Futurelawyer

Google diving into 3D mapping of oceans | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Link: Google diving into 3D mapping of oceans | Tech news blog - CNET News.com. Can Google really pull this off? Can they map the oceans? A geophysics professor says it would take 100 ship years to map the oceans at high resolution. However, there are maps that predict or estimate what the ocean floor looks like. And, this is the likely start for the ambitious Google project. These guys really do want to take over the world.

Docstoc.com – free legal forms and business templates

Link: Docstoc.com – free legal forms and business templates. Docstoc, the new  online document sharing site, has received round 2 financing, and the number of freely shared legal forms is growing by leaps and bounds. Now that contacts can be imported directly from Outlook, the site might just become the destination for lawyers looking for that perfect form or template.

Crapware: Superior Open Source Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software

Link: Crapware: Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software. Are you overloaded with crap software in your computer? Are you tired of bloated, inefficient software tools that waste your money? There has been some comment in recent posts about open source software. The new Ubuntu Linux version 8.04 is now living happily in a file on my Windows XP computer. I am still tethered to my Windows based productivity applications, Amicus Attorney, ProDoc, and HotDocs, as well as the WordPerfect 11 software for document production. However, there are many open source applications that can be useful to the lawyer; notably, Sumatra PDF, Trillian, FireFox, Thunderbird, WinAmp, CDBurnerXP, AVG or Avira antivirus, and others. What open source stuff are you using? Get the crap out. Try some of these alternatives.

YourABA: Lawyers‘ guide to Adobe Acrobat

Link: YourABA: Lawyers‘ guide to Adobe Acrobat. What do you know about Adobe Acrobat? The portable document format (pdf) is now a standard for electronic filing in all courts. Lawyers routinely share documents as attachments to email in pdf format. Pdf has an advantage over standard word processor documents, in that it is quite difficult to make modifications in pdf format documents without specialized tools. More and more, PDF files are being used for many law office functions.

Ubuntu Inside Of Windows!

Link: Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu. The new version of  Ubuntu, 8.04, is able to be installed inside of Windows, and can be booted into when the system is turned on. Rather than create a dual boot system, which requires a new partition, I am installing Ubuntu in a 15 Gigabyte giant file inside the Window XP OS. This is a great way to find out if you can make the switch; and, as with all Linux distros, it is free, open source, and available for the downloading. According to the home page, this might be a little slower; I will let you know. This link is for the Server version; if you want the desktop version, click on the link in the right column. Free software; free support for 5 years, until 2011. What's not to like? In the opinion of many, Linux is a superior OS; superior to Windows, and to MacOS. Why pay $400 for an OS that is inferior?

Futurelawyer Neighbor Drops In For A Bite

Link: Human Interest_News: Uninvited guest crawls into kitchen for a bite. Down here in Florida, when we wake up in the middle of the night, we have more than the normal chance of finding a gator in the kitchen. This guy lives a few miles up the road from the FutureLawyer, and I hope he doesn't have a sister. Usually, the gators stay on the golf course; but, you gotta eat.

Mac versus PC Redux - Be Quiet, I Have A Weapon

I'm A Mac, dude. Well, I'm Bruce Willis, and I may not have any hair, but I have a really big Weapon...

Web-Tones: Switching Costs

Link: Web-Tones: Switching Costs. Sometimes I feel like Vito Corleone, who complains that he couldn't get out of the mob, no matter what he did. "They keep pulling me back in", I think is the line. Well, here I go again, responding to my friend, Carlos Leyva, who has switched to the Mac, and is complaining about the pain. Carlos, Carlos. I know that Apple, and the coolness, and the pretty box, and the gorgeous interface, are all very pretty. But, was it worth it? What have you gained? I agree that a switch will never happen for most of us. If it occurs, the real switch will be to open source. (See previous post). Vive La Change...Vive La Difference.

Do Lawyers Need To Know About Open Source?

Link: Techdirt: The Open Source Model Is About Organization, Not Who Signs Your Paycheck. Most lawyers wouldn't know an open source project from an alien. However, since open source is contributed to by some of the leading software programmers at some of the leading corporations, in their spare time, lawyers should educate themselves. The frugal lawyer will examine open source alternatives for all software programs, just as a way to save money. Open source means that volunteers work on the source code, for no pay, and just for intellectual curiosity, or for a particular individual or corporate need. Perhaps the most famous open source project is Linus Torvalds' Linux operating system. Linux is the basis for the free Ubuntu OS, which is, in some opinions, superior to Windows and Apple's versions of an operating system. Software, like information on the net, wants to be free.

Kenneth Branagh - We Band Of Brothers

On Shakespeare's birthday, it is appropriate to honor his genius. Coupled with the acting genius of Kenneth Branagh, the band of brothers speech from Henry V will stir your soul. This is a great speech to watch before going into trial. Thanks to Michael Wade, at Execupundit for reminding me of this. If you can watch this speech without chills, you have no soul.