Affinity Law Office Technology Blog

Law office tech bargains for week of September 24 - 30

Good deals on HP personal laser's abound at Office Depot this week.  If you are looking for a laser printer for the desk in your office, or for your home or satellite office, the HP LaserJet 1020 is on sale for $129.99 and the slightly faster 1022 is on sale for $179.99.  If you want a color laser, the Color LaserJet 2600n (complete with network port) is on sale for $359.99.

Many lawyers have seen the wisdom of making a notebook computer their only computer.  But one of the few shortcomings of a notebook computer compared to newer desktop computers is the lack of a multiformat flash memory card reader.  Some notebooks may have a Secure Digital (SD) slot, but often not much more than that.  The answer may be an external USB flash memory card reader.  The SanDisk 12-in-1 reader is on sale at Office Depot for $24.99.

The more I read about the disappointing performance of the new crop of draft-n wireless routers, and the risk that they will not be compatible with the final 802.11n standard when it is finally approved, the better the venerable Linksys WRT54G wireless router looks.  It is on sale for $49.99 at Office Depot (and nearly everywhere else). 

One final item before we leave Office Depot.  The Western Digital My Book 160 GB external USB hard drive is only $49.99 after mail-in rebates. 

For another nice deal on an external USB hard drive for backups, go to Best Buy.  They have the beautiflly designed LaCie 250 GB external drive for only $99.99 after instant savings.

What was a couple of years ago the best notebook PC web cam on the market is still available, and at a great price, at Circuit City.  The Creative Live! Cam Notebook is only $29.99 after two mail-in rebates. 

Windows clipboard on steroids

One of the things I love about Microsoft Office is the Office Clipboard.  Unlike the Window's clipboard, which can hold only one item in memory at a time, the Office Clipboard can hold 24 levels of copied material.  This is a great feature for assembling a new document from bits and pieces of existing documents.   

Now a multi-level clipboard is available for all applications, not just MS Office.  And the basic version is free.  Download and install Clipboard Recorder for a 99 level clipboard that works in all Windows applications. 

An indispensible book

If you are in private practice and you have not read Jay Foonberg's ABA book, How to Start & Build a Law Practice, you are missing a great deal of valuable information.  This $69.95 book (less for ABA Law Practice Management or Law Student Division members) is an incredible bargain.

One of the great nuggets of advice offered is "Foonberg's rule" on law office technology.  He writes, "If it works, it is obsolete."  The point he makes is that no matter what you buy, there will be something faster, better and more advanced available by the time your get your equipment unpacked or install your software.  So don't waste time waiting for new technology to emerge.  While you wait, you are losing a competitive edge.  Buy the best you can now and get moving toward using technology to make your practice more efficient.     

Law office tech bargains for the week of September 17-23

Best Buy has a great Samsung SyncMaster LCD monitor on sale for $319.99 after rebate.  This is he 204B model, which is 20.1 inches.  This is large enough to display two word processing pages side by side.  It sits on a fully adjustable stand that adjusts for height, tilt, swivel, and also pivots to portrait mode.  If you spend more than a few hours a day looking at your monitor, this is an ideal choice. 

Also at Best Buy is the SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $24.99 after instant savings and a mail-in rebate.  Now that flash drives have almost completely replaced the notoriously unreliable floppy disk as the portable storage medium of choice, make sure you buy the right one.  A capless retractable design like this SanDisk Cruzer Micro is the way to go.  If you've ever owned a flash drive with a cap, you know how easy it is to lose the cap.  Once the cap is lost, the drive's USB connector can become damaged in your pocket (banging against keys, coins, etc.).  That will render your drive useless. 

Who thought you could ever buy a new HP LaserJet for under $100?  Well this week at Office Depot you can do just that.  The LaserJet 1018 is one sale for $99.99.  This is a nice personal laser printer for use on your desk or at home.  So long as you don't expect it to carry the primary burden of printing for your firm, it should work fine.  This is a really small laser printer at only 14.6 x 9.5 x 8.2 in and 11 pounds.  So it should fit almost anywhere.  In fact, if you travel a lot and are dissatisfied with the speed, output quality, and higher cost per page of a portable ink jet printer, pack one of these in your travel case.  For an even better deal, buy it directly from HP's Web site for only $68.99 after two instant rebates.    Shipping from HP is only $4.99.  Remember that a standard USB cable is not included with this printer.  So you will need to supply your own.

Office Depot also has a good deal on the ViewSonic 19" widescreen LCD monitor for $199.99 after a $30 mail-in rebate.

Another good deal on a USB flash drive without an easy-to-lose detachable cap is at Circuit City.  You can buy a two-pack of the PNY 1 GB Mini Attache USB flash drive for $39.99 after $50 mail-in rebate.

If you long for decent music in your office, but don't want to bother with a component audio system, a simple and great sounding solution is at Target.  The Tivoli Model One table radio is $119.99.  This radio was designed by the late Henry Kloss of KLH and Advent speaker fame.  With an expensive audio cable, you can connect a CD player, iPod, or other portable audio player to the Tivoli if you tire of listening to radio broadcasts.  Target also has the Tivoli Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio for $199.99.  Unlike most clock radios, the Model Three has a nice analog clock.  I am convinced that half of all people under 30 years old can't quickly and accurately read an analog clock because of the prevalence during their childhood of cheap digital clock displays.  Maybe you should get one of these for home too so that your kids don't become analog-impaired.          

Speech Recognition - Finally Mainstream?

Nuance, formerly ScanSoft, has released Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred.  It has been creating quite a buzz.  Reviewers have been pleased and accuracy appears to be up from earlier versions.  No matter how fast you type, Naturally Speaking is likely to get text on your PC's screen faster, around 150 words per minute.  This $200 application is the best speech recognition program to date.

Unfortunately, there is an army of lawyers who have tried speech recognition and soon gave up on it.  Why?  Well, earlier versions were not as good.   And as hardware has improved, so has its ability to keep up with the significant demands on processor speed and RAM presented by this type of software.  The lesson:  Don't bother buying Naturally Speaking 9 unless your hardware is fairly new and fairly robust.  Nuance lists minimum system requirements that include a 1 GHZ processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 1 GB of free hard drive space.  If that is all you have, forget about buying this software.  Performance will not be acceptable. 

Remember that lawyers and law office staffers are true multitaskers.  We have many programs open at once.  Generally, we will have Word or WordPerfect running, Outlook or another email application, our practice management software, our time/billing software, and perhaps our Web browser.  All of these programs drain system resources.  If you expect to use NaturallySpeaking in that environment, have at least 1 GB of RAM.  Even 2 GB's would not be overkill.  I would also suggest a 2.6 GHZ or higher Intel Pentium processor, or its AMD equivalent.  A slower (by clock speed) Pentium M or Core Duo mobile processor would also work well, but try to stay at 1.6 GHZ or above for a Pentium M, Core Duo, or AMD Turion 64. 

Microphones are also important for speech recognition success.  If all you have for a sound card is the integrated chip on your mother board, forget about it.  Don't plug a microphone into your mic input and expect good results with NaturallySpeaking.  Unless you have a truly high-end sound card (like a Sound Blaster Audigy), stick with a USB microphone.  A USB mic will handle the analog to digital conversion outside the case of your computer.  The inside of a computer can be a very hostile place for analog sound signals, often distorting them.  Distortion destroys recognition accuracy. 

Finally, don't discount the human element.  I firmly believe that many people are temperamentally unsuited to using speech recognition technology as it currently exists.  It requires patience and a willingness to adjust the way you work to the characteristics of the software.  If you get frustrated programming your VCR (or TiVo box) or setting up email rules in Outlook, for example, then you are probably not a good candidate for speech recognition software (at least not until it advances to the next level of usability).      

Sirius Satellite Radio's First True Portable

If you spend any significant time in your car, consider satellite radio.  Whether it is a long commute or regular trips to court or client meetings, satellite radio is so much better than the repetitious garbage that masquerades as radio today (with the exception of a few public and community radio stations).  Both of the major players in satellite radio, Sirius and XM, offer a compelling variety of music and news programming.  But for me what sets Sirius apart and makes it my choice are the two full-time National Public Radio (NPR) channels.  Listeners to local NPR stations don't realize how much terrific programming is produced by NPR but never broadcast by their local NPR affiliate.

To date, Sirius has offered a wide variety of car and home receivers, but has lagged behind XM in offering a truly portable receiver that could receive live satellite feeds.  Now Sirius is expected to release in October the Stiletto 100 portable receiver.  It is pricey at $300 to $400 (depending on whether you opt for Wi-Fi connectivity to pick up Sirius streams from the Internet when there is no satellite reception).  But it may be worth it to be able to take your satellite music and news everywhere you go, including your car, home, the beach, walks, etc.    

Law office tech deals for the week of Septeber 10-16

If you read our September InTouch Legal email newsletter, you know that some people can increase their comfort using a computer by switching to a "split" keyboard.  Best Buy has the Microsoft Ergonomic Natural Keyboard 4000 on sale for $39.99.

Your choice of mouse can also make a difference in your comfort level.  Cordless optical mice tend to track more smoothly and accurately with minimal drag.  Circuit City has the Logitech V200 cordless notebook mouse (in red or silver) on sale for $19.99.  If you are a desktop user, or don't mind lugging a larger mouse in your laptop bag, the Logitech LX7 cordless mouse is $19.99 after two mail-in rebates.  Circuit City also has all PDA's on sale for 10% off. 

Staples has the very compact Maxtor 40 GB OneTouch II portable hard drive (ideal for backups) on sale for $59.98.  The larger 100 GB model is on sale for $119.98.     

Treo 650 hack turns it into a wireless modem

One of the few disappointments with the Treo 650 (remedied in the Treo 700p) is the inability to use it as a wireless modem to connect your notebook computer to the Internet if you can't find a Wi-Fi hotspot nearby.  Fortunately, there is a clever hack that lets your replace one of the operating system files on the 650 with a revised file that enables Dial-Up Networking (DUN) over the phone's Bluetooth connection.  The instructions are easy to follow and the revised file is available here.  Be sure to choose the version of the file designed for your wireless carrier (Verizon, Sprint, etc.).

I applied this hack to my Verizon Wireless Treo 650 and it works perfectly.  With a Bluetooth enabled notebook PC, I can connect to the Internet even if there is no Wi-Fi hotspot available.  If your notebook PC is a few years old (like mine), it won't have a built-in Bluetooth radio.  I purchased one of the many available USB Bluetooth adapters. Mine is from TrendNet and it works easily to connect the notebook PC to the Treo 650.  It is available for less than $25 from a variety of on-line merchants.