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What does it mean to be a “duplicate”?

By wamasoncom | August 18, 2023

One of my recent projects asked me to look at the logic within a software package that took data from multiple sources, stored it in a database, and then provided curated access to the information so that only a single version of “duplicate entries” would be appropriately represented. As I worked through explaining this to the relevant… Read More »What does it mean to be a “duplicate”?

Media Recycling in the FAT File System

By zeenathaniel | June 7, 2023

I recently was asked to look at specific findings of other forensic experts related to the “recovery of deleted flies.” Another expert found specific behavior highly suspicious, but after a careful review, I concluded that this was more an artifact of how file systems recycle media. In this post, I will walk through my logic in hopes… Read More »Media Recycling in the FAT File System

Why Daylight Savings Time Matters

By zeenathaniel | October 31, 2022

Recently I expressed being unsure of what someone meant when they indicated a meeting time relative to “EST.” I explained that EST is not the same as EDT, and since I’m not in either of those time zones, I suspected they said EST when they meant EDT. They accused me of being “pedantic.” They are right: the type of forensic analysis that… Read More »Why Daylight Savings Time Matters

Winsorizing: How to Complicate a Simple Idea

By Tony Mason | May 6, 2022

Last year I came across the use of this term and had to look it up. I ultimately understood the idea as soon as I read the description, but it made me think of the propensity of technologists to invent terminology. But, of course, one benefit of creating specialized languages is excluding those who do… Read More »Winsorizing: How to Complicate a Simple Idea

Blockchain: Fad for Innovative Technology?

By Tony Mason | May 2, 2022

Recently, I wrote about how blockchains work. However, I did not really delve into what it is good for? Maybe the answer is (like war) absolutely nothing! As is so often the case in the real world, the truth is somewhere in-between. Blockchain solves a specific, real problem. However, it has also become a shiny new buzzword and… Read More »Blockchain: Fad for Innovative Technology?

Blockchain as understood from an Expert

By Tony Mason | February 24, 2022

I have been working in distributed systems for decades. The fundamental problem when we have multiple active sources of information is finding a way to achieve consensus – agreement about what has happened. The simplest way to reach a consensus is to have one decision-maker. If there is only a single source of “truth” as… Read More »Blockchain as understood from an Expert

Effective Mechanisms for Authorship Determination

By Tony Mason | February 18, 2022

Recently one of my clients contacted me and asked about what I know concerning “determining authorship.” I pointed out that I have a published paper on the subject (Plagiarism Reduction). An integral part of doing that work was learning how the tools we use to detect plagiarism actually work. But, of course, my work was… Read More »Effective Mechanisms for Authorship Determination

Improving Patent Family Value

By Tony Mason | January 17, 2022

As an inventor, one of the things I did not appreciate is how to maximize the value of a patent family. I suspect that one reason for this is that the attorney with whom I did much of my work focused on drafting the patent and nursing it through the prosecution process (note: “prosecution” in… Read More »Improving Patent Family Value

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