Futurelawyer

USB to HDMI Adapter For Windows And Mac Computers

USB to HDMI Adapter USB 2.0 Video Card DVI and HDMI Output 1600 x1200. No sooner had I posted about the lack of a video out port on the Dell Inspiron Duo Tablet Convertible then I located this little gadget for $80 on a Google search. The two USB 2.0 ports on the Duo can accept any USB peripheral, so this little box can plug in to the Duo, and the included HDMI cable can plug in to any courtrooms modern TV system for display to the Judge and Jury. So, one last lawyerly objection to the Duo is removed. It is truly plug and play with Windows 7, and you don't even need the driver disk to install. In fact, this computer could function in place of a notebook, now that I can plug it in to all of my USB peripherals, and my large screen monitors at home and at the office. It isn't a true desktop replacement; but, for what we lawyers do every day, it is perfect.

New Year's Resolution - Check Email Addresses Before Sending

Email 'Oops' Ends with Gordon & Rees Being Booted from Case (Legal Pad). Misdirected email gaffes are becoming common in legal circles, and this one is a doozy. Some engineers planning to leave a company were planning their departure, and one of the confidential emails was mailed to an old company address, where the computer system routed it to the General Counsel. Rather than notifying the prospective Plaintiffs that the company now knew what they were planning, the Company's counsel kept quiet, and then used the information to defend the lawsuit. The result? The GC and company counsel were removed from the case. The moral of the story? In addition to being careful who gets confidential email, the recipient of such confidential material has a duty of disclosure, and must attempt to limit the use of the information contained in it. Even though we live in a world of technology, we need to remember, as we cruise into a New Year, that the principles of the playground will always apply. 

Deion Sanders Will Like The Dell Inspiron Duo

Inspiron%u2122 duo | Dell. If you are a football fan, you remember that Deion Sanders was able to play two professional sports at one time. His skills were such that he commanded paychecks from both football and baseball. In fact, he could even play both offense and defense. I thought of Deion when I received my new Tablet computer, the Dell Inspiron Duo, which is an update of the convertible class. It runs Windows 7, so it can also run all of my law office productivity software; but, when you flip the screen to tablet form, it has a touch screen interface that is a thicker version of all of the new tablets out there. This little guy is awesome. It has a 320 Gig hard drive, running at 7200 RPM and a dual core Atom processor. And, best of all, at $549, it is cheaper than the iPad or the Galaxy Tab. It has built-in WiFi and BlueTooth, and you can get a SIM card for 3G access. Its principal disadavantages are the lack of a video out port and no removable battery. But, battery life is okay at 4 hours, and I connect it to a charger when I am not using it. For in court video projection, I will still use my small notebook by Acer. All in all, this is a winner, and you owe it to yourself to check it out before you buy a tablet. So, when somebody asks me whether I prefer the tablet or netbook format for mobile computing, I say "Both". Here is the original Pizza Hut commercial that Deion did with Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones. I particularly liked the "show me the money" moment at the end. 

Holiday Philosophy

Good advice for holidays or any time of the year, if you live with a She Who Must Be Obeyed:

Skype Adds Video-over-3G Capabilities to Its IPhone App

Skype Adds Video-over-3G Capabilities to Its IPhone App - PCWorld Business Center. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Apple. And Steve saw that it was good. Apple controlled every app installed on its iPhone, sometimes known as the Jesus phone because it was so good. Then, a serpent came into the garden, and its name was Android, and Apple saw that it was time to alter the Word. Not much of an allegory, I know, but it is a holiday week. In fact, Apple and AT&T, at first, barred Skype from its phone; then, it restricted it to WiFi calls. Now, making free Skype calls over 3G networks seems to be a nod to the coming Verizon Wireless iPhone, and it will be a boon for users. Of course, it will still use up wireless minutes for those on a plan, and WiFi will always be better when you have that capability; but, it should be interesting whether Skype can keep up with the increased traffic, given the "software" outages last week.

Holiday? What Holiday?

Microsoft co-founder relaunches tech patent suit | Reuters. For lawyers representing Paul Allen's patent holding company, Interval Licensing, LLC, it has been a busy holiday season. First, the Complaint it filed against just about every tech company in the world, including Apple, Google, Ebay, AOL, Netflix, Yahoo, Facebook and Office Depot, and others, was dismissed for lack of specific allegations of the software allegedly infringed or infringing on Mr. Allen's company's patents. Now, a couple of days after Christmas, the company has filed an Amended Complaint that allegedly contains much more specific allegations. I suppose that a lawyer working over the holiday makes a lot of money. I don't. But, then, I spent a wonderful Christmas surrounded by friends and family, and, since I am a solo, I don't get the big cases that require such long hours. Big Law and Big Litigation. It's a dirty job, and someone has to do it.

Top Ten Web Apps For Gmail - Happy New Year

10 Webapps that Add Great New Features to Gmail. I hope that one of your New Year's Resolutions is to clean out the detritus on your hard drive. While you are in a clean up mood, here are some productive add ons for your Gmail account that will save you time and effort in the New Year. You can even stay up to date on what the engineers at Google are playing with, by checking out Google Labs. 

Live By The Sword - Die By The Sword

Lawyer, Research Thyself

Android and iPhone Dictionaries Explain the Finer Points of Smartphones. Hey, you, Mr. or Ms. Lawyer. You know who you are. You are well acquainted with research and finding information. Most of your work involves collecting, analyzing, and using information. Now, you have a new iPhone or a new Android phone, and you are reading the blogs and seeing terms that you never heard before. In law school, you had Black's Law Dictionary. Well, smartphones have a vocabulary all their own, and these online dictionaries will get you started with the terms you need to know. So, stop playing with your phone, and do some research.

Sub-Notebook, Tablet Or NetBook?

This episode of Labrats discusses the MacBook Air, the iPad, and Netbooks as categories. Now that the hybrid is out (I am taking delivery of the Dell Inspiron Duo Tablet hybrid in January), there is another category to consider. However, if you are considering which form factor is for you, this video will give you a basic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each category. I have already expressed my preference for the netbooks, because of the built-in keyboard. However, I suspect that the combination of the touch screen interface AND a keyboard in a small form factor (Dell hybrid) will be my new favorite. Watch and learn.