Affinity Law Office Technology Blog

Shredder is essential office or home item

Protecting our clients and ourselves isn't easy in an era of rampant identity theft.  Nothing with identifying or potentially confidential information should go directly into the trash.  For big jobs (such as destruction of multiple old paper files) there are commercial services available - most of which are mobile and will come to your home or office.

But for the smaller daily destruction jobs, you will want a shredder at home and at the office.  Currently (through February 9) Staples is running a sale on shredders ranging in price from $15 to $200.  At the top end of that range, the shredders micro-cut the documents and also shreds CD's, DVD's, and credit cards. 

One Laptop Per Child - Give One, Get One Starts 11/12

The One Laptop Per Child project gets underway on Monday, November 12.  Starting that day, you can donate one laptop and receive one laptop for $399.  For that donation, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.  Additionally, T-Mobile is offering donors one year of complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot locations throughout the United States, which can be used from any Wi-Fi-capable device, including the XO laptop.

The XO laptop is a reasonably capable portable machine.  For a full review by Laptop Magazine, click here.  Although the outward appearance of the XO may not be especially lawyerly, it is possible that a lawyer could use an XO laptop for remote access to the office, to check and send email, do legal research on the Web, etc.   

Don't touch that mouse!

Windows is very mouse-centric.  But computer users from the pre-Windows era know that the keyboard is faster than the mightiest mouse.  There are a ton of useful Windows and application-based keyboard shortcuts you can and should use to speed your work.  PC World Magazine compiled many of them on their web site.  There is also a list specifically for MS Office, including Word. 

Strangest USB flash drive yet

We've seen USB flash memory drives combined with MP3 players, pens, and other useful tech-oriented gadgets.  But here is a combo USB flash drive and bottle opener from Cyberguys, one of my favorite sources for cables, connectors, and other tech parts.  A 1GB USB flash drive and bottle opener, appropriately called the Popdrive, will set you back $24.95. 

iPod without iTunes?

Apple's iPod is a nifty music and video player, but buying an iPod locks you into Apple's iTunes software.  iTunes isn't awful, but you may prefer something else.  And I've run into cases where iTunes crashed the computer on which it was running. 

Now you can have an iPod without being forced to use iTunes to sync music to your player.  EphPod is a free program that will let you manage playlists on your iPod and transfer music to the device without using iTunes. 

Find cheap gas prices

In this era of $3 per gallon gas, finding cheap gas is a welcome relief.  Many lawyers travel long distances on a regular basis to court, depositions, meetings, etc.  Once you roam outside your neighborhood, you may not know where to look for low-priced gas.  Before you leave your home or office, go to Gas Buddy and type in your city or zip code. Gas Buddy will respond with a listing of the lowest-priced gas in your area. 

Stream digital music to your audio system on the cheap

OK, this isn't really a law office tech product, but there has to be room for some pleasure in every lawyer's life, right?  In my experience, there are many music-loving lawyers.  Some are actually very accomplished musicians for whom music is extremely important and enjoyable.  Others just like to listen to their favorite tunes. 

These days, those tunes are more likely than not to be digital files stored on a PC.  Unfortunately, few PC's are directly connected to high-end music playback systems.  Connecting a PC to an audio system is often difficult because, by the nature of the work we do on our computers, they are rarely located in the same room as our audio or home theater systems. 

The solution to the connection problem is the wireless media receiver.  There are many fairly expensive ($100+) choices that work very well, but there is also a bargain-priced wireless media receiver currently available on-line from Buy.com.  It is the SMC EZ Stream 802.11g Wireless Audio Adapter available for the very low price (for this type of device) of $30.95 with free ground shipping.

This device has received very good reviews and works seamlessly with the Library Sharing feature of Windows Media Player 11 and the Universal Plug n Play server built into the Rhapsody subscription music service (a truly excellent service for the music lover).  The price is so good that I just ordered one for myself. 

Cheap digital cameras perform well

If you want an inexpensive digital camera to carry in your pocket, briefcase, purse, or car for impromptu shooting opportunities, the June 2007 issue of Laptop magazine has a comparison test of cameras in the less than $150 range.  Top ranked was the $129 HP Photosmart M537.  It has 6 MP resolution and a 3X optical zoom lens.     

Law firm uses Postini to reduce spam, increase security

Here is an interesting story about a law firm in Scotland that implemented Postini email filtering after being bombarded with spam email messages in a denial-of-service attack on their email server.  Postini filters all mail before it reaches the law firm, dramatically reducing the chance of being affected by further attacks.   

Microsoft offers free web sites and email

Microsoft's new Office Live service has a Basic version that offers the following at no charge:

• Free domain name and Web hosting
• Easy-to-use Web site design tools
• 500 MB of Web site storage space
• 25 company-branded e-mail accounts
• Web site reports

When you sign up, you create and register your own domain name.  Microsoft wants credit card info to verify identity, but the Basic service is free and they promise not to charge your card.  After you complete the registration process, you can use their free web design tool to create your own web site and create up to 25 email accounts tied to your new domain.  It may take up to a day before your email accounts become active and your web site is publicly available on the Web.