Futurelawyer

Skipping Windows 7 - It's The Economy, Stupid!

Survey: Many businesses plan to skip Windows 7 | Beyond Binary - CNET News. This report that over half of businesses (and probably more law firms) are planning to delay deployment of Windows 7 systems, is not surprising. The economy is making the decision to stay with XP easy; it doesn't cost anything, XP works fine, the job is getting done, and businesses don't want to spend the time and money necessary for upgrading. Most of them have hybrid systems, anyway. When a new computer is purchased, if it has Vista, fine; but, there are no compelling reasons to upgrade the operating system on a computer that is doing the job. I suspect that most of us are hunkering down, and concentrating on working with what we have now. Businessmen, and lawyers, are asking the question, why should I spend the time, money, and training costs to upgrade? Good question.

Express Dictate - How Do You Talk To Your Secretary?

Dictate Software - Digital Dictation Recorder for PC and Mac. Sometimes, the most productive software is the most boring. Dictating memos, correspondence, and general annoying stuff is something that lawyers do all day, every day. Before Express Dictate, I dictated into little handheld machines, and carried tapes to my secretary, bought expensive systems that sent dictation over cords to a carousel tape machine on my secretary's desk, wrote stuff on paper and brought the scribbled notes to her for transcription, and God knows what other methods. I have highlighted this most useful software before; but, it bears repeating. This is the most useful, easiest to use, productivity tool in my arsenal. The transcription software is free, with the purchase of the dictation component. You can email the dictation, send it to a specified location on any computer in your network, and it sits in the active application tray, just waiting to be used. It will use any microphone and speaker combination you want. I use my Skype phone to dictate everything. It even has a Palm OS application, that permits dictation into your cell phone when away from the office. Just dictate, and email the result to your transcriptionist. My secretary hates Express Dictate. I love it. Talk on.

You Can Have My XP When You Pry It From My Cold Dead Hands

Slashdot Technology Story | One Year Later, "Dead" XP Still Going Strong. XP, the OS that won't die, owes its enduring life to millions of users who refuse to buy the hype of Vista, and who will likely wait to install Windows 7 when it comes as part of a new computer. This extended life is a testament to the maturation of PC operating systems, and to the human tendency to keep something we are comfortable with, and that works. XP is stable, seldom crashes, and gets the job done. I feel about it the way I feel about the 17 year old car that I still drive occasionally. If it still gets me from one place to another, with a minimum of fuss, I will keep it until it dies. In these tough economic times, we all could stand to resist the call of the new and shiny toy. Of course, I will still buy new gadgets, if they are within the budget. Operating systems, however, are like tires. They ain't pretty, but if they still work, keep them.

Palm Releases Security Update for webOS

Smartphone Fanatics: Palm Releases Security Update for webOS. Well, that didn't take long. Palm Web OS is a really cool idea; all your apps update in real time all the time, using the Web. However, as with Software As A Service (SaaS) applications, anything going out to the Net and back is inherently exposed to hackers and security risks. All that data flying around in the Intersphere can be intercepted, and generally messed with. I know, I ended a sentence with a preposition. Mr Grammar. But, sometimes, the rules are meant to be broken, for the sake of emphasis. Which reminds me of a story about Lou Piniella. Once, when he was still playing ball, he was batting toward the end of a game, and the Umpire and everybody else just wanted it to be over. So, when the first pitch to Sweet Lou was way inside, the Ump yelled, "Strike One"! Lou, visibly upset, turned to the Umpire and said, "Where the Hell Was that at?" Without missing a beat, the Umpire said "Lou, you know better than to end a sentence with a preposition". Lou took his stance for the next pitch; but, before it could be thrown, he turned to the Umpire and said: "Time Out!". The Umpire complied, and Lou, after a pause for effect, said "Where the Hell Was it at, A**HOLE"! So, when you buy that cool new Palm, which uses the Web as an OS, remember that there may be some a**hole out there, and they are doing more than messing with your data.

EMail Features That Deserve To Die

"Reply All" warning • mozillaZine Forums. Have you ever replied to an email message, and wondered whether its contents went somewhere that you didn't intend? Lawyers particularly need to be careful what they say in emails, and whom they say it to. Hitting Reply All can send sensitive information to the wrong people. Why not just kill the thing in the first place? Then, if you send an email to someone, it will be because you took the time to enter the email address or pulled it from your Contact list on purpose. In Thunderbird, you can do this by using the Customize feature of the Tool Bar. Right click, delete, and you are already safer. Look around in your email client, and I bet there is a way to get rid of the Reply All button there as well.

Nitro PDF Professional 6.0 - Free Trial Download

Nitro PDF Professional 6.0 - Free Download. The best PDF software just got better. Version 6 has a new conversion engine that makes conversion of PDF files to Word and back easier and better. You name the function you want in a PDF program, and Nitro has it. It is fast, easy to use, and loads much faster than Adobe. In addition to the ability to take documents in 300 formats to PDF quickly and easily, Nitro allows batch processing and almost instant conversion to any format. I made Nitro the default handler for PDF files, and it hasn't skipped a beat. It is also a lot cheaper than Adobe, at $99 a copy, and enterprise pricing is available. If you look around, you can even find it discounted to $69 a copy. Lawyers spend a lot of time with PDF files, and this tool will make your job much easier and more streamlined. As electronic filing becomes more ubiquitous, a good PDF application is a necessity. Futurelawyer recommended.

Gwabbit - Don't Type That Address!

gwabbit faqs 2009. In addition to having a cute name, Gwabbit is very useful. If you use Outlook for email, it will automatically create an Outlook contact for names and addresses inside your emails. Very clever, and very easy. I still prefer Thunderbird for my email, but, at $19.95, someone who uses Outlook for email every day will find it a very good buy. I am trying it out alongside Thunderbird. Just make the settings so that emails are left on the server, and you can redownload them, and apply the Gwabbit tool to them in Outlook.

Microsoft Unveils Win 7 Pricing, Upgrade Program - Prices So High They're Insane!!!

Microsoft Unveils Win 7 Pricing, Upgrade Program - News and Analysis by PC Magazine. Remember the TV car commercial with the guy screaming and waving his arms? Microsoft is sounding like that guy. Except that Microsoft has a bait and switch ploy. Install a free copy of the Release Candidate for Windows 7, and Microsoft won't start annoying you to death until next year. Then, unless you buy a new copy, it will shut down your system every couple of hours. Windows 7 is a better OS; however, will I upgrade each of my XP machines at a price of $219.99 per unit? I don't think so. Like many other lawyers, I will likely wait until I replace a machine, and buy a new one with an OEM version of Windows 7 next year or the year after. We lawyers are notorious for being slow to spend on new technology; even those of us ahead of the curve. $220 per computer to update an OS that works fine already? I don't think so.

Apple delivers iPhone 3.0 update on schedule

Apple delivers iPhone 3.0 update on schedule. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon downloading and installing the iPod Touch 3.0 update. The Apple site wouldn't take my money until 2 P.M. Eastern time; but, once I got through the "Accept Our Draconian Terms of Service Screens" it came through fine. Be aware, it is a 250 Megabyte download, and takes a while even at broadband speeds. Then, it crashed during install, and I had to do a complete restore of the 3.0 software, and restore all my apps from the backup. Once completed, the software delivers as advertised, and I am now happily listening to the iPod through my wireless Jabra earset. I am going to try the wireless stereo buds later. Skype doesn't work yet, as the microphone portion of the app won't work through the earset mike. I am sure the VOIP apps will be updated to support bluetooth. So, the conspiracy buffs were right all the time. The iPod Touch DID have a bluetooth chip.

Kids, Don't Try This At Home!

Windows XP Can Upgrade to Windows 7, Sorta - Tom's Hardware. Microsoft has announced that the upcoming Windows 7 will NOT be a direct upgrade from Windows XP. Since a large majority of Windows users, including the FutureLawyer, stuck with XP, and refused to upgrade (downgrade?) to Windows Vista, this is not a strategy designed to get XP users to pay for a copy of Windows 7. Windows 7 is an admittedly superior OS; however, I am willing to bet that not many XP users will want to do a backup of all their XP data, then do a clean install of Windows 7, and then reinstall all of their existing programs. Ouch. There are so many rabbit holes to fall into in this process that one post isn't enough to list them all. So, Microsoft, you are going to have to pry my XP machine from my cold, dead hands if you want me to upgrade. When my trusty Dell D430 dies, and it is time to buy a new computer, and if it is after next October, and, if the new computer comes with an OEM copy of Windows 7, then maybe I will use it. Or, maybe I will just install my old copy of XP on it.