TechnoLawyer

Recently, TechnoLawyer member M. Norton asked about setting up a VPN between two law offices, and wondered if Lotus Notes would be the best solution for sharing firm-related data.  TechnoLawyer member Dick Adams responds: "Take a look at Amicus X. With its browser based approach, its a natural for access across the Internet and it's designed from the ground up for attorneys -- something you surely can't say about Notes."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

TechnoLawyer member Kunle Oyegbola writes: "I have been reading your newsletters on [scanning], and no one has made mention of the HP digital sender. I work with it and recommended it to law firms down here in Nigeria by virtue that I provide IT solutions for the legal practice here in Nigeria. I work in conjunction with a company located in Boston in the US call LANCOR and they have developed an electronic case management solution using the digital sender, and it works perfectly to achieve a paperless office."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent TechnoGuest newsletter, author Jack Luna discussed his book How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy. In response, TechnoLawyer member Stephen Seldin writes: "Please think of the down side to this book. It can also be used as a manual for how a terrorist can elude authorities by being invisible. I suggest that you quietly take down the review, and suggest to Luna and his publisher that as a public service they should stop pushing the book until the world quiets down."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding Jeffrey Lisson's TechnoFeature article, "Where Are My Files?," Jay Willingham writes: "Excellent presentation. I have long used this way of organizing files, discovery materials and research. The long file names innovation was extremely helpful. On the subject of not reinventing the wheel, when looking for a form I also use the Find function in Windows to locate all the documents similar to what I am doing, such as "summary judgment" or "foreclosure" or "recording contract." What comes up often finds me using parts of several old documents (be they WP data or image file) to make the new one or reminds me of research on the subject already on hand."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Symantec's Norton products continue to take a beating from TechnoLawyer members, this time from Chet Hammann who writes: "I can't tell you how much time I've spent getting back computers that have had Norton utilities (Antivirus, SystemWorks, etc.) installed. Even Symantec recognizes that Norton can't be uninstalled when it messes up the machine. The detailed instructions, including Registry edits, are unbelievable. Just don't go there."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Accounting/Billing expert Caren Schwartz writes in with a tip for QuickBooks users: "Many of my clients use QuickBooks to handle trust accounting. Usually we setup a separate company with a very simple chart of accounts. The way I recommend handling the transactions is to make sure you have a customer name on the detail line in EVERY check that you write, and to always use the customer name as the received from for every deposit. Then it is easy to setup a report that shows the transactions and the balance for every customer."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

J.D. Lasica, who wrote the excellent TechnoFeature, RSS and Other Alternatives to Web Browsing, needs your help. He writes: "A new nonprofit media project called ourmedia is looking for pro bono legal counsel from an individual or firm that is versed in how intellectual property law affects grassroots media. Launched in July as the Open Media Project, ourmedia is an effort to foster, preserve, and advance works of grassroots media -- everything from digital stories and amateur films to music videos, student projects, political ads, animations, and oral histories. Brewster Kahle, founder of the well-regarded Internet Archive, is providing free storage and free bandwidth for content creators. Creative Commons is also supporting the effort whose goal is to create the world's largest repository of home-brew media. The group's most pressing needs involve the review of a few brief draft documents, but some fascinating legal issues lie just ahead. Those interested, or with questions, should contact me at www.newmediamusings.com."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

A recent TechnoLawyer advertisement for DiscoveryResources.org contained the following statistic: "For example, did you know: Computer power is now 8,000 times less expensive than it was 30 years ago. If the same were true for automobiles, you could buy a Lexus for about $2.00." Poking fun at this statistic, TechnoLawyer member Brad Jensen writes that this $2 car would "crash into trees every three blocks while a teenage art student in a MacVespa put-puts by sticking his tongue out at you."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

I recently wondered whether you could buy a DVI KVM box for under $100. Thanks to Paul Lepine and other TechnoLawyer members, you can indeed find such a deal. The secret lies in using a shopping comparison site such as ZDNet.

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.

Regarding the recent criticism of WordPerfect, TechnoLawyer member Roy Greenberg writes: "I long ago learned not to install the first release of any software. For those of you considering WordPerfect 11, be sure to download the substantial patches that were released to remedy bugs in the program. You can find them at Barry McDonnell's great WordPerfect Web site. I had trouble finding these patches at the Corel Web site (which is either undergoing renovation or has been significantly modified as of late)."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.