Futurelawyer

We Are Losing $200 On Every Touchpad - Let's Make Some More!

Remains of the Day: Android Is Coming to the Abandoned HP TouchPad. HP has been making some dumb marketing decisions lately. First, they adopted the fringe OS from Palm, the WebOS, which might have been a great OS had it come out a couple of years earlier. Then, after realizing they couldn't compete against Android and iPad, they decide to do another run, since they are selling like hotcakes at $99. Hey, I get it. You can hack the devices to run Android on them. But, you can buy a fully functional ASUS Transformer for $379. I understand not wanting to spend $600 or more on an iPad. But, to save a couple of hundred dollars? And, to deal with the complexities of burning a new OS? For geeks like me, that may be a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. But, as marketing strategy? I don't think so. Buy a decent tablet, with your favorite OS on it. It will only be an adjunct to your real computing life anyway. I love having the tablet with me during lunch, while waiting for appointments, and so forth. But, as I have said often, for real work, give me a desk, a chair, and a keyboard. 

Windows 8 Already? Groan.

Improvements in Windows Explorer - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs. Yes, children, I know that some of you are still back at Vista or Windows XP. Most of you have joined the Windows 7 universe, however; and, now, just as you are getting used to it, Microsoft has some news: get ready for Windows 8. And, the whole interface is changing. Most of us grew up searching for files and folders with DOS text commands, or rudimentary cursor movements in the eighties and nineties. Remember Windows 1, and the attempt to put DOS search into a window? They called it MS-DOS Executive. Ugh. As Explorer advanced, however, it became the backbone of a file system interface that became second nature. Now, we use Windows Explorer many times a day. What's next? You can read about the changes being wrought by the Windows 8 engineers, and they are stunning. Since file storage and location are most important to lawyers, it is comforting to know that the engineers understand the 80-20 rule. In fact, they discovered that a few commands were used more than eighty per cent (80%) of the time. So, the new Explorer will focus on making those most used commands front and center in many contexts. There is more. Read about it and get ready for the next generation of Windows. 

Jureeka! Legal Research From The Web

Jureeka!. Michael Poulshock's great add-on for Firefox and Chrome is now powered by one of the first, and best, legal information repositories on the web, Cornell's Legal Information Institute. LLI's mission of assisting free and open access to law related materials is wonderful; now, while cruising the pages of its resources, Jureeka's add-on will automatically hyperlink legal citations to free copies on the Internet. Just click and go. You pay the taxes that create the law. You should have access to it. Every lawyer needs Jureeka in his Internet toolbox.

Mango Supports Internet Sharing

Mango supports Internet Sharing/Mobile Hot Spot feature | wpcentral | Windows Phone News, Forums, and Reviews. One of the coolest things about having a 4G phone is the ability to share the Internet connection with family and friends in the vicinity. I have shared my Thunderbolt connection with 4 people in a hotel room (She Who Must Be Obeyed, and the kids), and the speedy 4G connection is plenty of bandwidth for all of us. Yes, it eats up battery life; but, that is what replacement batteries are for. Now, it appears that the new Windows phones, running Mango, will also support the feature. Uh, iPhone users, don't try this at 3G.

Okay, Don't Be A Solo Practitioner

Family Law Marketing For Lawyers and Technology %u2013 Divorce Discourse. I have practiced with partners, and I have been solo. In line with my recent post about why I am a solo, here are 17 more reasons why solo is better. Have any more?

iPhone 5 To Stick With Smaller Screen?

iPhone 5 to stick with smaller screen size? | Apple - CNET News. Does size matter? In smart phones, that is a matter of personal opinion. iPhone users swear by the 3.5 inch screen on iPhone 4; and, as this article points out, it is likely to stay the same size, or be increased just a little bit. I have used both the iPhone 4 and the larger screen of the HTC Thunderbolt, however, and it matters to me. A 4.3 inch screen makes everything easier to read for my old eyes, and no phone buyer should choose before looking at both screens, and seeing for themselves. Hey, larger screens add weight and bulk; if thin and light is important to you, go for the iPhone. But, just compare the screens before you buy. You don't want to spend a lot of money, and then get a case of screen envy.

Nothing New Under The Sun - Science Fiction Tablet Computers

Ducking for Apples: '2001' and the iPad. Samsung's lawyers are fighting Apple's look and feel tablet injunction with some famous pre-Apple iPad help. Pointing out that the "2001 - A Space Odyssey" characters used tablet computers that look suspiciously like the iPad is interesting. As this author points out, however, tablet computing goes a lot farther back in science fiction, from Startrek to Jules Verne. If Apple is permitted to control how we box up our computing tools, innovation will die. In fact, patent lawyers, help me here. Isn't there something generic about computing on a flat screen that is unpatentable? Please educate my readers and me. As a matter of fact, is that an iPad or a Galaxy Tab or an Asus Transformer that Picard is holding in this clip?

Future Interfaces For Future Computing

Maximum PC | Future Interfaces: 15 Peripherals Straight Out of Science Fiction. Okay, this IS the FutureLawyer page. Who would have imagined motion sensor computing 50 years ago? It was science fiction. This post highlights some of the ways we might be interacting with our computers in the near future. I can't wait; but, I am still holding our for a neural pulse actuator that fits in my ear. Or, can be put on a chip inside my skin. Resistance is futile.

Droid Bionic Countdown Begins

Droid Bionic shows up on Motorola's store page | Android Central. 10 days to go, until the most recently overhyped smart phone will be in consumers' (read the FutureLawyer's) hands. I loved the predecessor to the Bionic, the Droid X, because of it's Moto like build quality, and thinness. Son Aron is now its proud owner, and it is going strong. I like the HTC Thunderbolt because of its speed; but, it has always had a more toy like feel to it. The Droid Bionic combines legendary Motorola solidness with the fastest processor yet know to occupy a phone, and screaming fast 4G LTE speed. I am a little nervous about the release date, since the Moto page referred to in this post no longer works. Has it been pulled for a reason?  I feel like a kid 10 days before Christmas. 

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