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

In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment forBen Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

Part 3: The iPad Book: The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane

A big thanks is in order to Dennis Lehane, who wrote one of the best and most compelling novels I’ve read in years, if not ever. The Given Day is a book so gripping and phenomenal, I was able to read it on an iPad without succumbing to sweet Internet temptations lurking just beyond the home button on the gorgeous device.

Pros: While the iPad does not leverage E-ink, a tough blow in my opinion as far as e-readers are concerned, it does have a high-resolution backlit screen which enables you to read it in dark places (i.e. while someone is asleep next to you) without a Snuggie® booklight or similar device. I combatted LCD screen eye strain by dimming its brightness and changing the font to a muted sepia-tone color, which Apple does a great job of facilitating.

The iPad reference tools are terrific: tapping a word looks it up in the dictionary, a huge improvement over the Kindle’s medieval cursor device. If Apple supported multiple language dictionaries (only Japanese and English are currently available), it would be a great teaching aid for foreign language study. Flipping through pages is elegant and quick. Much appreciated Apple-style flourishes like 3D page turning is a significant improvement over Next and Previous buttons on a Kindle.

Cons: Forget about reading on your iPad outside unless you carry a tent with you everywhere you go. The glare from the sun and reflective objects makes reading on an iPad an uncomfortable endeavor in bright light. The LCD screen does not feel like a book at all, unlike E-ink. The iPad is also much heavier than the Kindle 2, making it a challenge to read in bed. As you adjust your reading position, the screen rotates around like a whirling dervish, making reading on your side rather tricky. This flipping back and forth is eliminated by a tiny screen lock button, which took me a month to figure out.

If, like me, you struggle to focus on a single task and do not have an incredible book to read like The Given Day, good luck trying to read it on an iPad. You’ll instead find yourself enjoying any one of the amazing capabilities the device offers.

Finally, In Order of Preference

The clear take-home message to me from this overly-prolonged experiment in 21st century reading is that different book technologies serve very different purposes. All things being equal, my top choice is a paper book in my hands as long as the font is a comfortable size (anyone who’s picked up a copy of Atlas Shrugged recently understands my pain). The ability to leaf through pages, scribble in margins with an actual pencil, and dog-ear pages still trounce their simulated equivalents in e-readers.

After a book, I’d choose the Kindle. It’s lightweight, works in any lighting condition, and doesn’t have all the distractions the Internet brings to the table. It’s a dedicated reading device, and though it’s a little clumsy in places, it does its job exceedingly well.

Then there’s the iPad. It was a worthy contestent in a noble contest, and I wouldn’t live without mine. However, when it comes to evaluating the product strictly for reading, I don’t see myself reading another book on the iPad. You can’t take it outside, it’s heavier than the other reading technologies (though perhaps lighter than the hardcover edition of Atlas Shrugged), and uses an LCD screen instead of E-ink. Moreover, everything that makes the iPad an phenomenal media and Internet consumption device work against it when you require the deep concentration necessary for books.

But that’s just my take. We’re lucky to live in a world with such options, with three remarkable technologies.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA's Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

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In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment forBen Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

Part 2 of 3: Failure and Redemption with an iPad and a Kindle.

In Part 1 of this series, I announced my intention to test all three reading technologies via Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori trilogy. I read the first volume as a paper-based library book, but I apologize in advance to Mr. Hearn. I just couldn’t get through the second book in the series, Grass For His Pillow, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it doesn’t have to do with his prose.

The iPad contains two great book-reading apps, iBooks from Apple and Kindle from Amazon. Unfortunately, the iPad also contains a zillion other apps that tug at your attention, including access to practically all of the information ever recorded by civilized man, email, news, streaming Netflix movies, and every social network imaginable.

If you’re like me, which is a stone’s throw away from an official ADD diagnosis, it may be difficult to finish book on an iPad unless it’s completely engrossing. The device is just so dang incredible. I finally found such a book, so stay tuned to Part 3 to find out the killer read which helped me overcome the allure of iPad amazingness. In the meantime, I switched back, bewildered and dispirited, to the Kindle.

The Kindle Book: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, by Steve Martin

If you like Steve Martin, appreciate the art of stand-up comedy, or ever wondered what it feels like to get very, very famous quickly, Born Standing Up is a book you should put on your list. I read the majority of it on my Kindle 2 and a small amount on my iPhone 3G.

Pros: The Kindle was my first electronic book reader, and for a technophile like myself it will forever occupy a special place in my heart, as do other fondly-recalled first-time experiences. Compared to an iPad or a book, the Kindle is much lighter at 10.2 ounces. Book shopping and delivery is quick and effortless, because in reality the Kindle is a portable spigot through which you pour dollars into Amazon. For example, I decided to purchase Mr. Martin’s book at an airport minutes from boarding my flight. Twelve dollars and sixty seconds later, the book arrived and so I could read it on the flight.

The Kindle screen, leveraging a proprietary technology known as E-ink, does not have a refresh-rate associated with LCD screens, which makes it easier on the eyes by eliminating strain and reducing glare. I happen to be partial to devices that do one thing really well as opposed to a device that performs multiple functions fairly well. The Kindle is definitely in the former category: aside from serving as a terrific reading device, the only other thing it excels at is sucking money from your pocket and sending it to Amazon. And you have to see the battery charge to believe it. I picked mine up after a month of idleness and it was still on.

An aside about e-readers in general, including both the Kindle and iPad...

E-readers are great traveling companions. I like to read different kinds of books depending on my current whimsy, and with an e-reader, I can keep a biography, spy thriller, historical fiction, and business book with me at all times without my carry-on weighing 100 pounds. I can also increase the font size for easier readability, critical as I head towards forty. I’ve noticed e-reader adoption among the elderly, incidentally, in my heavily retiree-laden town of Boca Raton, FL.

Because of the mobile Kindle and iBook apps, and the mechanism Amazon and Apple use to maintain your bookmarks, you can always be with your book. For example, I read my book at night on my e-reader and the following morning use the corresponding iPhone app to flick through some more pages at the exact place I left off the night before while, say, waiting in line for coffee. At night, I pick up exactly where I left off at Starbucks on my e-reader. Now that’s cool, although, my inner civil-libertarian bristles at the thought that Amazon and Apple now know exactly what I’m reading, when, and where.

...Back to the Kindle...

Cons: The biggest con I see with the Kindle or other book readers is the following conversation:

Husband: This book I’m reading is incredible! I can’t put it down.

Wife: Wow. I can’t wait to read it. Can I have it when you’re done?

Husband: Sorry, it’s on the Kindle. And I’m reading something else next.

Wife: That’s so typical. You’re always so damn selfish.

Some headway has been made into sharing books on e-readers, but any features are buried deep enough so that I haven’t stumbled across it. Another general strike against e-readers is their limited portability. I still feel uncomfortable taking a pricey e-reader to a beach or pool, since water and sand wreak havoc on electronic devices.

Compared to other modern electronic machines, the Kindle 2 feels glacially slow. At the risk of sounding like a plump, lazy cruise-ship passenger, moving the little cursor around is an arduous task. Page turns are inelegant: the entire text flashes black before it’s replaced by the next page. Flipping through pages to reread a passage is time consuming and laborious, especially compare to a paper book. The Kindle 2 very much feels like a first generation device.

In the next installment, I’ll return to the iPad. Perhaps I’ll fare better the second time around.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA's Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

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Part 1 of 3: Adventures in Reading a Library Book.

Are you like me? Do you like to read books, travel a fair amount, and like to justify expenditures on technology in whatever pathetic, desperate way you can?

In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment for Ben Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

The Library Book: Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn.

My intention, initially, was to read three volumes of Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori trilogy on each of the three different technologies (yes, a book is a technology). If you think you’d like Shogun with a dash of 100 Years of Solitude sprinkled in, you’ll like Mr. Hearn’s books.

Pros: I paid nothing for Across the Nightingale Floor, since I borrowed it from the public library and importantly, returned it on time, which is something you shouldn’t take for granted. I took this book on a plane with me, and since it’s not electronic, I could actually do something without getting yelled at during takeoff and landing.

I enjoyed the volume’s delightful “library book smell” which I believe originates from a combination of binding glue, paper, card catalog stickers, and the librarians themselves. I could theoretically spill water or sand on the book and it would still function fine, though librarians typically frown upon such behavior. Moreover, after using an electronic device all day long, curling up with a paper, analog device was more refreshing than I recalled.

Cons: I finished the book shortly after my arrival, meaning I had to lug dead weight around on my trip. Since I was obligated to return it, I couldn’t just dump it in the hotel’s book rack. In addition, when you read a library book, there’s a little voice in the back of your head whispering bad thoughts. It tells you someone could possibly have been reading the very book in your hands in less-than-delicate locations. Unlike an e-book, a library book requires an extra piece of equipment (some folks call this a “bookmark”) to identify my last read page, which I seem to always misplace.

In the next installment, I’ll attempt to read a book on an iPad. And we’ll see how successful I am.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA's Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

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There has been a great deal of discussion and debate lately regarding the position that Apple has taken with regard to Adobe Flash.  Steve Jobs posted an article yesterday which clearly sets out the basis for Apple's decision not to allow Flash on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

He listed the following six reasons as the basis for Apple's position:

1. "Open"  ::  While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system. Apple strongly believes that all standards pertaining to the web should be open, and rather than using Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. 
2. “Full Web”  ::  Adobe’s claim that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash doesn’t consider that all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. For instance, YouTube has an estimated 40% of the web’s video, and it shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices. While Adobe’s claim that Apple devices cannot play Flash games ignores the fact that there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and that there are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.
3. Reliability, Security and Performance :: Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. Flash is also the number one reason Macs crash, and these problems have persisted for several years despite Apple’s efforts to work with Adobe to fix them. Apple doesn’t want to reduce the reliability and security of its iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash. What’s more, Flash has not performed well on any mobile devices, regardless of manufacturer. 
4. Battery Life :: To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware, as decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264. While Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software, which can cut battery life by 50% or more. When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. 
5. Touch :: Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Because Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript? 
6. Independence ::  Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices, but Apple believes that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. Apple does not want to be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make ots enhancements available to its developers. 

Source:  "Thoughts on Flash" by Steve Jobs, posted at Apple.com. 

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Yesterday, Apple announced several "refreshes" to its outstanding MacBook Pro laptops.  The highlights of these updates are:

• improved performance with new Intel Core i5 and i7 processors.
• 13" model now has a 10-hour battery, while the new 15" and 17" models get 8-to-9 hours of battery life.
• New high-resolution displays for its 15" model, including a standard 1440x900 glossy screen with options for 1680x1050 screens in glossy (+$100) or anti-glare (+$150).
• Powerful next-generation NVIDIA graphics processors  

This is the first update to the MacBook Pros since June of 2009, and prices begin at just $1,199.  You can read much more about these updates here.

Source:  "Apple Releases Updated MacBook Pros With Core i5 and i7 Processors" by Eric Slivka, published at MacRumors.com.

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This week marked the much awaited announcement of the Apple iPad. Considering that people’s mouths were watering over the non-event of the iPhone 3G S launch last year, the arrival of the tablet is garnering, as many have observed, the type of interest reserved only for other tablets delivered to the masses several millenia ago (though made out of stone).

Money is tight in 2010, so with a sense of sadness and impatience, we must often wait to own our beloved new gadget. Or we dip into college or retirement savings. The Onion hilariously captured our lemming-like excitement over new gadgets in this piece from December ‘09.

But consider this: you can add life to your existing gadget for little money, and have a sense of a new machine. I recommend the Gadget Spa Day, having done this recently with my iPhone. For instance:

1. Put a new screen protector in place. I prefer a matte finish so my fingerprints and face don’t muck up an otherwise beautiful machine. Learn how to place the screen on correctly and avoid trapping dust and making bubbles. It requires a little dexterity, and perhaps the technique is worthy of its own post. But if you get frustrated, take a deep breath, and say to yourself, “Yes we can!”.
2. Get a new protective case. Let’s face it. iPhone cases get scratched up easily and look nasty quickly. And that zebra pattern your using? SO 2009. I love the new iFrogz case I purchased, which is mostly hard plastic with a small rubberish section to keep it from sliding off smooth surfaces.
3. Clean up your apps. When’s the last time you played the bubble wrap or toilet paper game? If you or the kids haven’t used an app in a month, kill it, even if you paid for it. The Rocket Matter iPhone version is the only exception to this rule. Once you’re done, apply all the updates so you don’t have to stare at the annoying red number on the App Store icon.

Computer Spa Day

When you’re working on your actual systems, you can give them a performance boost just by turning off the amount of programs that run on startup. You’ll boot faster and run faster. Just be careful you don’t turn off anything important, like printer drivers or something. But c’mon, do you really need Quicktime and Java scanning for updates? Do Skype and Scansnap Manager really need to launch when your system does?

• Windows users can go to Start–>Run…, then type “msconfig” and type on the “Startup” tab. Don’t turn off anything important. When in doubt, leave it.
• Mac users can go to System Preferences -> Accounts, highlight an account, click Login Items, then remove the items you don’t want on the list.

Another way to revamp on Spa Day? Clean up your destkop. Remove icon clutter safely by reading this post. Get some cool new wallpaper. There are plenty of free sites, including Desktopography, Simple Desktops, or Interface Lift.

It’s like a fresh coat of paint for your trusted machine. You don’t have to waste time migrating data, you don’t get stuck with version one of the latest gadget, and you save a little dough as well.

Would love to hear your Gadget Spa Day tips! Leave a comment so we can hear your rejuvenation tips and tricks.

Source:  "iPad Envy? Save Money with Gadget Spa Day" by Larry Port, published at Rocket Matter's blog.

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I'll say right up front that I'm not a huge fan of partitioning a hard drive.  With today's prices, it makes sense in many situations to simply buy another hard drive instead of creating partitions.  Some experts say that partitioning can waste space and even decrease your hard drive’s performance. However, there are some situations when it might still make sense to split up your hard disk, such as the following:

1. To use Boot Camp  ::  If you use Boot Camp Assistant (built into OS X 10.5 Leopard and later) to run Windows on your Mac, it creates a special partition just for your Windows installation. Unfortunately, Boot Camp Assistant won’t work if your disk is already partitioned, so if you intend to use Boot Camp, you’ll have to stick to just two partitions (one each for Windows and OS X).
2. To switch between versions of OS X  ::  If your Mac is capable of running multiple versions of OS X (for example, you have an early Intel-based iMac that can run Tiger, Leopard, or Snow Leopard), you can partition your drive so that you can use more than one. Divide your disk into one partition for each version of OS X, and then install the operating systems separately. When you need to run a different version of the operating system—say, for testing, or to use older software that won’t run under a newer OS—open the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences, select the partition you want, and click on Restart.
3. To repair disk problems  ::  If your startup volume develops disk errors, you may need to run a repair program (such as Disk Utility) from another volume in order to fix them. That other volume could be an external hard drive or a bootable DVD. But another option is to keep a small partition on your main disk that includes a bootable copy of OS X and a repair utility or two. When trouble strikes, you can boot up from this volume and fix some problems without having any secondary media at all.
4. To share your iPhoto library  ::  If you want to share a single iPhoto library between two or more user accounts on the same Mac, one way to do so, per Apple’s advice, is to move it to a volume where ownership is ignored. That can’t be your main startup volume, but it could be an external disk—or another partition of your internal disk.
5. To manage backups efficiently  ::  I recommend maintaining two kinds of backups. The first is bootable duplicates of your entire disk, using a program such as Bombich Software’s Carbon Copy Cloner (donation requested) or Shirt Pocket Software’s $28 SuperDuper!. The second is versioned backups (which store copies of your files as they appeared at many points in time) using Apple’s built-in Time Machine or any of numerous other backup utilities. You don’t need to keep two different hard drives around for your two types of backup. Instead, use partitions. For example, if you have a 1TB internal disk, you could buy a single 2TB external drive, divide it into two 1TB partitions, and then put your bootable duplicate on one while using the other for versioned backups.

Source: "Five Reasons to Partition a Disk" by Joe Kissell, published at Macworld.com.

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The following Guest Post was written by one of my readers, Michael Yurkanin, and it reviews several wireless microphones to address their use with MacSpeech Dictate Legal:

There have been many articles written about the latest version of dictation software by MacSpeech, MacSpeech Dictate Legal. To use the software requires a microphone. The majority of the microphones recommended by MacSpeech are wired and plug directly into a USB port. MacSpeech, however, now endorses two wireless microphones which they sell on their website, the Samson AirLine 77 Wireless USB and the Revolabs xTag USB Wireless Microphone.

These microphones eliminate another set of wires crossing your desk and are also convenient if you have to step away for a moment since you do not have to remove a headset. On the negative side, both of these microphones are quite expensive compared to a wired microphone. Aside from the cost consideration, the two microphones are significantly different from each other. This review will provide you with information to consider before purchasing so that you will choose the wireless microphone best suited for you.

(MacSpeech recently added the Plantronics Calisto Headset + Bluetooth USB Adaptor which is not included in this review.  This headset was originally designed by Plantronics for use with the Plantronics Calisto Pro Home Office Phone which is sold online and at office supply stores. I have used the Home Office Phone Bluetooth headset and it works well as a phone. The modified Calisto Headset for dictation will be reviewed in a forthcoming article. One item to note is that the Plantronics Calisto Headset uses Bluetooth technology and will have a much smaller range than the other two units.)

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Technology and Business seem to have a rite of passage. When the business starts, a few computers are purchased and the firm makes sure they can access the internet. The assumption is to become a real business requires purchasing your own server. Everybody needs one, right? And thanks to Apple and Microsoft, they are so affordable!

There was a recent blog entry about the new Apple Mac Mini Server. This is a good little product, but I felt it was important to discuss the benefits, costs, and risks of owning such a device. If a server makes sense, I think it can be a great solution. Just don’t be seduced by the apparent “low cost deal” without considering other factors.

There are good reasons to own an in-house server:

1. Apple’s Server product includes a simple Wiki and Blog engine for teams. Perhaps you have a team performing some research. Perhaps you need to develop a corporate knowledge base. The Wiki makes this simple. No programming required.
2. It provides simple file sharing. Do you have a document you want to save so others can access it? Put it on the server. A Mac or PC can easily share files.
3. iCalServer. This provides a shared calendar location for all employees. iCalServer has its quirks, but it has definitely improved in this version.
4. The Mac Mini Server has two 500 GB hard drives inside. That would allow you to create a RAID-1 (mirror) to protect your data. This only prevents downtime in case one hard drive fails in the middle of your workday. It is not a substitute for a good backup strategy.

The challenge is that many will fail to consider these additional factors:

1. Apple’s Server product (and Microsoft’s) include a built-in email server. Don’t use it. Just Say No! If you’ve got a technology consultant talking you into it, find another one. They are trying to make money on regular maintenance! Email is a very complex, always changing beast. Would you try to run your own telephone service?
2. Now that you’ve saved all your data to your server’s disk, how are you going to protect it? What is your backup strategy? What is your off-site backup strategy? I’ve had clients experience office fires, theft, and employee stupidity. Data without an off-site backup plan will be gone someday. Factor that expense into your solution.
3. Servers are computers that work many hours of the day. They never get turned off. The two most common failure points in any computer (Mac or PC) are the hard disks and the power supply. Many large servers have built-in dual power supplies because this is such a common issue. That is also why most servers utilize redundant disks (RAID-1). The Apple Mac Mini Server can handle the disk issue, but perhaps you should consider an additional extra Mac Mini power supply. Plan for the day something fails, because it will.
4. On-Going Monitoring and support is another cost factor to running your own in-house server. Who will make sure that one of the disks hasn’t failed? Who will guarantee that the backups were successful? These are not complex tasks, it is just important to not assume everything is OK.
5. The server itself may have some other hardware failure at a most inappropriate time. This is one of the primary reasons to never run your own email server. Email is too critical a communications medium to have any downtime.

There are many great solutions today that provide “Software as a Service” or SaaS. Some refer to this as “cloud-computing”. There are many factors in choosing a software partner. Several vendors have written guest columns for this site. Solutions exist for Practice Management, Calendaring, Email, Data Sharing, and Electronic Whiteboard. The list is endless. These may ultimately be more secure and cost effective solutions for your firm.

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Did you know that Apple has released a new, compact, inexpensive server that runs Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server?  With the splash created by Apple's new Magic Mouse and upgraded widescreen iMacs, the new Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server has not gotten its due press.

For the low, low price of $999, this new gem offers the following:  two 500GB, 5400 RPM 2.5" SATA hard drives; 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor; 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM (expandable to 8GB); a 6.5" square, 2" high Mac Mini enclosure, weighing just 2.9 pounds; and an unlimited user version of Mac OS X Server.  Wow.

AppleInsider compared the Mac Mini Server with PC servers and (as illustrated below) found that it costs roughly one-third of the PC servers, while offering more features (and of course being more stable).  "Prior to Snow Leopard, the unlimited user version of Mac OS X Server cost $999; that's what the unlimited user version now costs with the Mac mini server thrown in for free."

You can read much more about the new Mac mini server and the comparison with PC servers here.

Source:  "Inside Apple's New Mac Mini Server" by Daniel Eran Dilger, published at AppleInsider.  Thanks also to Jeffrey Kabbe's post about this topic at Apple Briefs.

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Everybody loves a good magic show, as long as the magic works.  Last week, Apple introduced its Magic Mouse, which it bills as "the world's first Multi-Touch mouse."  With its Bluetooth connectivity, it now enables many of the multi-touch gestures that users of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and newer MacBooks have come to love. 

However, some initial reviews have been less than stellar, which raises the question of whether the Magic Mouse is more style than substance.  While CNET raved about its sleek appearance, it was very critical of the Magic Mouse's narrow profile that "sits too low for comfort", "awkward and unnatural" feel when sliding our middle and index fingers across the flat surface, and inability to reassign the gestures to suit your personal preferences. 

The image below shows the many multi-touch gestures the Mighty Mouse offers.  I haven't had an opportunity to try one out myself, but I welcome your comments of your experiences.

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Using multiple monitors might sound like a crazy idea, but it's one of those things that once you try it, you'll wonder how you ever got along with just one monitor.  When I'm working at my desk, I have a 20" Sony flat panel monitor that I used with my MacBook.  

Two monitors enable me to minimize time switching from one thing to another and helps me be more efficient by keeping what I need to work on easily visible.  I typically keep my case management program (Rocket Matter) visible on the Sony and then whatever I'm working on (email, etc.) on my MacBook screen.  When I'm drafting a document, I can keep my reference material (notes, letters, pleadings, etc.) visible in one screen and my word processor (Pages) on the other.

Legal Practice Pro recently published an article about the benefits of using multiple monitors, which asked

How many monitors is enough? Well, that depends on you. For me, the limit is 2 – one laptop screen and a widescreen monitor capable of keeping two windows open at 95% each. I find that having more monitors gives me free reign to indulge a lack of concentration and maximize the potential for distraction.

Do you use multiple monitors in your law practice?  If so, how many do you use and what benefits have you gotten from doing so?  I welcome your input in my Comments section below.

Source:  "Multiple Monitors In The Law Office Yields Increased Productivity … To A Point" by Jay Fleischman, published at Legal Practice Pro.  Thanks to Finis Price for his post about this article.

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Last week, I published explained how "The Paperless Law Office" is possible and the ways that it can benefit your firm.  Does it make a difference if your firm uses a web-based (SaaS) case management program?  The short answer is no, as explained in a recent article by Larry Port.

The process of quickly scanning, storing, and accessing your documents is explained step-by-step (with illustrations) in Mr. Port's article.  If you use Rocket Matter (like my firm does), then simply follow these steps:

1. Choose Scan to Folder using the ScanSnap Quick Menu.
2. Name the file appropriately and store in an easy location.
3. Open Rocket Matter and navigate to the file you wish to work with.
4. Click “Add Document”, click on the “Add File” link, and select your recently scanned item.
5. If desired, you can enter notes about your file or describe it with a title and tags, and you can also add billable time if appropriate.
6. To access the document, simply click on the link to download it when needed.

Source:  "How Can I Use My ScanSnap with a Legal Software as a Service Tool Like Rocket Matter?" by Larry Port of Rocket Matter, published at ScanSnap's "Ask the Expert" forum.

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Microsoft has begun an aggressive "laptop hunters" ad campaign to attempt to convince consumers to buy PCs instead of Macs.  In fact, the latest one actually shows one of their "hunters" standing outside of an Apple Store complaining about the high costs of Macs.

PC advocates claim that there is an "Apple tax" – defined as the supposed premium that Apple computers usually cost over comparably equipped PCs.  Mac advocates counter with the concept of the "Microsoft discount" – the theory that maybe PCs cost less because Windows is worth less.

For instance, PC World compared comparably equipped machines and found the following:

• MacBook Pro vs. Dell XPS 1330 :: When configured with similar features, the MacBook Pro was only $95 more ($1,399 vs. $1,304).  These machines included the following:  13.3" LED backlit screen, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard disk, Nvidia GE Force 9400M Graphics Card, 802.11n networking, integrated webcam, backlit keyboard, and Bluetooth. The Mac has a 2.26 GHz Intel processor with a 1066 MHz frontside bus, whereas the Dell XPS 1330 comes with 2.4 GHz and 800 MHz, respectively.
  
• MacBook Air vs. Dell Adamo ::  The starting price for the Air is $1,499, whereas the Adamo starts $500 higher at $1,999.  In its $1,799 configuration, the MacBook Air matches the 128GB Solid Stage Drive of the Adamo and bests its 1.2 GHz processor with one that clocks in at 2.13 GHz. Both come with 2GB of RAM and no optical drive. The Air weighs one full pound less than the Adamo at 3 lbs.  As it turns out, the Air is less expensive than the Dell.

When I give presentations on the benefits of using Macs in a law practice, the "cost" question is one of those that almost always comes up.  I have always pointed out that Macs hold their values much better than PCs, as can be easily seen by visiting eBay and looking at the resale prices of each.  Now, I can point to the articles below to help show that Macs don't cost much (if any) more on the front end either.

Sources:  "Reassessing the Apple Tax" by Michael Scalisi, published at PC World, and "The Microsoft Discount" by Dan Miller, published at Macworld.

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As expected, the WWDC was full of exciting news about the iPhone and its 3.0 software.  The new iPhone 3G-S boasts many new features, including:

• A faster processor that will launch most apps and load web pages much faster than the previously 3G model.  It also features more storage capacity, up to 32GB.
• Shoot, edit, and share video right on the iPhone, including the ability to email the video and/or post it to the internet.
• A new 3-megapixel camera (up from 2 megapixels) that has built-in autofocus, which allows you to focus on anything by simply tapping on it.
• Built-in voice control now allows you to start calls, find songs, and locate other information on the iPhone using only your voice.
• Cut, copy, and paste items between applications and from the internet.
• Rotate the iPhone and type on a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari.
• Search all your contacts, email, calendars, notes, and iPod from one convenient place using Spotlight.
• Record your own voice or any audio with the new Voice Memos application.
• Internet tethering will soon allow you to share the 3G connection on your iPhone with your laptop computer.

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On Monday, Apple surprised many by revamping nearly its entire line of laptops at the WWDC.  The 13" aluminum MacBook is now part of the MacBook Pro line, and its 15" and 17" relatives received faster processors. 

In addition, the 13" and 15" models now come equipped with a lithium-polymer battery that Apple claims lasts for up to seven hours, while battery on the the 17" model lasts for eight hours.

Other notable improvements include a new SD card slot on the 13" and 15" models, as well as two USB 2.0 ports (three on the 17" model) and a FireWire 800 port.  The LED-backlit widescreen display offers richer, more vibrant colors, while being more power efficient.

The MacBook Air wasn't ignored, receiving a faster processor and a lower price.  Finally, the white MacBook received a slightly faster processor and a bigger hard drive.  All the revised models are available immediatley, and Apple says each model meets the criteria for the EPEAT Gold standard and Energy Star version 5.0.

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I posted an article several years ago explaining how to use a PC version of the Fujitsu ScanSnap on your Mac.  In fact, that post has been one of the most popular ones on this blog.  My office is still using that PC ScanSnap (model 5110EOX2) on our Macs every day, without a hitch (for over five years now).

I have discovered that there is now a way to install the more recent version of ScanSnap Manager with virtually all of the PC ScanSnaps, so I thought that I'd post about the newest process and included models.  Thanks to the folks at the MacOSXHints Forum for their thread on this topic.  There are some important notes and cautions in that thread, and I recommend you read it before installing this software.

First, download and install the updated ScanSnap Manager (revision: V2.2 L11) by clicking here.  Then, you need to install the appropriate patch kit.  For models S300, S500, S510, fi-5110EOX, or fi-5110EOX2, install Patch Rev. 0.4a by clicking here, and for models S300, S500, S510, and fi-5110EOX3, install Patch Rev. 0.4b by clicking here.  Once you have downloaded, unzipped, and installed these, you should be ready to go.

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If you were not able to attend this year's ABA TechShow (or even if you were), you should check out the excellent video interviews conducted by attorney and legal technology expert Finis Price of the TechnoEsq blog. He interviewed some of the most popular vendors to discuss their products, including the following:

• Larry Port from Rocket Matter about their practice management software (view here)
• Derek Flower from Fujitsu about the ScanSnap S1500 (view here)
• Jack Newton from Clio about their practice management software (view here)

Source: Finis Price's TechnoEsq blog.

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Legal technology expert Finis Price recently reviewed the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen on his TechnoEsq blog.  If you are not familiar with the Smartpen, it simultaneously records your written notes and audio in its memory, which allows you to export your notes to a searchable *.pdf file and even listen to the audio that corresponds with your notes.

Because this technology is somewhat hard to describe, and Finis' review includes video demonstrating how this amazing piece of technology works.  I highly recommend that you check out his review to determine if the Smartpen can help in your practice.  If you are interested in learning more about the Smartpen, you may also want to review the prior posts published on my blog from Ware Cornell, David Sparks, and Adam Greivell.

Source:  "Synchronized Audio and Notes with LiveScribe" by Finis Price, published at hisTechnoEsq blog.

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The following Guest Post is from Ware Cornell:

G. Ware Cornell Jr. is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer in Weston, Florida where he primarily practices employment law with the firm of Cornell & Associates P.A. He is a graduate of Emory University, the University of Georgia School of Law, and served as the first senior law clerk for United States District Judge William M. Hoeveler in the Southern District of Florida upon his investiture in 1977. Mr. Cornell was recently selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyers' honorary society.

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There has been a flurry of Apple rumors over the last week or so, and I thought that I'd list a few of the more interesting ones here for my readers:

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"The MacBook Air is the sexiest laptop ever. ...it's like nothing you've ever laid your hands on. And yes, you have to lay your hands on it to get the full effect."  So begins the love letter from National Geographic's Steve Casimiro to the MacBook Air. 

He goes on to say that it is a powerful computer that could easily replace your current laptop. To back that up, he claims that the $1,800 1.6 GHz version kept pace with his year-old MacBook Pro, even though it has less RAM and processing speed.

In his article, he analyzes the Air with regard to many factors, including its size, computing power, lack of dvd drive, and battery. He  concludes that the "speed, diminutive size, and special Apple sauce make it a compelling, almost irresistible ultra-portable."

Source:  "Macbook Air Is Light, Yes, But It's No Lightweight" by Steve Casimiro, published at the National Geographic Adventure Blog.

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Seriously... Can the iPhone or the iPod Touch replace your laptop for your mobile computing needs?  What about just some of them?  Two respected technology gurus (whom I greatly respect) have posted articles on this very subject.

Ernest Svenson a/k/a Ernie the Attorney recently traveled to Panama, and he decided not to take his laptop with him and to rely on his iPhone instead.  His article discusses the email, phone, and applications aspects in detail.  Ernie concludes that while he would not forego his laptop, it was reassuring to know how much could be done on the iPhone.

Dennis Kennedy has also written a series of articles analyzing whether the iPod Touch can serve as his secondary laptop.  Dennis walks through his thought process in analyzing his needs and wants on this issue, and it is a very interesting read.

Sources:  "Can You Travel Without a Computer, And Just Take an iPhone?" by Ernest Svenson, published at his Ernie the Attorney blog, and "My New Laptop Computer is an iPod Touch" by Dennis Kennedy, published at DennisKennedy.com.

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I will now confess that the new iMacs weren't my only purchase last week.  This morning, my new MacBook Air arrived.  I had been wanting one since they were announced, and I simply couldn't hold out any longer.

I used Apple's Migration Assistant to transfer all of my data over from my black MacBook to the new MB Air, and (of course), it worked flawlessly.  Unlike the iMacs, this process is done wirelessly with the MB Air, since it doesn't have a FireWire port.

I will share a tip and a complaint about the migration process:

• Tip  ::  Instead of letting the migration take place over your office network, create a Computer-to-Computer network.  The process will go quicker and not tie up your office network resources.
• Criticism  ::  It too waaaaaay too long to migrate the data.  How long?  Try over seven hours!  Frankly, I expected more from Apple than to allow this process slower than molasses.

I will have additional posts later this week about the new MacBook Air, the transition process, and my thoughts on using this beautiful new computer.

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As I posted last week, I recently ordered two new iMacs for our legal assistants.  They arrived early Friday morning (as scheduled), and I am pleased to report that they are now installed and running perfectly.  This post will explain how easy the transition process was.

I used Apple's Migration Assistant to copy all of the programs, passwords, and network settings from their old Mac Minis to the new iMacs.  This feature, included in Mac OS X, allows you to pull all of that informaiton over simply via FireWire.  Best of all, it only took about thirty to forty-five minutes to complete that process.

I would note that for some reason, the drivers for our network printer/copier/fax machine (Canon ImageRunner 3320i) didn't get copied over, but they only took a few minutes to reinstall.  The entire transition, including downloading the software updates to OS X and other programs, took approximately two hours per machine.

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I am happy to announce that yesterday I ordered two new 20" iMacs for my law office.  When our firm made the switch from PCs to Macs over three years ago, I bought our two legal assistants Mac Minis, which have served admirably since that time.  I made these purchases through Apple's "Business Unit," which made the shopping experience quick and easy and also yielded a slight discount on certain items.

However, even though the Minis are still going strong, I decided that it was time for an update, and it was quite an easy decision to get the iMacs.  Not only are the iMacs beautiful, but they are also quite a good buy when considering the many features that they offer.  They are scheduled to arrive on Friday, though I would not be surprised for them to show up early, as typically happens with my purchases from Apple.

I also have plans for the used Minis.  I intend to convert one into a media server, as discussed in a recent guest post.   The other one will probably be used as a file/data repository in the office, which will hopefully enable us to get rid of our Windows server.  If not, I am sure that I can find another creative use for it, as it is still quite spry after all these years.

Oh, this was not my only hardware purchase made this week... Stay tuned.

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Apple introduced its updated iMac yesterday.  The new version offers the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and the most powerful graphics ever available in an iMac. The ultimate all-in-one desktop computer includes faster processors with 6MB L2 cache, a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus across the entire line, and 2GB of memory standard in most models. The 24-inch iMac now offers a 3.06 GHz Intel processor and the high-performance NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics as options. The updated iMacs are available immediately, and they are priced starting at $1,199.

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It's becoming somewhat "old news" nowadays.  Objective testing by yet another highly respected magazine has concluded that Macs are better than PCs -- in both desktop and laptop versions. 

This time, it was Popular Mechanics recently ran two comparison tests in its May 2008 edition.  The desktop competition featured the iMac vs. Gateway One, and the notebook version featured the MacBook vs. Asus M51SR.  You can read the full article HERE, but a summary is listed below, in Popular Mechanics' own words:

In both the laptop and desktop showdowns, Apple's computers were the winners. Oddly, the big difference didn't come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine. Our respondents liked the look and feel of both operating systems but had a slight preference toward OS X. In our speed trials, however, Leopard OS trounced Vista in all-important tasks such as boot-up, shutdown and program-launch times. We even tested Vista on the Macs using Apple's platform-switching Boot Camp software--and found that both Apple computers ran Vista faster than our PCs did.

Source:  "Mac vs. PC: The Ultimate Lab Test for New Desktops & Laptops" by Glenn Derene, published in Popular Mechanics.

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I return from a brief family vacation over Spring Break to find that there has been a flurry of rumors about upcoming changes to several Apple's products. Some of the more interesting rumors are:

• The MacBook will move from a plastic cover to more eco-friendly materials such as aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel (per AppleInsider)
• The MacBook Pro line will receive a facelift, which is expected to include matte black on portions of the casings, oversized trackpads, and a thinner design (per AppleInsider)
• Walt Mossberg confidently predicts that the iPhone will have its long awaited 3G version available in 60 days (per 9to5 Mac)
• Kevin Rose predicts that the iPhone is getting a front camera for video conferencing (per 9to5 Mac)
• Apple may be negotiating to allow its customers to have unlimited access to the entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone (per MacRumors)

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My good friend, David Swanner, reports that his "tech guy is using Apple iMacs to build a more stable, easier to maintain Windows network."  That's right, even some PC tech guys are starting to come around to the many benefits offered by Macs.

Dave lists the following advantages of running Windows on a Mac:

• Nice Hardware at a Reasonable Price - Chrome and glass, 20" monitor, memory, speed, decent memory all in one box. It works well and is attractive.
• Less Desk Space - The Macs are an all in one and leave a small footprint on your desk. It's just the monitor and the keyboard.
• Ease of Maintenance - The entire Parallels Windows file is a single computer file. That's huge. You can install Windows, tweak it to the way you want, install all of the programs that you want and then all of that information will be in a single Parallels file that can be copied and backed up. If your Windows goes down, you can just copy that file back to your iMac and you're up and running. If your entire iMac goes down, you can copy that file to a different iMac and you're up and running. No worrying about file registries, different hardware signatures. No fuss, no muss.
• Portability - Once you have your Parallels backup file, you can copy that to another machine without any problems. You can't do that (easily) with Windows, because of different hardware configurations and the Windows registry.
• Ease of Installation - Once you have a specific set up that you want, for example, WordPerfect, TimeMatters, CaseMap, TimeMap, Sanction, MicroSoft Office, you can save this as a building block and as a base for every installation. Of course, you need to have a site license for each program. You will also have to switch license codes, but that's a lot easier than starting each machine's installation from scratch.

I urge you to visit Dave's post to get his thoughts.  While you are there, you should check out the rest of his blog, as I believe it's one of the best out there.

Source:  "Using iMacs to Build a Better Windows Network" by David Swanner, published at his South Carolina Trial Law Blog.

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Apple recently began shipping its revolutionary Time Capsule within the last week or so.  This product is an automatic wireless backup for your Mac, which combines a 802.11n Wi-Fi base station and a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive.

Lightening fast networking speed with a huge hard drive that encourages backups -- what's not to like?  I intend to get at least one of these in the coming months, as it enables you to use Time Machine with any connected computers, even notebooks like my MacBook. 

The first round of preliminary (and positive!) reviews of Time Capsule are now online, including:

• "Time Capsule First Impressions" published at Engadget
• "Time Capsule Initial Verdict: Smooth Sailing, No Surprises" published at Gizmodo
• "Time Capsule Ships with Support for USB Drive Backups" published at Tidbits
• "Apple Time Capsule Unboxing and Preview" published at AppleInsider

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New Mac legal blogger Peter Summerill has posted his review of the MacBook Air at his MacLitigator blog.  His pros and cons are listed below, but I urge you to read the whole review to see what one litigator thinks of this new laptop.

Pros :: Light; goes anywhere; super bright and fast screen (almost feels like an instant-on computer); small form fact makes it less obtrusive.

Cons :: Still a laptop; battery life not as advertised; a little bit expensive.

Source:  "MacBook Air - The Litigator's Review" by Peter Summerill, posted at his MacLitigator blog.

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Much has been written about the MacBook Air since its introduction earlier this month.  Sure, its the world's thinnest notebook and it is visually stunning, but how does it really stand up to the other "heavy hitters" in the ultra-light notebook market?  AppleInsider published an article that compares the MacBook Air with the offerings from Sony, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Panasonic, and Asus.  For a summary, you can view the chart below, and for the detailed findings, you can click HERE.

Source:  "How the MacBook Air Stacks Up Against Other Ultra-Light Notebooks" by Prince McLean, published at AppleInsider.

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Twenty-four years ago today (Jan. 24, 1984), Apple released the original Macintosh computer (pictured at right).  It was revolutionary at the time, as the Macintosh was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a mouse and a graphical user interface.  For the youngsters out there, prior to that time, computers operated via the use of text characters, i.e. typing commands instead of pointing and clicking.

Apple famously announced the Mac's arrival during a commercial aired on January 22, 1984, during Super Bowl XVIII.  That commercial pictured a woman hurling a sledgehammer at a huge "big-brother" like video screen, which represented IBM, manufacturer of the dominant computers of that time.  The video was directed by Ridley Scott, who would later become famous for major motion pictures such as Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Alien, among others.

Of course, over the last twenty-four years, there have been some ups and downs for Apple, but today many experts (including me) believe that Apple makes the best personal computer on the market today.  Apple is constantly breaking new ground with both their operating systems, software, and stunningly beautiful hardware.  As a tribute to the Mac, I have pasted the original "1984" commercial below, and I look forward to what Apple has in store for us over the next twenty-four years.

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One of my favorite Mac legal bloggers, David Sparks, attended this year's Macworld Conference & Expo, and he recently published the following thoughts about it at MacSparky:

In addition to being an affirmed Mac geek, I am also a lawyer.  So as I spent the last several days talking to developers and roaming the halls of Macworld, a few things in particular got me excited about practicing law with my Mac.

Macbook Air

Apple's new machine is a real eye catcher.  It is just three pounds and manages to keep a 13 inch monitor.  While this would be really nice for the roadwarrior or running around in depositions and trial, the $1800 price tag makes me look twice.  If you really need thin and are willing to sacrifice a bit of functionality (no ethernet or firewire) you may want to check it out.  I'm sticking with my Macbook Pro for the time being.

MacSpeech

For those of you former PC users who miss having DragonDictate in your toolbelt, fret no more.  I was never a big fan of iListen, but the folks at at iListen recently acquired the license for the Dragon recognition engine for use on the Mac.  Their new product, MacSpeech Dictate will be releasing next month and looks fantastic.  I spent about an hour at their booth and am very impressed.  I also watched David Pogue fawn over it as it produced very accurate and quick results.

I wasn't alone in my opinion that this product will change things.  It was one of the "Best of Show" award winners by several publications.  Put this one at the top of your list for productivity boosters.

OmniFocus

I'm a big fan of the Omni Group applications.  I use OmniOutline, OmniPlan, and OmniGraffle to manage much of my caseload.  I got in early on the beta of their OmniFocus task management application and it was just released as a 1.0.  This application is fantastic for keeping all the plates in the air.  I did an extended review of it at Macsparky.com.

I talked to the folks at Omni and they are going to do everything in their power to get these applications on the iPhone once the iPhone SDK releases.

BusySync

For the small offices that don't need the expense of a server but want to sync iCal calendars between multiple desks, there is a great little application called BusySync.  For a cost of $20 per computer, you get seamless bonjour and net syncing between machines.  They have a new version due out soon that will also allow for Google calendar syncing.

Bento

FileMaker is the best application for database intensive solutions.  If you are running a small practice, FileMaker's smaller application, Bento, looks really robust.

Billings and Daylite

Marketcircle continues its place at the top of small office management software.  They had a nice booth and made regular presentations.  I was unaware of some of their interesting add-on products like Daylite Delivery and the FileMaker connector.  These guys fill a very particular niche.

Fujitsu ScanSnap

I love my Fujitsu ScanSnap.  It is a reliable, fast scanner with a small footprint.  Now they have a portable version, the S300M, that retails at $295 and looks perfect for those depositions on the other side of the country.

Smart Board

Smart Technologies has a very impressive device you install over your LCD television that allows you to create a virtual white board like you are John Madden.  The price point is steep.  I was told "around $5,000" but it sure is nice.

Storage - Drobo and TimeCapsule

While TimeCapsule is aimed as a consumer device, 1TB storage with a built in wireless "N" router is a pretty attractive product.

I was also impressed with the Drobo that allows you to drop up to four swappable drives in with no headache.  Interestingly, if you pull out a drive while it is running (or if the drive dies), Drobo automatically moves the data around to protect its integrity.  The Drobo device costs $500 without any drives.

For all of you Mac lawyers, I highly recommend visiting Macworld sometime when you get a chance.  Not only will you find some great tools for your practice, you'll probably have a good time while you are at it.

Source:  "A Lawyer's Take on Macworld" by David Sparks, published at MacSparky.

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Apple introduced its ultra-compact laptop, the MacBook Air, at MacWorld yesterday.  Billed as "the world's thinnest notebook," it is a full-size notebook measuring only 0.16 to 0.76 inches thick and weighing just 3.0 pounds.  It comes with an LED backlit display comes standard, and a solid-state hard drive is optional.

I think that this new notebook computer looks incredibly cool, and those wanting a light, thin, cool laptop should look no further.  Some may lament the lack of a built-in CD/DVD drive, but the new Remote Disk function and optional external drive should serve the needs of almost everyone.  I have included a video below that shows Walt Mossberg's first impressions of the MacBook Air.

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A few weeks ago, Apple unveiled its newly redesigned iMac computers.  AppleInsider published an in-depth review of the new iMac, including several high resolution photos.  If you are considering getting an iMac, if you want to be convinced to get one, or if you're just curious, click HERE to read their review.

Source:  "Review: Apple's New 24-Inch iMac (Aluminum)" by Aidan Malley, published at AppleInsider.

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Do you have an old printer sitting around that you would like to use?  Back when I was using PCs, I had a Kyocera FS-1200 printer that was great.  It produced high-quality pages at a very fast speed -- pretty much all you could ask for from a printer.  The problem is that there is not a driver to use this printer with Mac OS X Tiger.

Yesterday, I decided that perhaps it was time to use this printer as something other than a place to stack legal magazines to be read "one day."  I spent less than five minutes searching online, when I found this article in the MacWorld forums.  It discusses a generic printer driver that can be used to operate over 500 older printers from various manufacturers, including Brother, Epson, HP, Samsung, and my FS-1200.

I spent approximately five more minutes downloading and installing this driver, and now my old PC printer works like a charm with my MacBook.  If you need a driver for an older printer, check out this article and chances are it will solve your problem.  In less than ten total minutes, my old printer was revived and is now printing as good as new.

Source:  "Found an OS X Printer Driver for Old Printers" posted in the MacWorld forums.

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I have had several conversations with people over the past few weeks discussing which desktop Mac I would recommend for the law office.  I have two Mac minis in my office, but the iMacs are excellent machines.

A post today at Mac360 addresses the iMac vs. mini debate.  That article concludes that "dollar for dollar, feature for feature, the iMac is actually a better value than a Mac mini, even at twice the price. But if your need for feature parity are less, then the Mac mini saves you plenty of money."

Source:  "Mac mini vs. iMac: A Good Value Or An Expensive Toy?" by Kate MacKenzie, published at Mac360.

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At a press conference yesterday, Apple announced several significant improvements to its hardware and software offerings.  Several of these are significant for attorneys interested in or already using Macs in their offices. 

Software  ::  Apple's office suite, iWork '08, is new and greatly improved, and it may now be a viable alternative to Microsoft Office. 

• Numbers '08  ::  iWork now features a spreadsheet program.  It is not as fancy as Excel, but it looks as though it will do everything that most attorneys will need, and it does them very simply and easily.
• Pages '08  ::  Apple's word processor received many updates, including the addition of change tracking.  This program not only does word processing, but it also serves handles page layouts well.
• Keynote '08  ::  I believe that Keynote was already vastly superior to PowerPoint before this update.  Not only are there new templates, but Apple has included fantastic new text and transition effects and voice casting.

Hardware:

• iMacs  ::  The revised iMac features a thinner body, faster chips, a new keyboard layout, and lower prices.
• Mac mini  ::  Despite rumors that it was being discontinued, the Mac mini lives on.  It received a small speed bump and Core 2 Duo chip.

Other:

• Apple introduced improvements to its iLife '08 suite, primarily in iMovie and iPhoto.
• .Mac now features 10 GB of web storage and a Web Gallery.

Sources:  "Apple's iWork '08: The Office For The Rest Of Us" by Ron McElfresh, published at Mac360 and "Apple's August Announcements - What Was Really Important" by Chris Kerins, published at My First Mac.

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I previously posted about my fondness for the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner.  What I didn't mention was that my particular ScanSnap (model 5110EOX2) is actually a holdover from my old PC-using days.  I had this scanner for roughly a year before I moved my office to Macs two years ago.

Some time after that, Fujitsu released a Mac-specific (white) version of the ScanSnap.  However, many people want to use the PC (black) model with their Macs -- either because they already owned one before the Mac version was released or or because the PC version is slightly less expensive than it's white cousin.

Both models work basically the same.  They both come with the full version of Adobe Acrobat, and they both work quickly and efficiently.  However, there is a difference that I want to address in this article.  The Mac driver for the black (PC) version is only available in Japanese.  Domo Arigato! 

All of the features work just fine, but nothing is in English, which makes it a bit tricky figuring out certain things.  Fortunately, all of the dialog boxes are in the same places as shown in the English manual, but it's not practical to keep that on hand in case you need it.

Never fear though, there is a solution to this situation which enables you to load the Japanese drivers and then convert them to English.  The following instructions walk you through this process step-by-step:

1. Download the English and Japanese versions of the ScanSnap software from Fujitsu (be sure to download the correct version for your Mac, Intel or PPC).
   • Japenese Link (Currently V20L22)
   • English Link (Currently V20L10)
2. Mount the Japenese disk image (V20L22.dmg) and install (just keep clicking the blue button on the right hand side to advance the installation).
3. After installation, unmount the Japanese image to avoid confusion later on.
4. Mount the English disk image (V20L20.dmg) but DO NOT install it.
5. Open the English disk image (you should see a file named "ScanSnap_V20L11" or "ScanSnap_V20L11.pkg").
6. Right-Click (control-click) on that image and select "Show Package Contents".
7. Open the "Contents" folder and open the "Resources" folder.
8. Locate the file called "ScanSnap_V20L11.pax.gz" and double-click on it.
9. After it has unarchived the file, a ScanSnap folder should now appear on your desktop. Open it.
10. In this folder, you should see the "ScanSnap Manager" which shows the WHITE version of the scanner.  Right-Click (control-click) on the application and select "Show Package Contents".
11. Open the "Contents" folder and open the "Resources" folder.
12. Locate the folder called "English.lproj" and copy this folder to a safe place (like your Desktop).
13. At this point, it will help you avoid clutter and confusion by closing all of the various open windows.
14. Go to your Applications folder, find the ScanSnap folder there, and open it.
15. In this folder, locate the "ScanSnap Manager" which shows the BLACK version of the scanner, which is the Japenese version that needs to be change. Right-Click (control-click) on the application and select "Show Package Contents".
16. Open the "Contents" folder and open the "Resources" folder.
17. Copy the "English.lproj" that you just extracted to this folder.
18. Voila! You should now have support for multiple Fujitsu ScanSnap scanners with English localization!

Source:  "ScanSnap fi-5110EOX for Macintosh" thread in the MaxOSXHints Forums.

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People often ask me which is better -- the MacBook or the MacBook Pro?  As I have previously posted, I opted for the MacBook, and I have been very satisfied with my choice.  Of course, I do miss the backlit keyboard that comes with the MacBook Pro (and my old PowerBook), but I remind myself that that one minor feature didn't justify the price difference -- at least not to me.

Tim Bray, who works at Sun Microsystems, recently published an article in which he discusses his decision to go with the MacBook instead of its bigger silver brother.  Among the reasons he loves his black MacBook are its longer battery life, great WiFi reception, smaller size, durability, and cool look.  He goes so far as to state that "at this point anyone who buys a silver Mac is making a big mistake."  If you're currently debating which Mac laptop to purchase, you may want to check out his article.

Source:  "Unprofessional in Black" by Tim Bray, published at his Ongoing blog.

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Apple has opened its Apple Outlet, which was formerly known as the "Special Deals" section of its online Apple Store.  This site is the place to shop for certified and refurbished Apple products at discounted prices.  Apple tests and certifies all refurbished products, and they all include a 1-year warranty.  I have bought products from the Apple Outlet before, and I have always been well satisfied with their products.

The Apple Outlet is organized into the following sections:

• Refurbished Mac  ::  Shop Apple-certified Mac desktops and notebooks at once-in-a-lifetime prices.
• Clearance Items  ::  Get discount prices on new, unopened products from Apple and other manufacturers.
• Big Deals  ::  See special offers, promotions, and other great deals available for a limited time only.
• Refurbished iPod  ::  Find deals on the Apple-certified iPod, iPod nano, or iPod shuffle you've always wanted.

Source:  "Apple Launches the Apple Outlet" published at the Switch To A Mac blog.

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Reports have begun to surface that Apple may discontinue the Mac mini in the near future.  Both AppleInsider and Mac 360 published articles within the last week speculating that the end is near for the mini. 

• AppleInsider  ::  Closing the Book on Apple's Mac Mini, by Kasper Jade
• Mac 360  ::  Say It Ain't So: Apple To Drop The Mac Mini? by Ron McElfresh

Both articles list reasons to support their suspicion, but of course nothing official has been released by Apple on this possibility.  Our administrative assistants use Mac minis in our office, and we have found them to be excellent for this purpose.  The main draws for us were the features, price, size, and ability to use our existing monitors, keyboards, and mice.

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BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group conducted a study to find out which companies are the most innovative in the eyes of senior executives.  Guess which company topped the list -- Apple -- for the third year in a row!  The report says that it is "a master of superb product, store and experience design." 

Source:  "Most Innovative Companies", published at AOL.com.

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The upcoming (June 2007) print edition of Consumer Reports magazine gives high praise and high rankings to Macs in both the notebook and desktop categories.  Of course, this comes as no surprise to Mac users, but it's always nice to see objective rankings to back up what we already know.

The 15" MacBook Pro was the top-rated notebook in the workhorse models category, beating out 10 other portable models.  The 20" iMac desktop was ranked third overall and given "Quick Pick" designation in the workhorse models category.

Also, based on feedback given by over 77,000 Consumer Reports readers, Apple was the top ranked manufacturer.  Finally, Consumer Reports described Apple's Tech Support as "superior".  All of these are more objective reasons to consider making the move to a Mac.

Source:  "Consumer Reports June 2007: Apple Macs Rank High in Notebook and Desktop Categories" published at the Switch To A Mac blog.

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Earlier this week, Apple announced a whole new way to shop at your local Apple Store.  Personal Shopping is a free service where you and a dedicated Mac Specialist explore and test-drive products to find out which ones are best for you.  This service is free, and it affords you undivided attention, even in a busy store.

Source:  "Apple Unveils ProCare Changes; Project LaunchBox; iPhone Parts", published at AppleInsider.

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I am pleased to present the following post from Illinois attorney Michael R. Grossman, who wrote about his re-conversion to Apple:

I've been thinking about going solo for a while now, and while I still haven't made the leap, I'm willing to invest in a new computer to support my decision making process. So, after much research and contemplation, I purchased a new 24" iMac.

Actually, there wasn't that much research and contemplation. It was a contest between a Mac mini with maxed-out RAM and a 23" Apple monitor, or a 24" iMac. Based upon my research, and some helpful emails from both Ben Stevens and Grant Griffiths, I chose the iMac. I think it's a great bang for the buck, even though a lot of bucks are involved.

I've had a continuing relationship with Apple computers since 1981 when I began dating an Apple ][ in junior high school. We used to hold hands as I would stare at its pixilated games. I wasn't sure what to do with the buttons but I knew deep down there was an attraction building. Everything was new and I felt oddly empowered.

My parents gave me an Apple ][+ in 1982 for my Bar Mitzvah and I formed a close and meaningful relationship with this machine for a number of years. Eventually we brought a 300-baud acoustical modem into our relationship and that arrangement opened new and mysterious doors that even today I find exciting. These many years later I think fondly of the long hours I stared at the green screen and CAPITAL LETTERS.

While in my junior year of high school the Apple ][+ and I parted ways - I started to date an Apple ][gs. Color screen, fancy sounds and GUI. I was in lust - I knew enough to know the difference. Although my old Apple ][+ was solid and reliable, the gs offered me some excitement. I was mature compared to my mid-teenage geek friends and they didn't understand why I needed upper and lowercase. It was around this time I started drinking Mountain Dew and hanging out at Taco Bell and although I'm not one to make excuses, well... let's just say I don't talk to many people I knew during these days.

In retrospect, gs was bad for me - very bad. I felt empty after the experience. I should have never left ][+. gs didn't have the layers of naïve discovery that I was used to with that simple grey-brownish keyboard and 64k of memory. But, alas, ][+ was gone and I knew it was too late to mend those FENCES.

While rebounding and trying to gain my geek footing, I turned to a 286 PC for comfort. Maybe I did this as a form of self-punishment - I don't know. My therapists theorize that I couldn't see clearly at this time in life, likely blinded by green CAPITAL LETTERS still resonating in my eyes. I try not to blame myself for the actions I took during this time but it's hard not to do so.

I won't bore you with the whirring details of this period of my life except to say that I'm not proud. There was a 486 early on, a chunky machine named Gateway, and most recently a sleek black number that had a major hard drive crash.

I credit much of my recovery to my wife. When I first met her she was using an all-in-one Power Mac G3. It was heavy, sturdy and built like a tank. After my wife and I were getting serious in our relationship I started to feel a certain attraction to G3. I wasn't sure why, at the time, but it stirred up memories and feelings that were long dormant.

I tried to avert my eyes from G3, particularly when Gateway was in the room, but it was difficult. It saw me frequently staring and eventually I admitted my attraction. I suggested to my wife that we take things a step further. Reluctantly, she agreed, and we picked up a hot little G4 iMac in 2003. Things progressed quickly with a sleek G4 Powerbook following shortly thereafter.

As a criminal defense attorney often dealing with clients who are sobriety-challenged, I've learned that recovery is paved with setbacks. Certainly I haven't been immune to this cliché. A couple years ago when having a bad day as the result of a courtroom verdict, I filled myself full of gin-and-tonics and picked up an XP machine on the way home from the tavern. We partied a bit with Photoshop, of all things, but I knew it was temporary. My wife certainly wasn't pleased and eventually I just felt gross. The hard drive failed recently and that was it - I was done.

A couple of weeks ago, while walking down the street, I saw an old friend through a store window. Calling itself "Vista" now I walked away without saying hello. I was hoping it wouldn't notice me. I felt sad for it as too many years of blue screens had left it a heap of promised possibilities. I was there during those times - I know the stories first-hand. Yes, we had some fun together in college, but now after major cosmetic surgery it's hard to recognize what I was attracted to in the first place.

When I went to the store to buy the new iMac, I wanted to share with all of the perky sales staff and eager customers my story. "Gather round ye' all and I'll share you a tale of green screens and CAPITAL LETTERS..." but decided against it. They wouldn't really appreciate it and likely wouldn't be able to hear me through those white wires cascading from their ears - whatever those are. But I now feel sound and optimistic. Sound because I feel young, stable and excited about a computer again. Optimistic because I know that if I do begin a solo law practice, it will reside upon a dynamic and productive Mac.

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As you are aware, I switched from my PowerBook to my new MacBook in mid-January.  I love the new computer, but I have had one problem with it -- until today.  Since it arrived, I have not been able to access the internet from anywhere as I could with the PowerBook.  Allow me to explain...

For the last couple of years, I had a Verizon Wireless PC card to connect my PowerBook (and my PC laptop before it) to the internet from anywhere.  The card I used was a Novatel PCMCIA Card, and it worked flawlessly on both PC and Mac platforms.  I always had fast, reliable service, and I was able to connect to both my office network and the internet at large when I was away from my home or office.

However, the MacBook doesn't have a PC card slot, which rendered my existing card useless.  Verizon does offer a USB card, but their customer service department didn't do anything to entice me to make the conversion.  In fact, they offered me the same options as someone who had never been a Verizon customer, basically igoring our mutli-year relationship.  Also, I was a little hesitant to lock myself into another long-term contract with all of the technological developments occuring almost weekly.

My regluar cellphone service is with Alltel, using a Motorola RAZR v3c.  I have read where some people had been able to connect various laptops to the internet using only their cellphones, and I decided to find out if this option would work for me.  After a quick Google search on this topic, I found an article by Michael Ash which explained how to connect a Mac to Alltel's network using a RAZR.  After spending less than five minutes following Mr. Ash's procedure, I was able to connect as described. 

Because I have excellent service from Alltel, I can once again access the internet from anywhere I have cellular service, which is almost everywhere.  The access speed is somewhat slower than I had with Verizon, but it's still fast enough to be functional.  Also, $0 is much better than the $70 per month I was paying with Verizon.  The setup for this new procecure was fast and easy... and it just works -- very Mac-like.

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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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Yesterday, I discussed The Register's article comparing Macs vs. PCs for business use.  In conjunction with its analysis of that article, LifeHacker is running a poll which asks the question:  If you were buying right now, would you choose Mac or PC for business?

As of the time I write this post, less than 30% of the responders would choose Windows, and over 60% believe that Macs are the superior platform choice for businesses.   You can view the current results and vote for yourself by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Reader Poll: Mac or PC for Business?" published at LifeHacker.

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Which machine is better for business use -- Mac or PC?  You know my opinion, but let's look at another analysis of this issue, this time by The Register.   

Ability to Run Other OS:  Macs allow you to run either the BootCamp public beta, which allows you to dual boot a system with OSX and Windows XP, or a virtualisation product like Parallels which supports a range of operating systems, including OSX, Vista and "older" operating systems like XP, 2000, NT and DOS.  Of course, PCs offer no such options, and you cannot run Mac OS X on a PC.

Price Comparison:  When comparing prices between a Dell laptop and the latest MacBook, both with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the author found that they cost roughly the same for an equivalent load of software. However, he noted that there's really no comparison between the free iLife products that you get with a new Mac and the random mix of crippled and evaluation software that ships with the average PC. 

Availability of Peripherals:  The author notes that it is often times harder to find peripherals that supports Macs. He does acknowledge that as more Macs are sold, this may change.  On a personal note, I have never had any trouble locating peripherals, as the few that cannot be picked up locally at an office supply store or an Apple Store can easily be ordered online and in hand a day or two later.

Software Options:  Whatever you want to do, you're liable to be able to find a range of products to choose from for the PC, but in many categories you will be restricted to a choice of one for the Mac, and you may well have a job finding a place to buy it.  I won't argue that there are more software titles available for PCs, but does more translate to better?   I say no.

Technical Issues:  As is widely acknowledged, the author notes that he has spent close to zero time while on the road trying to fix compatibility and technical issues with his Mac, whereas it is a regular issue with my desktop PC.

You can read the whole article by clicking HERE and decide for yourself which system is best for your business.

Source:  "Mac or PC? You've Seen the Ads, How Do You Choose for Business?" by David Perry, published at The Register.

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Ever see a fight developing in which you already knew who the winner would be?  I am in just such a position right now.  The "fight" I'm referring to is actually an online discussion/debate about the relative benefits and shortcomings of PCs and Macs as hardware platforms for solo practitioners.

• In the PC corner is Ben Cowgill, an attorney in Lexington, KY and publisher of SoloBlawg.com.  Ben has been a PC user for over 20 years, and he believes that "the PC World continues to offer many more options and solutions than the Mac World."

• In the Mac corner is Grant Griffiths, an attorney in Clay Center, KS and publisher of the Home Office Lawyer blog.  The motto of Grant's blog is "A Mac, A Blog, A Home Office... What more does a lawyer need?"

I'm reminded of Sean Connery's quote from The Untouchables about "bringing a knife to a gun fight..."  Anyway, the first salvos have been fired by each of the combatants.  You can read Ben's here and Grant's here.  Grant claims that by the time this is over, Ben will buy a Mac for his own law office.  For the record, my money is firmly on the Mac guy in this one -- no big surprise!  With apologies to Michael Buffer, "Let's get ready to rumble!"  This should be fun to watch.

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AppleMatters recently looked at the resale value of Macs.  It compared the purchase price and resale values (from eBay) for models over a seven year period.  The conclusion was that after a decrease over the first two years, the resale values leveled off.  In fact, even a six year old Mac laptop could sell today for $400.  Does anyone think that a six year old PC could sell today for $400?  When you consider that new PC laptops can be purchased starting at about $600 these days, I think the answer is an obvious and resounding NO.

The article concludes that Apple machines retain their value for two main reasons:

• Since Apple faces no hardware competition, prices stay artificially high.
• Apple's hardware stays relevant longer than its "equivalent" in the PC world.

The bottom line is that "Macs remain competitive long after their PC brethren have gone to that great recycling heap in the sky. Which means, in the long run, your Mac cost less. Just something to think about next time you get ready to put your old Mac out to pasture. Somebody still wants it."  This article is well researched and well written.  There are graphs to illustrate the points being conveyed, and if you need yet another reason to purchase a Mac, be sure to read this article.

Source:  "The Amazing Resale Value of Your Mac" by James R. Stoup, published at AppleMatters.

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As part of his current series, "Legal Technology Trends for 2007", Dennis Kennedy predicts that there will be a noticable increase in the number of lawyers using Mac notebooks.  He attributes the anticipated increase to the complexity and potential costs of moving to new Microsoft versions of Windows Vista and Office 2007.

The Intel-based Macintoshes, with the ability to run Windows and Windows programs in a virtual machine or to boot up directly in Windows, have changed the thinking of many lawyers about Macintoshes. The Macs have excellent reputations on usability and security, perhaps the two biggest issues for lawyers. As we do more work on the Internet, our capacity to work on the Internet, more so than our operating system, becomes the biggest factor in what our computing needs are. Lawyers who examine closely what their needs actually are beginning to make the move toward Macintosh, and the number of Macintosh resources for lawyers, including blogs, will surprise many lawyers.

It is certainly good news for Mac enthusiasts for a legal technology guru like Mr. Kennedy to give the Mac such high praise.  However, in mentioning the ease of use and security inherent in Macs, he fails to mention the many other advantages that Macs afford attorneys and law firms, such as increased productivity due to fewer technical problems; savings due to no need for anti-virus software; ability to use Apple's superior presentation software (Keynote); and lower maintenance costs resulting from few (if any) technical problems.

Source:  "Dennis Kennedy's Seven Legal Technology Trends for 2007 - Widening the Digital Divide in Law Practice - Part 2" by Dennis Kennedy, published at his blog.

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Mitch Ratcliffe at ZDNet is running a series comparing the MacBook Pro and ThinkPad X60, which consists of the following articles:

• The Great Vista/Mac Showdown: Before the starting gun
• The Great Vista/Mac Showdown: Unboxing the ThinkPad X60 and MacBook Pro
• The Great Vista/Mac showdown: Hardware is where customization begins and ends
• The Great Vista/Mac Showdown: Minimum requirements; Vista isn't bloatware
• The Great Vista/Mac Showdown: Mac migration a breeze, Vista's migration is a headache

If you're interested in a thorough side-by-side comparison of the Mac vs. PC debate, you should definitely check out these articles.

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Mac360 recently determined which Mac is the "Value King" -- the one that was (a) "affordable, but powerful"; (b) "attractive yet efficient in design"; and (c) in "that sweet spot between price, power, capability, et al."

Its analysis determined that the new Core 2 Duo 24-inch iMac (priced at $1,999) was the winner.  This model is the absolute top of the line iMac, and it comes with a huge 24-inch display, built-in iSight camera, 1GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, 4MB L2 cache, the Apple Remote, Bluetooth, and an NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT video card with 128 megs RAM.  This model also has a capability for upgrade that is not found in the lower-end models.

Another option is the "low-end" iMac, which is priced at $999 price and comes with 17-inch screen, Core 2 Duo CPU, keyboard, mouse, graphics, SATA hard drive, CD/DVD, and Airport Extreme.  Those features will likely be more than enough for most attorneys, and at one-half the price of the above-described 24-inch model.

The money quote: "It's tough to find a better, more attractive, more powerful, more capable, more elegant statement, than the high end iMac.  The $1,999 price tag may not seem like bargain basement, but value doesn't always attach itself to the lowest price. Ask any Dell user."

When CNN Money compared the iMac with a Dell, it found that "you'll get more for your money with Apple."  You can read Peter Lewis' comparison of the iMac and Dell's PC by clicking HERE and decide for yourself.

Source:  "The Ultimate Mac Value: Tricked Out, Low Price" by Carol Mary Miller, published at Mac360.

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After months of forcing myself to wait to order a new MacBook, I finally broke down and placed an Order last week for a black one with 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB RAM, and 160 GB hard drive.  Apple kept its delivery record perfect with me by once again delivering the product to me sooner than its own anticipated arrival date.  How many companies do you know that regularly do that?  Kudos to Apple!

Last night, I moved all my data, settings, etc. to the new MacBook from my old PowerBook using Apple's Migration Assistant, which is included in Mac OS X Tiger.  I previously posted on this topic last September, and I am pleased to report that the "moving" process went as smooth as silk.  In fact, even when using my most critical eye, I have NO complaints at all about the process. 

It took me less than ten minutes to enter the necessary information and plug in a firewire cable.  I then sat back and let two Macs chat and do all the heavy lifting for me.  After about an hour and a half of data movement, everything had been shifted over to my new MacBook and the process was done.  My network connections, passwords, printer configurations, and everything else was right where I expected them to be, and they worked flawlessly the first time. 

Unfortunately, our PC-using friends don't have it so easy.  Compare my experience with that of FutureLawyer Rick Georges as described in the post on his blog or in his article, The Agony and the Ecstasy of the Laptop Upgrade on this same subject.  Rick spent "two days and nights" copying his files to a new PC, and he compared the process to "getting a root canal."  Ouch!  So painful and so unnecessary...

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Unless you've literally been living under a rock, you know that MacWorld 2007 was held earlier this week in San Francisco, CA.  During the much anticipated Steve Jobs keynote address, several new products were announced including the iPhone and Apple TV. 

Somewhat unexpectedly, no major announcements were made specifically for the Mac.  Nonetheless, Apple is still expected to release its Leopard version of Mac OS X in the coming months along with its "normal" slew of product upgrades. 

You can watch Mr. Jobs' keynote address for yourself HERE, or you can read summaries and discussions of what did (and didn't) take place at MacWorld 2007 at the following sites:

• AppleMatters  ::  "Macworld 2007 - Summary and iPhone Announcement"
• Mac360  ::  "Macworld: All About What We Liked, Loved, Hated"
• MacUser  ::  "MW07: A word on the lack of Mac updates in the Keynote"

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If you were lucky enough to get a new Mac for Christmas, you might find the following article helpful:

Someone must love you, since there was a shiny new Mac waiting under the tree for you this morning. I know you're excited to get it up and running, and it'll be easier than you think. There are some tips I would like to share with you, oh newly inducted acolyte to the Cult of Mac, that should make your Mac adventure even more fun.

Toss aside the included mouse: All desktop Macs now come with the Mighty Mouse (except the Mac mini, of course), which is a multibutton mouse that pretends to be a one button mouse. Toss it aside and get yourself a real mouse (the Logitech MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse is currently my favorite mouse of all time). If you received a portable Mac you should also pick yourself up a mouse. The included Trackpad is nice, but a mouse is much nicer.

Download Quicksilver and Growl: You might not get why Quicksilver and Growl are awesome. You might not get it for awhile, but when it clicks your Mac experience will become even better. Trust me, would a blogger lie to you?

Enable Tabbed Browsing in Safari: Launch Safari, go to 'Preferences,' 'Tabs,' and check the 'Enable Tabbed Browsing.' You might also want to check out many of the Mac only variants of web browsers: Omniweb, Optimized Firefox, Camino (which is still my personal favorite), and Shiira.

Drag your Applications folder to the Dock: I wrote a post, about a year ago, detailing how to move your hard disk into the Dock for easy access. I have since amended my setup to include only the Applications Folder in the Dock, since that is where I needed to go most of the time anyway. Follow the instructions in my previous post, but just drag the Applications Folder in the Dock instead of the entire hard disk.

Charge the battery, but not too much: If you found a MacBook or MacBook Pro under the tree make sure that you plug it in the first time you use it. Apple has a list of tips for maximizing the battery life of portables, give it a read to ensure many happy cycles on your battery.

Read TUAW: I admit that I am a little biased, but we here at TUAW strive to be that Mac geek friend of yours that knows where to find all the cool Mac stuff on the web. Our knowledgeable bloggers (and me!) are always ready with new tips, tricks, and news to share so make sure you come back often.

Source: "Getting Started With Your New Mac" by Scott McNulty, published at The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

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With Griffin's new iTalk Pro, you may be able to find another legitimate business justification for an iPod. This product allows you to create voice memos into the iPod, which are automatically time/date stamped. You can read a full review of this product HERE.

Source: "Review: iTalk Pro from Griffin Technology" by Brian Burnham, published at MacMerc.com.

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Until you are lucky enough to get a new laptop which has the MagSafe Power Adapter, you might find the following suggestion from Mac OS X Hints helpful to maximize the lifespan of your power cord:

This may be old news, but I thought it was a worthy suggestion to prolong the life of any Mac power adapter cord that has the small u-shaped sliding cord keeper. Slide the cord keeper right up to the reinforcement at the male end, as seen in the image at right. Insert the plug into your Mac. About three inches from Mac, make a loop and double the cord back on itself and insert the doubled portion into the cord keeper to maintain the loop. This reinforces the connection to the computer, holding it at a 90 degree angle from computer. It also serves as a shock absorber, as the loop will release first before pulling the cord from the computer.

Source: "Reduce Pressure on Laptop Power Cord Connectors" published at Mac OS X Hints.

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What if you could take your own video depositions for an investment of less than $100.00? Well, believe it or not, you can. The new Mac laptops (MacBook and MacBook Pro) have built-in iSight cameras, which allow you to easily create movies/video with iMovie HD.

Now, I can hear you thinking, but the iSight camera is designed to film the person facing the monitor, not the person on the other side. Never fear, a solution is near -- meet Huckleberry, a tiny webcam mirror which attaches to the screen to reflect the camera's field of view. The Huckleberry is made by Ecamm, and it comes with their award-winning iGlasses software, which provides iSight video enhancement and manipulation, including mirror image functionality.

Total cost to you: iMovie (included in iLife) $79.00 + Huckleberry $19.95 + iGlasses $0.00 = $98.95. Let's see a PC beat that -- or even come close!

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With Apple having released several fantastic new products within the last few months, the holiday season, and the end of the year quickly approaching, many of you may want to make purchases in the next few weeks. AppleMatters recently published the following tips on getting the most Apple for your money:

• Look at the store, but buy online :: The best deals are always on the web. Now, you have to wait for your order to ship to you and so you must buy early, but that is a small price to pay for saving a few hundred bucks as you will see below.

• Educational discounts rock :: To qualify for the educational discount you have to be a student, teacher or in some way affiliated with an institution of learning. To use the discount all you have to do is go to the online Apple Store and click on the "savings for students, faculty and staff" link. Follow the directions, find your school and then when you are returned to the Apple store you will magically find that all computers, monitors and iPods have been reduced in price by 5% to 15%! Limits apply as to how many items you can purchase in a year. Be warned though that this discount can only be used at their online store. For clarification see tip #1.

• There is no shame in refurbished products :: Did you know that Apple sells refurbished iPods, Macs, monitors and Airport Base stations? Well, a lot of people don't, much to their loss. Go to the online Apple Store and click on the red "sale" tag (located on the bottom right of the page). From there you will be able to see all of Apple's refurbished products as well as any sales or promos they are currently running. Sometimes you can get deals up to 40 percent off their original price.

• Check out other sites :: Apple.com isn't the only place to go for great deals. If you want harddrives, memory, optical drives and just about anything that can be inserted into a Mac check out MacSales.com and have a look at all of their wonderful stuff. They tend to have fair prices (and they ship fast) so be sure to use them if your Mac needs an upgrade this Christmas. If you like bundle deals then skip Apple's store and head over to MacMall.com and see what they have for sale. Their prices match Apple's (assuming you don't use any discounts) but come with lots of free stuff and special offers. For example, if you buy a laptop you can get a free Lexmark printer and the option of buying Parallels desktop for $9.99 or a Sling backpack for $4.99. An even better deal (for some) is to buy one of their Mac/Windows bundles that has Bootcamp and Windows XP pre-installed. This can save you last minute shoppers from the hassle of buying XP and installing it yourself.

Source: "5 Tips For Getting The Best Deal on Apple Purchases" by James R. Stoup published at AppleMatters.

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Earlier this month, PC Magazine gave the 15-inch Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro a 4.5 out of 5 rating, earning it an Editor's Choice award. You can click HERE to read the in depth review by Cisco Cheng. It is nice to see Macs receiving accolades from a publication primarily devoted to PCs. The best quote from this review is "The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo) offers the performance and features of the best laptops on the market." High praise from an unlikely source.

Thanks to the Switch to a Mac blog for its post about this article.

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Time magazine recently released its list of 2006 Gadgets of the Year. One of the two Apple products to make the list was the MacBook Pro, with the other being the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Time reviewed the MacBook Pro as follows:

This 'iMac on wheels' has built-in iSight camera and remote for Front Row media manager. It features illuminated keyboard and brighter screen plus magnetic breakaway power cord. With the Intel Core Duo it's easy to watch the highest-definition QuickTime movie trailers.

Congratulations to Apple for receiving such praise about its great products. You can read the MacBook Pro article or view all the winners by clicking HERE.

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Yesterday, Apple released their upgraded MacBook laptops, which feature the Intel Core 2 Duo processors.  The new MacBooks are reported to be up to 25 percent faster, and they feature a built-in iSight video camera, a glossy 13-inch widescreen display, and dual-display support. 

Three base models are offered:  White 1.83 GHz processor @ $1,099; White 2.0 GHz processor @ $1,299; and Black 2.0 GHz processor @ $1,499.  The available options allow you to increase memory from the standard 1 GB up to 2 GB and increase the hard drive from 60 GB up to 200 GB.  The features of the MacBook appear to compare favorably to the MacBook Pro at a considerably lower price.

I am seriously considering upgrading my 17" PowerBook G4 for one of the new MacBooks in the coming weeks/months.  If you are interested in learning more about these upgraded laptop family, you can click HERE to learn more.  Of course, if you just can't wait, you can order one online or pick one up at your local Apple Store.

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From the weird but effective department, I present an unusual method of reviving a dead hard drive. If you find yourself with an external hard drive that will run and spin, but not mount, you might want to try the following method:

1. Enclose the naked drive in a plastic bag to keep out moisture.
2. Put the drive and bag into your freezer and leave it overnight.
3. The next morning, let the drive warm up for several hours.
4. Plug it in and let it runfor about an hour to get it warm again.
5. Attempt to mount the drive as normal.

The theory at work here is that the freezing caused parts to contract and the rewarming caused them to re-expand and this release the stuck parts (probably the read/write arms). I am not sure that I would try this as my first approach, but if all else fails it might be worth a try.

Source: "Freeze a Dead Hard Drive To Copy Its Data" by Doc Swift, published at the Mac OS X Hints blog.

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Yesterday, Apple announced its upgraded MacBook Pro notebook computers, which now feature Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Performance is significantly improved in the new models, with the new machines reportedly 39 percent faster.

The new models also offer twice the standard memory, greater storage capacity, a FireWire 800 port for high-speed peripheral connections, and a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing. The MacBook Pro is still offered in both 15 inch and 17 inch models, with several configuration options and prices start at $1,999 and $2,799 respectively.

You can pick one up at the Apple Store online, Apple's retail stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. You can also read much more about these new models at:

• Apple :: "The New MacBook Pro. Seatbelts Sold Separately."
  
• AppleInsider :: "Apple Introduces Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro Notebooks"
  
• Switch to a Mac :: "Apple Updates MacBook Pro Line to Intel Core 2 Duo"
  
• MacMerc :: "Apple MacBook Pro -- Now With Intel Core 2 Duo Processors"

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As you are no doubt aware, legal marketing guru Larry Bodine recently published an article at Law.com slamming Macs. As I previously posted, his article was full of half-truths and inaccuracies. MacDailyNews published a comprehensive rebuttal to the allegations made by Mr. Bodine, and I believe that it is worth republishing here:

Rather than rip the poor guy, as he obviously has been ruined by years of being shackled to Microsoft's upside-down and backwards Windows OS and their Office software, let's just make some points and realize that Apple has a lot of work to do in helping personal computer users to unlearn bad Windows habits and learn how to properly use Macs:

• Mr. Bodine bought a Power Mac G5 at pretty much exactly the wrong time. That's unfortunate. If he had not purchased a PowerPC Mac (and why did he get a Mac tower, when he was replacing an IBM laptop?) and instead purchased an Intel-based iMac, Mac mini, MacBook or MacBook Pro (all of which were available on May 21, 2006), he would be able to run Windows for applications he can't figure out how to use on Mac or that don't meet his requirements.
• Whoever sold him that Power Mac G5 did him more than a bit of a disservice by not anticipating his needs or informing him about the Intel transition. If he bought it himself without asking a Mac savvy person for advice, he made a mistake.
• He certainly bought way too much Mac and the wrong Mac model for his needs. He spent far too much; an inexpensive Intel-powered Mac mini would have sufficed.
• So, to make it absolutely clear: all Macs purchased today run Windows. Buying an HP, Dell or other OS-limited PC now makes no sense whatsoever.
• Mr. Bodine may indeed be "smart," but he ignorantly seemed to expect a Mac to work like Windows. It doesn't. He should have actually read his "Dummies" book, it would have helped immensely.
• Macs, including the Mac he bought, all ship with a multi-button, scroll ball Apple Mighty Mouse. If his didn't for some reason, he could have easily and inexpensively purchased one or any multi-button USB scroll wheel mouse and it would work just fine with Mac OS X.
• That a Mac such as his was "slow" and "hanging up" is a warning sign that something was wrong. That Mac should have been blazingly fast for the basic tasks he describes. That he used so much Microsoft software is also a warning sign and could be a contributor to those issues.
• When he talks about "Finder" he is really talking about Spotlight. It sounds like he didn't take 5 minutes to learn how to use it properly.
• Microsoft makes Word for Mac, not Apple. If you don't like something about it, that's a Microsoft complaint, not an Apple Mac complaint.
• To delete a file or files on a Mac, select the file(s) in the Finder and hit Command-Delete to move them quickly into the Trash for quick deleting.
• Microsoft makes PowerPoint for Mac, not Apple. If you don't like something about it, that's a Microsoft complaint, not an Apple Mac complaint.
• Apple's Keynote presentation program makes better presentations than PowerPoint, by the way.
• You can do things as quickly or more quickly with a Mac than with a PC, but the Mac won't magically remove your bad Windows habits and explain the proper way to do things. He should have used his Mac's built-in help system, read his "Dummies" book, and asked a Mac user for some help.
• To make a new print setting with a Mac, save a preset in the Print dialog box with your desired settings. Choose that preset to quickly print however you'd like.
• Mac's screenshot ability is unmatched by Windows:
  • ⌘-Shift-3 (Command-Shift-3): Take a picture of the entire screen and save as a file
  • ⌘-Control-Shift-3 (Command-Control-Shift-3): Take a picture of the entire screen and copy to the clipboard
  • ⌘-Shift-4 (Command-Shift-4): Take a picture of the dragged area and save as a file
  • ⌘-Control-Shift-4 (Command-Control-Shift-4): Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard
  • ⌘-Shift-4 then Space bar (Command-Shift-4 then Space bar): Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file 

  • ⌘-Control-Shift-4 then Space bar (Command-Control-Shift-4 then Space bar): Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard 

  • You can also take pictures of the screen using the Grab application (in the Utilities folder).
• iCal or Mail do not require a .Mac account. It's too bad he didn't try the applications.
• Third-party software complaints are for the companies making the software, not Apple. Oftentimes, the features Windows users want within Mac versions of software are there, they just can't seem to shed their Windows ideas of how to accomplish them and/or explore the Mac program's features.
• If you short-sightedly limit your Web sites by developing only for Microsoft IE, it is not Apple's or any other browser's fault that you "can't operate your own Web sites with the Mac." There are Web standards for a reason. Follow them and any browser will work correctly. Mr. Bodine has no right to complain about this issue.
• Hard drives fail. Even in Macs. Backup regularly. Apple did replace it for free.
• Mr. Bodine should not be recommending people don't buy Macs. He knows very little about how to use a Mac. However, articles of this stripe are informative and should give Apple and the Mac community the impetus to figure out ways to better help such users.
• Some Windows users have a huge mountain overcome when it comes to shedding bad habits and learning how to use a Mac properly. Hopefully Apple and all of us who are so inclined can help new Mac users to acclimate better.
• Mr. Bodine should sell that Power Mac and get himself a MacBook or MacBook Pro. He should install Windows for applications he needs and take the time to learn about the Mac while still accomplishing his work. Over time, he would realize that the Mac is a far superior personal computer.

Source: "Legal consultant can't figure out how to use an Apple Mac" published at MacDailyNews.

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One last thought on my post yesterday about Larry Bodine's recent article slamming Macs, I direct your attention today to "Would You Trust A Lawyer Who Can't Run A Mac?" by Kate MacKenzie, published at Mac360.com, which asked the following questions:

• Would you trust your case to a lawyer who admits that a Mac is just too difficult to learn?

• How stupid is the lawyer who will admit he's unable to make a Mac work?

She opines that Mr. Bodine is "more stupid than most elementary school students, who have little trouble operating a Mac" and that he "has provided the single longest list of idiot, jackass remarks ever recorded in a single article." Ouch!

Maybe Ms. MacKenzie is a little heavy-handed in her criticism of Mr. Bodine, but perhaps as I suggested yesterday, he wrote that article with the intent of drawing the ire of Mac users and creating a flood of web traffic in the process. My suspicion is that Mr. Bodine is crazy like a fox on this one, but you can make your own determination.

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In an article posted today at Law.com, Larry Bodine lists the many ways that he finds Macs (cough) inferior to (cough) PCs. He refers to his Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7GHz as a "boat anchor" and a "silvery box of frustration." Unfortunately, his article is somewhat hard to believe for anyone that has used a Mac for anything other than a very short period of time. His article is full of half-truths (at best) and outright inaccuracies (at worst), such as:

• Mr. Bodine claims that one must "buy an @mac.com address" in order to use Apple Mail. Of course, this is completely false, and you can use Mail with all of the popular email formats.

• He complains about the one button mouse and lack of a scroll wheel -- all the while totally ignoring the dual click and scrolling features provided by the Mighty Mouse.

• He claims that "doing a simple screen capture was an immense chore" and that one must "download and launch special programs" in order to accomplish this basic task. Of course, Mac OS X allows you to use Cmd-Shift-3 to capture your whole screen and automatically save it on your desktop as a PNG file.

Mr. Bodine complains that his Mac was so difficult to use that he "had to buy a 'Dummies' book on how to operate it." Since I enjoy reading his LawMarketing Blog, I will pass up what may be a potentially obvious joke lurking somewhere in his quote. Maybe I am just overly skeptical, but I am somewhat suspicious that Mr. Bodine's article was written with the intent of driving traffic to his blog. After all, he is a marketing guru, and what better way to prove it than to be able to claim that he was able to create a firestorm resulting in X,000 visits to so-and-so's website in a single day! To further support my theory, I direct you to his post this afternoon in which he says

Thank you my Mac friends for making this blog one of the most popular in the marketing field! Since midnight last night, 5,066 unique visitors have come to the blog. You guys are the best traffic builders a fella could want!

Don't take my word for any of this. Read his article, "Commentary: Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", and judge for yourself.

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Experts say that Apple plans to update both its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines of Intel notebook computers in time for the holiday shopping season. AppleInsider reports that development of Core 2 Duo versions of all three models (the 13-inch MacBook, 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 17-inch MacBook Pro) are now complete and all that's left is for Apple marketing to pull the trigger.

The updates are expected to arrive sometime between now and late November, but it is unclear whether Apple will launch the new consumer MacBooks and professional MacBook Pro models simultaneously, or if it will space the releases to assure it maintains enough of Intel Corp.'s Core 2 Duo processors to properly facilitate each launch.

"Apple to Update MacBook Lines in Time for Holidays" by Kasper Jade, published at AppleInsider.

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Apple recently announced a small but significant upgrade to the Mac Mini line: in addition to dropping the low-end Mac Mini Core Solo 1.5GHz and lowering the price of the Mac Mini Core Duo 1.66GHz model to $599, Apple released a new top-of-the-line $799 Mac Mini powered by a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor.

Although the Mac Mini does have some limitations, it's an impressively full-featured system. In addition to built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless features, it supports Gigabit Ethernet networking. The top-of-the-line model comes with a DVD-burning SuperDrive, and all Mac Mini models are powered by an internal Serial ATA drive.

You can read in-depth reviews of the updated Mac Mini at

• MacWorld
  
• Engadget
  
• ThinkSecret

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Mac-using lawyer Ed Siebel has written an article, "Tech Counsel: Solo on a Mac," which explains how he integrates techology into his home-based practice. Mr. Siebel details how his network is set up and also what hardware and software he uses in his practice. His article was recently published in Law Technology News, and it's worth checking out.

Some highlights from his article:

• I've stayed with Macs for a single reason -- they just work. Simply, consistently and at a high quality. They help me work solo or in a small office without worrying about my computer, essentially without the need for tech support.

• The server in my office is a 12-year-old 120 MHz PowerMac with 80MB of RAM and a 500MB hard disk running server software... I would venture to guess that not many law offices could survive with a 12-year-old server at the center their operations.

• I haven't had a system crash in perhaps a year on my desktop machine. Oh, occasionally one of the applications will crash, but it doesn't affect the others.

• Any document from any application can be saved into Adobe's PDF format. You print to a PDF file, instead of a printer, using a drop-down menu -- just like selecting different paper trays. Makes electronic filing or eliminating metadata a snap.

• Because Apple controls both the hardware and the software, all applications use the same conventions. For instance, access to the Print dialog window is always in the File menu of every application, which is always the second menu from the left edge of the menu bar at the top of the screen. The same keystrokes bring up the Print dialog in all applications. So when you learn one application, you already know the basic functions in every other program.

• One of the best advantages of using Apple is that you can just about forget about viruses, because there aren't many that can penetrate Macs.

Thanks to Grant Griffiths of the Home Office Lawyer blog for his post about this article.

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In case you haven't already heard, Apple issued a recall today for 1.8 million notebook batteries because they pose a fire hazard. Although none of the affected batteries have exploded (as was reported with a Dell (PC) notebook), there have reportedly been nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns, but no serious injuries.

The affected lithium-ion batteries were manufactured by Sony and were used in 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, and 15-inch PowerBook G4 notebooks sold between October 2003 and August 2006. Apple issued the following statement: "Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Apple to arrange for a replacement battery, free of charge. After removing the recalled battery from their iBook or PowerBook, consumers should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives."

To find out if your battery is affected by the recall, request a replacement battery, or get more information about this situation, you can visit the Battery Exchange Program webpage Apple has created.

Source: "Apple Recalls 1.8M iBook and PowerBook G4 Batteries" published at AppleInsider.

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Apple recently released its Mac Pro desktops, which feature two Intel Dual-Core Xeon processors running at speeds of up to 3.0 GHz. With this release, Apple has completely transitioned its line from Power PC chips to Intel chips.

The reviews have generally been positive, and you can read several reviews of the new Mac Pro at the following sites:

• Ars Technica
• Anandtech
• ZDNet
• Bare Feats
• MacInTouch
• Epic Empire

Source: "Apple Mac Pro Review Roundup" published at Engadget.

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