Futurelawyer

Twitter - CB Radio For A New Century?

Twitter Mania Has Got to Stop - Columns by PC Magazine. I still remember my first CB Radio. It was very cool to be going down the highway, saying "Breaker 19" every minute or so. Then, spending time tweaking the dials so that I could hear words above the static. Then, hearing other drivers say "RadioCheck", and then hearing an occasional trucker yell at us to get off the damn band, so they could do real work. What a hoot. Well, CB was popular for a while, and then it got old. Too many dilettantes wasting time on planet earth. Is Twitter a new CB paradigm? It can be used for really useful things, like professional contact building, and emergency communication. However, all of the flakes who are tweeting about their favorite celebrity crisis are going to ruin it. The beancounters are saying that Tweeters are falling off the bus at a 70% clip. I think most of us got on the bus, but don't say much.

The Frugal Lawyer - How Big Is Your Monitor? Size Matters

Westinghouse TX-42F450S 42-inch LCD TV | Wired.com Product Reviews. I love a bargain. I don't have a lot of money. Both of these attributes make the FutureLawyer spend a lot of time mining the Internet for cheap prices on great products. Yes, occasionally, a bargain isn't a bargain due to the lack of quality of the product. However, bargains can be had. One of my best purchases was a 37 inch LCD TV at the old CompUSA for $622 a couple of years ago. It serves as my computer monitor at the office, and my old eyes love the big screen for working all day on legal documents and research. Now, if you live near a Costco or BJs warehouse store, you can get a 42 inch LCD TV with computer inputs for $700. If you still haven't increased the size of your desk monitor, you need to take a look at these.

Official Google Blog: Adding search power to public data

Official Google Blog: Adding search power to public data. Most lawyers already know that the Internet is the best source of the information and data that lawyers need to be effective practitioners. However, since the dawn of the Internet age in the early 90's, the trick has been to find pertinent data wherever it hides. Google has certainly been a boon to researchers, with its easy to use and accurate search engine. Now, Google is mining the depths of the taxpayer funded data machines of Government, and has made available a new, specialized search engine designed to search public databases that are sometimes inaccessible, even to clever Internet sleuths. Do you want accurate data on unemployment in a particular geographical area? Google Public Data search is the place to go.

Swiss heartland voters ban nude hiking in Alps

Swiss heartland voters ban nude hiking in Alps. Since this a blog about the law, I feel it is entirely appropriate to comment on the new law passed by Switzerland banning nude hiking in the Alps. This law is wrong on so many levels. On the one hand, I think that anybody stupid enough to hike naked in the mountains with the wild animals and bad weather should be left to his own devices, and allowed to die in peace. On the other hand, the law doesn't go far enough. Nude hiking should only be banned for persons with the body type of the FutureLawyer. All Swiss swimsuit models should be encouraged to hike without clothing, and the country should set up viewing podiums at selected points along the trail. In the meantime, I am beginning a volunteer databank for any lawyers who are willing to defend any Swiss models who choose to ignore and violate this unjust law.

Free Personal Finance Software, Online Money Management, Budget Planner and Financial Planning | Mint.com

Free Personal Finance Software, Online Money Management, Budget Planner and Financial Planning | Mint.com. It seems that every day that passes finds the FutureLawyer using his iPod Touch for more functions, and the Palm Centro for fewer. I recently discovered Mint.Com, which is an online finance software application that syncs with the iPod Touch, through a free application. Using WiFi, and connections to my banks, I now have online detailed information about my finances, accessible from the Touch while connected to WiFi. Amazing, and free. I tried a competitor, Wesabe, but was unable to get it to link to my accounts. Mint worked fine, first time. Now, my mobile online banking is on my iPod Touch, and the Centro is just used for cell phone calls, quick and dirty email, and scoring baseball games. I am loving this thing more every day. Now, if Verizon and Apple can get their act together, I might finally become a "former" Palm user.

Amazon Buys LexCycle and Stanza - Will They Survive?

AppleInsider | Amazon scoops up developer of leading eBook iPhone app. I have recently discussed my preference for the iPod Touch as an Ebook reader over the Amazon Kindle. The Touch features a free ereader application, Stanza, by LexCycle, that provides access to thousands of free ebooks on the web. Amazon, on the other hand, focuses on books that cost money, and can only be read on the Kindle. This proprietary solution makes the Kindle, albeit a bigger screen, a much more expensive proposition. Now, Amazon has bought LexCycle, and, although the behemoth claims they will not alter the Stanza experience, I am doubtful.

Apple eyes Verizon iPhone deal

Apple eyes Verizon iPhone deal; Network matters or negotiation tool? | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com. Temptation, temptation. Is Apple using Verizon as a negotiating tool to get a better deal out of the AT&T negotiations, or is Apple interested in Verizon's superior bandwidth and tantalized by the coming LTE network? Nobody knows, but at least they are talking. Some would say that Verizon would be making a deal with the Devil. All that looks sweet and innocent may not be. However, if Apple wants the FutureLawyer on board with the next gen iPhone, then Verizon is a must do. Millions of users like me love CDMA and Verizon and "reliability". Since Palm has abandoned us for the "other" network, Sprint, for its new Palm Pre, we would love nothing better than to combine our Palm smart phones with the iPod Touch. Go ahead, Verizon, take a bite of that apple. You might like it.

First Android Netbook to cost $250

Report: First Android Netbook to cost $250 | Crave - CNET. Up until now, the rapidly exploding Netbook market has been populated by Windows XP and Linux machines. Google, not a company to let an opportunity pass by, is going to be leveraging its mobile OS, Android, in that market later this year, or early next year. Apple is fond of dissing the netbook market; however, millions of users beg to disagree. When a free, popular, Google Android machine becomes available, and reduces the price of these little guys by $100, watch out. I still prefer XP on my netbook, as it makes software and syncing and use paradigms consistent. I am used to XP, and have its configuration down to a science. However, for users not married to the XP or Linux OS, who just want an email, browser, and word processing machine, these new netbooks could become very popular.

Computer, Talk To Me

Sometimes, we expect that our computers will run the law practice without our intervention. Are you guilty of thinking that your employees (and yourself) can rely on the boxes to do their thing, and that you don't have to understand them, or learn about them? Do you try to understand what the computer is doing, and why? Have you ever looked inside a computer? Do you learn the software, and use it yourself, or do you delegate "computer stuff" to alleged experts? Think about it.

The Frugal Lawyer -Get a Netgear 802.11 Draft-N router for $25

Get a Netgear 802.11 Draft-N router for $25 | The Cheapskate - CNET News. If you are still using a G router to send wireless Internet signal through your home or office, because you don't want to pay over $100 for a wireless N router, this is the one for you. A real Netgear Draft N router for $25. Will it work? Who knows? Who cares? It is certainly by a known manufacturer, and $25 is worth the risk, don't you think? Even if it is boxy and ugly.