Monthly Archives: July 2009

Jul 16 2009

Getting A Charge Out Of Your iPhone By Putting A Charge Into It

Love that iPhone, but hate how it eats through power? Art of the iPhone lists several charging options for restoring the phone’s life. Each of the options have their benefits and a combination of several should suit for all possible red zone scenarios. The list includes: the standard dock-to-USB cable that comes with the phone; the small adapter-sized wall charger into which the USB cable can be inserted; various dock options; the handy car-charger; iPhone cases with built in batteries (check out the ever-so-cool Mophie Juice Pack Air); portable USB battery; and, a nifty wireless pad and case combo that permits charging by simply placing the phone on the pad, by WildCharge.

How do you make the most of the charge you have? About.com has twelve suggestions for extending the iPhone’s ever-so-short battery life. These include: enabling the ambient light sensor in the phone to permit automatic brightness adjustment; reduce the default screen brightness setting; turn off bluetooth; turn off 3G; turn off Wi-Fi; turn of the GPS location service; turn off the data push; extend the length of time between server requests for e-mail; shorten the time to trigger auto-lock / sleep; avoid games and video when battery life is at a premium; reduce sleep/wake cycles; and, well, use the charging options noted above more frequently, of course!

What do I do? I tend not to employ as many of the charge-saving options noted above, and find I can eek out about a day of average use, including internet and email and about a half-hour to an hour of calls. I make sure I have a charging option at all of my regular stops, including home, office and car. I use the USB cable and wall charger for trips, a Kensington car charger / mount in my car and a basic cable car charger in other cars.

I think that I have killed the battery dead only once. Not bad for seven months of fairly heavy use!

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Jul 15 2009

New: Free Online Law Journal About Free & Online

Merging the ideas of free and open source into both the subject and the product, Andrew Katz has launched a new Free and Open Source Law Review online. Taken from the site:

The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review (IFOSS L. Rev.) is a collaborative legal publication aiming to increase knowledge and understanding among lawyers about Free and Open Source Software issues. Topics covered include copyright, licence implementation, licence interpretation, software patents, open standards, case law and statutory changes.

Sections include case law reviews, full-length research articles, book reviews and ‘tech watch’ reports by non-lawyers. Articles are accepted for publication via the Review’s web site, and are subject to anonymous peer review where appropriate.

The Editorial Committee of the Review is drawn from the membership of the European Legal Network, a non-partisan professional network of Free Software legal experts, and its composition rotates regularly among network members. The network is facilitated by Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), but the membership extends across a broad spectrum of interests engaging in Free Software across four continents. The Review itself receives financial and administrative support from the NLNet Foundation.

Volume 1, Number 1 (2009) is up and running at the jump above. Oh, and you can follow it on Twitter too – @ifosslr.

Hat tip to BoingBoing blog.

Open Source Law Review

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Jul 14 2009

Use Your Ribbon For More Than Tying A Bow

In honor of Microsoft‘s announcement about the upcoming Office 2010, I thought I might talk about “the ribbon.” Office 2003 users may ignore this post if they wish, but 2007 and those waiting for Office 2010 should perk their ears.

Have you gotten a handle on the infamous “ribbon”?

Office Ribbon

“What’s the “ribbon?” you ask.  According to Wikipedia, “[t]he ‘Ribbon User Interface’ is a task-orientated Graphical User Interface (GUI). It features a central menu button, widely known as the ‘Office Button’. The Ribbon Interface has been introduced into Microsoft Office 2010.” In other words, its that strip of commands adorning the top of each program in the Office suite offering a changing set of buttons for tools as you select one of the categories at the very top of the screen contained in the tabs. The tab commands are relevant to whatever program you are using.

Office 2007 Image

You can minimize the ribbon with a click.

The ribbon and related functionality is, by far, the biggest stumbling block for users migrating from Office 2003 to 2007 or later. So, in an effort to help those still stuck in 2003 prepare for 2010, I thought I might share a link to Microsoft’s “ribbon” page, with overview of the ribbon and toolbars, a video demo of the ribbon, tools, tutorials, demos, interactive tour and more. If you really aren’t doing well with the ribbon using the “hunt and peck” method, you might try some of the helpful features Microsoft is offering. A nice overview, falling just short of an admission that the “ribbon” might as well be written in some dead language, based on the average user response to it.

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Jul 14 2009

The Long Arm Of The Law – Anti-Texting Edition

LONDON - FEBRUARY 27: A sign on the M25 orbit...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Makes perfect sense when you are behind the wheel – make sure that your fingers are not doing the talking. Not everyone shares this sentiment, however. It behooves lawyers to have the lowdown on the laws regarding driving while texting – to protect themselves when they are tempted and to be prepared for those clients who may have gotten their fingers burnt, so to speak.

Jalopnik offers quick and easy visual maps for determining how states are handling legislation regarding texting, which may not expressly or explicitly fall under cell phone driving laws or driver distraction laws. This is a barebones color-coded series of maps, which does not give offer links to relevant legislation. Furthermore, these maps are going to change radically as time (and laws) pass. But I was able to determine quickly from the maps that, while there is nothing yet on the books in Massachusetts, there is legislation pending. Enough to set me on the path to legislative research on the question.

The bigger point to be made here is that even though technology affords us the ability to singletask or multitask in new and exciting ways it does not grant us the license to do so at all times. We, the “drivers” of technology, need to engage it responsibly at all times. Sometimes, that means we need to “drop out of the fast lane” and, if necessary, hold off until tomorrow what should not be done today while driving on a car trip. That includes shaving, putting on makeup, and reading the paper too. Sheesh!

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Jul 14 2009

BlackBerry Owners Are Social Too!

Image representing Research In Motion as depic...
Image via CrunchBase

Today marks the opening of MyBlackBerry, a new community site for BlackBerry owners offering a portal to online communication and collaboration among the pinstriped set. While it is not the first such site devoted to BlackBerry devotees, it is the first official site sanctioned by the BlackBerry bush, RIM. The “social” features of the site include individual profiles, community forums and application ratings and reviews.

Nice to see BlackBerry officially  getting hip to the online tip. If you need help deciding between that Blackberry Storm and Blackberry Bold, seems MyBlackBerry is the place to go.

Hat tip to ReadWriteWeb.

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Jul 14 2009

From The Clever Tip Box: Save Twitter Info Using Tweetdeck and Evernote

Image representing TweetDeck as depicted in Cr...
Image via CrunchBase

My problem with Twitter, which I am guessing is shared,  is that the information blasts past like leaves floating on a raging river, making it difficult to pull and save the wothwhile bits. Sure you can “star” tweets and then go back later to manually collect. But I saw this on Lifehacker this morning and think it is a fabulous tip:  send and save the valuable Twitter tweets using Tweetdeck and Evernote.

Tweetdeck is great for sifting through the torrent to find the gold in the first instance. Tweetdeck also allows you to email tweets via your own email client. Evernote permits notating via email – provided you are using Evernote’s universal capture system. You can then stream to RSS, your phone client or your desktop RSS reader. Automatic for the people!

Thanks Steve Ruble (East Coast Blogging) and Lifehacker for the nice suggestion.

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Jul 14 2009

Zimmerman's Legal Research Guide Free and Online

Andrew Zimmerman, Director of Library Services at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC in Baltimore, Maryland, has been compiling tips, tricks and tools for legal research into a “guide” over the past several years. He calls his guide, which started as a collection of notes and papers, a “work in progress.” Zimmerman’s “work in progress”, a/k/a “An Online Encyclopedia for Legal Researchers”, is now being offered online for free at LexisNexis InfoPro.  The guide offers alphabetical browsing by topic, as wll as keyword searching, and covers a broad range.

Just for fun, I hit the jump to “insurance.” Zimmerman offers this guidance in the first couple of introductory paragraphs:

Statutes, regulations, insurance department opinions, and other primary materials are published for all 50 states in the multi-volume National Insurance Law Service (NILS), or you can get them from each state’s statutes, administrative codes, etc. In addition, most insurance materials are available on Westlaw – either in the Domestic Insurance Compliance Materials database (MULTI-INS) or the individual state or practice area insurance law databases (see the Westlaw Database Directory or call Westlaw at 1-800-773-2889 for assistance).

The leading insurance law treatises are Appleman’s Insurance law and practice (Matthew Bender) and Couch on Insurance (West). Appleman is available on Lexis (INSURE;APLMAN). Couch is available on Westlaw (COUCH).

There are some full-text secondary source materials in a Westlaw insurance databases, notably materials by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and law review articles. To find insurance-related articles, search Westlaw’s INSNEWS database or the appropriate files in the Lexis INSURE library. Alternatively, you can search the abstracts of the Insurance Periodicals Index (Dialog File 169), which probably covers more periodicals.

The Davis Library at the School for Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science (formerly the College of Insurance) in New York City is an excellent source for insurance-related materials. They do research and document delivery for students, faculty and members of the Insurance Society of New York; non-members can use the library only by coming in person and purchasing a day pass. For more information, visit the Library’s Web site or call the Library at 212-815-9263.

Ad you can see, the Guide also offers links to related materials.

I appreciate Zimmerman’s (and LexisNexis’) evenhanded recommendations regarding materials available on Westlaw – it encourages the feeling that the Guide is offering an objective  snapshot of where to find information. And while the entry is simplistic from the point of view of a veteren insurance law practitioner, I would find  entries on unfamiliar topics a great starting point for research in uncharted waters.

Thanks Andrew and thanks LexisNexis for another useful research tool at the right price!

Hat tip to Ross-Blakely Law Library blog

Jul 14 2009

Zimmerman’s Legal Research Guide Free and Online

Andrew Zimmerman, Director of Library Services at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC in Baltimore, Maryland, has been compiling tips, tricks and tools for legal research into a “guide” over the past several years. He calls his guide, which started as a collection of notes and papers, a “work in progress.” Zimmerman’s “work in progress”, a/k/a “An Online Encyclopedia for Legal Researchers”, is now being offered online for free at LexisNexis InfoPro.  The guide offers alphabetical browsing by topic, as wll as keyword searching, and covers a broad range.

Just for fun, I hit the jump to “insurance.” Zimmerman offers this guidance in the first couple of introductory paragraphs:

Statutes, regulations, insurance department opinions, and other primary materials are published for all 50 states in the multi-volume National Insurance Law Service (NILS), or you can get them from each state’s statutes, administrative codes, etc. In addition, most insurance materials are available on Westlaw – either in the Domestic Insurance Compliance Materials database (MULTI-INS) or the individual state or practice area insurance law databases (see the Westlaw Database Directory or call Westlaw at 1-800-773-2889 for assistance).

The leading insurance law treatises are Appleman’s Insurance law and practice (Matthew Bender) and Couch on Insurance (West). Appleman is available on Lexis (INSURE;APLMAN). Couch is available on Westlaw (COUCH).

There are some full-text secondary source materials in a Westlaw insurance databases, notably materials by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and law review articles. To find insurance-related articles, search Westlaw’s INSNEWS database or the appropriate files in the Lexis INSURE library. Alternatively, you can search the abstracts of the Insurance Periodicals Index (Dialog File 169), which probably covers more periodicals.

The Davis Library at the School for Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science (formerly the College of Insurance) in New York City is an excellent source for insurance-related materials. They do research and document delivery for students, faculty and members of the Insurance Society of New York; non-members can use the library only by coming in person and purchasing a day pass. For more information, visit the Library’s Web site or call the Library at 212-815-9263.

Ad you can see, the Guide also offers links to related materials.

I appreciate Zimmerman’s (and LexisNexis’) evenhanded recommendations regarding materials available on Westlaw – it encourages the feeling that the Guide is offering an objective  snapshot of where to find information. And while the entry is simplistic from the point of view of a veteren insurance law practitioner, I would find  entries on unfamiliar topics a great starting point for research in uncharted waters.

Thanks Andrew and thanks LexisNexis for another useful research tool at the right price!

Hat tip to Ross-Blakely Law Library blog

Jul 12 2009

Use Motion To Explain Media To The Uninitiated

JISCNeed quick visual explanations of all that the Web has to offer? Why spend the time doing it yourself when you can check out JISC’s animations on subjects ranging from social media, podcasting, RSS feeds, collaborative writing, and microblogging. This vids are created with the rank beginner in mind, so they are perfect for underlining an explanation to the rest of the firm or Bar Association audience about why lawyers need to get hip to new technology and modes of communication.

These are the first few offerings. JISC plans to add more in August, including vids on blogging, social bookmarking, communications, and digital identity.

JISC is composed of senior managers, academics and technology experts working in UK higher education. Its work reflects the present and future needs of the education and research communities. JISC seeks to facilitate collaboration between education and research institutions, with a focus on technology.

Hat tip to ResourceShelf.

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Jul 12 2009

A Slideshow You Will Want To Sit Through

LSNTAPLSNTAP offers up a fantastic slide show of Fifty Tech Tips for Tough Economic Times. The hefty presentation is filled with free and open-source tools and tips on how to make the most of them in your law practice. And these tips are only for the month of July! Download the PowerPoint and sit back and learn a few things you may not have already known about some of your favorites, as well as some new options.

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