Futurelawyer

Express Dictate - How Do You Talk To Your Secretary?

2009-07-10T08:56:07-04:00

Dictate Software - Digital Dictation Recorder for PC and Mac. Sometimes, the most productive software is the most boring. Dictating memos, correspondence, and general annoying stuff is something that lawyers do all day, every day. Before Express Dictate, I dictated into little handheld machines, and carried tapes to my secretary, bought expensive systems that sent dictation over cords to a carousel tape machine on my secretary's desk, wrote stuff on paper and brought the scribbled notes to her for transcription, and God knows what other methods. I have highlighted this most useful software before; but, it bears repeating. This is the most useful, easiest to use, productivity tool in my arsenal. The transcription software is free, with the purchase of the dictation component. You can email the dictation, send it to a specified location on any computer in your network, and it sits in the active application tray, just waiting to be used. It will use any microphone and speaker combination you want. I use my Skype phone to dictate everything. It even has a Palm OS application, that permits dictation into your cell phone when away from the office. Just dictate, and email the result to your transcriptionist. My secretary hates Express Dictate. I love it. Talk on.

Take Two Camera Sensors And Call Me In The Morning

2009-07-09T20:04:05-04:00

More Powerful Than Facebook Or Twitter - Forbes.com. CMOS sensors, costing less than a dollar, are now being designed into everything. Cheap video cameras in cell phones and the like are documenting revolutions, weddings, and just general walking around stuff. Now, we are told that CMOS chips built into pills can be taken orally, and can photograph the interior of the human body on the way down. What they photograph on the way out is something that I would rather not see. This all begs the question; if nothing is private anymore, will we adjust our public conduct? I think not. Humans are able to forget that they are on camera, even in situations when the cameras are obvious. All of which will create all sorts of evidence that lawyers can argue about. What evidentiary tests will be applied to surreptitious video taken with cameras the size of a fingernail? Perhaps discovery requests must now take this into account; ie., State the number and location of all CMOS sensors in your possession at the time of the accident. Or, please provide copies of all video taken within your body between January 1st and July 1st of last year. Lord, give me strength.

I Would Sign With ATT For One Of These!

2009-07-09T15:37:46-04:00

Does the iPhone Need a Hardware Keyboard? | The iPhone Blog. I would sign up for two years with ATT ugly for one of these. My two biggest complaints with the iPhone and iPod Touch are the lack of a removable battery, and the lack of a hard keyboard. I could live without the battery, as I can get an external charger, and I keep it plugged in most of the time. However, I cannot type on the damn soft keyboard. A slide out like this would be the ultimate reason I would pull out the wallet. What is the big deal, Apple? You could do a keyboard like this in your sleep.

Lane Guide Lender Directory

2009-07-09T12:07:53-04:00

Lane Guide Lender Directory. One of the cool things about this blog is that I am always getting emails about new (or old) products that are useful to lawyers. The Internet has given new functionality and visibility to some long standing products, formerly only available for big bucks in the print version. A good example is the LaneGuide bank and lender directory. This venerable product, around in print form since 1957 used to require a visit to the library for access. With the Internet, and a small yearly fee, the entire directory is now available online wherever you have Internet access. Need to find out where to send that payoff request? The Guide has over 140,000 lending institutions, with address and contact information at your fingertips. Brave new world.

Google's Chrome OS - Fly On The Wall?

2009-07-09T07:38:13-04:00

What will Google's Chrome OS watch you do? | Webware - CNET. There's a fly on the wall, and it is watching you. Lawyers who blog talk a lot about the death of privacy on the net. Everything you send over the air, or the net, can be intercepted, used and abused, and just generally messed around with. This always raises lawyer hackles; whom do we sue, and when do we sue them? Additionally, lawyers handle private information on a daily basis, and have a duty to take "reasonable" precautions to keep that data private. Large commercial entities deal with private information as well; health data, financial data, the list is endless. The ease and convenience of using computers and the web to make our lives easier is addictive. Once you have paid your bills online, it is tough to go back to writing checks and licking stamps. I suspect that there will be a backlash against Google's coming Chrome OS for this precise reason. Google will have to prove that an OS that is based upon Internet connections, and Google's control over the data, is safe. Of course, in today's world, safe is a relative term, isn't it?

What About Nuns Who Drink Five Cups Of Coffee A Day?

2009-07-08T21:26:51-04:00

Nun Brains Show Language Skills Predict Future Alzheimer’s Risk | Wired Science | Wired.com. Recent studies appear to show that people who drink five or more cups of coffee a day may be better able to fight off dementia in old age. Now, we are seeing that nuns who develop high order language skills in their teens also have less likelihood of developing Alzheimer's as well. It probably doesn't have anything to do with their being nuns; the nuns were merely the group studied. However, my experience with nuns is that their rulers are more likely to cause dents in the head, which can, in my personal experience, cause confusion in old age. Luckily, I drink 5 to 8 cups of coffee a day, and I developed language skills early in life. Developing those skills was more a matter of self defense than anything else. Maybe the nuns knew something I didn't. I hope that cancels out the effect of the nuns on my later brain development. Of course, some people who know me think that the nuns had very little effect upon me; but, then again, I think I will start drinking more coffee, just to make sure.

Chuck Newton: ARE YOU INTERESTED IN POSSIBLY JOINING ME IN A THIRD WAVE SUMMIT OR SABBATICAL TO JAPAN NEXT SUMMER? PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

2009-07-07T06:43:03-04:00

Chuck Newton: ARE YOU INTERESTED IN POSSIBLY JOINING ME IN A THIRD WAVE SUMMIT OR SABBATICAL TO JAPAN NEXT SUMMER? PLEASE LET ME KNOW!. Chuck Newton is asking if there is any interest in a Third Wave Summit in Japan next summer. It sounds like a winning idea; meet other solos, third wavers, and bloggers in Japan, for a week of CLE and getting away. No commitment required now; just let Chuck know if you are interested in the idea. I know I am.

Enable WEP or WPA Encryption To Protect Your Wireless Network

2009-07-06T20:13:27-04:00

Enable WEP or WPA Encryption To Protect Your Wireless Network. Modern routers do a fine job of protecting your law office or home from intruders coming in over the Internet. The built in Network Address Translation (NAT) routes traffic to internal locations that are not visible to the world at large. However, if you have a wireless router, the traffic coming in and going out is visible to anyone with a wireless adapter and within physical range of your network. You may be familiar with WEP encryption, which is an older, and now obsolete form of encrypting the wireless signals. The more recent WPA encryption system is much stronger, and, although it can be cracked, requires a much more sophisticated attacker. Having WEP encryption is like closing the door to your house, and locking it with a door knob lock. WPA is like having several deadbolts, and an armed guard. No security is foolproof; however, you need to activate WPA at least. What kind of Internet security are you using at your law firm? Are you using any?

Black Holes For Idiots

2009-07-05T08:10:14-04:00

As an after Fourth of July brain teaser, I offer this Idiot's Guide to Black Holes. You know you always wanted to know what they were and where they came from. We may not know how they really form; but, after watching this you will know more than you do now:

If Your Life And Liberty Were On The Line, Would You Sign?

2009-07-04T12:11:47-04:00

Execupundit.com: Independence Day: Would You Have Signed?. I was going to leave it at one celebratory, thanks giving, post today, until I saw this great post from Michael Wade at Execupundit. It is a great exposition of the courage shown by the founding fathers when they signed the Declaration of Independence. It is one thing to become angry about injustice. It is quite another to put your life and freedom on the line to fight it. What Would You Do?