Futurelawyer

Dog Bites HeadSet - HeadSet Lives!

Link: Jabra JX10 - Bluetooth headset for mobile phone with exclusive design and high performance. I have posted about BlueTooth headsets often, and I have tried them all. The best designed, smallest, and easiest to use has always, for me, been the Jabra JX10. The Series 2 version works great, is dependable, and I use it every day. I now have another reason to like it. It is indestructible. My young Cocker Spaniel, Sparky, decided to make a meal of it the other day, and I rescued it from certain death. It has a large tooth mark dent in it; but, after placing it in the charger, and cleaning off the dog drool, it works just fine. Timex, watch your back.

Note: As the attached photo shows, the guilty canine isn't losing any sleep over his transgression.

Too Little, Too Late? Vista is Getting Cheaper

Link: Excite Money & Investing. Microsoft is cutting prices on new boxes of Vista sold directly to consumers by 20 to 48%. Acknowledging that Vista was presold to XP users without enough warning about the extreme hardware requirements, Microsoft is lowering the ticket price after the train has left the station. Windows users are staying with XP, or going back to it. The FutureLawyer has never advocated upgrading to Vista; at least, until Microsoft gets it right, and SP1 doesn't look to be the answer. So, keep dancing with the one that brung you, until Gatesless Microsoft figures out who is in charge.

GoToMyPC : Getting Better With Age

Link: GoToMyPC : Access Your PC from Anywhere. When Citrix acquired tiny GoToMyPc a while back, I was afraid that it was to bury a small competitor in the remote access space controlled by Citrix Enterprise applications. But, I was wrong, and GoToMyPc has gotten better and better. Now, new version 6.0 permits voice access, and automatic configuration for remote printing. The speed over a DSL connection is almost instantaneous, and I can control the office server from anywhere. I love that I can now solve network problems without going to the office. You owe it to yourself to try this great product out for a 30 day free trial. This is one time I would rather pay than look for a free solution. And, no, they don't pay me a commission to say that. See for yourself.

You Might Be A Tech Addict if...

Link: Researchers: Technology Addiction a Growing Problem : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech. Do you sleep with your cell phone under your pillow? If so, you might be a tech addict. Do you get up in the middle of the night to check your email? If so, you might be a tech addict. Do you carry your computer into the bathroom so you won't miss something in email or on the web? If so, you might be a tech addict. Do you post to your blog at all hours of the day and night? If so, you might be a tech addict. I refuse to admit that I am a tech addict. I am in denial. Deny, deny, deny. (No, I don't do any of the above...what I do shall remain a secret). Okay, I'll tell. I am a coffee addict. I need help.

Excite News - Google Releases Health Service Details

Link: Excite News - Google Releases Health Service Details. Google has announced plans to provide for the storage of health information on the web. Privacy advocates are already raising alarm bells about the largest online data storage company storing private health data. All sorts of issues loom for lawyers; such as, how safe with the data be? Will it be discoverable in litigation? Is there really any way to store such personal information securely on the Net? Privacy is already considered by some to be an endangered species. This is a brave new world, and only the future will tell.

WinMerge-Compare Files of Any Type

Link: WinMerge. The Frugal FutureLawyer is always looking for free software that does a job well. WinMerge is an open source product that will compare and highlight the differences between files; and it will handle most types of files. As a WordPerfect user, I have to save my WordPerfect files as Office documents before I can use it. It does more than the redline comparison tools built in to your word processor, though. It will actually merge the two versions, if that is what you want. It will highlight and merge text files; but, it will also compare binary files, like photos, and advise whether they are different or identical. In this way, photo manipulation can be detected. Really nice free tool for the arsenal.

Mac v. PC | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Link: Mac v. PC | ABA Journal - Law News Now. The March, 2008 ABA Journal Cover Story is a debate (of sorts) between the FutureLawyer and Ben Stevens over the relative benefits and disadvantages of Macs and PCs in law practice. Arguing the PC side was somewhat like arguing with my hands tied behind my back, since I hate Vista. However, there are enough reasons to stay with XP in law practice that I gave it a shot. Check out the article and let me know what you think.

Sponsor A Child At World Vision - Save The World One Child At A Time

Link: Sponsor A Child – World Vision. I try to avoid topics that are unrelated to legal tech. However, after my rant this morning about global warming, and the end of the planet, and the problems of the world, I thought about one way that every lawyer and his family could help the less fortunate. My family decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. For $35 a month, this good organization spends money to provide infrastructure improvements in the developing world, so that a kid can go to school, instead of spend all day getting water for the family. WorldVision spends 86% of its contributions on its charitable work. Rather than spend $35 a month on something frivolous, make a difference. Save the world from global warming, one child at a time.

Storage Champion For SubNotebooks

Link: Fujitsu launches 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive - Gadgetell. The subnotebook form factor that I like so much for its portability, such as the sub 3 pound Dell D430 that I carry around, uses a small hard drive form factor for less size and weight. The 2 1/2 inch drive, however, is tougher to get in large drive sizes. I have to squeeze everything I have into 80 Gigabytes, which can be tight. Well, in May of this year, Fujitsu is launching a 500 Gigabyte drive in the small form factor. If it doesn't cost more than the computer, I will have to take a hard look.

Ubuntu Mobile - The Future Is Now

Link: Ubuntu Mobile | Ubuntu. Okay, enough post apocalyptic visions for one day. Back to fun and the Internet in the here and now. My favorite Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is out with a new mobile version, that is compact, and designed for a new class of computers, the Mobile Internet Device (MID). You will be hearing more about these carry around devices in the near future. A lawyer could carry one of these everywhere, and do legal research, document manipulation and creation, and email, with a finger friendly, touch interface. While I don't have a problem taking my subcompact Dell D430 everywhere, I know that some of you don't want to carry around a full computer. The MID may just be the device for you.