Futurelawyer

Conquer CyberLoad - Get Control Of Your Digital Life

Declutter Your Digital Domain | Your Mind on Media. I have been meaning to write a review of Dr. Joanne Cantor's new book, Conquer Cyberload, for some time. However, I have been procrastinating, since I have been so busy with all of my tech. My addiction to tech has made it impossible to read her book, and to focus on writing a review of it. Not. Actually, this little book has a lot of great ideas and techniques for getting control of your tech addiction. As I recently posted, this can be as simple as finding the "off" switch on the device. Dr. Cantor is a proponent of "balance"; that is, understanding that multitasking is impossible for the human brain. We can have a lot of tasks going on at the same time; but, we can only focus on one at a time. It is actually a time drain and time waster to be switching back and forth rapidly between tasks. Of course, the trick is to find that balance between single minded focus on one thing for too long a time, and the ability to pull away and enjoy some of the simple pleasures. Used properly, tech and gadgets can give us more time to enjoy those simple things. Manage your focus. Get control of your time. Take a break. Get your email under control. Get physical exercise. Good book. Short read. Futurelawyer recommended.

Execupundit.com: Phone Upgrades

Execupundit.com: Phone Upgrades. There aren't a whole lot of bloggers that I read religiously. Bloggers are like friends; we have a lot of acquaintances, but you can count your friends on one hand. Michael Wade is one of the ones that I won't start a day without. He is a thinker, in a time of dilettantes. He does, however, have a flaw. His is tech readiness. I call it tech challenged; but, the fact is, he looks for serenity, and a path away from modern technology. I, on the other hand, thrive in a tech heavy environment. Put me out in the woods, without a cell phone connection or a computer with Internet access, and I will be crying like a baby. However, Michael is not alone in his resistance to modern tech and smart phones, in particular. My comment to his post about his old cell phone has one central point. Modern tech is easy to live with, even if you crave serenity. Just figure out where the off switch is, and, anytime you want to go out into the woods, turn the thing off. Or, just don't take it with you. What the hell do you do in the woods anyway?

If You Absolutely Positively Have To Have A Tablet

Velocity Micro Cruz Reader - 7 Touch Screen Display, Android 2.0, Wi-Fi, MP3 Support, 10 Hours Battery Life, Black at TigerDirect.com. While my experiment with a resistive touch screen cheap Chinese tablet from Walgreen's didn't go well, you can get a capacitive touch screen Android tablet running OS 2.0 from Velocity Micro for $199 at CompUSA. This one looks usable, and, while I am done spending my meager assets to review stuff I won't use for you, dear reader, here is a video that will give you the flavor of the device. If you have to have a tablet, get a WiFi version (no monthly nut, and you can tether it to an Android phone with Hotspot capability when you aren't near a WiFi router) and don't pay $600 for an iPad or a Galaxy. Apparently, CompUSA is discounting the device from the normal $299 price, so it looks like a bargain.

The Frugal Lawyer - Get A Free OpenSource Firmware Upgrade For Your Router

www.dd-wrt.com | Unleash Your Router. Recently, in order to improve Internet reception at the FutureLawyer home, I strung CAT 6 cable throughout, with the help of a cable expert. (Note: some experts say that there is no difference in throughput between Cat 5, Cat 5e, and Cat6 - I disagree even if you aren't using high speed connections). However, in Number One Son's room, where he and his friends play online video games, he needed more than a single wired connection. I had an old Linksys N router lying around, and it occurred to me that I could expand the wireless access in the house by installing it there. I could have used the standard Linksys firmware; but, I am an adventurous sort, so I downloaded and installed the free, open source, dd-wrt firmware, which is a Linux based alternative that is easy to use, and supports everything you could ever want to do with a router. Imagine my surprise when, in addition to the increased functionality, I am getting strong 4 to 5 bar signals throughout the house. In addition, 3 of his friends can jack in to the router for a wired connection if they choose. I have a feeling he is going to be very popular. Now, She Who Must Be Obeyed can browse the web upstairs, and everyone else can access the net wherever they are. This solution will work at any small law office, as well, and, while stringing cable, and installing routers, is not for the faint of heart, it isn't as much of a pain as it used to be; especially if you are running Windows 7. 

20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web

20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web. The Google Chrome team has published a short Ebook that will tell you everything you need to know about browsers and the web. Those of us who have been doing this stuff since the early Eighties sometimes forget that many new users and modern users aren't familiar with the history and underpinnings of the web. It is an interesting history, and will give you knowledge that makes your Internet use much more pleasurable and interesting. Check it out. 

Google To Delete WiFi Data Hijacked In Great Britain

BBC News - Google's wi-fi data to be deleted. This is nice. Google has agreed to delete WiFi data collected by its trucks while rolling around the world's streets. The fact that Google has graciously decided to delete the data comes, I am certain, as a great relief to privacy advocates and attorneys around the world. My question to Google is whether all collected data is being deleted, and has Google asked for permission from other Government entities to do this.  Since some are of the opinion that data collection, without consent, from unsecured wireless networks, is illegal under many statutes, would destruction of the data constitute spoliation in a subsequent trial? Has anyone sent a legal hold letter to Google? Inquiring minds want to know.

Time Travel Isn't Just For TimeLords Anymore

Google Makes Time Travel Possible | AndroidGuys. I know. Time Travel is impossible. It is science fiction. Some aspects of it are indeed possible, however. In fact, if you have an Android phone, and the new update to Google Sky Map, you can travel back or forward in time, and see what the sky at your location (or any location), looked like, or will look like, at any time in history. Cool, right? For instance, what did the night sky look like over your birthplace at the moment of your birth? Or, what stars were in the sky on the night before the battle of Gettysburg? You don't need Dr. Who, or a Tardis, or anything fictional. You just dial in the time and date and location, and, voila, the stars appear. 

Does Your Desktop Look Like A Teenager's Room?

How to Use FileMenu to Manage Your Files More Efficiently - How-To Geek. Okay, you know who you are. You have 2,000 emails in your Inbox. You can't see your wallpaper image anymore because it is so cluttered with Program icons. You don't even bother to open Windows Explorer anymore, because there is absolutely no chance that you will find what you need in there. Here's a tip for you: download this little add-on for Explorer, and right-click some of those files and put them in a Folder you will be able to find. I keep my desktop clean by organizing it into just a few Folders, which contain programs that are related. One for Law Office programs, one for Utilities, and so forth. The only rule you need for Email is to create some Email folders with names like Clients, Family, Software, and so forth, and discipline your self to move every new message into an appropriate folder after it is read and dealt with. If you don't have time to deal with it right now, move it to a Folder called "Pending", and discipline yourself to look at, and deal with, items in that Folder on a regular basis. Got it? Now, go clean your desktop. 

Path Photo Sharing For IPhone - Who Has 50 Close Friends?

Path photo sharing app arrives for the iPhone - Phone Arena. Some pundits are touting the 50 friend limit on the Path IPhone photo sharing app as the anti-Facebook. Limiting a user to 50 friends, however, is like limiting pets. Any more than a few is already too many. My mom, the repository of all wisdom on earth, used to tell me that you only have 2 or 3 real friends in your life. The rest are passers by, acquaintances, enemies who are scamming you, or relatives. In fact, "friend" has been corrupted by Facebook. The Path limit, however, is not a bad idea, and Facebook has created Groups to do the same thing. You can create a Group of like minded "Facebook Friends", and all communications among the group are sandboxed. I created one for the family, and I suppose you could create one for your 2 or 3 "real friends". However, I suspect that your real friends see you enough every day or week that you don't really need to connect with them on Facebook. Like Twitter, you could use a Facebook group of clients to send out useful information that all of your clients might be interested in; but, I don't have many clients that I would consider a "Facebook Friend" or a "real friend". So, unless we have shared a meal, or a mom, or real money, don't friend me, bro.

Logitech Revue With Google TV

Logitech Revue With Google TV. I didn't realize I would fall in love with Google TV. It puts a keyboard in your lap, and access to the whole Internet, your cable TV, and so much other stuff it is amazing. Netflix Instant Movie Queue? Check. Nfl.com and Game Rewind? Check. Google apps? Check. Pandora Internet Radio? Check.  And, you control your cable box, surround sound system, and the Internet from the keyboard. It had me at Internet. But, wait, there's more! I discovered that there is a Logitech App, called Harmony, that turns your Android phone into a Google TV remote. You can control the whole thing from your smart phone. Just bring me food, She Who Must Be Obeyed, because I may never leave the den again. The thing was a birthday present, proving that she really gets me. Now, go away, because I am listening to Sixties music on the Association channel on Pandora Internet radio.