iPhone3GS or Palm Pre?

By David J. Ferrell

This summer we have seen the greatest evolution of mobile technology in world history and the greatest competition is between the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. Both are cell phones BUT they are much more. They are hand-held gateways to the almost infinite knowledge/data that is archived on the internet. Besides bestowing very useful, informative and fun applications, the cell phone revolution has spawned a very mobile communication system that boggles the mind of those who bought those BRICKS ie. the first handheld cell phones. Today, teens text at 75 words a minute, their parents do the same at 8 words a minute. You can email an astronaut in space as you drive through a school zone, if you know her e-mail address, at least before September 1, 2009 when that behavior will get you a ticket (see Texas Transportation Code Sec. 545.425). And, she can respond at the speed of light; don’t worry, Texas has no jurisdiction in space.

Well, now which cell phone should you get if your old contract is about to expire? The iPhone 3GS is a marvelous device. It has access to nearly 50,000 applications, it is sleek and powerful. I will not articulate a thorough evaluation here but I will point out the main difference between the two heavy weight competitors for mobile technology dollars.

I chose to purchase a Palm Pre on June 6, 2009 (first day available). Some people will joke that I was the first nerd in line at Best Buy. That’s not true!! I was the second. Anyway, I bought the Palm Pre and almost took it back three times. Then, as the haze of 3G technology lifted and I began to understand the miracle of 4G I saw the genius of WebOS and knew I would not go backwards in my quest for the best mobile technology for now on the market.

The iPhone can run one application at a time, the Palm Pre multitasks, I have been running my calendar, my GPS, my contact list and memo pad as I was sending an email and an instant message while listening to a music stream from Pandora, all at the same time. This was a test I was conducting I wouldn’t normally do all that especially while driving to the courthouse. BUT, it is possible and the implications are enormous.

A big drawback to the iPhone is its only carrier, AT&T. There are dead spots in many different places. The Palm Pre’s exclusive carrier, Sprint has its problems too. Another big problem with the iPhone is the word PROPRIETARY. That means Apple has its hand in almost everything that the iPhone does. Here is where the Palm Pre will excel, and if you can wait until early 2010, Verizon will become a Palm Pre carrier.

The Palm Pre Mojo SDK (Software Development Kit) enables anybody to create, install, and debug locally hosted Web applications. This SDK puts the Palm Pre into FREE Developer Mode, which opens Pre's Linux developers to remote login. Once your genius kid in India or El Paso gets in the Pre's command shell, they will discover how robust and open the Linux OS at WebOS' base really is. I predict WebOS will be used on netbooks, notebooks , and desktop computers and even on the CPU (computer) in your refrigerator etc. in your house of the future.

Once Pre developers get into the SDK, they will exploit the easy access and use of the command line, shell script, and C. There isn't another mainstream mobile phone that is as effectively rooted at the factory. So, even though there are few applications for the Palm Pre right now, as compared to the iPhone, get ready, I predict a tsunami of Palm Pre NONPROPRIETARY applications will emerge AND, they will be free or cheap. Imagine this, you will be able to hire a geek kid somewhere to write an application for you that does what you want EXACTLY and you might spend fifty bucks for the programming. The program (application) is yours! Then share or sell that application to others who want that application but didn’t think about it until YOU did.

As a postscript to this article which I wrote in July 2009, a final comment: Just recently, Motorola and Google have teamed up and released “The Android” or “Droid” smart phone. Since it is so new, I would investigate this new communication system that could eclipse all other smart phones and devices. Google the term “ANDROID SMART PHONE” and read the articles. This is Android 2. Google has been very successful in its ventures to provide technology FREE OR CHEAP. That alone is worth further investigation.

Virtual Assistance Can Help Your Law Firm Manage A Downturn

By Mike Lewis

Using a virtual assistant can reduce your firm’s overhead costs.

In the midst of an economic downturn are you doing everything you can to cut costs and stay afloat?

Many companies are now using an innovative service provided by virtual offices that enhances productivity and creates value in the global downturn—virtual assistance. A virtual assistant handles all the administrative tasks that take time away from your ability to focus on what you do best.

A virtual assistant helps you manage your professional and personal tasks just like an on-site administrative assistant, but without the overhead. The difference is you pay virtual assistants for time actually worked, opposed to a salaried administrative assistant who needs health insurance, vacation, and other employee benefits.

Pofessional virtual assistants conduct internet research, manage your personal and professional calendars, format MS Office applications, book your travel plans, coordinate events, speak multiple languages, and perform many other services—they are well-resourced to manage all your administrative needs.

Maria Flores, a virtual assistance user, says, “Since I decided to hire a Virtual Assistant, my life has been so much easier. Now I don't have to worry about time-consuming administrative tasks, and I have more time to dedicate to…my business and to my family.”

If only 5% of your time is spent on administrative tasks, that is 4-6 hours of time you are not able to bill a client for.

There are many virtual assistant firms and it is important you choose the correct one. Quality firms provide you with a dedicated virtual assistant, instead of farming out your work to whoever is available, and they work with you to find a virtual solution that best meets your needs.

Once you get used to using a virtual assistant you will forget how you operated without one.

For further information please contact: Mike Lewis, Principal, mlewis@excend.com. About EXCEND Consulting Group: EXCEND has provided consulting services to over 170 clients worldwide. The firm advises leading businesses on penetrating the Hispanic market in North America, as well as consulting international businesses on entering the North American market. Clients of EXCEND penetrate new markets at rates up to 3 times faster than their competitors.

E-Book Review: Spam-Proof Your E-mail Address

Book: 2nd Edition By Brian Livingston
www.WindowsSecrets.com
31 pages, $9.95

Review By Al Harrison and Randy Claridge

Brian Livingston, a highly-regarded expert of matters pertaining to any and all incarnations of Microsoft Windows and the author of the well known Windows Secrets series, has written an informative “e-book” that reveals modus operandi for protecting website-published e-mail addresses from exploitation perpetuated by purveyors of junk e-mail. Known as “spammers” in the electronic vernacular, such purveyors of spam are responsible for consuming daily significant attorney-time which tend to undermine the efficiency of e-mail communications.

A recent estimate of the profitability enjoyed by spammers by Ciphertrust (see, www.ciphertrust.com) is that a return of a mere single spam out of a population of 50,000 e-mails justifies this heinous procedure. That is, if only one spam-recipient unknowingly or inadvertently responds to a junk e-mail, while contemporaneously approximately 50,000 co-recipients properly reject the same junk e-mail, the spammer typically can realize a profit. Furthermore, according to data compiled by the SpamHaus Project, an anti-spam service (see, www.SpamHaus.org) which tracks spammers and also shares its findings with law enforcement, fewer than 200 spammers generate at least 80% of worldwide spam. The urgency for seeking “spam-proofing” protocols is evident.

Mr. Livingston’s thesis for foiling spammers’ dastardly exploits is for the user to affirmatively create an environment that inherently reduces spam. His ideal electronic landscape minimizes or avoids spam-flow on the basis of e-mail addresses being rendered invisible to spammers. Thus, spam-proofing may be achieved by hiding e-mail addresses from the robotic eyes of automatic e-mail “harvesting” applets that collect e-mail addresses for sale to a plethora of exploitative spammers.

He observes that harvesting applets focus on spam targets having predictable format: character strings having the format “your-id@domain name.” Accordingly, search criteria invoked consists of an algorithm that: (1) seeks occurrences of the special character “@”; (2) confirms that this “@” is followed by a domain name having a “.” delimited format such as “isp.com” or “YourDomain.com”; and then (3) copies the (non-blank) characters that precede the “@.” Of course, other top-level domains (besides the com-domain) such as net, org and edu would typically be included in this search strategy.

To prevent harvesters from electronically cumulating email addresses, the author suggests several approaches which he classifies as “Super-Simple,” “Simple,” Moderately Simple,” and “Advanced.” While not assuring success, these methods may significantly improve the usability of preferred e-mail addresses. When posting an e-mail address on a website, the most rudimentary deterrent to being placed upon a spam distribution list is to modify the way the e-mail address is conveyed to the reader. Rather than specifying “myname@isp.com,” it is preferable to present the address as “myname(at)isp(dot)com.” This approach foils harvesters by not displaying what is predefined as constituting a valid e-mail address. A spam bot does not copy every bit of text on a website, but rather scans millions of websites looking for the familiar “@” and “.” combination associated with conventional e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, the author concedes, spammers are beginning to include e-mail address variations such as “myname(at)isp.com” in e-mail scanning algorithms.

Another recommended method involves posting an e-mail address as a graphical image file instead of a textual string. Image files cannot be read by text-scanning routines, but, images provide website visitors a familiar e-mail address. Harvesters are not programmed to perform optical character recognition (“OCR”) on billions of web pages in the pursuit of collecting myriad e-mail addresses. Analyzing the enormous number of images encountered would drastically undermine the bots’ productivity. The primary drawback to relying on image files to depict an e-mail address is that visitors must manually type the address rather than just hot-linking via a single click.

As an aid to enabling website visitors to invoke the familiar point-and-click experience, Mr. Livingston refers to a free applet that embeds an encrypted “mailto:” hyperlink on a website. Then, once incorporated into a website, an email address may be invoked by visitors who can view an e-mail address as an image and establish contact by clicking on the encrypted hyperlink. The invoked hyperlink triggers a new e-mail message in the visitor’s default e-mail program and automatically populates the “To:” field with the e-mail address. Adding the prerequisite code to a website is more technically involved than the previous methods, but it affords website visitors easy e-mail access while simultaneously hiding the e-mail address from nasty bots.

The author introduces the most technically sophisticated method for spam-securing an e-mail address, while still affording convenience to website visitors: incorporating an interactive form into a website. Most website visitors are familiar with web forms, usually found on service support websites and the like. Nevertheless, as Mr. Livingston correctly notes, many businesses fail to design a visually-appealing form. Website visitors may acquire a subpar first impression of a business based upon what appears to be an amateurish form. Cost-effective web-design tools for generating web forms and website designers are available but should be carefully selected.

As yet another approach to avoiding spam, he suggests creating “disposable” e-mail addresses whereby each recipient of an e-mail is allocated a different address. Under this schema, if one such disposable e-mail address is compromised, the user simply ceases any further use, i.e., turns it off. The e-book includes a list of available disposable e-mail services, some of which are free.

Brian Livingston’s “Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address” is an excellent way to not only become conversant with techniques for avoiding being inundated by spam, but also to experience the nuances of the e-book genre.

Al Harrison is a member of The Law Practice Management Committee and a former Chair of the Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar; he is a patent attorney and intellectual property lawyer practicing with the firm of Harrison Law Office, P.C. In Houston.

Randy Claridge is a recent graduate of South Texas College of Law who is an associate attorney practicing with the firm of Harrison Law Office, P.C.; he has extensive background in computer and Internet technology.

Data Recovery: What to do When all Else Fails

by Gerry Morris




Let’s say you’ve read my previous columns, listened to your consultant or come to the conclusion on your own that you need to protect your data with a redundant RAID array and utilize an offsite data backup service or system. Or maybe you’re backing up to tape or other removable media. Or, it could be that you’ve been meaning to establishing a reliable backup routine but just haven’t gotten around to it. Hardware failures which result in data loss are increasingly more rare these days, but they still occasionally happen. The more layers of backup used the more things have to go wrong before data is completely lost. But, in theory everything could fail at once. If a hard drives fails and there is no backup, it still may be possible to recover the data.

Hard drives consist basically of magnetic disks where data is recorded and the motor that spins them; a set of mechanical heads that move across the disks reading and writing the data as they go; and the software (firmware) that controls the disk’s operation. The components are assembled inside a “clean room” to prevent dust or other contaminants from finding their way into the disk’s enclosure. The disk operates at such close tolerances that even small particles of dust could interfere.

When a hard drive malfunctions to the extent that data can no longer be retrieved from it, the problem could be with one or more of its components. It could be that the disk will no longer spin because the motor has gone kaput. The mechanism that moves the heads across the disks may have fallen into disrepair causing the heads to bang against the disks or not move at all. Or, the problem could be corruption of the firmware. With either category of problem, it may be possible to recover all or part of the data from the failed drive.

If a critical drive on your system has failed and there is no backup, Google “data recovery” in the city where you are located. If you are in a metropolitan area, you’ll come up with pages and pages of hits. It’s big business to retrieve data from inoperable hard drives. This may give you comfort to know that there are thousands if not millions of other computer users with no usable backup of their data.

Data Recovery firms, like any other businesses, vary in costs and capabilities. A full service data recovery service would have access to a clean room. If the problem with the drive is mechanical, its enclosure might have to be opened for repair. This must be done in a dust free environment. This would be the most expensive type of data recovery because of the cost allocated to the use and maintenance of the clean room. If the disk failure is the result of a firmware problem or some other issue that involves retrieving the data without opening up the drive, the cost is substantially less. However, data recovery even without the use of a clean room is not cheap. Prices for more or less simple procedures may run up around $1,500.

Price shopping may be risky. This is your last chance to save years worth of data. Check references and testimonials. Also, the firms usually charge a fee to determine if the data can be recovered with a price quote for full recovery. If one firm cannot recover the data, usually nothing has been done to the disk that would prevent getting a second opinion.

If the data can be recovered it will be returned to you usually on the medium of your choice. It may be loaded onto a new disk or burned to multiple DVD’s so you can transfer it to your new system.

Of course we all want to avoid having to avail ourselves of this last resort. The best way to do that is by using more than one backup method, with at least one storing the data offsite. A RAID array won’t help if your building burns or floods. Also, a representative from a data recovery firm recently told me that her firm gets about one case a week where both drives of a RAID array have failed simultaneously. It is important to check your backup system regularly to make sure it is functioning properly. Unfortunately, the more automatic and transparent a backup system becomes, the more likely were are to forget to look in on it occasionally.

Also, at the first hint of a problem with a hard drive such as noise or read write errors, the drive should be replaced. The quicker Hard drives are a lot cheaper than data recovery.


E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 30 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at egm@egmlaw.com.

Text to Spoken Word, It’s Here!

by David J. Ferrell



Richard Bandler and John Grinder wrote a book called Frogs into Princes in 1979 where they discuss the three main ways humans receive information. These are VISUAL, AUDITORY and KINESTHETIC (feelings). The theory they assert is called NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is a valuable tool when you are picking a jury. Just imagine being able to get your message into the minds of different people on the jury in their dominant method of information reception.

The language we learned first, the spoken language, remains our base throughout life. We use the model of spoken communication as the basis for much of our inferences when we read.

Ultimately, the underlying reason for relying on speech as a model for writing may actually lie in the nature of human understanding.

Did you get goose bumps reading that speech or hearing it?

The reason I prefaced this article with NLP is to have the reader evaluate which method may be useful to his/her reception and retention of information. When we read something we are using our VISUAL data acquisition mode, when we feel something we are using our KINESTHETIC mode and when someone speaks to us or reads to us we are in AUDITORY mode.

When we were children our parents, teachers, and others read us stories and word pictures were generated in our brains. To many of us this AUDITORY channel of communication is our best. Isn’t this the way most information was passed on prior to modern times when the plebeian masses learned to read? So, how many of us have listened to that contract we are preparing? How about that voir dire examination or final argument?

As lawyers we all have prepared our work product in written form. Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word are the main word processing programs used by law firms across the country. Wouldn’t it be nice to listen to your speech, motion, or legal memorandum as you drive from point A to point B? And, how about your appellate argument being spoken to you as you walk the treadmill at the fitness center? And, what if this oral presentation could be generated from the written material you already have?

All this is possible with inexpensive “text to spoken word” technology. Computer programs now convert any text into understandable voice wave files or MP3 files. We can listen to email, web pages, eBooks and our own generated documents on our computers and our portable MP3 players.

“MP3" is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD by a factor of 12 without sacrificing sound quality.

Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred across the Internet and/or they can be stored and played on inexpensive, small MP3 players that can accompany us wherever we go. You can put enormous amounts of music/data on a CD (up to 40 hours and more) and play many hours of content on an MP3 enabled CD player. Controversy arises when copyrighted songs are sold and distributed illegally off of Web sites.

I can read much faster than I can listen but I can’t read during my commute to the courthouse which takes thirty minutes on a good day and 1 hour when the traffic is bad. Besides listening to my written work product(s) I can download the newspaper in print form, convert it to MP3 and listen to it on the way to the courthouse.

The State Bar is now publishing those great CLE articles in Word, WordPerfect and PDF formats (http://www.texasbarcle.com). I predict that someday they will publish those same articles in MP3 format. You will be able to go to the State Bar website, find that article you need and download it not only in written form but also in AUDIO - MP3 format to play as you commute or workout or whatever.

Although music is the predominant audio format published in MP3, there's a wealth of spoken word content on the web. Audio books have been around in cassette and CD form for a long time, and now you can listen to books online and download them for play on your own MP3 player. Many texts are free (Project Gutenberg - http://promo.net/pg/ & The Literature Network - http://www.online literature.com/) and a few sites let you download whole audio books for less than the cost of buying the CD or tape (http://www.Audible.com).

More literature is accessible in the form of audio dramas or poetry readings. Radio plays have gone digital with both new interpretations of classics like Shakespeare and new original productions. Poets and authors of all description can be heard over the internet.

Educational and informational audio is also abundant. You can take language lessons, listen to lectures from universities or take in speeches from famous personalities (http://odin.himinbi.org/speeches/). Audio programming about health, fitness, business, technology, news and travel is readily available from various sites. For rest and relaxation, you can kick back and listen to coverage of different sporting events or find a good laugh online with stand up, sketch or musical comedy. AND, with “text to speech” technology any written material can become an auditory experience.

If you want to hear this article in MP3 format go to http://www.elpasolaw.com and click on the Spoken Word button on the left side of the page.

Flash Memory Devices Grow Up

By Gerry Morris, J.D.



Ten years ago, if I wanted to physically transport files from my office computer to my home computer, or to any other computer off my network, my options were somewhat limited. Assuming I either could not connect remotely to my office network or that I wanted to transport a lot of data so that remote transfer was impractical, I had to use either magnetic media such as floppy disks or Zip drives, or optical media such as compact disks or, later on, DVDs. The limited capacity of floppy disks made them unsuitable for large amounts of data not to mention the slow transfer rates. Zip drives held more data but required a compatible drive on both computers involved in the data transfer. Zip drives were popular but not universal. Rewritable CDs and DVDs also had drive and software compatibility issues. Not all packet writing software used the same format. Files could be burned permanently to a disk so that it could be universally read, but it was impractical to burn a complete new disk to again transfer the data after it had been altered.

A few years ago flash memory devices appeared on the consumer market for use with computers. The two most common configurations were flash memory cards (like those used in digital cameras) and USB flash memory drives. Like everything else having to do with computers, the first flash memory available was expensive and of low capacity. Flash memory first appeared in capacities well under 1 GB. The early ones were 16MB or less. Just a very few years ago I remember seeing adds for the latest 256MB USB flash drives touting a capacity equal to 175 floppy drives. Even at these initial capacities, the drives were a major advancement in the portability of data.

A USB flash drive is sometimes referred to as a “pen drive” or “thumb drive.” It is about the size of a child’s thumb and plugs into the USB drive of a computer. It contains flash memory. Without going into detail about how flash memory works, it generally stores data in a solid state memory chip much as data is stored on a hard drive. The data stays put in the chip even when the power is off. (If you really want to know how it works, see www.howstuffworks.com/flashmemory.htm). In fact, when you plug one into a computer running Windows XP or above, it recognized the device as another physical drive attached to the computer. So, if your hard drive is C: and your DVD drive is D:, the computer may recognize the plug and play thumb drive as E:. Data can be copied to the drive using Windows Explorer just like to any other attached drive. Unplug the device and plug it into another computer and a drive appears there. You can then read the data on the second computer.

Memory cards work the same way except both computers must have a compatible card slot. Most newer computers are equipped with memory card slots because most digital cameras store pictures on memory cards. The pictures can be easily transferred to the computer by inserting the card in the computer’s memory card slot. The memory card is recognized as a drive and the pictures can be copied to the computer.

There are several configurations of memory cards, each requiring a card reader designed for that particular type of card. There are cards called CompactFlash (CF); Secure Digital (SD); Memory Sticks (MS); MultiMediaCard (MMC); SmartMedia (SM); and x-D Picture Card (xD). (Here’s what they look like. www.steves-digicams.com/flash_memory.html). Although they will all store data files just like the flash memory drives, they are not as universally compatible as a USB drive. For instance, my work desktop computer has six card slots and will accept all the above. It’s one of two of my ten computers that will accept all types of cards. All of my computers and all computers I’ve seen on the market in the past five years with Windows operating systems have USB ports. However, the second generation of USB ports, version 2.0 and above, are much faster than the original version, 1.0. Drives made for version 2.0 and above are backwards compatible with earlier USB ports. The transfer rate will be considerably slower, though.

The card had a capacity of 16GB. To put that into some perspective, for the past five years I have been scanning virtually every document I’ve received or generated in my practice and saving them to the hard drive on my server. I have used less than 10GB of my hard disk capacity. I could load all my documents onto that card or a comparable USB flash memory drive and plug it into any computer with a compatible card slot or a USB drive. Or, I could back up all my data onto flash memory and keep it on my key chain.

My conversation with my colleague prompted me to check out the capacities of USB flash drives currently on the market. At Amazon.com I found a 32GB Corsair Flash Voyager USB drive for $115.40. Smaller drives were proportionately cheaper. All the data on my server including the operating system would fit on this drive with half its capacity left over. It is much smaller
than my thumb.

The Corsair drives are constructed to be virtually indestructible. (See www.corsairmemory.com for details). The transfer speed is not as fast as a modern internal hard drives, but as fast as external USB hard drives. In fact, they are fast enough that programs can be run from them. Specially written programs can be transferred from computer to computer and run completely from the flash memory drive. (See www.everythingusb.com/software.html).

Of course, it would present a security problem if I lost the drive and it ended up in a curious person’s hands. A simple solution is “on the fly” encryption software that encrypts data as it is copied to the flash memory drive. The data is password protected. Various encryption packages work in different ways when the drive is plugged into a computer other than the one from which the data was originally copied. For instance, Dekart Private Disk advertises that it resides on the USB drive so that it can be launched on any computer. (www.dekart.com/products/encryption/private_disk/). Other programs require that the encryption software be installed on the new host computer.

The capacity of flash memory drives will undoubtedly continue to increase as will their transfer speeds. There usefulness for applications such as backup and even as boot devices will
likewise increase. For the simple task of bringing files with me on a trip they sure beat a box of floppies.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

DSL v Cable. Which is Better?

By Gerry Morris

Dialup Internet access is just about obsolete for business use. Broadband Internet service is now available almost everywhere anyone would want a law office. Larger offices or those with special needs for high speed Internet service may subscribe to a T1 line or other high capacity technology. However, most of us use the Internet just for email and access to the Word Wide Web. For that type of usage the more widely used broadband services are sufficient. In most urban areas a business user has the choice of two competing technologies; DSL or cable. If you have a choice, which one is better for you? Here are some considerations.

The two technologies are quite different and their differences may affect their suitability at a particular location. DSL stands for “digital subscriber line”. Digital information is transmitted over regular telephone lines and made available to your computer network through a splitter and a DSL modem. The splitter separates the digital signal from the analogue voice signal and the modem handles the communications between the DSL system and your computer network. Nowadays, the splitter is actually something that you just plug in to your phone line rather than the gadget that the phone company, in the past, had install for a fee. Most DSL service (and cable service) is asymmetrical which simply means that the download speed it much faster than the upload speed. That’s because most of us are much more interested in a web site fully downloading quickly to our browser than in having our emails go out a fraction of a second faster. Since there is only so much bandwidth available it is allocated mostly to downloading rather than uploading. (Some providers offer symmetrical service at a higher cost for users that require more upload speed.)

In the late 1990s and early 2000s DSL was not available everywhere. Even in central Austin, where I practice and lived at the time there were areas where there was either no DSL service or only very slow service. DSL is available only within about 2.5 kilometers of a telephone switching station with the proper equipment. The speed of the service deteriorates as the distance increases. In the older Austin neighborhood where I used to live, the phone lines were old and the switching equipment not up to date. For several years I could not get good DSL service. Consequently, I had to subscribe to my cable provider’s Internet service at a slightly higher price. Unfortunately, the cable infrastructure in that neighborhood wasn’t in great shape either thanks to fallen tree limbs and squirrels. However, by the mid 2000s things were fixed so that either type service was fast and reliable.

Cable companies transmit the digital information over, well, the cable. Even with a couple of hundred TV channels there is still a lot of Internet bandwidth available on conventional coaxial cable systems and fiber optic networks now being utilized by some companies provide even more capacity. Cable systems utilize a modem that connects to the same cable outlet as your TV and interfaces with the computer network. Generally, if there is television cable available in a block or neighborhood, there is also cable Internet access available.

There is no distance from the station limitation with cable. The only technical drawback to cable Internet access is that the system is arranged in a series of loops. One loop may include all or part of a neighborhood. There is a finite amount of bandwidth available to the loop, so, if several users on the loop are accessing the Internet at the same time the speed of the individual connections slows down. In my experience, this problem exists mostly in the minds of the cable company’s competitors. It’s mentioned prominently in their advertisements but I’ve never experienced any noticeable slowdown in my cable connections. Most if not all cable providers guarantee a minimum speed for uploading and downloading. The true speed usually far exceeds the minimum.

As a general rule, cable connections are faster than DSL, but, DSL is also generally cheaper per month. To compare prices and speeds, I’ll use AT&T Yahoo’s DSL business Internet services. The package offering 1.5 Mbps downstream speed and 384 Kbps upstream speed is $35.00 per month. Twice the download speed and 512 Kbps upload is $45.00 per month, The top of the line package featuring 6 Mbps downstream speed and 768 Kbps is $55.00 per month. The slowest cable business package available in my area from Time Warner Cable Road Runner is about the speed of the fastest AT&T DSL package. The cost for the cable service is about $100 per month. Each service offers a set number of email addresses, space for a web site, etc.

So, why would anyone choose the more expensive cable service? One reason might be the unavailability of the higher speed DSL service at a particular location or the unavailability of DSL at all. If the address to be services is not within about 2.5 kilometers of the switching equipment, DSL won’t be available. If the equipment hasn’t been modernized recently, the quality of the telephone lines poor or the distance from the switching station approaching the limit, the speeds available might not be top notch. I found that the slower DSL speeds didn’t fit the needs of my office, primarily because I like to access my network from my home or hotel via my laptop and use Windows Remote Desktop to access my office desktop computer remotely. This requires decent upload speed at my office to make the remote access useable. For several years I subscribed to the AT&T Yahoo package for with the 512 Kbps upload speed. I found this upstream speed to be adequate but perhaps a little slow for remote access. The fastest DSL speeds were not available at my office until fairly recently. I was contemplating upgrading but another factor caused me to switch to cable even though it costs me an extra $45 a month.

I found that the biggest drawback to my DSL access was having to deal with a phone company for service. AT&T Yahoo DSL service would periodically change things on their system such as requiring different security settings to use their outgoing mail server. On the AT&T Yahoo system a user has no choice but to use AT&T’s outgoing servers. This is to help prevent their servers being used by spammers. The latest security changes were intended to make it even harder for unauthorized users to send mail over their servers. However, the changes were made with little or no prior warning. On several occasions we suddenly lost the ability to send email in the middle of a business day. Calls to AT&T Yahoo’s service representative were, to say the least, unhelpful. To find a solution to the problem I would have to Google the error messages I received to find blog entries from other users who had experienced the same issue. I found that the blogosphere was more helpful than AT&T Yahoo support for finding a solution to the problem. After several instances of interruptions of outgoing mail, I changed to a cable provider.

Of course, not every DSL provider will have the same technical issues and poor customer service. The point is that in a busy office fixing a problem in a hurry is important. In my experience, I’ve found that the technical support technicians at my local cable company are much more attentive to my technical issues than were those employed by my former DSL provider. Time Warner cable has excellent technical assistance provided by local technicians. There is also an account executive in charge of my account that we found to be accessible and helpful during the setup process.

On Time Warner Cable Road Runner, we are able to use the outgoing mail servers provided to us by our domain hosting service, FutureQuest. Since Time Warner does not require the use of its outgoing mail servers on the Road Runner network, clients who bring there laptops to my office can access my wireless network and send email with the outgoing server that they ordinarily use. With AT&T Yahoo, they could send email only if they were configured to use that company’s servers. This was a small issue but somewhat of an annoyance. More importantly, so far the cable access is faster and more reliable.

It would pay to check the blogs to determine overall satisfaction with a provider before signing up. Reliable service and technical support may be worth paying a premium price. The more we rely on email and other Internet services, the more costly interruptions are.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Your Next Computer, Buy or Build?

By Gerry Morris, J.D.

If you had looked around my law offices seven or eight years ago you would have seen about ten PCs networked in a peer to peer arrangement. Most would have been running Windows 98 with at least one loaded with Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 machine would have been my file server. Most, if not all, of the computers would have been built by yours truly. Most would have been put together from parts scavenged from earlier models with slower processors. As the new faster processors came out I would buy a new motherboard and processor, swap them out with the old ones keeping the same video card, sound board, network cards and hard drives from the previous incarnation. With Windows 98, I could usually just start the upgraded computer and the operating system would reconfigure itself to accommodate the new hardware.

For all its ease of configuration, Windows 98 had its definite drawbacks. Chief among its shortcomings was its frequent crashes. The NT based workstation operating systems, Windows NT, 2000, and XP were much more stable. In my opinion Windows 2000 was the first really usable business workstation operating system from Microsoft. It was extremely stable and ran enough applications and peripherals to make it practical. However, the switch to Windows 2000 in my office ended the practice of upgrading my computers each time a faster chip came on the Market.

During the installation process, Windows 2000, and later XP, installed only the hard disk controller driver and other essential drivers necessary for your individual computer rather than an array of generic and specific drivers. This meant that if the motherboard was changed, the computer would no longer boot, unless the new motherboard was virtually identical to the replaced one. So, if I upgraded a computer’s motherboard, I also had to start over with a new installation of the operating system and software applications. I was never able to find a way to work around for this problem. There were some software applications available to transfer programs from an old computer to a new one, but not to make an upgraded computer boot.

Also, the price of new PCs continued to fall. In the past few years it just hasn’t been worth it for me to build workstation computers. The basic workstation in my office is whatever PC Dell had on sale at the time I needed to add or replace a computer. I would order them with the current version of Microsoft Office installed, and basic hardware peripherals. It doesn’t take much video power to adequately display Microsoft Office, nor is a super sound system important. I have one PC with above average video and sound for video editing. The rest are as bland as they come. I do order extra RAM. We usually have several applications running at once on any given desktop. The more RAM, the better the performance with multiple applications open. The price of a Dell on sale was significantly lower than anything I could build. Michael Dell buys in larger volume than I.

However, I will probably continue to build the PC I use for a server. Here, I am picky about getting just what I want and no more. The server I use now has been running 24/7 for about five years. It’s time to start thinking about constructing a replacement.

It’s really very easy to build a PC, and it’s gotten easier over the years. Ten years ago, most motherboards did not include onboard video, sound or network interfaces. I had to install peripheral boards to add these functions. Now, since chips continue to get smaller, it is standard to load up a motherboard with all the basics. So, the place to start is with locating a motherboard that has what I want and accepts the type of CPU chip adequate for my needs. I would make sure it has onboard video, sound and network interface. Video and sound quality is not important for a server so I wouldn’t pay a premium for high end boards intended for gaming and multimedia. I would start by looking in the paper and finding the sales at places like Fry’s or Best Buy.

For a server I want adequate horsepower, but not necessarily the newest, fasted CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip. Having bought several over the years I’ve learned that there is a significant price jump from the next fastest to the very fastest chip. I want to be sure and get a processor chip that is more than adequate to run the software that will reside on the server. I would check the minimum requirements for applications such as Amicus Attorney and overshoot the minimum requirements by as much as I want to spend. Five years from now that chip will look pretty slow. The motherboard box will tell me what types of chips may be used. There are several different configurations of processor chips from two major manufacturers, Intel and AMD. I have used chips from both over the years and haven’t noticed any difference when matched with the proper motherboards. I personally think AMD offers more bang for the buck. A cooling fan for the processor chip is also essential.

Sometimes the CPU chip is sold already mounted on a motherboard. This should mean that the chip is one recommended for that motherboard. It also means that I can’t bend the pins on the chip while installing it or otherwise mess up mounting the chip. Fortunately, that’s hard to do now since they all are made so that they will only go in the correct way. Years ago, they would go more than one way and the result of putting them in the wrong way would be instant destruction of the chip when powered up. When putting on the cooling fan it’s important to use the gooey stuff that comes with it. This serves as a heat transfer medium between the chip and the fan. Nowadays, chips run pretty hot, so the cream is essential to prevent overheating.

Also, keep in mind that older operating systems may not work well with the newer multicore processors. For instance, I run Windows 2000 Advanced Server as my server operating system. I am told that this operating system will recognize each core of the processor as a separate processor. While that will work to some extent, newer software is written to handle the advanced processors more efficiently and take full advantage of their sophisticated features. If I upgrade, I will probably purchase a new operating system. More about that in a minute.

For a server I would choose a motherboard with onboard RAID capability. Simply put, this allows me to connect two hard drives and have one be the mirror image of the other. If one hard drive fails, the other takes over. I simply have to replace the bad hard drive. The system then again mirrors one to the other. My current server does this through the operating system rather than via hardware. The result is the same. I keep a spare hard drive and have had to use one a couple of times. It’s the best first line of defense for data protection.

Also, I would buy about twice as much RAM as the software specs call for. Over the years the consistent trend for software is that each upgrade uses more RAM. I can buy it now or wait and risk that the particular type of RAM used by the motherboard will be hard to find a few years from now when I desperately need it. The motherboard box will tell me what type of RAM the motherboard accepts and in what sizes.

The motherboard with the CPU, RAM and cooling fan fastens into a case. There are hundreds of different types of cases ranging from the generic to the absurd. I go for the generic. I would need to buy a case that would accommodate the motherboard configuration and footprint and would conveniently accept two hard drives and a CD drive. Beyond that, size isn’t a consideration.

I would install two identical hard drives for the redundant RAID system and a CD drive for use to install software. Hard drives keep getting bigger and faster. I have two 80 meg hard drives that store five years of my practice. So far I’ve used about ¼ of their capacity. Here, I would buy whatever is on sale. The average drive now is over 200 meg. The CD drive will probably be the one I have on a shelf in my closet. Nothing has changed over the years for basic CD drives other than speed.

Once all the parts are put together according to the instructions accompanying the motherboard and case (it really is easy), and the mouse, keyboard, monitor, network cable, etc. are connected, I’m ready to install the operating system. When I buy a new motherboard, processor or hard drive, I am entitled to buy the operating system and some other types of software at OEM prices. (Original Equipment Manufacturer). The savings are significant. Network operating systems are about half price OEM compared to retail.

I would first fire up the new computer without the software installation disk and tweak the settings in the BIOS according to the instructions included with the motherboard. Setting up the RAID redundant drive system is also accomplished through the BIOS in accordance with the motherboard’s included instructions. Then the operating system disk goes into the CD drive and the system rebooted for installation. (The BIOS has to be set to allow the system to boot from the CD drive). Most bookstores have books that take you step by step through configuring the operating system to do what I want it to do. For instance, my current is set up to accept VPN connections over the Internet. The documentation that comes with the software won’t be as useful as an aftermarket book.

If you decide to build a computer, you can be assured that you have what you need to run your server-based software and perform the other functions important to your network setup. You can include everything you need but nothing that you don’t need, such as trial software to cause pop-ups and take up disk space. There is also no software hidden in the installation that sends marketing data to software vendors. Besides all that, it’s something to do that is a nice temporary diversion from the practice of law.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Once Again, A New Version of Amicus Attorney

By Gerry Morris

I have written several articles about the case management software offered by Amicus Attorney. I’m very familiar with the company and some of its products because I’ve used one version or another in my office for over 5 years. I started with Amicus Attorney version V, upgraded to version V+, and currently run the Small Firm Addition for the three lawyers and two full time staff members in my firm.

Along the way, I’ve resisted the temptation to upgrade to the first iteration of a new version of the product. I chose not to upgrade to Amicus Attorney X, the first web based version, and Amicus Attorney 7, the first version based on the Microsoft SQL data base technology, mostly because the postings on Amicus’ user forum were strongly negative about the products. Amicus Attorney X turned out to be a disaster for the company and severely damaged its reputation among its customer base. It followed up with Version 7 which was apparently released too early, judging from the number of bugs that inhabited the application in its first release. An upgrade a few months later addressed many of the problems, but more damage had been done.
Finally, Amicus Attorney employed a time honored troubleshooting procedure. When things wouldn’t work after changes were made, it went back to what worked before the changes. Amicus Attorney Version V+ was a good program. The problem with it is that it is based on the aging FoxPro database technology. This presented programmers with limitations for future improvements. The new SQL technology is all the rage, but, Amicus Attorney just couldn’t get right the new versions based on this more versatile engine. In order to keep its current customer based happy (me, for instance), Amicus Attorney released a new version of its product that amounted to Version V+ with several new features. I upgraded to Small Firm Addition and have found it to work flawlessly. The chief reason I upgraded was the addition of a much improved task module that allows be to see the tasks assigned to other members of my firm. That allows me to monitor the tasks I’ve assigned. Frankly, it’s still not as good as the task features in Outlook, but it will do.

In March of this year, Amicus Attorney released Amicus Attorney Premium Edition. This version is another SQL based application that allows unlimited users, (as opposed to the 10 user limit of FoxPro based Small Firm Edition). The feature list of the product (www.amicusattorney.com/products/prod_edition_comparison.html) shows traditional Amicus Attorney modules plus structural features designed for larger applications. Amicus represents that the Premium Edition can be configured for access over the Internet, a feature that Amicus has tried to implement in Amicus X and Version 7 with limited success. The new version also incorporates Citrix/ Terminal Services Support.

Scanning the user forum postings, it appears that this product has been fairly well received. The negative postings complain of rather minor installations issues that appear to be more operating system related than attributable to Amicus. One poster complained that this release seems to just be Version 7 with all the bugs fixed. If so, it would seem to be worth the upgrade, given the spotty record of Version 7.

I’ve written several times about why I like the general setup of Amicus Attorney. The program uses a graphical interface that is extremely intuitive. Each case file is viewed on the screen as an image of a manila folder with clasps holding pages containing contacts, events, accounting information, document links, etc. The training time for new staff is minimal, and someone of just about any level of technological savvy can work with it. The calendaring works flawlessly across all users. The new version of Professional Edition contains several features that provide more convenience than my Small Firm Edition. For instance, there is a “Favorites Module” that allows a user to make shortcuts to frequently visited locations in the program. There is the ability to log on from any workstation in the firm, because the program uses a ”thin client” workstation application that has minimal data stored locally. There is the ability to relate documents to contacts as well as files. There is also better integration with Microsoft Office including dynamic linking to documents.

The Professional Edition is intended for larger installations and its price reflects that market. For new installations the first license costs $699 and each additional license $599. An upgrade from Version 7 runs $249 for the first license and $199 for each additional license. Upgrades from Small Firm Edition or Version V+ go for $349 for the first license and $299 for each additional license.

Before buying Amicus Attorney 2008 – Premium Edition, I would contact a consultant that works with case management software to learn what users of the product have experienced.

Given Amicus Attorney’s struggles in recent years to produce a thin client, SQL based product, I would be cautious. However, initial signs are good for this version.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Even in a Reduced Paper Office a Shredder is Essential Equipment

By Gerry Morris

The subject of this month’s article is a device that isn’t really all that high tech. The reason I’m writing about it is because it works and works well. I’m talking about the piece of equipment that eats my junk mail, discarded drafts of documents, old credit cards, DVDs and CDs, paperclips and all. My topic is the Fellowes Powershred SB-97C Shredder.

Shredders aren’t as sexy to write about as high tech gadgets but when I find a piece of equipment that works as advertised and is priced reasonably I like to pass the information along. Even in my reduced paper office I still have a lot of waste paper to contend with. We print what we think are final copies of documents only to discover something that must be changed. I received documents from other sources that I review and decide not to keep or scan. I also receive a ton of junk mail every day just like everyone else. Regrettably the forests are going to be endangered for years to come.

All this paper has to go somewhere. The best way I’ve found to manage it is to have shredders in everyone’s office or workstation that is an end recipient of the paper flow. We shred it, and dispose of it. This obviously isn’t rocket science. The only challenge was to find shredders that are capable of handling the volume but don’t cost an arm and leg.

The first couple of shredders I tried couldn’t keep up the pace. I started with small shredders with capacity ratings of about 11 sheets at a time. These shredders overheated frequently causing them to shut down until they cooled. I eventually did a little more comparative shopping and purchased a Fellowes Powershred SB-97C. I then purchased another and another.

The 97C is a “confetti” shredder which means that it cross cuts the sheets into 5/32”x1 1/2“ particles. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to get any information from your discarded documents unless they really are serious about trying. It shreds up to 17 sheets of paper at a time and up to 204 sheets per minute. I’ve found this to be plenty of capacity for our volume of paper. Like all shredders, the 97C will shut down if it overheats but I’ve never had mine quit on me.

This shredder also cuts up credit cards, CDs and DVD, and just about anything else within reason. It will cut right through paperclips and staples so you don’t have to separate your documents before shredding them. It has a 10 gallon pull out wastebasket that accepts a plastic trash bag so it’s easy to get the shredded documents to the trash or recycling bin.
Features include a sensor on top near the intake slot that stops the shredder if hands get too close. It has the standard auto stop on jamming feature and a reverse switch.

Although Fellowes lists the suggested price as $419.98, the 97C sells for about $200 on line. (I just bought one from Amazon for $196). After about a year and a half of continuous use, I haven’t found a flaw in this machine.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Stuff I Use Every Day

By Gerry Morris

I’ve written about a variety of hardware and software products over the past couple of years. I’ve mostly written about gadgets and applications that either I or a close colleague use so that I can give you a first hand review of how it does or doesn’t work. Some of the products I’ve written about are now gathering dust somewhere, but there are a few that I’ve come to depend on to help me run my practice and my life in general. This month I want to briefly recap some of my past reviews and add one or two new ones to make up an all-star list of ten useful products. These products, listed in no particular order are the stuff I use every day and recommend. Some are pricey, but some are inexpensive or even free.

1. Amicus Attorney – Small Business Edition. This is the practice management software application I use in my office. I chose it over its competitors because the graphical user interface is the most intuitive in the field. It does everything I need it to do in my small firm practice and is extremely user friendly. I’ve also found it to be very reliable. You might also take a look at Time Matters for larger installations or more sophisticated functionality.

2. Google Desktop. I thought I would throw in something that is absolutely free. This program can be downloaded from, where else, Google.com. This desktop search engine indexes everything on your network and desktop PC much as Google’s Internet search engine indexes all the materials on the gazillion web sites on the World Wide Web. Type in what you are looking for in the program’s search box and, in less than a second, a list appears in a browser window with links to every relevant document, email, chat or previously visited web site. It’s amazing.

3. Splash ID. This program works with my Palm Treo. The product includes a desktop application and an application for the handheld. This program is basically a small database in which I enter all my web logon information, my credit card and bank account numbers, my wife’s clothes sizes, my frequent flier account numbers and so on. I can enter them in the desktop application and sync the information to my Treo. Splash ID allows me to carry with me all the information that I may need to get through a busy day of logging on, checking in, and paying up. Of course, all the info is password protected so I can safely keep it all in one place.

4. Publicdata.com. This is an online service that allows me to search driver’s license records in several states by name. There are also criminal records from several jurisdictions and a few state’s DMV records. The service costs a few cents a search but is well worth the meager cost. Not a day goes by that we don’t have occasion to find a current address for a witness or someone otherwise connected with something we’re working on.

5. Paperport. This document management program interfaces with our scanner and allows my legal assistant to drag and drop scan documents into Amicus Attorney. On each of our desktops we use Paperport’s stack and unstack feature to manipulate scanned documents. We can separate documents into individual pages, combine documents and turn scanned documents into fill-in-the-blank forms. We also use Paperport to convert documents into Adobe Acrobat pdf format.

6. Fujitsu sheetfeed scanners. The exact model of Fujitsu scanner I use, the 620C, has been out of production for some time. If the two I have ever wear out I’ll replace them with the current model. However, I don’t think that will happen anytime soon. These scanners operate at about 20 pages per minute and work flawlessly. We go months between paper jams and when they do occur, it’s usually because of a paperclip or staple. Speed is important but reliability is paramount. It doesn’t do any good to have a 50 page per minute scanner if the sheet feeder jams every 25 pages. From what I’ve read and heard, the newer Fujitsu models have carried on the tradition.

7. Palm Treo 755p. Apple iPhones are sexier, Blackberries are all the rage, but I prefer my Treo. The palm operating system enables me to take advantage of the thousands of low cost applications such as Splash ID mentioned above. I can create and edit Microsoft Word Documents and Excel Spreadsheets. I can even view PowerPoint presentations. I can listen to music on a MP3 player and to unabridged books downloaded from Audible.com. I can receive and send email when I’m out of my office. Of course, the standard calendar, contact and task functions are included and the Treo syncs with Amicus Attorney without first having to sync with Microsoft Outlook. My new 755p has more built in memory than its predecessors and a faster processor. Treo’s market share is declining but, for me, it’s still the best smartphone available.

8. Audible.com. This one is purely for entertainment. Audible.com is a wonderful web site where, I can download to my computer and ultimately on to my Treo, any one of thousands of popular books ranging from the classics to today’s best sellers. The membership fee is about $16.00 per month which entitles me to two books per month with no further cost. If I want more books than that, additional ones can be purchased. I can knock out the average book on about 4 or five trips to one of the surrounding counties for court appearances. However, something like the unabridged version of Moby Dick took about nineteen hours of total listening time. Audible.com is well worth the price.

9. Onlymyemail.com spam blocker. This is a web based spam blocker which means that it retrieves your mail from your ISP, filters it, and then delivers it to your desktop. All the spam is retained off site. After I wrote about this service several months ago, I received several favorable emails from readers who tried it. There are a couple of downsides. If you sign up for the basic version for $4 per month, there is about a 5 minute delay from the time your ISP receives an email until it reaches your desktop. The advanced version for about $30 per month eliminates this issue. Also, the basic version has an attachment size limitation. I suggest creating a second email account on your ISP strictly for sending and receiving large attachments.

10. Brother HL-5250DN Laser Printer. For years I was strictly a HP devotee when it came to laser printers. They were reliable as the sunrise and the consumables were widely available. I occasionally strayed to try some new brand and always regretted it. However, after reading several reviews of the Brother HL 5250DN, I decided to give it a try. The twenty something page per minute, (Brothers says thirty) dual sided, three paper bin (on the model I have) networkable printer performs like a champ. All of our PCs are connected to it via our network, which mean that there is no dedicated printer server PC that must remain turned on. The print quality is excellent and the consumables reasonably prices and easy to find. The purchase price for one complete with extra paper trays is around $260.

Thank you for the kind reviews several of you have given me about this column. I always enjoy the feedback. I also enjoy hearing about technology you use in your offices.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Mac vs. PC – Another Viewpoint

By Gerry Morris

From time to time in this column I’ve made comparisons between the PC and Mac platforms. I have always been a PC user. I’ve bought, built and used PC’s since the mid 80’s. I am admittedly ignorant of the pros can cons of Macs other than what I’ve learned through conversations with friends and colleagues who use them. Uniformly, they rave about them. This month I decided to turn this forum over to a dedicated Mac user. Dale Johnson practices law in Austin. His practice is comprised mostly of civil litigation.

WHY I SWITCHED TO A MAC

Dale Ossip Johnson

There is an old adage in the computer industry. Software developers and hardware engineers love the software and hardware which they know the best. The corollary is that the software developers and hardware engineers are the greatest critics of the software and hardware which were not developed or used by them. The same may be said about the end user. At the personal computer level, the hardware world, with some minor variances, is divided into two competing groups, PC and Apple. The PC computer since its inception in 1981 has always been built on the Intel processor and to a significantly lesser degree the Advance Micro Systems processor. Until recently, The Apple computer was based upon the Motorola PowerPC processor, developed by IBM and Motorola. In 2006 Apple moved to the Intel platform. Each platform has an operating system which is unique, both as to architecture as well as functionality. And, without intermediary software, which for the most part was complex to use and too often unreliable, there was no compatibility between the the different operating systems and their associated applications software. Many of the adherents of each group were fanatical and vociferous about the superior quality of their chosen computer system and the inferior quality of the other. Notwithstanding that PC and Apple now share the Intel processor as a platform, the fundamental philosophical and technological differences in operating systems and OS specific applications continues unabated as does the debate between their strongest adherents. Correspondingly competition between the hardware manufacturers and the software developers for each system to convince the end user that their products and software are uniquely reliable, functional and useful has become a major battlefield.

The use of computers in the legal profession parallels other professions, businesses and trades. Indeed, because of the underlying intellectual and fact driven aspects of legal services, the computer has become an essential, if not mandatory, tool in the practice of the law. No attorney can effectively practice law and meet his or her professional obligations to the client without effectively employing computers, personally as well as at non-attorney staff level. Indeed, I suggest to do otherwise may very well be a basis for legal malpractice.

Most lawyers lack a technical background and expertise in computer science at any but the most basic of levels. The average lawyer wants to practice law and not practice computer. Regardless of the size of the law office, lawyers want their computer systems, which for purposes of this article I define to include, the computer, its operating system and application software, to satisfy six fundamental requirements: The system must be reliable, functional, stable, cost effective, flexible and user friendly. My experience with the PC hardware since 1981 has been that it was consistently cost effective and reliable. However, the prevailing Microsoft developed and related system and application software have been more problematical. From the operating system standpoint It has taken Microsoft over twenty years to reach a state of reliability and stability. Even today, many third party software developers introduce into the marketplace software with stability defects which are often attributable to the peculiar centralized and controlled architecture of the Microsoft operating system. Moreover, the latest Microsoft operating system, VISTA, continues to have configuration issues both at the hardware level as well as the software level, particularly with regard to older hardware and software, and frequently requires ongoing technical support, whether in the form of onsite by knowledgeable employees or from third party vendors. Some configuration issues also appear to exist in Microsoft XP operating system, but not to the same degree as VISTA. In contrast the Apple Computer system has had a history of not only reliability of hardware, although at premium prices, but also stability of software, particularly its Mac OS X operating system. However, Apple also had a well deserved reputation for having limited availability of software, particularly at the business or enterprise level. The PC computer systems with Microsoft operating systems and Microsoft developed or related software have become pervasive and comprehensive resulting in Microsoft and its developers capturing over 90% of today’s PC market place. With Apple’s move to the Intel processor, the software gap between it and Microsoft is rapidly diminishing and, based on my personal usage, no longer meaningful to me.

When Apple announced in 2005 that it was moving its hardware platform to the Intel processor, I began to give serious consideration to moving my law office to an Apple Computer system. After evaluating a number of different types of Apple computers, its Mac OS X operating system and available applications, in December of 2006 I decided to replace my existing PC system and associated Microsoft software with an Apple system in which the iMac is the core computer. Some of the material factors in my decision were:

• With the use of special software, the Apple system was two computers in one. It could run both Apple and Microsoft application software seamlessly and share files;
• All of my Microsoft data files were easily transferable to the Apple system and were totally useable by both Apple and Microsoft software;
• Mainstream Microsoft software had been ported to the Apple platform, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat and Quickbooks. Other lawyer specific software was in development;
• Apple computers easily could integrate into PC based systems and exchange and share files;
• Apple computers were reliable, stable and required little, if any, outside tech support;
• Mac OS X operating system was compatible with not only new peripheral hardware but also my existing peripheral computer hardware such as printers and was trouble free in configuration;
• Although the Apple computers were slightly more costly than many PC computers, the cost was more than offset by the lower requirement for technical support and corresponding increase in productivity;
• Installation of new software was quick, efficient and virtually trouble free. Moreover, moving software from one Apple computer to another was equally easy, efficient and trouble free.
• The license fees for a substantial part of Apple software, such has the Mac OS X operating system were significantly less expensive than Microsoft. This became particularly true when Microsoft released Vista;
• Exposure to viruses and third party computer attacks was almost non-existent.
• The apparent speed of business applications was significantly superior to that of PC. Even the startup in the morning took only about 10 seconds.
• For $100.00 per year Apple provided telephone support which is readily accessible, comprehensive and effective.
• Synchronizing data, address books and calendars between Apple computers was quick and easy.
• For $100.00 per year .Mac services provided a plethora of utilities and services including online storage and online synchronizing of address books, calendars and other information between Apple Computers at different locations;
• Backing up of computers was seamless and trouble free;
• Mac OS X had unique features which were far superior to Microsoft XP. Ultimately the same was true regarding VISTA. An example is time machine which stores apple computer information and data in such a manner that you can go to any specific date and restore the computer to the condition that it was on that date.

With the limitation of space imposed upon me, it is impossible to adequately compare the Apple Computer system with the PC Microsoft based system. However, in summary, although Apple continues to market its systems as “consumer systems,” in fact they meet the needs of both the consumer and the business environment for not only the solo practitioner but also the multi-person law firm. Apple has recently released some enterprise level systems which should be able to handle the needs of even the largest law firms. In a like manner, the Apple Computer systems have access to all of the existing and future software, regardless of whether it is Apple or Microsoft developed.

There are many online articles written by lawyers and their experiences with Apple Computers. A few which I suggest are worth reviewing are Apple Briefs - Improving Your Law Practice with Macintosh, www.applebriefs.com?why-use-a-mac-in-your-law-firm/; www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1184869659955; http://www.themaclawyer.com/the_mac_lawyer/2008/01/law-related-mac.html; and www.maclaw.org/.

I consider my switch to Apple Computers as being one of the best business decisions which I have made. It has allowed me to withdraw from the non-productive activity of providing technical support to my staff and colleagues for their PC computers and Microsoft operating system and applications and return to the full time practice of the law with a lot more enjoyment, indeed fun.


E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

An Inexpensive Solution for Improving Cell Phone Reception Inside

By Gerry Morris

A lot of us have become dependent on our smartphones and cell phones for calls, emails and other functions. Most of us can take for granted that we’ll have an adequate signal to allow us to use the functions on our Treos, Blackberrys, iPhones, etc., that require network access. But, there are exceptions to signal availability even in areas serviced by your carrier.

There are times when the signal may be degraded by the building that you are in to the point where it is unreliable, or terrain features such as hills may block the signal. My wife and I recently moved to a home in a hilly area of Travis County. Our house sits on the side of a hill and is of stucco construction. The net effect of the location and construction was that we received only a very weak Sprint signal inside our home. The signal was so weak that almost all calls of any length were dropped. It was also difficult to download email or use the other web enabled functions on our Treos. Like many of you, we use our cell phones as our primary means of placing and receiving calls even at home, so this was a problem.

We had adequate signal strength outside and at the height of our rooftop, so I looked at ways to bring that signal into our home. There turned out to be a simple, inexpensive solution. Several companies make devices most often referred to as signal extenders or signal repeaters. They all work basically the same. An antenna is placed in an area where there is adequate signal, usually outdoors or in an attic. The antenna is connected, usually by coaxial cable, to a device located inside a structure that receives the signal and rebroadcasts it into the area where the signal is weak or non-existent.

I looked at a few of these devices and decided to purchase the zBoost YX500 PCS manufactured by Wi-Ex. You can read more about their products at www.wi-ex.com. The zBoost is available in three models. There is a model that works with PCS (1900 MHz) phones except Nextel. Basically, it works with CDMA, GSM and TDMA networks operating at that frequency. That is the model I purchased for my Sprint phones. This model also works with T-Mobile, Metro PCS, Cricket and Suncom. There is a model that works only with CEL phones in the 800MHz range used by Cingular, Verizon and Altel. It supports the associated networks, CDMA, GSM, TDMA AMPS, GPRS, EDGE, 1xRTT and EVDO. This model is designated YX500-CEL. There is also a model that works with both in case you want to provide coverage for phones on different frequencies. That model is designated YX510-PCS-CEL.

If all this alphabet soup of networks is confusing, there are a couple of ways to determine which model is the correct one for your phone to save you from having to spend about $100 dollars more for the model that covers both band ranges. Most phones have an info screen that tells you on which frequency the phone operates. For instance, on my Treo 755p pressing the dropdown menu button from the phone screen and selecting “Options” gets you to a menu selection called “phone info.” There, a screen lists the operating frequency of the phone as 1900 MHz. You can also call your carrier if you have the time and patience and find out the operating specs of your phone or visit their web site. Fry’s Electronics, where I bought my zBoost, had one of the dual band units set up so that I could place a call on my cell phone near it and the indicator lights on the unit would reveal which model would work with my phone.

As I said, the single band units are less expensive. I paid about $210 for my YX500-PCS. The reason I chose this brand was primarily because of its review on CNet.com. I’ve come to rely on CNet over the years to help me pick a product out of the competitors. CNet gave zBoost an “excellent” rating scoring it as 8.6 out of a possible 10. Also, the product appeared to be easy to set up. It proved to be so.

The product comes with a small antenna and mounting bracket that can be placed inside an attic or outside in an area where there is sufficient signal. The antenna connects to the indoor repeating unit via high quality coaxial cable of the type used in most homes now for cable or satellite TV. It comes with a 35’ cable. Of course, it is often a challenge to figure out how to get the cable from the outside to the inside of the structure with the least amount of damage to the wall. Wi-Ex sells an accessory that is basically a piece of thin, flat coaxial cable with connections on either end. This piece can be placed at the bottom of a window to allow the cable to enter through the closed window. Fortunately, our house was constructed with wiring for both satellite and cable TV. I hooked the antenna to the unused satellite TV input on the outside of the house and hooked the repeater to the satellite TV connection inside.

Once the cable has been run and connected to the unit on the inside, all you have to do is plug in the AC power cord for the repeater unit. The extended signal radiates out from the unit so I placed it more or less in a central location in the living area of our home.

The product works as advertised. The Sprint signal in our home is much improved. I haven’t had a single dropped call when I’m in range of the repeater unit. If I am out of range I can walk into the area that is covered without interrupting my call. The manufacturer says that the coverage can be up to 2500 sq. ft. That can only be achieved under ideal conditions and with outdoor antenna upgrade. The range also depends on the strength of the signal at the location of the antenna. In my case, the signal, even outside, is average, so my unit out of the box probably covers about half that area. I intend to upgrade the antenna and possibly add another unit in a different area of the house.

The bottom line is the zBoost is a quick fix for low signal strength inside of a building where there is adequate signal outside or in the attic area. Make sure you get the right model for your phone. The only installation challenge is bringing the cable inside to the repeater unit. Other than that it’s just a matter of connecting the cable and plugging it in.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.

Another Voice Over IP Alternative

By Gerry Morris

Several columns ago I wrote about voice over IP (VOIP) phone systems as an alternative to traditional Ma Bell type hard wired phones. VOIP systems convert the analogue sound to digital information that is then transmitted over the Internet and again converted to analogue sound on the other end. The advantage of VOIP systems over traditional systems is lower monthly cost for the same features and minimal capital investment. The downside has been historically been inferior sound quality and consistency. We all know that the Internet has good days and slow days. Sound quality for a VOIP system depends on consistent Internet speed. From my conversations with my colleagues that have made the jump to VOIP I’ve learned that the quality has improved dramatically to the point where it is seldom an issue.

In the past year I faced having to make the choice between buying out my office mate’s share of our Panasonic phone and voicemail system or starting over from scratch. As it turned out my office mate moved to an office where it would have been impractical to install our phone system so I kept it. Before I decided to keep my existing system, however, I looked into VOIP.

At the time the best recommendation I received was for a product from Packet 8. Their system amounts to an offsite virtual PBX. You purchase the VOIP phones from them that connect directly to your Ethernet network. The system uses whatever Internet access provider you have chosen for your office. Unless you dedicate an Internet connection specifically for your phone system your VOIP will share bandwidth with every other Internet user in your office. After a modest initial installation charge the Packet 8 system costs around $40 per phone. The service includes voicemail, and a host of call management features. One great feature common to most VOIP systems is that a phone can be plugged into the Internet in Austin, Texas or Sydney, Australia and be connected to the same office system. The phone in a location remote from the main office can have a phone number from the same series of numbers as the main office and can be configured as an extension of the main system. The drawback of the Packet 8 system is that the sound quality and reliability is a function of your ISP and the amount of bandwidth available.

Recently, I had a conversation with Amy Hess, a lawyer with an office practice in East Texas, about some of the technology she uses in her office. Amy’s practice involves transaction work for clients located overseas and in several major cities in the United States rather than in the area where her physical office is. Her phone system and long distance service is very important to her and she doesn’t want to spend a bundle every month on a receptionist. She told me about a product called AccessLine that she uses and has had good results. I checked it out at www.accerssline.com.

AccessLine offers the features common to other VOIP setups: voicemail, low cost long distance, no geographical limits for extensions, etc. There are two aspects of the product that distinguish it from Packet 8.

First, AccessLine works over a dedicated Internet connection maintained by AccessLine. Nothing else uses the bandwidth and the speed of the connection is tailored to the size of the phone system. Second, the system can be configured to provide phone service to an existing hard wired PBX system. This means that, for instance, if I want to go with VOIP to reduce my monthly costs because of the lower monthly service charge and long distance rates, I can get rid of my existing phone lines and plug in “lines” from the VOIP interface in their place. I could continue to use the phone system I paid dearly for and wouldn’t have to rewire my office for a new system.

The monthly cost of AccessLline depends on how many lines are needed, which basically means how many simultaneous calls the system must be capable of handing since the digital packets travel to the Internet system over one line. A hardware device is provided to split the access to the Internet into individual analogue lines to interface with a traditional PBX. Four lines cost $150 per month which includes 2000 minutes of free long distance. There is a $400 one time installation fee. The medium package offers capabilities of from 5 to 24 lines. Five lines are $184 per month with each additional line costing $34.

A full list of the features appears on the web site linked above. The web site says that your AccessLine numbers can be listed in the white pages of the local phone book. I was curious to find out if the number could be listed in the Yellow Pages. I contacted AccessLine customer service and found out that listings in the Yellow Pages can be had for a price. I suppose I should have known that.

The bottom line is that AccessLine appears to be a good alternative to Packet 8 if you want dedicated bandwidth for your phone system, especially if you already have an analogue PBX that you want to continue to use.

I want to take a moment to wish all my readers Happy Holidays and to thank you for the great feedback you’ve given me on this column. I’ve received a lot of emails and several calls from you with questions and comments. I try to return them all as my practice permits. I really enjoy hearing about how you’ve put technology to work in your offices. It gives me ideas for my practice as well as for my office.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at egm@egmlaw.com.

More on the Latest Amicus Attorney Upgrade

By Gerry Morris

Last month I wrote about information I had just received concerning a new product offering by Amicus Attorney. Amicus Attorney is a widely used law practice management application. The interesting thing about the new product, Small Office Edition, is that it is an upgrade from Amicus’ previous Version V+ rather than from its newer Version 7. I wrote about some of the problems Amicus has experienced with Version 7 and how I have decided to wait until the kinks are worked out before upgrading .from Version V+.

In my office Version V+ has been bulletproof. I have five users and we use most of the features extensively. Because I work mostly on a flat fee basis, I have not utilized the time keeping features to a great extent but we rely heavily on the calendaring, contacts, tasks, document generation, note taking and document management features. However, there were a few features lacking from Version V+ that I thought would have made it more convenient and useful. Most if not all of these were addressed in Version 7 but I didn’t want to risk the upgrade. I did purchase the upgrade to Small Business Edition last month and am happy to report that the upgrade went well with only minor problems. SBE basically amounts to Version V+ Advanced Edition with several features added that I’m sure were often requested. Since I have written some negative things about Amicus Attorney in past columns I thought it only fair that I report my mostly positive experiences with this upgrade. Also, I’ll give you the practical view of the upgraded features with my wholly gratuitous suggestions to Amicus for future enhancements.

First of all, as I said, the upgrade went smoothly. One of the attractive things to me about Amicus Attorney is that the program is relatively simple to install and configure. I do these tasks myself so I want it to stay simple and not take much time. The upgrade of my system from Version V+ Advanced Edition to the new Small Business Edition took about three hours including installing the new workstation software on each user’s computer. The only small glitch was that I had to reinstall the program on one workstation because of some problem with the server recognizing the user’s license. This problem took about 15 minutes to diagnose and solve.

Once the system was up and running one new feature was immediately apparent. There is a new navigation pane to the left of the program windows that makes it easier to go from one module to another. This is a bit easier than the floating task bar of previous versions. Once I started typing notes on a phone call, I discovered the new spell check feature. It pops up with suggestions for misspelled words. Unfortunately, the users in my office including me use a lot of abbreviations in notes and messages. The spell check interpreted the abbreviations as misspelled words and quickly became an annoyance. We unanimously decided to disabled it. I suggest that Amicus change this feature to work like Microsoft Word to flag misspelled words and offer the option of running spell check rather than making it real time interactive.

One of the most useful new features is the improved task management module. One problem with Version V+ and previous versions was that assigning tasks to someone else and tracking progress on the task was extremely cumbersome. If I assigned the task to myself and my associate or paralegal it would show up on the todo list of my calendar along with the ones I assigned to only myself. This made the todo list too long to use efficiently. If I assigned the task only to another person in my office I had to go to the group calendar and view their tasks one day at a time or go to each individual file and view the todos to monitor progress on the assigned tasks. The new task module in the Small Business Edition allows me to filter all assigned tasks in my office by the person to whom they are assigned and view only those I want to view. From the task module I can click on a task and send an email to the team member to whom it is assigned inquiring of the status. This is a big improvement. However, I still suggest that Amicus consider a separate task window view for those tasks assigned by a particular user to others so that only tasks so assigned can be viewed. Outlook has a similar feature that allows tasks to be viewed by assignment.

Amicus Small Firm Edition adds new Outlook email integration functions to those found in Version V+ Advanced Edition. SFE allows electronic signatures to be automatically placed on outgoing emails generated from within Amicus. Heretofore, I had to manually add the signature before sending the email. More robust integration with the email function of Outlook would be a welcomed improvement. I don’t use the communication module of Amicus to manage my email because it doesn’t provide me with enough options. I receive a lot of email that I scan the content of in the preview pane of Outlook and then move to another folder for storage. I can’t do this from within Amicus Version V+ or SME. It is time consuming to use the communications module to view the mail I want to save with a file and use Outlook to move emails to storage folders. I find myself not saving very many of my incoming emails to files. They remain in my Outlook folders and I retrieve them with Google Desktop Search.

Amicus Small Firm Edition adds Outlook synchronization for appointments, tasks and contacts. This feature was previously available only on the Client Server Edition of Amicus Attorney. The main benefit of this feature, in my opinion, is to give users a means to use Blackberrys and Windows devices with Amicus by syncing them with Outlook rather than directly with the Amicus program. The sync feature is a bit tricky to set up because the various fields have to be mapped between the two applications. I synced my Amicus SBE with Outlook and found that new appointments synced fine but preexisting appointments sometimes didn’t. Since I use a Palm device this feature is not currently important to me, so I didn’t spend any time trying to correct the problem, nor did I call Amicus support to get their help. I haven’t seen an outcry about this on the Amicus user forum so I’m going to assume it’s a fixable problem. Otherwise, if I ever decide to permanently turn on the calendar sync feature, I’ll either figure out how to fix it or devise a workaround until all my future appointments have been created after the date I activated the process. I probably will continue to sync my contacts with Outlook so I can use email distribution lists generated by Outlook. Also, when someone emails be their contact information in a vcard attachment, I can save it to Outlook and it will appear in Amicus. I would like to see Amicus provide direct conduits for syncing Windows devices. There is really no compelling reason to worry with Outlook calendar and task integration other than to sync with a non-Palm handheld device.

Another feature added to SFE that has previously been available in the Client Server Edition of V+ is automatic timed backups. I’ve tried to remember to do periodic backups of my data but I don’t always. SFE can be set to do periodic backups as often as necessary.

Duplicate contacts can be combined by individual users of SFE rather than just by the administrator. I find that dispute our best efforts we have duplicated several contacts with each entry assigned to several files. By using the combining feature the two contacts can be merged so that the files with which each copy of the contact was associated retains an entry for that contact. Here I might add that the ability to create a distribution list independent of a file would be nice. There are several workarounds to accomplish this but none I’ve found are as easy to use as the Outlook distribution list feature.

Small Business Edition retains the Secondary Office feature that allows installation of the program on a laptop and transfer of data back and forth by packing a “briefcase” with the data from one for transfer to the other. This is an extremely useful feature that has not yet been incorporated into Version 7.

The drawback of SBE is that it is limited to 10 users. I haven’t yet determined if the database size is limited to around 2 gig as was V+ Advanced Edition but I suspect that it is.. The Client Server Edition of V+ with unlimited user capability has not been upgraded. Larger installation will have to go with Amicus Attorney 7 or stick with Version V+ Client Server Edition if already installed. Amicus’ web site no longer offers any of the V+ versions for sale on line.

It cost me almost $600 to upgrade my five users to SBE. The main reason I upgraded was for the enhanced task management, automatic backups and Outlook integration in case I want to change to a Windows based smartphone. I probably would have spent the money just for the task module and automatic backups.

Amicus V+ and SBE are still very reliable and usable products. They are not as feature rich as Time Matters or even Amicus Version 7, but for a small office like mine, that’s part of the appeal. Amicus does what I want it to do, especially with the latest enhancements. A program can be too complex much like a cell phone with 200 features, 195 of which are never used. I just want Amicus to do well the things I want it to do and nothing else. It is still the most intuitive practice management system on the market as far as I am concerned meaning that learning curve for new users flattens quickly. Hopefully, Version 7 will evolve into as reliable an application as its predecessor. Until it does, I’m sticking with the Small Business Edition.