Futurelawyer

And Then The Lawyers Spoil It All By Saying Something Stupid Like "Parts May Vary".

Samsung Tried To Get Customers Excited. The new Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is the thinnest, lightest, notebook computer I have ever seen. At 2 pounds, it is as easy as a piece of cardboard to handle with one hand, and has a big, bright 15 inch screen. It is reasonable priced; but, as the author of this article points out, it is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Will the Korean company be sending the good stuff to the U.S.? Stay tuned. I have opted in to the Samsung Universe; especially, the new Smart Things ecosystem, which collects all of your Samsung devices in the home or office in one place, and you can control them from your Samsung Smartphone. I recently bought a new TV for the pool deck, and, as soon as I powered it up, my Smartphone came to life, and asked if I wanted to set it up from the phone. Very cool. Check out this short commercial to get a feel for the new Book Pro. I will be buying one, if I can figure out what parts the Samsung lawyers will allow to come to the U.S.

 

Surface Book 3, Or Stay With Surface Book 2?

Microsoft Surface Book 3 Price, Design, Features This review of the latest line of Microsoft 2 in 1 computers, calls the Surface Book design "dated". Excuse me? I have used my Book 2 as my main computer for 3 years now. It is the best computer I have ever owned. It is only "dated" in that the chips, and graphics cards have been updated in the new version. For general business use, this computer (the Book 2) is perfectly capable and should be for some time. As for the design, calling it "dated" is like calling an SUV design "dated". SUVs have been getting lower and sleeker over the years; but, the design (roomy, spacious and efficient) has remained the same. My 2013 SUV is "boxy" looking, compared to newer models; but, I love it, and it is just as efficient as any SUV made in the past few years. We are all of us "dated" when compared to modern versions, and I love the Book series computer design. With the Core i7 chip, a fast SSD, plenty of ports, and long battery life, it goes with me every day, wherever I go. I may upgrade to a Book 3 in a year or two; but, $2,000 is a lot to pay for a new computer when the Book 2 is still going strong. What's in your briefcase?

#WhyIAmASolo - Millennial Lawyers Think Like I Do.

Millennial Lawyers Are Forsaking BigLaw And Going Solo. I read this article with interest, since I have been practicing solo for many years, and for the same reasons millennials are now doing it. A desire to practice law how I want, and according to my personal values. The freedom to practice when and how I want. Technology and its adoption by the young has also made it easier for solos to have a successful law practice. Regardless of your age, however, ask yourself whether your law practice is meeting your personal and philosophical needs, as well as giving you the freedom to live a fulfilled life.

You Can't Practice Law Remotely Without Being Able To Do Legal Research.

How To Set Up A Mobile Hotspot On Android. I have written a lot about mobile computing and being able to practice law away from a fixed location, like an office. I have been doing it for over thirty years. I started out for fun, as it was a way to use my fascination with computing and gadgets for a practical purpose. When the Internet blossomed, I was always looking for a way to connect on the road; in the early days, with connection to a phone line, and, later, with portable modems. When mobile hotspots became available, I carried them with me, and used them for a shared WiFi connection. Public WiFi, as you know, is notoriously insecure, and anyone with basic knowledge can intercept anything you are sending and receiving over the network. Using a dedicated connection is better, and piping through a VPN is the best. But, these days, you don't need to carry a mobile hotspot. You already have one in your SmartPhone. I have additional Smartphone lines for several uses; one of them I carry as an emergency spare. But, TMobile provides unlimited data on its phones, and I can set one up in the RV, or a hotel room, or pretty much anywhere with cell service, and share that data with my notebook computer. Email, legal research, web browsing, and all of the other things we do with computers, I can now do anywhere. We've come a long way, baby.

#ParrotSunday - Never Teach A Cockatoo To Say Fart Around An Amazon Echo.

The combination of Alexa and Cockatoos is a dangerous thing.

 

25 Years Goes Fast.

Twenty Five Years...Time Flies When You're Having Fun.

I was updating the Copyright Notice on the FutureLawyer site this morning, and I realized that I started the site in 1996. That means I have been doing this for 25 years. It has been a daily passion since 2005; but, I haven't missed many days. So Happy Birthday to the FutureLawyer site. I have no idea which day in 2021 will be the actual anniversary. But, let's celebrate every day, okay?

Retirement Without Retiring - Not Easy To Do.

As we finish our first long weekend trip in the RV, I am realizing that relaxing in an RV, even if you have all the tech in the world, it isn't easy to get work done. It is very easy to be mesmerized by the feeling of being out in the woods, or in a beautiful setting, or, in our case, in the middle of DisneyWorld's Ft. Wilderness Resort. Tech enables me to sit at the computer, and check email, and post to Facebook; and, I can even draft correspondence and pleadings, and print with a portable printer. However, the more relaxed I get, the less I want to work. Part of that is age, I suppose. In any event, being able to work if I want to, and keeping in touch with practice emergencies or necessary responses, makes it easier to relax. It is all about freedom, after all. That is also a big reason to have a solo practice. There is no one out there who can command my presence on a Zoom call, or at a Zoom meeting, other than a Court hearing, which I can plan for in advance. If you are in a BigLaw firm, ask yourself whether the money is worth it.

Emporio Armani SmartWatch - Look Like A Million Bucks For Under $200.

Emporio Armani SmartWatch. I love Tizen OS on the Samsung Galaxy Watches. I wear them most days; but, I also love looking like a million bucks, with a watch that is elegant, understated, and says so. However, I am not going to pay thousands of dollars for the experience, so I was really impressed when I saw that Emporio Armani had decided to do an Android SmartWatch, for under $200. It is a Wear OS watch and doesn't have a phone chip, nor GPS; but, it is a competent Smartwatch, and is thin, sleek, black, and looks expensive. I can wear it to a fine restaurant or gallery opening and look like everyone else; except that I am getting emails, texts, and other Smartwatch functions without calling attention to myself. I guess you could say classy and cheap is my goal. What's on your wrist?

Saturday Wrist Check. What's On Your Wrist?

One of these watches costs $7,500. It tells the time. It tells the date. The other watch costs $499. It tells the time. It tells the date. It receives and sends email. It receives and makes phone calls. It receives and sends text messages. It monitors health functions like heartbeats per minute, EKG single lead medical grade heart readings, blood pressure and blood oxygen level readings, acts as a stopwatch, contains a GPS device, connects to the Internet by voice to search the knowledge of the world, navigates the roads of the U.S., measures each step taken during a day, monitors sleep patterns at night, keeps track of an appointments calendar, measures stress, plays thousands of songs and other music stored within it and on the Internet, takes Altimeter and Barometer readings, keeps a constant update on weather, temperature, chance of rain and other weather information, locally and globally, monitors swimming, cycling, running and other exercise activity, is water resistant to 10 meters, makes and saves voice recordings for later playback and use, acts as a remote control for various brands of Televisions, automatically syncs with information entered on a compatible smartphone, connects to Amazon Alexa, serves as a cooking timer, acts with remote terminals to conduct no touch payment at thousands of merchants, changes its watch face at the touch of a finger into one of hundreds of different alternatives, controls Microsoft Power Point presentations, and more. Any questions?

#WhyIAmASolo. It Only Takes Five Minutes To Switch From Landlines To VOIP Phones.

Landlines Will Be Obsolete By 2025. Okay, I still have a Law Office landline. But, in my defense, it is provided as a bundle by my Internet Provider, and I have had the phone number for almost 40 years. But, for a while now, all calls to that number are automatically forwarded to my cell numbers, and my Google Voice number, and I haven't used a POTS phone for years. I get it. If you are in BigLaw, you have a huge investment in telephone lines, and hardwired phones, and all that. But, the handwriting is on the wall. In several years, most POTS services will be obsolete.