TechnoLawyer: Networking/Operating Systems

Coming December 14, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Gerald Pinzino suggests six simple tips for keeping your wireless office network secure and weighs in on the WiFi analogy debate, Craig Humphrey discusses new integrated desktop and enterprise search tools, Norton Townsley offers up a solution to keep formatting and fonts in a PDF file, Katrina Curfiss reviews PracticeMaster for civil case management, and Craig Bayer reviews PCLaw for time-billing. Don't miss this issue.

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Published 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 December 12, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Someone hacks into your network and destroys all your case files. A Katrina-like hurricane devastates your area. Your office building burns down. The chances may seem slim, but these things can and do happen. Will you be ready? In this article, legal coach and consultant Edward Poll shares his top ten tips for securing your law firm's network before disaster strikes. Learn how to prepare so that if something goes wrong, you won't miss a beat.

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 December 7, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Steven J. Best offers up his thoughts on New Jersey retainer rules and some advice for managing these fees in PCLaw 8, Sharon Kirts shares which HP printers have served her practice well and why she believes you get what you pay for, Al Harrison reviews LogMeIn for remote access (really remote — South Africa to Houston, TX), Daniel Fennick reviews how he uses PracticeMaster to manage case-related e-mail messages, and Jay Stassen reviews his office's new case management software from CIBER. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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 November 16, 2006 to Answers to Questions:Wilson C. Muhlheim discusses how his firm successfully implemented a paperless workflow and the resulting benefits, Paul Bannon reviews the latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Charles Tievsky reviews RemotelyAnywhere and compares it to other remote access tools, Fred Brock discusses the use of uninterrupted power supplies in law offices (plus we point you to 10 tips for a successful implementation), and Michael Mannes suggests a simple way to handle retainer fees in PCLaw. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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.

We've been remiss in discussing the Net Neutrality issue here in TechnoLawyer. Better late than never. Simply put, cable and telephone companies would like to charge search engines, publishers, and other online information providers different rates for different types of online data (e.g., video, voice, etc.) and different levels of service (what network engineers refer to as "QoS"). Those who oppose this development liken it to a tax or toll and have coined the clever phrase "net neutrality" to emphasize their argument that all data online merits equal treatment.

While I support net neutrality, I would also like to see our access speeds move beyond the stone ages. A T-1 line just doesn't seem all that fast anymore nor does a 6Mbps cable connection (not that it ever attains 6Mbps anyway). I don't have any suggestions, not being an expert in this area. So let me turn the podium over to those who have spent more time researching this subject. Where do you stand?

Bill Moyers & Scott Fogdall, Against An Imperial Internet

Senator Brownback on Net Neutrality

A Guide to Net Neutrality for Google Users

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Once upon a time, about 11 years ago, uber legal publisher Steve Brill decided to start publishing a technology magazine called AmLaw Tech. The folks at American Lawyer Media called me in to gauge my interest in serving as the editor. I ultimately decided not to pursue the job.

Around the same time, an entrepreneur named Peter Ozolin started Legal Anywhere and began preaching the value of extranets to law firms. I'm sure he had many a door slammed in his face (as all entrepreneurs do). Extrawhat?

That was then and this is now. AmLaw Tech is alive and well and has just released its 11th Annual AmLaw Tech Survey. Of the firms that participated in the survey, 70% now have extranets. Peter must feel vindicated.

Even more interesting than the survey is Marcy Burstiner's insightful analysis. Check it out.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming October 5, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Paul Hager offers up some tips for using Timeslips remotely, David Blair discusses his experience as a long-time WordPerfect user forced to use Word, Larry Southerland reviews PaperPort for document management and a database program called Alpha Five, Celine Rivet suggests some printer purchasing tips (and so do we), and Nina Yablok reviews QuickBooks for small law firm accounting and billing. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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 3, 2006 to TechnoFeature: You may have heard the radio ad: A businessman forgets a key file at the office and saves a long trip back to the office (and a lost sale) thanks to this miraculous service called GoToMyPC. However, the GoTo suite of online products and services provide much more than remote file access. In this article, technology consultant Seth Rowland reviews this "secure desktop sharing" technology and then evaluates each of the individual products, focusing specifically on whether and how they fit into the practice of a busy lawyer.

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 September 7, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Rob Fox explains how his firm achieved a paperless workflow, Steven Schwaber reviews his experience with Timeslips, Sarah Laracy discusses a cheap and easy way to archive Outlook e-mail by case, Deana Spencer weighs in on the open WiFi debate, and Matthew Brown, a Workshare employee, discusses the difference between Workshare Professional and Acrobat Professional regarding sending a document for review. Plus, this issue features links to 5 additional Posts in the TechnoLawyer Archive. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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 August 24, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Jason Havens reviews Windows Desktop Search and the improvements he'd like to see in later versions, Jeffrey Schoen reviews his experience with Symantec products, Jay Solomon explains how to create case-specific e-mail archives with Acrobat 7 Pro, Steven Schwaber joins the open WiFi ethics debate, and Richard Hutchins reviews his recent Amicus Attorney purchase. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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.