Futurelawyer

#TBT - I Love It When My Devices Address Me Properly

Rick's Google Home  I trained my Google Home device to address me properly when I ask for information. Everybody needs one of these. (Click this link to play).

PalmPilot - Before There Were SmartPhones

In the early days of mobile tech, the PalmPilot was the go to device for on the go note taking, and calendar. Later, Palm introduced devices that could send and receive email. Even later, smartphones corralled all of these capabilities in a mobile phone small enough to carry around. This was my first mobile device. I actually used it in Court to set calendar dates. Everyone was impressed that I didn't need a paper calendar. What was in your pocket?

This Is Your Desk On The Internet

I love this image. Everything, and I mean everything, on this desk can now be found on a smartphone. You still need a printer; but, the image can be sent from the smartphone to the printer wirelessly. Some of the items, like scissors and tape, are obsolete, unless you have some last century fixation on paper. As more and more gadgets and functions transition to the Internet, this animation does a good job of explaining how Google has coopted things like address books, paper calendars, phone books, cameras, bulletin boards, and other things that used to clutter our work areas. Get over it. Join the revolution.

Delete Alexa Recordings By Voice? Is That A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?

How to Delete Your Alexa Recordings by Voice. You can't tell Alexa not to remember everything you say after saying the Wake Phrase. Those recordings are kept by Amazon forever. As a lawyer, those recordings can be a gold mine of evidentiary information and admissions. But, criminals leave evidence too. What if they could delete their voices by merely saying "Alexa, delete everything"? There are always competing interests involved as technology advances. When Alexa voice recordings could only be deleted by hand, as now, only the user with the password and two factor authentication device could do it. Convenience has a consequence. We will have to live with those consequences. Be careful out there.

Talk To Your Google Home Like It Was A Three Year Old

You Can Now Just Yell %u201CStop%u201D at Your Google Home When a Timer or Alarm Ends %u2013 Droid Life. Ah, the good old days. When one of the rugrats was eating dirt, or pestering the dog, or beating on his sister, you could just yell "STOP!" and the offending behavior would cease. Well, at least for a few seconds, until the next time. But, unfortunately, our Google Home smartspeakers, while intelligently armed with the latest version of Google Assistant, aren't that smart, at all. When they are blaring a loud noisy epiphany at an inconvenient time, it is necessary to get their attention first. There is something so unsatisfying about saying: "Hey, Google! Stop!".

Well, Google has come to the rescue, and, in the future, will save us some syllables, and preserve our vocal chords. Thanks, Google, for acting like a 3 year old.

Will The Internet Of Things Make Your Home Or Office WiFi Too Congested?

If You Plan on Installing a Ton of Smarthome Devices, Skip Wi-Fi. In the old days, we had a router installed in the house, and connected all our computers to it. Hey, modern routers can handle up to 255 connections. Of course, congestion can slow down the data long before you have that many. But, having 2 to 6 people in the house using the WiFi is not a problem. But, these days, we all have Smartwatches, SmartPhones, light outlets, refrigerators, SmartSpeakers, TV dongles, Roku, Fire TV, and a host of other devices connecting to WiFi every day. It doesn't take much imagination to see a problem. When you decide to spring for that fabulous new Smarthome product, ask yourself if you really need it. If so, this article will educate yo about Z-Wave and ZigBee devices that don't conflict with WiFi.

43 Inch SmartTV For $200? Take My Money

Amazon.com: Insignia NS-43DF710NA19 43-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV HDR - Fire TV Edition: Electronics. I have used TVs as computer monitors for years. They require some compromises, and some tricky placement and settings; but, I do all my daily computing using them, and love it. Using a cheap HDTV as a computer monitor is not for gamers; but, for business and word processing, they are really cheap and work great. You probably need to mount any TV larger than 43 inches on the wall to get it to eye level and to save desk space; but, for $200, why are you still staring at a 14 inch notebook screen, or an 18 inch computer monitor? An added benefit? If you get bored, you can zone out on Netflix while you work.

Rolling The Dice - Wearable Computers Can Save Your Life

7 Reasons You May Be at Risk for Atrial Fibrillation | Everyday Health. Lately, all the talk about wearable computing has been directed at Smartwatches, and Smartjewelry, and Smart devices sewn into clothing. But, the real future of wearable computing is in the health care and health monitoring arena. If you are between 60 and 80, and have High Blood Pressure, you are at risk for Atrial Fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, which can be a life and death event. For $99, I have a little Kardia device that does a basic EKG first lead measurement that can catch Afib even when you aren't showing obvious symptoms like fatigue or light-headedness. Basic, sure; but, if smartcomputing devices can save my life, count me in. We roll the dice every day we are alive. Why not increase the odds?

The Paperless Law Office Needs A Whole Lot Of Paper

Is the paperless law office a myth? It seems that everyone is now touting the benefits of the paperless office. Bring the entire workflow to the digital space, and into the cloud. Paper? Paper is for chumps. Well, grasshopper, I have some bad news. Going paperless requires tons of paper. Like global warming, not everyone is getting the message. I spend an hour a day scanning paper that I have received from other law firms, court clerks, judges, and miscellaneous clients and third parties. I deal with so much paper that I am drowning in it. And, I am considered a technological expert in automating law office processes. What to do? Well, if people keep pushing paper at you, the only intelligent thing to do is to convert it to digital format, and that requires a competent scanner. The IX-500 from Fujitsu is the best I have used, and I have one on the desk at home and on the desk at the office. Now, go try to create a paperless office. Fool's errand.

 

Echo - Make A Skype Call

How to Make and Receive Skype Calls Using an Amazon Echo. Okay, this is a cool new skill for Amazon Echo devices. The Echo Show has a video screen which can show movies, music, and videos. You could also call another Echo Show, and have a video call. Now, you can make video calls to anyone using Skype. This skill comes at a time when video calling is finally gaining traction. If you Skype, you can call the FutureLawyer's home office or regular office, and the Echo can do it by voice. Skype me. Who knows? I might take your call.