Futurelawyer

SaaS and the downturn | Software as Services | ZDNet.com

Link: SaaS and the downturn | Software as Services | ZDNet.com. As if you didn't need another reason to be careful signing up for mission critical applications for the law office in the SaaS (Software as a Service) market, the existing credit crunch and stock downturn will certainly put strain on new start-up Web 2.0 companies trying to get lawyers to subscribe to online services. On the other hand, SaaS solutions can be cheaper and more efficient than stand-alone licensing of software, so the net may be a wash. I already own license to my mission critical software, and I am a solo practitioner, so I am set. If you are looking for a solution for the small to medium sized law firm, however, ask a lot of questions, and, if anyone uses the phrase "new paradigm", bop them on the head, and run like hell.

Motorola getting friendly with Android - Engadget Mobile

Link: Motorola getting friendly with Android - Engadget Mobile. As Google trots out its FREE Android OS for smartphones, the manufacturers are getting interested. Motorola is gearing to manufacture phones that use the OS, and it promises to be a flood before long. I don't know that I will be dropping my long loved Palm OS anytime soon; but, it is really nice to see Google using its size and clout to create an open source smartphone market. That can only be good for consumers and mobile lawyers.

Redskins Defeat Cowboys In Texas

Link: Washington Redskins. Forgive this off-topic post as I commemorate the Skins great victory yesterday over the Cowboys. You probably need to be a life-long Redskin fan to understand the magnitude of the victory. So, this morning I sing "Hail to the Redskins" as I go to work.

Use Web Apps For Your Data - Why?

Link: Use Web apps offline with Google Gears | Workers' Edge - a productivity blog from Dennis O'Reilly - CNET News. I am always taking flak from my friends and colleagues, because I like to keep my apps and data close to the vest, and don't like online applications. Don't get me wrong, I love to use web-enabled applications that help me find information, or perform useful functions. I just don't like trusting my law office critical applications and data to them. I know that data is at risk locally as well; but, I really prefer to have hands on control, so that I can monitor and fix problems locally. Another issue has generated discussion in this blog and elsewhere; what are the terms of the license for web apps. The current flap over the new Google Docs license is a great example. Taken literally the license gives ownership and control of everything you put up in Google's very large hands. Google Chrome TOS . (Thanks to Gene Albert at Lexbe for the link). In fact, the TOS gives Google the right to use any data you put up in any way that it chooses. I have some clients who might object to their confidential information being given to Google for its use. Ya' think?

Buy Your Way Out Of Guilt Over Climate Change - BULL****

Link: Steve Rayner: Take Climate Change Seriously. I am certain that we all take climate change seriously. Where we seem to differ is in the solution, if any. I think it is arrogant of the human species to believe that we have the power to change a hundred thousand years of natural change. While scientists and dilettantes may differ on whether man has hastened global warming, or any of the other climatic changes that are occurring on the planet; are we, as a species, so arrogant that we believe we can control the passing of the ages? It took a long time for me to recognize that, while I can attempt to live a responsible life, and to encourage others to do so, that I cannot control the climate; nor can I control the behavior of a couple billion people. I saw a TV episode of Penn and Teller's Bull**** program recently, in which a bogus environmentalist actually SOLD carbon credits to a bozo riddled with guilt over the planet's woes. The sucker walked away with a piece of paper, and the canvasser had the sap's money. I will promise to save the planet if you send me a check. Really. I promise.

Windows XP - Tried, True And Always Getting Better

Say what you want about Microsoft and Windows; it is as familiar as an old shoe, it gets the job done, and Microsoft is always making it better. I found the latest improvement quite by accident, and it is very handy already. One of the best ways to change the configuration, or streamline the boot-up process for XP is to run the handy "msconfig" command. Just click the Start button, then run, and type "msconfig" in the box.
A handy dandy dialog box pops up that permits the user to monitor the Startup programs and to delete the ones you don't need, significantly reducing memory use, and making boot up faster. There are other boxes, which permit modification of the initialization files that load when XP starts. Well, when I loaded up "msconfig" recently to remove a useless program that was loading at startup, I found a new tab, identified as Tools, that, when clicked, brings up a laundry list of useful tasks that can be performed in XP. Try it, you'll like it.

Rays crowned AL East champions | raysbaseball.com: News

Link: Rays crowned AL East champions | raysbaseball.com: News. Well, Monica, I never thought I would be rooting for the Yankees; but, you could have heard me in D.C. last night, as my second favorite team, the New York Yankees, humiliated the Boston Red Sox, and the Rays clinched the Eastern Division title. This completed the most amazing turnaround in baseball history. Tampa Bay Rays, the new beast of the East. Unbelievable.

Jureeka! The Legal Cites Are Out There!

Link: Jureeka! :: Firefox Add-ons. If, as I have suggested ad nauseam, you are using Firefox to browse the web, you need to try this add-on. Michael Poulshock, a public interest lawyer from New Jersey, sent me his latest brainstorm, Jureeka. It is beta, so use with care; however, the premise is totally cool for lawyers. It looks for legal citations in web pages, and brings them, in hyperlink format, to the user. Just click and you are taken to a free version of the primary case law. It even has a search function. This little free add-on to Firefox is like having a dozen research assistants scouring every new decision on the planet, and bringing copies of the opinions to your desk. Oh, brave new world. Thanks, Michael. Oh, you need to register (it's free) at Mozilla's Firefox add-on site, which is a little cumbersome, and requires email verification and insertion of a Captcha code (I hate trying to read those things), but it is worth it. Now, go out and be a lawyer.

Now Do You Want To See Something Really Scary?

Link: Techdirt: Homeland Security Gets Closer To Minority Report-Style Crime Predictor. I guess it was the 3 cups of coffee before 6 A.M., or maybe it was this post about Minority Report style crime prediction techniques allegedly being employed by Homeland Security. In either event, I have been thinking about the coming of intelligent computers and the increasing interaction between computers and humans. Can a human's predilection for future crime be recognized by modern scanning methods? I find the whole premise of Minority Report scary and impossible. To think that 3 androgynous humans lying in a pool of liquid can monitor the thought patterns of millions of citizens and predict when and where they will commit a crime is one of the most ludicrous movie premises of all time. However, no movie is so far out that our Government won't spend money pursuing the idea. The scariest part of this for me is the fact that the current systems are touted as a success because they are "70 to 80 per cent accurate". Uh, guys, what if I am one of the Twenty per cent? When do I get out of jail?  Don't get me wrong. I am all for the Government using technology as an aid to fight crime. But, crime predicting technology is impossible. Of course, if we recognize that human behavior is, at its core, totally unpredictable, we can certainly use certain interactions as predictors of "possible" future conduct. But, the last time I looked, such "profiling" was discriminatory when improperly applied, and required  unconstitutional violations of privacy to ferret out.

Ooops! T-Mobile Lifts Bandwidth Cap for Google Phone

Link: T-Mobile Lifts Bandwidth Cap for Google Phone - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com. Wow, things certainly move fast in the blogosphere. Fewer than 24 hours after T-Mobile announced the Google G Phone, and its 1 Gigabyte data cap, T-Mobile has done an abrupt about-face, and removed the data cap. Oh, well. I guess T-Mobile decided that they wanted to SELL some of these things. The G Phone is designed to compete with the IPhone in the smartphone video space; and, it wouldn't be too cool to start dinging the early adopters because they watched two online football games, or another "Office" rerun. T-Mobile policy guys...if you want to live in the fast lane, don't put governors on the accelerator pedals.