Futurelawyer

Missoula Attorney uses only Open Source Free Software for Law Office

Link: The Independent Online - News. Do you need to spend a lot of money on software to run an effective law office? Missoula, Montana attorney Monte Jewell has proven the answer is no. Using ony open source free software, he is running Montana Legal Services, and is working on other free software alternatives to providing open databases to his clients, and is building Open Missoula , a website to bring free software and tech support to low-income legal advocates who are looking for similar alternatives. Not surprisingly, he is offering the information free, under a Creative Commons not-for-profit copyright. Kudos, Monte. Who needs Microsoft anyway?

VoiceStick.com - Meet Your New Global Phone

Link: VoiceStick.com - Meet Your New Global Phone. Vonage, in an attempt to step up competition with Skype and other free services for VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), has loaded its free VOIP software on a 64 MB USB Key, and called it the VoiceStick. The service is $9.99 a month in the U.S. and Canada for 400 minutes, and permits unlimited calling wherever you plug in the USB key. It eliminates the need to carry a notebook computer with the phone software loaded. Vonage is calling it a USB Mobile Phone, and it certainly is an ingenious marketing ploy. Vonage has a reputation for outstanding voice quality; however, it remains to be seen whether a headset plugged into a computer outfitted with the USB phone will be usable. I am going to try the service out, and will report back.

Dell says investigating exploding laptop incident - Yahoo! News

Link: Dell says investigating exploding laptop incident - Yahoo! News. Okay, I have installed anti-spyware, anti-virus software, computer locks, software locks, and have password-protected my new Dell X1 ultralight laptop. And, now, I have to wonder whether it is going to explode? This isn't the first time Dell has had battery problems with its laptops. Let's hope they get to the bottom of the problem soon. I swear I heard my briefcase going tick, tick, tick.

One Laptop per Child

Link: One Laptop per Child. What is the best way to spend your charitable dollar? Feeding the hungry? Nursing the sick? Housing the homeless? There is so much suffering in our world, it is impossible to make a choice that won't have consequences. Human suffering will not be lessened, however, unless those of us with the means and the will take the first step. OLPC, (One Laptop Per Child) is a non-profit that is gaining worldwide steam for the idea that, if every child had a computer, every child could change the world for the better. Check out the site, and the designs. You power these little guys with a crank, and the child-friendly colors and designs are really attractive. They have waterproof keyboards, and are practically indestructible. You can't buy these computers, they will be given away to educational institutions and other organizations for distribution in countries with need. I don't know if there are worthier charities out there; but, this one is one of my favorites. Help a child. Change the world.

Supernova 2006 -

Link: Supernova 2006 . Big thoughts from business, government, technology and other leaders about the decentralization brought on by the Internet. If you want to know about the future of the Net, this is the place. This is another example of video blogs, podcasts, live streaming audio, and other ways to be someplace you're not. On June 23 and 24th in San Francisco, Supernova attendees got to hear the movers and shakers discuss how Net connections are changing the planet. Net neutrality, social networking, wikis, Web 2.0, and other world changing ideas. Good stuff.

Cell phone signals excite brain, study finds - Yahoo! News

Link: Cell phone signals excite brain, study finds - Yahoo! News. I'm excited. Are you excited? At my age, any excitement is a plus. Now, we are being told that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been used by Italian scientists to show that cell phone use excites brain cells near the phone. No word on whether this excitement translates to the release of happy utterances, or involuntary movement. Of course, at my age, any brain function at all is a victory, and I will not be surprised to find out that cell phone therapy is becoming a popular therapeutic treatment for old age. That is, of course, if you can pry the cell phone out of your grand-children's hands.

Pocket Informant - Calendars and time-keeping - Treo Downloads | mytreo.net

Link: Pocket Informant - Calendars and time-keeping - Treo Downloads | mytreo.net. Have you been seduced yet by the Windows Mobile machines? Whether you choose a Treo, Motorola Q, T-Mobile MDA, or one of the other new smart phones, you likely use Outlook or a compatible product to keep your law firm calendar, contacts, and task information at the office. Amicus Attorney automatically ports information to Outlook, and then it syncs to my Treo 700w for use on the go. This Outlook clone brings the Outlook interface, in tabbed form, to my pocket. It is amazing that these old eyes can see all the information displayed on the small screen, but Pocket Informant is surprisingly usable. And, since I am using the same data as my secretary back at the office, there is some comfort in knowing that I am not scheduling a hearing at the same time she has scheduled a deposition in outer Mongolia. She loves messing with my schedule.

Boeing looking to sell/scrap Connexion? - Engadget

Link: Boeing looking to sell/scrap Connexion? - Engadget. Connexion, Boing's new service, promising broadband in the skies, adopted only by foreign airlines so far, is being put on the market. Announced in 2000, it never got off the ground, and domestic carriers knew that U.S. travelers would not likely pay $27 for the service. That's per flight, folks. Now that we can get EV-DO broadband on the ground for $60 a month, this is yet another reason why the FutureLawyer avoids airplane travel. Sooner or later, you will be able to surf in-flight; just not today or tomorrow.

OpenOffice.org: Home

Link: OpenOffice.org: Home. Okay, I admit it. I know WordPerfect. I love WordPerfect. WordPerfect is a friend of mine. Microsoft Word is NO WordPerfect. I will cling to my WordPerfect software with my cold, dead hands. I like, no, I must have, software for word processing that allows me to get under the hood and change things. "Reveal Codes" in WordPerfect lets me change the styles, fonts, look and feel of the document in a way not possible with Microsoft Word. However, all my friends and colleagues have been stupefied by the fact that all their friends and colleagues, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, are using Word. I wish I had a nickel for every email I have received telling me to send back documents in Word format. Ouch. Well, I have a solution. Go to OpenOffice.Org and download version 2 of this wonderful, free, open source software. The Word fanatics will never know, and you can keep WordPerfect in your private domain. Enjoy.

The Palm Treo 700w (aka Treo 670) - Exclusive first look! - Engadget

Link: The Palm Treo 700w (aka Treo 670) -  Engadget. Love is blind. I fell in love with the slim, sexy good looks of the Motorola Q. I loved the big, beautiful screen and huge keyboard of the T-Mobile MDA. But, like the teenage boy with a crush on the prom queen, I was blind to the charms of the average looking, quiet, intelligent soul sitting on the periphery of the room. My bad. I had forgotten how capable the Treo 650 was, and is, since it is my backup machine. I had been seduced by the tales of Windows-based Treos being buggy and resetting at odd times. The software has been fixed, and the operation is no longer buggy. The Treo 700w has a one-handed operational keyboard, with great keys, and a solid feel. On top of the Treo feel, the unit runs Windows Mobile 5 PPC software, and gets email via the fastest wireless tech out there, EVDO from Verizon. All in all, this is a no compromises machine that I have traded the slimmer, sexier Q in for. Sometimes, solid and capable are virtues worth dumping slim and sexy for.