Futurelawyer

But, Aren't All The Lawyers Already In Hell?

Windows XP Lives!

Windows XP will live on until May 30, 2009 - Gadgetell. The OS that wouldn't die, won't, at least until mid year 2009. Since netbooks will be loaded with XP until mid 2010, you can probably avoid Vista until Windows 7 comes out, sometime in 2010. Is the continued extension of the life of XP a tacit admission by Microsoft that its customers don't want Vista? Actually, after the first Service Pack for Vista, it looks a lot like a gussied up version of XP. Oh well. Operating systems, like tires, ain't pretty. But, they are essential to computer efficiency and operation. Focus on the applications you want, and buy an OS to fit.

CradlePoint Travel USB Router - You Can Take It With You!

CradlePoint Technology. Since I got the IPod Touch, I have been searching out WiFi hotspots so that I can use it to browse the web while mobile. Little did I know that I was carrying a WiFi hotspot in my briefcase. I have posted often about the wonderful Verizon Wireless USB Modem. This little guy is no bigger than a USB thumbdrive, and I use it to connect from my Netbook and my Notebook when traveling. EvDO provides broadband speed access wherever I happen to be. Now, I discover that I can use the Verizon modem to connect to a travel WiFi network I create myself. The Cradlepoint travel router is no larger than a deck of playing cards. Just plug the Verizon modem into the USB port, and, voila, a secure WiFi network that will work within about 20 feet. This means She Who Must Be Obeyed, my son, my daughter, and I, can share the connection anywhere. Best of all, the IPod Touch connects to it effortlessly. The router is pricey, around $179, but worth every penny. The router and the USB modem will fit easily in a pocket or briefcase. I mistakenly ordered the version that needs wall power; however, I am returning it for the rechargeable battery model. My Christmas present to myself. Merry Christmas.

Windows XP Lives!

Windows XP will live on until May 30, 2009 - Gadgetell. Not bad for a dead operating system. My new netbook, the ASUS 1000HD came with XP. The computer I built for my son for Christmas, (with a lot of help from a teenager at school) runs XP, purchased at CompUSA. Now, we are being told that XP will be available until mid-2009, and Vista owners will be able to officially "downgrade" to XP until mid 2010. I hope Microsoft has Windows 7 ready by then. Actually, Service Pack 1 has made Vista usable; however, it is too little too late for Vista.

Carol's Corner Office - Microsoft Office tips and tricks - Home of the Word Bytes Newsletter

Carol's Corner Office - Microsoft Office tips and tricks - Home of the Word Bytes Newsletter. There is a new link in the TechBlogs section,for Carol Bratt's excellent MS Office blog. Carol trains law staff in the use of Microsoft Office and other applications. She also publishes a monthly newsletter, with all sorts of tips and tricks in the use of word processing software. We can all identify with her experiences with new software, and law office training, can't we? Thanks, Carol, for calling your excellent resource to my attention.

Quickbooks Pro 2009 Edition at Staples�

Quickbooks Pro 2009 Edition at Staples�. Normally, I hate mail in rebates. They are a pain, and generally not worth the trouble. This one, however, is pretty amazing. You have to buy it today, however, as it expires today. A full accounting package that is normally $200, is, with the mail-in rebate, essentially free. I like free. Free is frugal. Free is good.

Stanza: a Revolution in Reading | Lexcycle

Stanza: a Revolution in Reading | Lexcycle. My recent post about EReaders, and my suspicion that Kindle and other EReaders might be endangered species because of the IPhone and IPod Touch, was reinforced over the weekend. I discovered a free application at the Apple Store, Stanza, which is an EReader program, and book finder, that blows the dedicated EReaders away. It connects directly to the Gutenberg Project, which has over 20,000 free downloadable EBooks in various formats. There are links to other book sites as well. I have had similar pleasant surprises and weekends downloading books for the Palm OS; however, you can really read books on the IPod Touch. It is worth the price for that function alone. I can't wait until you can get a full law library on one of these. I have already downloaded the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and various other primary sources.

DennisKennedy.blog: Dennis Kennedy;s 2008 Law-related Blogging Awards (The Blawggies)

DennisKennedy.blog: Dennis Kennedy;s 2008 Law-related Blogging Awards (The Blawggies). I am honored to have received the Blawggie 2008 award from Dennis Kennedy for the best Technology blog this year. I am "shocked", "shocked" I tell you, to find that Dennis does not always agree with my conclusions. (Smile) Blogs are about opinion; honors and awards are not the reason bloggers do them. For the FutureLawyer, blogging and writing are like breathing. Thanks again to Dennis for the kind words.

EReaders - Do You Really Need One?

Foxit announces the eSlick reader, can it challenge the Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader? - Gadgetell. I admit that reading EBooks on the tiny Palm Centro screen drove me nuts. I was very attracted to the Amazon Kindle and the Sony EReader, but was turned off by the size and price. I couldn't justify another few hundred dollars to read ebooks in a larger format, and having to carry around a device almost as large as a netbook to do it. Now, I am certain that Ereaders are unnecessary, now that I am carrying an IPod Touch. The Touch screen is big enough to view a whole page in a format that is easily readable, and fits in a shirt pocket. In fact, I carry it along with the Palm Centro. It also does full color video and photographs, and keeps my Outlook calendar and contacts. It does many other things well; as can be seen from my recent posts on the topic. Before you spend a couple of hundred dollars on an Ereader, check out the IPod Touch. You will be surprised how much easy reading can fit in the palm of your hand.

Beware Of Phishing Fairy Godmothers