Futurelawyer

Apple Wants Microsoft To Stop Airing Ads - Is It Hypocritical?

2009-07-16T09:33:41-04:00

DailyTech - Apple Begs for Mercy, Asks Microsoft to Stop Airing Laptop Hunters Ads. Apple has allegedly sent Microsoft a request to stop airing its price competitive ads because it has "lowered" its prices $100 to $300. Amazing. After Apple aired ads for over a year depicting Microsoft users as clueless idiots, it takes some arrogance to complain about largely truthful ads that highlight the fact that similar computing power costs a lot more from Apple. Of course, neither company is above sales "puffing". I like some Apple products, such as the iPod Touch, because there isn't a comparable product at a better price. However, it is the height of hypocrisy to complain to Microsoft about the laptop hunters ads, after some of the crap that Apple has been throwing out there for a long time. I wonder if Apple would be lowering its prices if Microsoft weren't airing the comparative pricing ads? Isn't this what competition should do? The principal beneficiaries of this little spat will be the consumer. Hooray.

Randy Pausch On Time Management

2009-07-15T14:10:38-04:00

Lawyers need to manage time as much as anyone. Juggling the priorities requires skill and technique. This hour long talk on time management by Randy Pausch is one of the best I have ever seen. I guarantee you that you will come away from it with a new appreciation for the value of time, and a few specific things you need to be doing to manage your time better.

The Last Lecture | Randy Pausch

2009-07-15T12:40:34-04:00

The Last Lecture | Randy Pausch. Some time last year, I wrote a post with a link to "The Last Lecture" of Randy Pausch, a virtual reality computer scientist who died, too soon, of pancreatic cancer. In the custom of academia, he gave a last lecture; except that his, coming from a dying man, became an Internet phenomenon. This past weekend, I discovered that the lecture had been turned into a book, and it now has an honored place on my bookshelf. His funny, poignant, instructive, inspiring, cheerful essay on living a successful and happy life should be required reading and viewing by every person on the planet. You need to read this book. You need to watch the lecture.

Why Not To Be A First Adopter

2009-07-15T12:23:00-04:00

Smartphone Fanatics: Rumor: Palm Preparing webOS 1.1 Update. The proposed first major update to Web OS for the Palm Pre is Exhibit A for the maxim that it is always better not to be a first adopter of new technology. There are always bugs to work out, fixes to create, and just general make it work better stuff. The fact that Verizon Wireless won't have the Pre for another 6 months or so is, thus, a good thing. By that time the early bugs will hopefully be worked out. Verizon, conservative to a fault sometimes, usually won't release a new product until they are certain it is stable. So, you can be an "early" adopter if you want, but never be a "first" adopter.

What A Surprise - Ballmer Dismisses Chrome OS

2009-07-15T10:49:16-04:00

Microsoft's Ballmer Dismisses Chrome -- InformationWeek. What a surprise. Steve Ballmer dismissed the Chrome OS planned by Google as no competition to Windows 7. For reasons other than those he stated, I have some agreement with him. However, I don't think Windows 7 will be a runaway immediate success either. Of course, with the millions of desktops running Windows, and the number of computer makers who will be selling computers with Windows 7 already installed, I don't think Windows is in any danger of going out of business. The article is correct that many enterprise and business entities are staying with XP; because Vista and 7 don't really add much functionality to the OS. In a business environment, you just want a reliable OS that works, and XP fits that bill.

A Gathering Storm - Cloud Computing And Legal Risk

2009-07-14T08:38:11-04:00

Lawyers shine light on real cloud concerns | The Wisdom of Clouds - CNET News. Today seems to be my day for clouds and rainstorm metaphors. While cloud computing is a metaphor for web-based software and computing, there are many risks, and not all of them relate to the security of the data as applied to a specific business or application. Will cloud computing make large-scale data attacks more likely? If a cloud computing application is hacked, it eliminates the necessity of hacking thousands and millions of individual computers. Every computer that uses the web-based application will be compromised. The author of this post points out several problems with cloud computing that focus on the difficulties. Lawyers need to strike a balance between the benefits of web-based computing power and efficiency, and the real risks. How do we do that? Baby steps, children, baby steps.

Microsoft plans free, online version of Office

2009-07-14T08:27:47-04:00

Microsoft plans free, online version of Office - Los Angeles Times. While I have deplored Microsoft's dominance in the past, I am happy to see a spirited competition with Google, since competition is always good for the consumer. Many lawyers use Microsoft Word and Outlook. I use Outlook 2007, in conjunction with Amicus Attorney, to handle my calendaring and contacts, since everything seems to sync with Outlook. I use Word and OpenOffice to read .doc files that others send to me. While I have a Google docs online account, I seldom use online word processors. However, when Microsoft offers a free version of Word online, I might make an exception. As always, the move online seems inevitable, if flawed from a security point of view. When everything is in the cloud, what happens when it rains?

And You Thought I Was Paranoid!

2009-07-13T08:25:17-04:00

'Power-Line Exploit' Logs Your Keystrokes Using Outlets, Lasers - Hackers - Gizmodo. This report describes a new hacker exploit that uses powerlines to record the keystrokes of a computer plugged in to the power grid. Apparently, electrical cords that power laptops are unshielded, which allows for hackers to determine what keystrokes are being pressed by measuring voltage fluctuation on the ground wire. The author, tongue in cheek, suggests computing in your underwear, inside a Faraday cage, which reminds me of Gene Hackman's character in "The Conversation", where he tears up his apartment looking for electronic surveillance bugs. Yes, the increasing cleverness of criminals is scary. Yes, you aren't paranoid if someone really is out to get you. However, at what point do you say that you will not stop living your life in order to protect against criminals? How about let's catch them, and lock them up, and throw the key away?

Skipping Windows 7 - It's The Economy, Stupid!

2009-07-13T07:51:44-04:00

Survey: Many businesses plan to skip Windows 7 | Beyond Binary - CNET News. This report that over half of businesses (and probably more law firms) are planning to delay deployment of Windows 7 systems, is not surprising. The economy is making the decision to stay with XP easy; it doesn't cost anything, XP works fine, the job is getting done, and businesses don't want to spend the time and money necessary for upgrading. Most of them have hybrid systems, anyway. When a new computer is purchased, if it has Vista, fine; but, there are no compelling reasons to upgrade the operating system on a computer that is doing the job. I suspect that most of us are hunkering down, and concentrating on working with what we have now. Businessmen, and lawyers, are asking the question, why should I spend the time, money, and training costs to upgrade? Good question.

Futurelawyer: Lane Guide Lender Directory

2009-07-12T09:35:37-04:00

Futurelawyer: Lane Guide Lender Directory. I have been using the Lane Guide Directory for a week now, and it has already shown its usefulness. I needed to contact the REO department of a major bank, and the mortgage in question was issued to a bank the current owner acquired. Click, click, and I had the current address, name and phone information of the current bank. I dictated a letter, sent it to 3 of the addresses, and I am now confident that my missive will reach the eyes of the bank official who needs to see it. Thanks, Richard Lane. Great product.