Futurelawyer

1-800-GOOG-411: Find and connect with local businesses for free from your phone.

2009-11-21T11:02:55-05:00

1-800-GOOG-411: Find and connect with local businesses for free from your phone.. One of the things I hate about Verizon (Big Red) (No, I am not a complete fanboy), is that they are always nickel and diming you for services that should be free. One of them is the $1.75 information charge for 411 calls. She Who Must Be Obeyed and They Who Make Too Many 411 Calls, are occasionally doing this, and it drives me crazy. Especially, when you can dial 1-800-4664-411 from any phone, and have voice activated search for any number anywhere. If you call from your cell, it will even map the location for you. So, don't be lost, and don't get charged for 411 calls again. Call 1-800-GOOG-411.

Radio Shack slashes netbook $100 for Black Friday

2009-11-21T07:54:37-05:00

Radio Shack slashes netbook $100 for Black Friday. This coming Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year; well, you have been there and done that, haven't you? I won't be standing in line at 5 A.M. outside the local Best Buy this year. But, you might consider it, If you are in the market for a netbook. My fingers are too big to use a Netbook for real work; the keyboards are too tiny; however, if you can work in such cramped space, you can get one of these for $259 this Friday.

Camangi WebStation: Is Tablet Computing Ready For Prime Time?

2009-11-21T07:43:16-05:00

Camangi WebStation: 7 Inches of Android Tablet for $400 - Camangi WebStation - Gizmodo. I have really been happy with the free Android 2.0 OS on my new smart phone, the Droid. I love the fact that the software is non-proprietary, and that anyone can develop apps for it, free of the strictures of a controlling company. Google, which began its life as a go against the grain company, has figured out that you don't have to limit yourself to proprietary OSes to make a lot of money. As Android develops as an OS, you will be seeing the innovations that can be created by free and open development. The coming tablet computers may be the second wave of this revolution. While a lot of us keyboard junkies may see these as playthings, I like having the power of graphic browsing increased to a 7 inch size. Who knows whether tablets will become business machines, or whether they will operate as carry along entertainment systems. Whichever, they are really pretty to look at; and, if the Droid is a precursor, they will be easy to use and quite functional. Since Google is a web driven company, it works well with any operating system. Now, if somebody can resolve the security issues, lawyers and other professionals will be able to really get some work done.

Virtual LegalTech

2009-11-20T11:46:24-05:00

Virtual LegalTech. I have been attending virtual legal tech online, and it is very cool. Right now, I am watching a slide presentation by Donna Payne about Windows 7 and Office 2010. This is the only way to do C.L.E. In the comfort of your own office, with a pause and stop button at your fingertips. While some of the presentations are more suited to large law firms, I don't HAVE to listen to them. And, the virtual Exhibit Hall is a hoot. Check it out. You can even get C.L.E. credits.

Judge Denies AT&T's Request To Halt Verizon Ads -Now, There's A Judge's Opinion For That

2009-11-19T05:40:00-05:00

Judges Denies AT&T's Request To Halt Verizon Ads - Networking - IT Channel News by CRN. It is hard to feel sorry for AT&T. The company that users love to hate can't even get a win against Big Red, sometimes known as the Evil Empire. Verizon has been getting a clue lately, with clever and sharp advertising that hits AT&T where it hurts, in all the gaps in its 3G coverage maps. I have said before that AT&T should be spending its millions on expanding its 3G network, and not giving more publicity to an already wildly successful ad campaign by Verizon Wireless. Now, with a temporary injunction denied, we can expect to see more of the same from Verizon throughout the holiday season. As a longtime Verizon customer, I can attest to the company's devotion to coverage and service. In some things, it is good to be the biggest, best and baddest around.

Virtual LegalTech - Who Needs Planes, Trains And Automobiles?

2009-11-18T10:39:08-05:00

Virtual LegalTech� Trade Shows - the most important legal technology events online.. Tomorrow is the day. Attend a real ALM Legaltech show tomorrow, without going to New York. You can tour exhibitors, listen to the speakers, all on your computer. This is very cool. No need to miss a speaker while you are in the Exhibit Hall. No need to pay huge travel costs or sit in the middle seat of an airplane. No high hotel bills, or fighting traffic. When I was young, and green in judgment, I liked to travel. Now that I am a man, I have put away childish things, like travel costs and hassles. Oh, yeah. You can shut off a boring presentation, and not be conspicuous when leaving the room.

Google Free Caselaw Research On The Droid?

2009-11-18T10:12:22-05:00

Google Free Caselaw Research. Thanks to Finis Price at Technoesq.com for the heads up on Google Scholar, a tailored Google search engine that can be preference set to pull cases from all appellate courts since 1950, and the Federal Courts since 1923. Since the Droid is a Google phone, I set a browser bookmark for Scholar.google.com. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, the fast Droid browser pulled up cases from every jurisdiction, in a format easily readable on the Droid screen. The cases come up in a Google style list, with links to the full text of the opinions. In a direct threat to Shepard's, there is a link in each search result to cases citing the case highlighted. Amazing. And free. Case law just wants to be free. I have to say that I have been dreaming of this day since my earliest journeys to the Internet in 1992. It was text based back then, and searches were list based. Ugh. I also note that this seminal announcement occurred yesterday, on the Futurelawyer's birthday. Make of that what you will. If you want to read the official Google announcement, go here.

Google Tasks on iPhone

2009-11-18T09:52:59-05:00

Google Tasks on iPhone: GeeTasks%u2122 - view and update your Google Tasks from iPhone, online and offline.. No sooner did I finish gushing about the coolness of native syncing of Google Calendar and Mail and Tasks on my new Droid, than I started receiving emails and tips about doing the same thing with third party apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch. This little three dollar program syncs Google tasks on the Touch, and there are several excellent free downloads that do the same with Google Calendar. So, all is not lost if you want to be a part of the Google universe and use the iPhone and iPod Touch. Now, I have my calendar and mail and tasks on both my Droid and the iPod Touch. More tech is always better than less tech.

Don't Unfriend Me, Bro!

2009-11-18T08:38:03-05:00

Faster Forward - 'Unfriend' goes into the books. There are a lot of people who will give you advice on how to grow a law practice. In this economy, the promises and potential of web marketing seems irresistible. Collect thousands of "friends" on Facebook, use Twitter to meet hundreds of potential clients and contacts, do a blog about your area of legal expertise. Establishing these kinds of presences on the net are certainly valid ways to get your name out there. However, don't overdo it. Don't be the guy who is always pushing the "hire my firm" buttons. We have all learned to ignore ads that come in the mail, and spam that comes in the in box; there is a disconnect between smart marketing, and constant chatter. Choose your "friends" carefully, and your "unfriends" more carefully. Any lawyer will tell you that a law practice is built by long term commitment to good service and respectful treatment. Build that kind of practice, and the clients will come.

First Thing We Do - Let's Blame The Lawyers

2009-11-17T16:55:53-05:00

Apple's app approval revolt: Will it matter? Maybe | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com. The Apple developer revolt, in which prominent developers are abandoning the Apple app process, which is draconian in its refusal to allow developers to do their thing without big brother watching and controlling, is now joined by the Android revolution, and the highly effective Verizon ad campaign highlighting the deficiencies in the AT&T network to which Apple is bound. A perfect storm is brewing that threatens the Apple supremacy in the mobile phone market. Mr. Hewitt, the Facebook app developer who recently quit Apple, blames the lawyers, who he says examine every app for violation of the terms of service promulgated by Apple and AT&T. Of course, it is easy to blame lawyers, who are just doing their jobs at the behest of the executives who create the terms of service in the first place. This is kind of like blaming newspaper editors who edit content at the behest of news publishers. Please. Let's put the blame where it lies, with the Corporate mentality at Apple, which wants to contol everything to do with its phones. Apple's ship is being tossed about by a rough sea, and buffeted on both sides by dangerous hurricanes. Apple needs to look at the freedom and features of the Android phones like the Droid. AT&T needs to spend less time litigating, and more time building out a competent 3G network. But, what do I know? I am just a grunt lawyer trying to find a phone that gets the job done, and doesn't drop calls 30% of the time.