TechnoLawyer: Business Productivity/Word Processing

Coming October 30, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Carolyn Thornlow explains how to use the Calendar Plan Template in PracticeMaster, Jonathan Steen reviews the Philips Digital Pocket Memo 9360 (now 9370), Brant Gluth shares a method for creating strong but easy to memorize passwords, Edward Zohn discusses free online calendars versus Microsoft Exchange, and Ed Walters reviews the Public Library of Law. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 31, 2008 to Fat Friday: Glen Yale discusses the value he finds in attending and providing CLE presentations, Victoria Pitt reviews the Treo 700p, Michael Schwartz explains why he hasn't switched to the iPhone yet, Carol Bratt provides a line numbering tip for Word 2003 and 2007, and Meredith Hamilton joins the challenge response software debate. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Tom Trottier reviews his favorite Treo apps, William Kellermann discusses the past, present, and future of legal tech trade shows, Paul Easton reviews Jott for cell phone dictation, Kristi Bodin comments on a recent response from LexisNexis about Time Matters, and Harold Burstyn shares his experience with Word/WordPerfect compatibility. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 24, 2008 to Fat Friday: Nicholas Richter discusses his experience sharing office space with another law firm and some solos, Robert Barnes takes issue with the "lawyering game," Charles T. Lester Jr. reviews Amicus Attorney and its integration with Outlook (and we propose the LeMo Consortium), Mark Manoukian offers several astute observations about WordPerfect and Word, and Peter Dubbeld reviews a recent encounter with PCLaw tech support. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 23, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Jason Haag compares Firefox's Password Manager to Password Safe, KeePass, and Ironkey, Jim Davidson reviews Amicus Attorney 7 using Windows Vista, Lawrence King reviews Timeslips' installation support (and Sage responds), Kerry Hubick shares his preferred way to save Web pages, and Erin Baldwin comments on LexisNexis' market share in the legal software market.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 13, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Adobe has released Acrobat 9, the latest version of its document processing software. But should you upgrade? In this article, attorney Bryan Sims examines the changes Adobe has made to several preexisting features and discusses some of the new features found in the Pro and Pro Extended versions. From Bates stamping to Forms to the new PDF Portfolios feature, Bryan walks you through the new offerings so you can make an informed decision for yourself and your firm.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 16, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Gray Strickland provides a comprehensive guide to digital dictation, David Crump reviews Loislaw for legal research, John Heckman discusses three considerations when choosing between Time Matters and PCLaw plus shares his thoughts on the CIC Consultants Forum, Morris Tabush reviews IBackup and MozyPro, and Rob Howard reviews Amicus Attorney 2008 and its integration with WordPerfect and Windows XP. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a touchscreen smartphone, a freeform database (see article below), and a file viewer. Don't miss the next issue.

Ask and Ye Shall Find
By Neil J. Squillante

In the hit song, She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby complains that he can no longer find anything in his lab after his assistant "tidied up." Many lawyers have trouble finding files even without anyone else meddling in their office. And the situation on their PCs is even more dire. Good heavens Miss Sakamoto, what's a lawyer to do?

askSam 7 ... in One Sentence
Seaside Software's askSam 7 is a freeform database in which you can organize and search email, files, and databases.

The Killer Feature
Many lawyers crave simple software with which to perform challenging tasks. Of course, simple software often cannot perform such tasks. What lawyers really need is powerful software with a simple interface.

askSam 7 addresses this need with its new Start Page. From this screen, you can create a new database, open existing databases, select from your favorites or recently opened files, and obtain help. If you choose to create a new database, a wizard walks you through the steps.

Other Notable Features
askSam 7 offers improved search results. You can search within searches, sort columns, and select multiple documents for review or extraction. You can also right click on any word to search for it on the Web.

askSam 7 supports Boolean, wild card, proximity, date, numeric, fuzzy, and other advanced search techniques. You can store and search Word, PDF, PST, HTML, and many other file types.

Other enhancements include a tabbed sidebar that enables you to access functions faster, improved importing of documents (including drag and drop and Web page capture), the ability to jump to a specific document, improved image support (GIF files), and tracking of last modified time and date.

What Else Should You Know?
askSam Standard costs $149.95 and askSam Professional costs $395. The latter offers full-text indexing for faster searches. Upgrades cost $89.95 for the same version or $139.95 for an upgrade from Standard to Pro. askSam runs on Windows. Learn more about askSam 7.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Terry Harrison compares the litigation support industry in the US and UK, Gerard Stubbert shares his thoughts on eDiscovery, Andrew Shear reviews his multiple calendar configuration, Dixon Robertson attempts to deflate Microsoft "hysteria," and Stephen Seldin suggests a way to extend the life of your laptop. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 10, 2008 to Fat Friday: Cynthia Zook responds to the debate about challenge response spam control, Martin Cohen reviews Opera Mobile and Adobe Reader for Windows Mobile, Robert Levinson reviews his recent encounter with Amicus Attorney customer support, Steve Marlowe shares the one reason he uses Word instead of WordPerfect, and Tom Trottier discusses software training. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.