Affinity Law Office Technology Blog

Pocket-sized PC hits market

The really big product news this week is that Staples is now carrying the new Sony UX180P micro PC.  But don't rush to your local store.  It is available only on-line.  The introductory price is $200 off at $1,599.98.  This is a fully functional Windows XP machine with an ultra low voltage Intel Core Solo processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 30 GB hard drive, and a 4.5 inch touch screen.  It has built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking ((802.11a/b/g), built-in Bluetooth networking, two built-in cameras, a built-in microphone and speakers.  It also comes with a port replicator to ease connections with full-sized peripherals.  Fortunately, it comes with Windows XP Professional, allowing it to connect to office networks running as a domain.

The built-in keyboard is not for extensive touch-typing, but otherwise this PC will do just about anything that a lawyer needs to do on a computer.  Just add your favorite office and legal-specific software.  For use in the office, you will want to connect it to a full-sized keyboard, monitor, and mouse using its port replicator.

So does it live up to expectations?  The Mobility Guru web site gave it an Editor's Choice award.  Same at Mobile Tech Review.  This may be a niche product, but it seems to fill that niche very well, especially for an early entry into a new product category.         

Law Office Tech Bargains for Week of July 30 - August 5

Web cams are increasing useful devices for lawyers.  You can hold conferences with clients or co-counsel face-to-face.  They are also useful in family law cases where a child and one of his/her parents are separated due to a relocation.  In keeping with our suggestion that many lawyers are better served using a notebook as their primary computer, you will want a notebook-oriented web cam.  At Circuit City this week, the Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe is on sale for half-price (just $29.99 after $30 in combined mail-in rebates).  This web cam has a built-in microphone and automatic face tracking to keep you in the picture.

Also at Circuit City is a 19" widescreen LCD monitor from Viewsonic on sale for $199.99.  A monitor of this size and form factor lets you place two full pages of documents side-by-side on your screen simultaneously.  This can be very useful when drafting briefs from on-line or previously downloaded research or comparing documents. 

Like monitors, keyboards and mice play a critical role in the usability of computers.  The best mice use a laser beam for tracking.  And if you've never experienced the freedom of a wireless keyboard and mouse, you will be surprised at what you've been missing.  Before you leave Circuit City, pick up the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 keyboard and mouse bundle.  This combo is on sale for $69.99 after $30 in combined mail-in rebates.  The keyboard has a gentle curve that is easier to get used to than the more radical ergonomic split keyboards of the past.  The laser mouse offers better precision, greater responsiveness and smoother tracking.   

I though yesterday's post about the Optiquest by Viewsonic 19" monitor at Staples set a new low for 19" LCD monitors.  Today, however, Best Buy has a Westinghouse 19" widescreen LCD monitor for only $159.99 with no rebates.  It is sold out on-line, but remains available at many Best Buy stores.

Office Depot has Hewlett Packard Color LaserJet printers on sale.  The entry-level 1600 is $299.99 and you get a $30 gift card back instantly (so you can buy a USB cable to connect the printer to your PC).  If the printer is for use on your office network, upgrade to the 2600n for faster speed and a direct Ethernet connection to your network at $369.99.      

Dirt cheap 19" LCD Monitor

At Staples, they are offering an Optiquest by Viewsonic 19" LCD flat panel monitor for only $169.98 after a $35 Easy Rebate.   The catch is that the rebate ends today, July 29, 2006.  Don't miss this one! 

The best-ever LCD monitor?

Ok, let's say you just settled that big case and you want to reward yourself with some high-end technology that will not only make you feel good, but will also enhance your productivity at the office.  A huge LCD flat-panel monitor is the perfect answer.  Fortunately, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get the best.  In a recent Maximum PC magazine comparison test, the Dell 2407WFP was not only the best performer, it was the cheapest of the 23"-24" LCD's tested at only $850.  Even better, it is currently on sale for only $747.15.  It is a 24" widescreen monitor that will let you open and display all of your important applications simultaneously.  Being able to glance at incoming email without closing your practice management or word processing window can save little bits of time that really add up over a day or a week.  My favorite time saver is to have my research (Lexis, WestLaw, etc.) open in one window next to the brief I am writing in another window.  You can do this with dual monitors or a giant single monitor like the Dell 2407WFP.  The single giant monitor method is by far the easier to set up.   

Law office tech bargains for the week of July 23-29

If your firm has been a holdout in the move to sleek, energy-efficient, and eye-pleasing LCD flat-panel monitors, your excuses not to upgrade are fast disappearing.  You can now dump your old eye strain-inducing CRT monitors for less than you imagined.  For example, Circuit City has the top-notch Samsung 931B 19" LCD monitor for only $199.99 after combined mail-in rebates of $100.  I am partial to Samsung LCD monitors.  I still use two of their early 15" LCD monitors at home that were purchased in early 2000.  They are as bright and sharp today as they were more than six years ago when they were new.  If you don't want to bother with mail-in rebates, Best Buy has the same monitor for just $219.99. 

Office Depot is the place to pick up a cheap but fairly speedy monochrome laser printer for home or desktop use.  The Brother HL-2040 is rated at 20 pages per minute and is on sale for $69.99 after instant savings and a $20 mail-in rebate.  While there, also pick up a nice portable external backup drive, the I/O Magic GigaBank Elite 40GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive on sale for $69.99 after instant savings and a $20 mail-in rebate.

Digital camera deal

If you have not yet joined the digital photograph revolution, or if you are looking for an inexpensive second camera to carry in your pocket or purse, the Kodak CW 330 (refurbished) is available at Geeks.com for only $79.95.  This is a very easy to use (so much so that I bought one for my parents last Christmas and they are having a great time with it), but decent quality, pocket digital camera.  This camera uses readily available SD flash memory cards and two AA batteries.   

Don't be fooled by low-price advertising

At InTouch Legal, we are authorized Dell resellers. We think Dell generally offers the best and most-reliable computer hardware for your dollar.  But no manufacturer is perfect.  For example, we've sometimes expressed some well-deserved criticism of Dell's advertising tactics.  Here is another example.  On the back cover of today's USA Weekend newspaper insert, Dell advertises a desktop computer (Dimension B110) for only $299.  Great price!  Want one for your office?  Think again! 

Like many of Dell's (and other PC manufacturer's) consumer-oriented ads, you would find the PC advertised for $299 to be nearly useless to you in your law office.  It would be only slightly less so at home.  For example, it comes with only 256 MB of RAM, and that RAM must be shared with the on-board graphics chip.  We don't think Windows XP should be operated with less than 512 MB of RAM for standard home or office usage.  Consider going with a full 1 GB if you do a lot of multitasking (running more than one program at a time - which you are almost certain to do in a law office setting).

It also has Windows XP Home Edition.  XP Home has many of its security and networking functions disabled as compared with XP Professional.  If you have a server at the office and are running on a network with a domain, an XP Home computer cannot join that domain, making it essentially useless to you at work.

The monitor packaged with this computer is the bulky old-style CRT type that weighs a lot, takes up much space on your desk, and uses more electricity.  It will also be harder on your eyes for extended viewing than a modern LCD flat panel monitor.

It lacks a DVD burner.  Although it will play DVD discs, you cannot record to the roomier DVD blank discs, only to lower capacity CD's.

Finally, although this may be less a problem that the items listed above unless you are doing heavy-duty graphics or other processor intensive tasks, the $299 PC has an Intel Celeron D processor instead of a full Pentium 4 class processor.

A couple more comments.  This PC comes without useful application software and the warranty is also inadequate at only one year. 

You will need to spend at least twice (and maybe three times) the advertise amount to get a computer that will be truly useful to you either at the office or at home.  Don't be fooled.         

Discount on Palm T/X PDA

Through Wednesday, July 26, Circuit City is offering 10% off on Web orders of Palm's top-notch T/X PDA.  The sale price is $269.99.  If you add a portable keyboard, such as Palm's Universal Wireless Keyboard, the T/X can substitute for a notebook computer as your travel companion for all but the most complex tasks.  The T/X has a sharp color screen and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networking built-in.  It will synchronize with all leading practice management and time/billing programs.  That means you will always have your calendar, contact, and to-do information with you and that it will always be current.  The T/X is bundled with Documents-To-Go software so you can create or edit word processing, spreadsheet, or presentation files while your are on the road.  For example, if you have a long wait at court, you can use your T/X to edit or draft pleadings, contracts, correspondence or other documents for your practice.  If you can work some leisure time into your schedule, it will also double as a digital music (MP3) player if you add a secure digital (SD) flash RAM card to hold the music files. 

Palm store bundle on T/X PDA

We've written about the advantages of mobile computing, especially using a Palm OS-based PDA.  From time to time various retailers and sometimes Palm itself offer worthwhile bundles on PDA's.  Bundles include useful accessories thrown in without an increase in the regular price of the PDA.  The excellent Palm T/X is now bundled with a free 512 MB memory card at no additional charge if you buy directly from Palm.

Treo remains the smart phone champ

In its August 2006 issue, Laptop Magazine gave the Treo 700p its editor's choice award as the top smart phone.  The 700p was given 4.5 stars out of 5, losing a half point primarily because it is not as sleek as some of the other smart phones now available, such as the Motorola Q.  However, that was the only area where the Q has the edge over the Treo.  In a companion reviews, Laptop found the Q and the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 to be lacking functionality when compared to the 700p.