The Mac Lawyer : Ben Stevens : Using Macs In The Practice Of Law

Apple's Boot Camp software has just been updated, and it now officially supports the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. The offical list of improvements includes:

• Support for Windows Vista (32-bit)
• Updated drivers, including but not limited to trackpad, AppleTime (synch), audio, graphics, modem, iSight camera
• Support the Apple Remote (works with iTunes and Windows Media Player)
• A Windows system tray icon for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions
• Improved keyboard support for Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, and French Canadian
• Improved Windows driver installation experience
• Updated documentation and Boot Camp on-line help in Windows
• Apple Software Update (for Windows XP and Vista)

The new software can be downloaded HERE.

Source:  "Boot Camp 1.2 Released, Includes Vista Support" by Alex Oughton, published at InsanelyMac.

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If you only want to include a portion of an email in a new email (such as a reply or forwarded message), you can simply select the part of the text you want to include in your response before clicking "Reply" or "Forward".  Your new email message contains only the text you have selected and omits the other portions of the prior email. 

This tip comes in very handy in a legal setting.  There are frequently occasions where I want to forward certain information to a client or when I want to forward a portion of a client's email to my assistant.

Source:  "Selective Quoting in Mail.app" by Mike Sivcevic, published at his Silver Mac blog.

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If you are interested in learning one easy way to control your Mac remotely, visit the Murphy Mac blog and read his post about Chicken of the VNC.  Using this program, you can control a computer on your same network or a machine from across the Internet.  Murphy provides step-by-step instructions for both as well as providing a screencast to illustrate the processes.

Source:  "Chicken of the VNC" published at Murphy Mac.

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We all know and love Apple's Preview program as an image viewer extraordinaire', but did you know that it can also be used to create image files?  Best of all, the creation process is quick and easy -- in other words, very Mac-like -- the way things should be.

If you have an image file on your clipboard (by using the "copy" command from virtually any program), you can simply use preview Preview and press Command-N.  A new image file is created using the graphics on the clipboard, and you can then use File --> Save to save the image in a format and location of your choosing.

Source:  "Use Preview to Create Image Files" by Rob Griffiths, published at Macworld.

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I firmly believe that Macs are superior to PC's, but I freely acknowledge that there are differences between the two that take a little getting used to.  As an easy example, Macs have an "Option" key that I regularly use, whereas PC's don't.  Other differences come in the form of naming conventions -- Explorer on Windows translates to Finder in OS X. 

Fortunately, there are many resources to help assimilate this new information, including A Switcher's Guide to Windows and Mac Differences and Equivalents.  This resource provides a list of the equivalent terminology, way of doing things on a Mac, and applications to use for PC converts.  Even better, it includes several tables which make it easier for you to relate the relevant methods between systems.

Source:  "A Switcher's Guide to Windows and Mac Differences and Equivalents" by Chris Howard, published at AppleMatters.

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LifeHacker recently published the following list of its Top 10 free downloads for the Mac:

1. Quicksilver  ::  keyboard interface
2. TextWrangler  ::  text editor
3. SilverKeeper  ::  backup utility
4. Adium  ::  instant messenger
5. Handbrake  ::  DVD ripper
6. iSquint  ::  video file to iPod converter
7. VirtueDesktops  ::  virtual desktop manager
8. The Unarchiver  ::  archive extractor
9. VLC  ::  media player
10. iTerm  ::  tabbed terminal

Source:  "LH Top 10: Free Mac Downloads" by Gina Trapani, published at LifeHacker.

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Seven months ago, I wrote a post about OS X's built-in PDF functions.  One of the things that has somewhat frustrated me is that it is not easy to combine *.pdf files once they have been created -- until now!

Thanks to PDFMergeX, this process is now quick and easy.  Using this program, you simply select the desired *.pdf documents, put them in the correct order, and click "combine."  This program is the epitome' of Mac software -- intuitive, straightforward, and impeccible.

This program was created by Daniele Margutti in only one day, and it is donation-ware, with a suggested donation of only $5.  If you work with *.pdf documents, you owe it to yourself to check out and download PDFMergeX and put it to use today.

Thanks to Chris Howard of AppleMatters for his post, "PDFMergeX Makes Combining PDFs Simple," about this program.

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The April 2007 edition of Macworld reports that over 60% of the Macs sold by Apple over the last nine months have been MacBooks.  The article notes that the differences between laptops and desktops have narrowed due to advances in technology and price decreases.

Also, this edition of Macworld focuses on three topics:

• The ModBook, a tablet-like, modified MacBook;
• Apple's new Airport Extreme wireless networking hardware; and
• Tips and advice for laptop users.

Source:  "Laptop Nation" by Jason Snell, published in Macworld magazine.

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There is a new resource available for those interested in "Mac websites with quality content, writing and design."  Claire Rottenberg has created the Quality Mac Websites blog to review Mac websites that meet the following criteria:

• accurate and useful information
• original and unique content
• frequent updates of content
• good quality writing, free of grammatical errors
• no distracting commercial ads

Her blog has the following five categories at present:

• Blog  ::  Sites that are primarily blogs
• Established site  ::  Sites that are already familiar to many Mac users
• Specialized site  ::  Sites that center around one particular topic
• Teen Mac user site  ::  Sites that are operated by teenagers
• User group site  ::  Mac user group websites

From the look of the first several posts, Ms. Rottenberg's site is off to a great start, and you may want to add her feed to your newsreader to follow it in the coming months.

Source:  Thanks to Tim Gaden for his post about this new blog.

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The following is a "guest post" by Erik Mazzone that was published on Rick Georges' Futurelawyer blog:

Confession:  I am a Mac dork.  I would say "Mac geek", but the term "geek" implies a little more tech-savvy than I bring to the table.  Dork it is.

I've been using a Mac for my home stuff, more or less consistently since I was a freshman in college in [date redacted].  I've also started using my Mac for work since going into business for myself.  It does very well for most of the stuff I use, with one glaring exception:  the office suite.

For word processing and spreadsheets, I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place:  either suffer through the ridiculous and hateable Appleworks, or pay Bill Gates a princely sum to buy MS Office 1995 For Mac.  I'm optimistic about Google Docs and Spreadsheets, but the Web 2.0 interface is not quite slick enough yet to become my primary office software.

Like I said, stuck.  Until yesterday.

Yesterday I opened my local newspaper (yes, I am one of the 11 people in the U.S. who still subscribes to a print newspaper) and read the technology column which featured an article on a software program called OpenOffice.  OpenOffice is a free software program that works on Windows, Linux or Mac, and looks and feels like Microsoft Office. Check it out here.  It has everything I want:  the look and feel of Microsoft Office without sliding Bill Gates any farther up the Forbes list.

So, I promptly sent an email to my favorite legal-technology blogger to update him on this breaking news.  Rick politely emailed back to say, uh yeah, he's blogged about OpenOffice since, like, last year. (Stupid newspaper breaking year-old stories.)  But if I wanted to write a guest post for those of us slightly more challenged by the innovation adoption curve, I could go right ahead.

Voila.  I have just downloaded OpenOffice and the early returns are promising.  If you, like me, missed out on the early adopter (or even early majority, perhaps) phase of checking this out, here's your chance to get in before the late majority and my personal favorite part of the innovation adoption curve, the laggards.

And if you are a Mac dork enthusiast, here's a chance to throw off the MS Office yoke and get past the fact that Steve Jobs doesn't care if you ever need to make a spreadsheet.

Enjoy!  Erik Mazzone

Source:  "OpenOffice" by Erik Mazzone, published by Rick Georges at his  Futurelawyer blog.

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Earlier this week, Apple released a security update for its OS X operating system.  This update reportedly plugs 45 security holes.  So what does all this really mean and is it a good thing or a bad thing?  One of my readers sent me an email about this release, saying his initial reaction was "ouch!" because of "all the hoopla about Macs being so secure."  I suppose that he makes a valid point and that is one way to look at this development.

I take a slightly different view though.  I am glad that Apple takes security so seriously, and these releases make me feel more secure about my operating system, not less. Remember, Apple has had several so-called "month of bugs" in the last few months, during which they encouraged people to try to find holes (or potential holes) in its operating system.  Most of the issues addressed in this release are a result of these "bug hunts" encouraged by Apple.

When is the last time you heard of Microsoft sponsoring a "month of bugs" and encouraging people to point out flaws and potential security holes in its Windows family of operating systems?  I can't recall hearing of anything like that, and in fact, one could argue that there are so many bugs and security holes in its operating system that every day is "buggy" for Windows users.

You can read more about this latest security update and Apple's approach to "bug-hunting" by reading "Apple Megapatch Plugs 45 Security Holes" by Joris Evers, published at c|net.com.

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To follow up on the issues addressed in Craig Poff's guest post yesterday, the Washington Post published an article last week that takes a look at the similarities and features of the big three virtualization programs:  Apple's BootCamp, Parallels Desktop for Mac, and CodeWeavers' CrossOver Mac.  After its in-depth analysis, the article concludes:  "For somebody who needs to run only one or two Windows programs, CrossOver can be a cheap, simple solution. Otherwise, Parallels easily justifies its higher cost and system requirements."

Better yet, the article concludes by saying that "Many new Mac users, however, may discover they don't need to run Windows programs after all -- for just about any task imaginable, a good Mac program can be found. The greatest feature of software like Parallels and CrossOver may be their existence alone. They constitute a cheap, easily exercised insurance policy that frees people to buy the computer they want without worry."  You can read the whole article by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Playing on Both Sides" by Rob Pegoraro, published in the Washington Post. 

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I am pleased to present the following guest post from Craig Poff, a Mac-using attorney in Beaufort, SC:

I switched to Parallels for Mac last Christmas, and I have enjoyed nothing but smooth sailing.  I downloaded it straight from the company's Web site, it installed easily (luckily I already had a copy of Windows XP Pro, as you need it), I installed Windows XP as my Guest Operating System (although you could install Linux, I am told or even old versions of Windows, if you have the disks) and haven't had a single problem.  So much easier to keep Windows open as merely another open application on Mac, rather than shutting down and rebooting, as  required by Apple's Boot Camp.

Indeed, Boot Camp made your Mac more like a total Windows PC (in terms of running the DVD, CD-ROM, the printer ports, etc.), but I am only using Windows for specialized applications (Bankruptcy and Quicken) and don't try to play movies, run 3D games or even go on line.  Indeed, when Windows is running on your Mac, being a Bill Gates product, it will seek to "take over" control of your printer, USB slots, etc.  If it does so, all you have to do is close Parallels and Mac regains full control of all functions of the computer.

Just a note to say that anybody interested in trying it should take the plunge.  The Web Site offers a free 14 day full-function trial of the software.  I was anxious to put my money down well before the 14 days were up ($80 or so).

Craig Joseph Poff, Esq.
Law Office of Craig Joseph Poff
605 Carteret Street
Beaufort, South Carolina 29901
843-521-0995
843-524-2354 (fax)
craig@craigpoff.com

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My good friend, exceptional attorney, and former PC diehard, David Miller, has joined joined the legions of Mac lawyers as of this past weekend.  After much prodding and encouragement from me, he took the plunge and bought a 24" iMac.

David is so impressed with his Mac that two things have happened:

1. He has decided to switch his office from PC to Mac immediately; and
2. He has begun a blog, My Mac Blog, about his "conversion" experience.

Visit David's blog to get to know him and read his first-hand experience of becoming a Mac lawyer.  Welcome to the fold, David.

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As I previously posted, we are witnessing an epic battle taking place before our very eyes.  No, not on the desert plains of Iraq or even the boxing rings of Las Vegas, but right here in cyberspace.  The "battle royale" to which I am referring is the "Great Mac vs. PC Debate of 2007" taking place between "Hello, I'm a Mac" Grant Griffiths and "I'm a PC" Ben Cowgill.  After the posturing in their initial posts, the fellows finally "got it on" (apologies to the Hon. Mills Lane) this week with their first round on the subject of functionality:

Mr. Griffiths made the following points in his post:

• [G]etting lock ups and the blue screen of death is measured in weeks, days and even hours in some cases [on PCs].
• On those occasions when I have to run a windoze program, I simple start up Parallels, XP and run the program on my Mac. What is even more amazing than that, XP runs faster on my MacBook than it does on my son's gaming peecee.
• When I was using a peecee network in my law office, I was attacked by a virus that knocked me out for 3 days. And, I had to spend hard earned money paying an IT person to come in a fix it. Lets see, downtime and an expense I don't now have with a Mac driven law office.

Mr. Cowgill states the following in his post:

• Over the past 25 years I've worked in law firms, a corporate law department and a state bar association, all of which used PC systems.  I can't remember when any of those systems locked up.
• Macs are generally pricier than many PC systems, but they also come loaded with plenty of memory.  And the Mac OS has never pretended to be an open architecture.
• [I]f we're going to talk about functionality (see above), we've got to talk about software.  And that means, of course, that if we're going to talk about business computing, we've gotta talk about business software.

My analysis and "post-round" commentary on their posts:

• Functionality of any computer starts with its operating system. 
  
  • I am not aware of any credible expert that has stated publicly that Windows XP or Vista is superior to Mac OS X.  On the other hand, there are countless who have said that OS X IS better than the Windows systems, especially Vista. 
  • I should mention that the OS X to which I refer is Tiger, now almost two years old, and not the anxiously awaited Leopard version, due to be released this Spring.  In fact, the experts have said that Vista is Microsoft's attempt to compete with Apple's last generation OS, while Apple is already finalizing its  next generation OS. 
  • To build the best house, you must start with the best foundation, which Apple clearly has and Microsoft does not.
• Viruses, lock ups, and blue screens really DO occur regularly with PCs -- notwithstanding Mr. Cowgill's unbelievable claim that he has never witnessed them in over 25 years.  Not only will any IT expert confirm this "fact of life" for PC users, but I know it first hand because I used PC's  myself for many years.  I believe that people with experience on both platforms are perhaps more credible than someone on the outside looking in -- sorry Mr. Cowgill.
• Mr. Cowgill's post also unfortunately makes two false claims: 
  
  • First, he says that Macs are generally more pricier than PCs.  As I posted just this week, Mac computers are priced roughly the same as comparably equipped PCs, and as I previously posted, Macs have a much higher resale value than PCs.
  • He also says that the Mac OS is not "open," which could not possibly be more incorrect.  Apple's website clearly states that OS X is "UNIX Based -- Beneath the easy-to-use interface and rich graphics of Mac OS X lies Darwin, an open source, UNIX-based foundation...." 
• Finally, Mr. Griffiths points out the cross-platform functionality available to him.  Mac users can run Windows (98, Me, XP, Vista, etc.), Linux, or any other operating system that that want using virtualization.  I'm sure that Mr. Cowgill is well aware that PCs cannot run OS X, so it was probably more convenient to simply overlook that point altogether.

Judge's Score:  I score this round 10-8 for Griffiths, as it was fairly lopsided from this vantage point. Griffiths' body blows about lock ups and viruses were not credibly defended or countered by Cowgill.  Further, Griffiths' years of training in the PC gym give him a little more legs on this issue.  Cowgill attempted to land a haymaker with the price and open swings, but he missed wildly as his allegations were false.  Finally, Griffiths' uppercut on the cross-platform functionality left Cowgill dazed and unable or unwilling to respond as he retreated to his corner at the end of the round.  This Judge is committed to calling this fight as he sees it, and he hopes that Cowgill can escelate his game in the later rounds to make it a closer fight than this round showed.

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