-minute video tutorial to help walk you through the steps of configuring security on a linksys wireless access point.
Most access points provide some type of interface to configure security (the Linksys models have browser-based screens as seen in the video tutorial). The absolute first thing you should do is check to make sure you change the default SSID and admin password that comes pre-installed (you'd be surprised by how many people fail to do this simple step). Once you have changed the default password and SSID, there are two basic layers of security: adding adding MAC address filtering and using WEP encryption. A mac address filter is like an "invite-only list" for your wireless network that limits which computers can connect. Every network interface adapter ever made, whether it's a wireless card or ethernet connection, has a unique number called a Mac Address (you'll generally find this on the bottom of your hub or on the back of your NIC card). You can set your access point to only accept connections coming from specific Mac Addresses that you specify. Using this method your network will only accept connections from computers that appear on the "guest list." The other layer of security you can add is to encrypt your traffic in the air using a "WEP Key." The key is known only to your wireless card and your access point, consequently the two speak to each other in an encrypted fashion. If a foreign device attempts to "sniff" your traffic or connect to your network, it will see only garbled characters since it does not have the key to decipher the transmission. Keep in mind that in making these changes using a wireless connection it's possible to "lock yourself out." If you do so, you'll need to connect to the access point it via ethernet to restore the settings. As a last resort you can always go back to square one by doing a hard reset on the hub (usually by depressing a dimple inset in the back with a paperclip).
No system is 100% secure but much like adding a
Club® on your vehicle provides sufficient deterrence to cause the average thief to skip your car in favor an easier target, these simple changes will give you a good level of security for your wireless network. If you have data on your wireless network which is of extreme value or suspect someone has a strong reason to attack you personally, then you demand more rigorous security and should speak with one of our security consultants to do a vulnerability assessment and provide enhanced security measures.
Five Reasons You Should Switch to the Firefox Browser
Even if you don't do a great deal of web surfing, there are compelling reasons why you should consider making the switch from your current web browser to Firefox. Firefox is an offshoot development project of the Mozilla Foundation (the same people that originally made Netscape). A faction of developers from the mozilla browser project were concerned with growing software bloat due to the commercial demands associated with Netscape's sponsorship of the browser. These developers split off and pursued the goal of creating the leanest and meanest web browser possible. The rate of public acceptance indicates that they've done something right. Microsoft IE currently holds a dominant position in the browser market with 95% penetration, but recently, announcements concerning security vulnerabilities in IE have boosted Firefox's popularity. For the first time ever, last month IE's market share experienced a decline. There are a slew of reasons to make the switch but this article will focus on the top five:
- SPEED – one might think "how is it possible to innovate on something as vanilla as a web browser?" After all we don't typically think of a browser as a luxury vehicle for transporting us around the Internet, more likely we think of it as a simple transparent spyglass for viewing webpages. Firefox draws webpages faster though using the Gecko layout engine and consequently FEELS more responsive. It also has a feature called "tabbed browsing" which lets you (with a single click) open links in tabs rather than spawning new windows. This will change the way you surf allowing you to quickly "branch out" links behind the scenes, let them load in the background while you're reading the current one and explore multiple results with instantaneous page loads. You can skip back and forth to relevant info without having a mess of windows open on your screen. The download manager integrated in Firefox makes it possible to manage downloads while they occur. You can pause and resume downloads in order of what you need first and even resume failed downloads that are interrupted before completion. This all translates to you getting things done faster.
- SECURITY – The Firefox browser is an opensource initiative which means the code underlying the software is made publicly-available and is open for scrutiny from anyone who wants to peer under the hood. Opensource software has the advantage of drawing upon the cumulative talent from a wide variety of diverse developers working to make it better. These developers are not paid for their contributions, so you get volunteers that are working for the right reasons. Opensource illuminates the dark recesses that plague private codebases and lead to security exploits. It also means that when vulnerabilities are discovered, the product is not at the mercy of a behemouth like Microsoft for fixes but rather they are addressed rapidly by a distributed team of developers. Firefox doesn't load active X controls so your session can't be compromised by clicking a link like it can with IE. It's also completely isolated from the operating system whereas IE has tight integration – if the browser were to get hijacked, you have a limited sandbox to which problems would be confined rather than access to your harddrive. Additionally you have granular control over your security settings with cookie management (a built-in tool that lets you selectively deny cookies for certain sites), cache and history management.
- LESS DISTRACTIONS – Firefox allows you to block annoying popup windows that hamper your browsing experience. It also provides control to stop distracting animated graphics and flash from playing unless you grant them the ability to play. It has an adblocker feature that let's you block images from specific domains and even specify wildcards so that any images coming from directories like "ads" and "banners" never display. This again translates to a more pleasant, efficient browsing experience.
- EXTENSIBILITY – Firefox has a ton of third-party extensions that are developed to add functionality. There's a plugin that allows you to synchronize your bookmarks on multiple computers so your office and home machines have the same bookmarks. It has built-in RSS feed reader so you can have the latest headlines from sites and blogs that interest you pushed to your browser automatically. Someone has even recreated the popular google toolbar as a plugin for Firefox.
- SWITCHING IS PAINLESS – There is zero learning curve associated with using Firefox – the interface is clean, intuitive and no doubt similar to what you are used to. It's a small download (under 5MB) and they have a nifty utility that runs when you install it that allows you to import your settings from your previous browser so there is no overhead with switching. You can be up and running with Firefox in about five minutes.
USA Today recently endorsed Firefox in a column titled "Signs your PC's under siege, and what you can do" saying "Beware of spyware. If you can, use the Mozilla Firefox browser." Public acceptance of Firefox has been very strong. Websidestory reported that 5.2 percent of web users were using the Firefox or Netscape browsers as of late September 2004, a rise of 1.7 percent since June, and that Internet Explorer had lost 1.8 percent of market share in the same period. If you're still using Internet Explorer, you owe it to yourself to try Firefox. Once you drive this sports car, you will not want to browse any other way. You can download Firefox from the link below:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
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