Futurelawyer

Get Me 2 Pounds of Roast Beef, A Loaf of Bread, And A Laptop, Please.

Seriously. In the near future, Android powered cheap 7 inch, ARM based processor, laptops, with a couple of Gigs of memory, an Ethernet port, a USB port, and Wifi capability, will be marketed by HiVision in supermarkets, next to the deli. These things will have a manufacturer cost of around $98, and sell for $149 or so. They have, allegedly, 4 hours of battery life, and can be almost an impulse item. If you can take 10 minutes of broken english by Charbax, this comparison between HiVision's Linux version and the new Android version, is worth seeing. 

Minority Report Interface Is Almost Here

If you loved the spatial interface in the movie, Minority Report, you are going to love G-Speak from Oblong Industries. These guys have created a spatial environment in which every movement translates into computer control. I want one of these.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

iPad v. A Rock - Rock Wins?

iPad v. A Rock .  This cute comparison between a rock and the new Apple iPad is intended to be humorous. However, it has a serious component. It is reminiscent of the recent Droid versus iPhone commercials, in that it highlights all of the ways that Apple can say no, while providing a pretty product. Neither the rock nor the iPad has a camera. Neither has a removable battery. Neither multi-tasks. However, the killer for me is that the new iPad has no USB ports, so no peripherals can be attached. I don't care how clunky or boxy a netbook looks next to the sleek iPad. Lack of peripherals is a deal killer. What Apple has created is an expensive, sleek looking, ereader. 

Snow And Airplanes And Ice, Oh My!

All About Snow.  I hate snow. I live in Florida partly because I hate snow. I don't mind getting up at 3:30 in the morning, as long as I don't have to deal with snow. However, when snow in another place (Charlotte, North Carolina) ruins my plans, and I STILL have to get up at 3:30 in the morning, I get really riled up. Of course, getting angry at He Who Creates The Snow is kind of like getting angry at She Who Must Be Obeyed. It is a useless exercise. So, I will sit quietly, and pray that the snow stops, and I am able to make it to New York tomorrow. Don't start Legal Tech without me.

Top Ten Things You Can Do To Kill Your Computer

10 dumb things users do that can mess up their computers | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com .  Before we begin, I do dumb things all the time. And, I have paid the price, with sluggish computer performance, crashed systems, lost data, and all of it. However, with time, I have learned to be more careful, and this list of dumb things you can do to mess up your computer is a good place to start. My favorites? Back up plan. Don't click on everything you see. Be careful what you download and install. Use an antivirus and anti-spyware program. I could go on, but check out the article and read them all.  Then, go out there and be safe.>

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Do You Have The Golden Ticket?

thelegalbeat.com. On line continuing legal education is an idea whose time has come. No more driving to a hotel or law school, and sitting all day listening to speakers on someone else's schedule. My friends at LawLine have a full list of educational online programs at a very reasonable cost. Today, the first 25 lawyers to respond can get a full year of online CLE for the amazing price of $475. I imagine that this offer will sell out quickly, so get over to Lawline and sign up now!

Apple iPad - Not Ready For Prime Time

Apple iPad is Just Another DOA - PCWorld Business Center.  I am certain that a lot of kids, big and small, will be buying the iPad. After all, we bought the iPod, didn't we? But, will business professionals buy them for real work? No. Of course, Apple and Steve Jobs didn't build them for us. These were built for entertainment, and the fact that they are also able to be used for business tasks is not the principal purpose. As entertainment and browsing devices, they are just big iPod Touches, and I don't say that like it's a bad thing. I still have my iPod Touch, and I occasionally bring it out to play a game, or listen to music while I work or travel. However, it is small, and I can put it in a pocket. The iPad will need to be carried in a computer case, and the big screen will be a target for my device breaking psyche. On the other hand, if law book publishers ever get it, and start publishing in epub format, an iPad might make a great legal research tool. Hey, I might even buy one for that. And, I am certain that textbook publishers will be publishing to iPads, and you will see a lot of these in the hands of college kids. Now that I think about it, if I had one of these when I went  to College, I am pretty sure my shoulder and back and ankles and all the other parts of my body that hurt would feel better now.

IBooks - An Ereader I Would Buy

Gizmodo Liveblog.  The iPad comes with an ereader application the uses the epub standard format, and allows downloading and purchasing books in a flash. The nicest thing, however, is that it is BIG, like a book or magazine, and I think this type of device might be the future of textbook and magazine publishing. It might just save some newspapers also. If you are a Mac user, you will probably want to trade in your notebook for one of these, as there is a version of iWorks and other Apple software available. This thing looks like it can do it all. Beautiful, sexy, but not something I want to add to the briefcase right now. I like having the smartphone in the pocket, and a tactile full sized keyboard on the notebook. However, I predict that students will flock to this thing, once textbooks come online. And, I can see lawyers, doctors and other professionals carrying one of these, loaded with the entire casebook series from West or entire encyclopedias, or medical textbooks. 

It's Official! It's The IPAD!

(2) Gizmodo Liveblog.  Take an iPhone or iPod Touch, and make it big, and you have the new iPad, which Steve Jobs is demonstrating now. Gizmodo is live blogging the event, and the photos look amazing. Problem is, where will you carry this thing? Will you have to get rid of your notebook? Pretty cool, though.

After The Apple IPAD Hype, Look How Far We've Come!

While the world waits for the expected announcement later today of a large tablet computer running a version of iPhone software from Apple, I came across a 1992 video of a launch party for Windows 3.1. It is amazing what we thought was cool in 1992, and what is real today. This comes from Chris Pirillo's geek website: