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

The following is a Guest Post from iGadgetLife website, which covering tech reviews and news:

Macs are great tools for a lot of different computer uses, and it can be argued that they are one of the most user friendly computer gadgets on the market. But someone new to Macs (or even a more experienced Mac user) may not realize that there are many different ways to manage and ride herd on all of those windows that a typical computing session incorporates.

In fact, there are many tips, tricks, and shortcuts that can make your Mac experience much more productive and enjoyable. Over the years I have found several that I use on a regular basis, and sometimes I still find a new one that is handy. Let's take a look at some of my favorite Mac window management tricks.

Basic Window Switching

Most users know that command-tab will switch between open windows. But Windows converts may be put off that command-tab only switches between running apps, not individual window instances. That is, if you have five Safari windows open and email, pressing command-tab will switch back and forth between Safari and email - it will not cycle through the open Safari windows as well.

Instead, use the command-tilde ("~") combination to cycle through your Safari windows (or any other multiple windows of the same app, such as Finder). Once you get used to this slight difference (the tilde key is right above the tab on the Mac layout), you will find that being able to cycle through only that app's current open windows is actually much easier than having to cycle through ALL open windows on the computer.

Another thing to note about window management on OS X is that the first click usually only gives the window focus. That is, if you have a background window that you want to click on, for example a link on a web page, you will find that it is a two click operation, The first click brings the window to the forefront, the second launches the link. There are exceptions to this (as we mention below), but in this way, accidental clicks on background windows are avoided.

Background Window Scrolling

As a user, we sometimes have need of background windows while working in a different activated window. However, switching different apps in and out of the foreground is not always the most efficient way of working. Thankfully OS X offers some handy ways to manage your background windows.

For starters, you can scroll a background window simply by hovering the mouse over it and scrolling. This works equally well with the two finger drag on the trackpad or the scroll ball and wheel on your mouse.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The following is a Guest Post from broadband suppliers:

There is a common thought among Windows users that Apple is more complicated and is only for techies. I was a Windows user for a long time until I got a chance to access one of my office's Macbooks. It was an easy and friendly experience that provoked me to upgrade to Macintosh.  I feel more comfortable, faster and proud to be with Apple now.

Every Apple product is embedded with an innovative solution that provides more accessibility to the user. Assistive technology has become a default standard of Apple at no extra cost. The experience of the product is same for all the users including the users with special needs. These are the key factors for the success of Apple.

All the Mac products are provided with an alternative simplified interface that can help users to learn and explore the features. Especially users who have difficulty in using a mouse are provided with features like slow keys, sticky keys, gestures, voice over, quick nav, etc.

Accessibility for Vision Disabilities

Apple’s assistive technology provides wide options for the users who have visual difficulties, which allows users to control the screen without even looking at it. Voice over is a speech to text tool that can auto speak and describes what is happening on the screen. This tool can be controlled by simple gestures like tapping or flicking the track pad. It can also be controlled using a virtual dial called the rotor to change its settings. Users are allowed to assign gestures using voice over commands to control the MAC. It also supports USB and Bluetooth Braille displays and automatically programs the keys based on the model.

Alex voice is one of the most important features which speaks English with a natural intonation even after faster speech rates. It analyzes a paragraph, understands the meaning and delivers content more naturally taking enough breathe between the passages.

Voice over includes a built in screen magnification with up to 40 times zoom in and a cursor magnification which makes it easy for the user to follow. High contrast and reverse video lets the user to play with display settings like color, contrast, scaling and system widening. Also there are a variety of apps with a talking feature like talking alert, calculator and clock.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

This is Part Two of "Why We Went Mac, and Have Never Looked Back....", a Guest Post by my friend, Randy Juip, which explains why his firm converted to Macs.  If you want to read Part One of his Guest Post, which addressed their firm's hardware considerations, click here. Otherwise, I hope that you enjoy Part Two:

We purchased a copy of Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 for each station, which provided us with the basic software necessities -- word processing and spreadsheet mainly. If you keep your eyes open, you can pick up copies of this software on discount from time to time. Since I prefer to use Apple’s iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote), my partner and I have copies of that software as well.

To work and play well with the Federal Court ECF system, we use Mozilla’s Firefox 4.0 browser instead of Safari as our default browser. I use a neat little add-on called X-Marks to sync my Firefox bookmarks to Safari (which, in turn, syncs my bookmarks to Mobile Me). The process is then repeated in reverse at home.

For those stubborn, PC-only programs (like our timekeeping package, Sage’s TimeSlips, RealLegal’s .ptx transcript viewer, and Corel’s WordPerfect), we have installed Parallels 5.0 running Windows XP (we’ve recently moved on to Windows 7). I have no reason for using Parallels over VM Fusion other than I’m used to Parallels now, and don’t have the time (or desire!) to switch. Boot Camp was not an option because our workflow requires switching between the PC programs and their Mac counterparts. There have been great posts on this topic in the past.

Each employee has a MobileMe account, which was a simple, efficient, and quick solution to our remote access and mail needs. We use Mail for our email and iCal for our Calendar. To make the calendars work nicely with each other, we invested in BusySync licenses at each station -- this software allows us to share iCal calendars over our local area network (LAN) without needing to set up a server or the like. I understand that the publisher of BusySync has recently released a replacement program, BusyCal, which supposedly does even more amazing stuff. However, BusySync is working so well for us now and I really don’t see the need to fix something that doesn’t need fixing.

So what’s the other stuff? For me, it’s all the other programs that I use to make my life easier. I have come to rely on DataViz’s MacLinkPlus Deluxe for converting old WordPerfect files into Word Files. I am committing myself, more and more each day, to integrate Evernote into my workflow. I can not live without DropBox, which I’ve had for years. In my mind, DropBox is the single greatest utility ever created, and I frankly can’t understand people who still use thumb drives. Really.

One point which I think deserves some discussion is Time Machine. This may be preaching to the choir, but I can not tell you what a frustration computer security and back up in a PC environment can be. I’m not speaking about any firm in particular, but any PC environment -- through a combination of technological ignorance, bad habits and practices, and inherent flaws in the Windows system -- is asking for expensive IT support. I know firms that spend, literally, thousands upon thousands of dollars every year on security, firewalls, and, of course, IT support to rebuild and restore affected systems. This is a near constant headache, and for a sole practitioner or small-firm attorney, is not financially sound management.

It’s odd, then, that many older generation attorneys insist on PC’s over Macs, especially when they’re the least capable of dealing with the constant onslaught of PC-specific malware. “Yeah, Macs are nice,” an older Judge told me a this year’s ABA TechShow, “but at some point you have to grow up and get a PC.” Whatever.

Each of my key workstations has a 500GB or 1TB external drive attached to it locally for hourly time machine back ups. Our central file storage server is a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ which has 4x1TB drives with RAID, so we have 2.7TB of effective central file storage which is mechanically secure. If one HDD fails, I can hot-swap it for another, and the entirety of our data is unaffected. It’s small, quiet, and powerful for our purposes. I understand that Netgear’s ReadyNAS Pro is even faster, with more RAM and Gigabit ethernet, but to date, our office has not run into any disconcerting issues in that regard.

Our mission-critical documents and files, in turn, are backed-up offsite using Mozy, which I'm not totally satisfied happy with, but which does the job. We chose Mozy over other worthy competitors (like Carbonite) due to Mozy’s support for Networked Attached Storage.

Time Machine, RAID in the ReadyNAS, and Mozy -- all of this means, to me, that I really don't spend much time thinking about Viruses, Malware, etc... I don't know if some crazy 13 year old is holed-up in his parent's basement working on a blockbuster Mac virus or not, but what I do know is that if we get it, we'll just rewind things an hour or two using Time Machine and our offline backup. Don’t misunderstand me -- I’m not completely unconcerned, but the worst case scenario is really not that bad with a Mac.

Aside from the Mac’s unmatched business functionality, it’s aesthetics, and it’s reliability, there are a number of other benefits to Mac users. If you use a Mac in your personal life you already know that the iLife programs -- iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, etc... -- are must-haves. The integration of your business life and your personal life is just one added benefit to taking your office Mac.

Don’t forget, either, the iPhone and the iPad. I hope it’s safe to say that the iPhone has established itself as the go-to smartphone for busy professionals. It seems to me that people who use other smartphones either don’t know better, are too close-minded to consider the alternatives, or more likely, have no choice. I don’t want to dismiss the alternatives out of hand -- everyone likes competition, but its clear that the iPhone competitors are trying hard to emulate the iPhone’s appeal, design, and capability.

And, no one even knows how the iPad will infiltrate our workflows and professional lives, but the smart money is that it will, in a big way. Although PC’s can integrate with iPhone and iPad, they don’t do it as seamlessly or as nicely as a Mac does.

The short of it is this -- I can't tell you how simple my and my practice manager's jobs are not having to worry about the technology in the office. Our technology does what it is supposed to do -- it works and lets us work to serve our clients. We don’t spend valuable time working on getting out 

technology to work. While there have been a few headaches, are significant only in that they are the exception, not the rule.

To each their own, I think. There are so many close-minded attorneys out there, who don’t understand how Intel chips forever changed Macs into business-friendly machines; but they’ll never get it.  For my part, you should not hesitate, even for a second, to take your firm Mac. Besides, people will think you're cooler then.

Randall A. Juip is a partner and the founder of The Juip Richtarcik Law Firm, and focuses his practice on professional negligence defense, business litigation, civil rights law, and public relations work (including risk management, crisis management, and public representation). The firm’s web site (www.jrlawdetroit.com) is currently undergoing a much-needed renovation and facelift). He is a Mac. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (11)
• Trackbacks

Do you find yourself getting frustrated when trying to figure out how to insert certain characters (like ⌘, ⌦, §, or ¶) into documents?  I know that I used to – until I learned how to use the Character Palette.  Now this process is very quick and easy.

There are a couple of different ways to access the Character Palette, including (1) press Command, Option/Alt and T together to open it, and (2) go to the Edit menu and choose Special Characters  From there, you simply locate your desired characters and insert them by either clicking "Insert" or dragging the character into your document.

If you find that there are certain characters that you use more frequently, you can add them to your "Favorites" by selecting the character, clicking the "gear" icon on the bottom left, and selecting "Add to Favorites".  Finally, the search window in the bottom right can help you more easily locate certain characters if you need assistance.

You can learn much more about the Character Palette here and here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

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. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

I installed Snow Leopard shortly after its release, and overall I have really liked it. The one thing that has been driving me absolutely bonkers was the fact that now under Snow Leopard, Finder automatically resets its columns back to a narrow width.  If I had hair, I would have been pulling it out over this quirk, but luckily I have finally found a fix.

Let me explain the "problem" and then I'll show the simple solution.  When using Finder, my preferred view is the "multiple columns."  I'm not sure there's any specific reason why, but that's just how I like to navigate.  Prior to Snow Leopard, the columns would resize themselves in such a way that you could see the names of the files listed in each column.  Times were good, people were happy.

The "problem" is that when I installed Snow Leopard, Finder began making all columns extremely narrow by default, with no apparent option to change this setting.  Yes, it was nice to be able to see more columns, but it actually caused more problems than it solved.  My office uses a standardized naming method I use our client files (YYMMDD File Name), which results in everything being listed in chronological order.  Therefore, all I could typically see as  part of the date with little to no file name.  The image below shows how my "Applications" folder looks using the default column width.  Again, this can drive one mad in a very short period of time.  (Note: I realize that many would argue that it's a very short trip for me, but I digress...)

Since I am male, I am hesitant to ask for directions, so I tried every trick I could think of to attempt to change the default size of the colums, short of voodoo or black magic – though those options were becoming more appealing as time passed.  Finally, I gave in and conducted a Google search, and voila – found a solution.  To set a new default column size, you simply hold down the Option (Alt) key while sizing the columns in Finder.  Then, when you open a new Finder window, the default size is changed going forward.  The image below shows the same "Applications" folder from above after the columns have been resized.

Thanks to Geert Vanderkelen of the Some Abstract Type! for his post on this topic.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (9)
• Trackbacks

MacInTouch has posted a list of Frequently Asked Questions for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which answers questions in the following topics:

• Requirements
• Purchase
• Install
• Miscellaneous

Macworld has also published an article that explains everything that you need to know about installing Snow Leopard, including step-by-step instructions with illustrations.  You can read that article by clicking here.

Source:  "Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard FAQ" published at MacInTouch; and "Installing Snow Leopard: What You Need to Know" by Dan Frakes, published at Macworld.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As I previously mentioned, Apple released its newest operating system, Snow Leopard, last Friday.  The New York Times published its review, which included the following quotes:

• Apple’s release strategy is highly unorthodox: “Leopard, a k a Mac OS X 10.5, was already a great OS-virus-free, nag-free and not copy-protected. So instead of adding features for their own sake, let’s just make what we’ve got smaller, faster and more refined.”
• Snow Leopard truly is an optimized version of Leopard. It starts up faster (72 seconds on a MacBook Air, versus 100 seconds in Leopard). It opens programs faster (Web browser, 3 seconds; calendar, 5 seconds; iTunes, 7 seconds), and the second time you open the same program, the time is halved.
• “Optimized” doesn’t just mean faster; it also means smaller. Incredibly, Snow Leopard is only half the size of its predecessor; following the speedy installation (15 minutes), you wind up with 7 gigabytes more free space on your hard drive. That, ladies and gents, is a first. 

You can read the whole review by clicking here.

Source:  "State of the Art: Apple's Sleek Upgrade" by David Pogue, published in The New York Times.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

Apple announced yesterday that its newest operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, will be released this Friday, August 28, 2009. This date is even earlier than expected, as Apple said several months ago when previewing its new features that Snow Leopard would ship in September.

One of its major aims is to refine code in the operating system, and Apple claims that 90 percent of the Mac OS X code has been worked on for the Snow Leopard release.  The end result is an operating system that is much faster and half the size of the previous operating system (freeing up to 7GB of hard drive space).  Microsoft enthusiasts will be happy because Snow Leopard supports Exchange Server 2007, which means that you can use Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal out of the box with Exchange.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

If you are an attorney disposing of an old Mac, you should be sure that any confidential information is securely removed before doing so.  The process outlined below can securely erase your hard drive, and the software enabling you to do so is included free as part of Mac OS X.

• Launch Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities) and when the application opens select the drive you want to erase in the pane on the left side of the Disk Utility window.
• Click the Erase tab and then click the Security Options button below.
• You can choose one of the following four options:
  
  • Don’t Erase Data :: Doesn’t erase any data but wipes out the directory that tells your Mac where your data is. Unfortunately, several third-party utilities can scour your drive and recover your data after you've employed this option. This option is not secure.
  • Zero Out Data :: Writes zeros over your drive one time.  While it's not up to government standards, recovering data from this drive will be a chore.
  • 7-Pass Erase :: Meets that US Department of Defense 5220-22 M standard, as it writes over your data seven times.
  • 35-Pass Erase :: Goes even further by overwriting your drive 35 times to make your data super-mega-ultra-really gone.

Source: "Securely Wipe Your Hard Drive" by Christopher Breen, published at Macworld.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

As I've previously discussed many times, one of the (many) things that makes Mac OS X such a great operating system is its rock solid security. The ability to work without having to worry about viruses not only saves money, it also provides peace of mind.  But did you ever wonder why there aren't any viruses for Macs?  The following article by Hedi Regaya does a great job of explaining "Why there are no viruses for OS X?"

• OS X is built on UNIX. UNIX was a multi user system with a security architecture built into it at the beginning. WINDOWS came from a single user architecture with security and multi user capability as an after thought.
• UNIX had networking built into it from the beginning, again in Windows this was bolted in at a later date.
• Windows built Internet Explorer into the O/S at a very deep level, and allowed code execution within the browser. In OS X the browser is a completely separate application, its not a integral part of the OS. IMHO, this is the fundamental screw-up Microsoft made, as they created so many hooks into which someone can attack the OS.
• In earlier Windows everything ran as the system user, so the capability to compromise an entire system was easier. (see reason 1)
• Microsoft’s backward compatibility mantra doesn’t do them any favours as to run old software they need so many old APIs, all of which can have holes in them.
• OS X has no registry. IMHO, second fundamental flaw Microsoft made.
• OS X asks for your password before allowing you to run new software or install something. Not fool proof, but at least fool resistant.
• Where do viruses usually hang out in Windows:
  1. At the root.
  2. In the user’s local settings temp folder.
  3. In these folders: \windows, \system, \system32 — the most common places where I find viruses.
  4. As registry entries.
• None of those areas are exposed to the environment in OS X. You can’t see those folders. Virus writers can’t access them. Thus, viruses can’t exploit those areas. Vista’s UAC is MS’s attempt to prevent changes to those totally exposed folders without your being aware of the changes.

Source:  "Why There Are No Viruses for OS X" by Hedi Regaya, published at Mac Amour.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (7)
• Trackbacks

Today, I conclude my look back at the big news items announced at Monday's WWDC with a closer look at OS X 10.6, better known as Snow Leopard.  Some of its key features include:

• The installation process has been streamlined – installing 45% faster and occuping 6 GB less space than Leopard
• Exposé is now integrated in the Dock, and by simply clicking and holding an application icon in the Dock, all the windows for that application become visible.
• Snow Leopard makes Time Machine backups up to 50 percent faster.
• Your Mac will wake from sleep up to twice as quickly, shut down up to 75 percent faster, and join wireless networks is up to 55 percent faster.
• Microsoft Exchange support is built into Mail, Calendar and Address Book in Snow Leopard, and you can search for Exchange messages located on the server using Spotlight.
• QuickTime X includes a completely new QuickTime Player with a new trimming interface, easy uploads to YouTube and MobileMe, HTTP-based live streaming, and greater color accuracy.
• The multitouch trackpad now allows handwriting recognition, enabling users to write words and letters with their fingers.

Snow Leopard is scheduled to be released in September, and it will be very reasonably priced, with the upgrade being only $29 for Leopard users and $49 for a five user family pack.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

In the practice of law, time is money.  The more time you save, the more money you can earn.  Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) enables attorneys to practice more efficiently than ever before, and the following ten tips from Macworld can help you better utilize many of its features:

1. Keep your workspace organized with Spaces  ::  stay organized, uncluttered, and focused by organizing your programs
2. Find windows and applications fast  ::  use keyboard shortcuts (F9, F10, F11, Cmd+Tab, & Cmd+~) to get to your active programs
3. Get the most from Quick Look   ::  preview contents of files from the Finder or within Mail.app without having to open them
4. Save time with saved Spotlight searches  ::  locate anything from files to emails and save those searches in smart folders
5. Find menu items and commands  ::  find both help information and menu commands in the Help menu thanks to Spotlight technology
6. Make the Finder work your way  ::  customize both the toolbar and sidebar to make it more helpful and intuitive
7. Use Automator to speed up repeated tasks  ::  tie together actions from the Finder and other applications to create reusable workflows
8. Use Dashboard to the fullest  ::  quickly create and access mini-applications with the click of a button
9. Tips for working with text  ::  select text in blocks using the Option key and paste unformated text using Cmd+Shift+Option+V
10. Work smarter with keyboard shortcuts  ::  know and use the hundreds of keyboard shortcuts built into OS X and other applications

You can read much more about each of these tips by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Make Leopard Leap: Time-Saving Tips for OS X 10.5" by Ryan Faas of Computerworld, published at Macworld.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In his latest "Technology Update," Joe Kashi bemoans the current state of Microsoft's operating systems, noting that Vista is "not hot," Windows 7 is "years away," and XP is "being killed off."  In fact, he sounds like he's "almost" ready to be a Mac convert, when he says

Were I starting over and had no Windows-only legal software constraints, I'd go with the excellent Mac OS 10 or some form of Linux, both of which are based upon the powerful Unix operating systems that have been constantly improved and refined since the late 1960s, an when Bill Gates had not yet dropped out of Harvard. Unfortunately, most legal professionals don't have the luxury of changing operating systems because we are tied to Windows-only legal software.

I'm glad that Mr. Koshi is such a fan of Mac's OS X, but I disagree with his assertion that it's difficult for attorneys who use Windows to switch.  As I've written over the years, there are many excellent legal software options available to Mac users, and through the use of virtualization software, Mac users can also run any necessary Windows-only programs.

Source:  ""Technology Update" by Joe Kashi, published in the ABA Law Practice Management Section's Law Technology Today.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Yesterday afternoon, Apple released the second major update to its Leopard operating system.  This download is fairly large and most of the key components in OS X are updated.  However, it installed itself on my MacBook without any problems whatsoever (as expected).  You can read a complete list of the updated items HERE.

Source:  "Apple releases Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update" published at AppleInsider.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Most attorneys have to work with numbers on a fairly regular basis.  Litigation attorneys often have to calculate damages.  Personal injury attorneys must divide by three to calculate their fees.  Family law attorneys (like myself) often need to compute the parties' income and expenses.

Mac OS X comes with a great built=in Calculator (pictured at right), but sometimes it would be nice to be able to do quick calculations on the fly without having to open that program.  Well, thanks to the following tip from the Mac Tricks and Tips blog, now I can do just that.

Spotlight will perform basic calculations without having to open any other programs.  Simply push Command + Space to open Spotlight and then simply type in the desired math function, such as

Source: "Using Spotlight For Quick Calculations" by James Powell, published at his Mac Tricks and Tips blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I want my readers to be aware that there is a Mac security threat (called a "trojan horse") making its rounds across the internet.  This malware, named the OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan Horse, is apparently associated with suggestive photos/videos of pop train-wreck Britney Spears.  Please note that this is not virus -- meaning that it can't self-propagate from one machine to another.

When you believe that you have found the video of Ms. Spears and click to watch it, you receive a message stating that your machine lacks the necessary codec.  A disk image will then start downloading, and it can then mount and launch an installer which asks for your admin password.  If you enter the password, you have allowed the trojan horse to be installed.

Of course, you should NEVER install anything that you receive from an untrusted source.  (Note:  I won't comment or pass judgment on the impropriety of searching for or viewing suggestive videos or photos of scantily clad or nude pop stars.)  If you find your machine is infected, Macworld has outlined the necessary steps to remove the trojan horse from your machine.

While I know that it is somewhat disconcerting to have to remember that malware exists, since it's not something that Mac users face that often, don't forget that this particular threat only poses a problem if you are careless and give your Mac permission to install it.  Even with this threat, Mac OS X is still quite safe and secure, and I don't plan to get any "security software" at this time. 

Source:  "Trojan Horse Warning: What You Need to Know" by Rob Griffiths, published at Macworld.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Steve Jobs announced that this Friday's release of OS X Leopard will be only one of a series of upgrades that could continue for as long as a decade.

"I'm quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future," he said. "We've put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it's given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve."

Poor Microsoft must really be upset at this news.  Not only is Leopard vastly superior to Microsoft's Vista at a much lower cost, but it doesn't take Apple seven long years to upgrade its operating system as it has Microsoft to move from XP to Vista.

Source:  "As Apple Gains PC Market Share, Jobs Talks of a Decade of Upgrades" by John Markoff, published in The New York Times.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

As you may have heard, Apple announced today that it is releasing its updated operating system, Leopard, on October 26, 2007.  The upgrade boasts over 300 new features, and it will cost $129 for a single license or $199 for a family pack.  Shipping is free and pre-orders will be delivered on October 26th.  You can learn mch more about the new features by clicking HERE.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As you are probably aware, Apple is expected to release it's new operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, later this month.  There are many previews of this fantastic new software, including the one at Apple's website.  I found the following article by David Sparks interesting because it provides  a stark contrast and good insight into the difference found between Mac and Windows with regard to upgrading one's operating system:

I thought I'd do a series of articles as I begin preparing for the Leopard upgrade. This is where my windows bias shows through. I was talking to a very knowledgeable Apple friend, Gabe Wilson, and explaining how I was backing everything up and printing out copies of all my license codes so I could do the "big upgrade." As he watched me his face showed first dismay, then pity, then humor. Finally he relieved me of my suffering. "Dave. It's a Mac. Don't wipe your drive. Just upgrade."

Huh!?

I'm used to windows upgrades. When you upgrade a windows machine you first remove the hard drive then you drive a stake through it (preferably made of silver). Then you pour acid over it and proceed to make all the necessary incantations (which include multiple recitations of random letters and numbers in groups of four). Finally, you put in the install disk and pray to all that is nerdy that the rest of your PC components don't declare an absolute mutiny (which will probably happen anyway). You then spend the next two days attempting to convince Microsoft that you should be allowed to re-install Office on the new version of their windows software without spending another $500.

Tonight I listened to Steve Stanger confirm Gabe's sage advice and I'm sold. I'm not going to do the 3 days of reinstall but instead just going to click "update" and see what happens. If it doesn't work I can always do the "root canal" version of the upgrade later.

Source:  "Preparing for Leopard - The Install" by David Sparks, published at his MacSparky blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks

It might sound a bit odd to hear that I have been following the Mac Law Students blog for quite some time.  Erik Schmidt has done a great job posting timely, helpful information on this blog. 

A recent post took a close look at Mac's OS X 10.5 (Leopard), with an emphasis on which functions are expected to be most helpful for law students.  However, I believe that most of the functions he lists will also be helpful to practicing attorneys.

Some of the highlights listed in that post are:

• PDF annotation and markup capabilities included in Preview
• Virtual desktops offered in Spaces
• Fast review of *.pdf documents via Quick Look
• Improved iCal functions and features
• To-do lists included as part of Mail

I encourage you to visit the post to get much more insight into these new features and how they might benefit your practice.

Source: "Leopard for Law Students" by Erik Schmidt, published at the Mac Law Students blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Business magazines are beginning to realize that Macs make perfect sense for companies looking to save money.  CIO magazine published an article explaining in detail the following eight financial reasons that businesses should use Mac OS X:

1. Macs bring a better overall value proposition
2. Macintosh licensing fees are cheaper
3. Mac desktops spawn fewer calls to the help desk
4. Mac users are more productive workers
5. Macs last longer
6. Mac OS is more secure
7. Macs are just as cost-effective as Windows to manage and administer
8. Add Macs while hanging on to your investments in other OSes

Source:  "Eight Financial Reasons Why You Should Use Mac OS" by Jacqueline Emigh, published at CIO.com.  Thanks to 9 to 5 Mac for its post about this article.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Everyone knows (or should know) that Macs are very secure and are the safest way to use the internet.  However, knowledge is power, and you should know as much as possible about ways to ensure that you stay secure.  Fortunately, there is a blog devoted to Mac internet security.  The Internet Security for Your Macintosh has published the following top 10 things you can do to keep your Macintosh safe on the Internet:

1. Physical security first. Although not strictly an Internet security issue, the odds of something bad happening to your Mac due to a physical problem are much higher than something happening to it over the Internet. So take precautions appropriate to your situation, such as physical lock-down cables, surge protectors and proper care of data on portable machines (such as encryption of any important files). And be sure to keep good, up-to-date local and remote backups.
2. "The only constant is change." Especially on the Internet. New security threats are discovered, temporary fixes and updates are issued, mistakes are sometimes made. It's important to keep up as best you can:
   • Subscribe to Apple's Software Update and install security fixes soon after they're available, although not necessary immediately.
   • Utilize online (for instance our blog isfym.com) and offline (for instance users' groups) sources to keep up with new security issues, implement temporary protection as needed, and make sure updates appear good.
   • Keep up on updates for any other popular applications you use, especially cross-platform ones like Microsoft products and security applications like your firewall and anti-virus applications.
   • And of course stay knowledgeable about everything you can, for instance through our "Internet Security for Your Macintosh" eBook.
3. Use a personal firewall. We sell one, so we're biased, but that doesn't mean we're wrong. You need a personal firewall on each of your machines, and the one Apple includes in Mac OS X is only sufficient for keeping you safe until you can get a better one. Be sure your firewall has logging fully enabled, and use a log analysis application to highlight issues that need to be addressed. And, no, the so-called firewall in any router you may have isn't good enough either (although it does help).
4. Use good passwords. Until the day we log into everything through retinal scans or other "biometric" means, passwords will be the main way we identify ourselves to Internet-based services. Use passwords appropriate to the importance of the service they're protecting, choosing longer, harder to guess (and more unique) passwords for the more critical services. Apple's password assistant, built into Keychain Access, can be a big help here.
5. Do not send confidential information by email, unless you know how to use encrypted email. Also treat all email messages received, even from people you know, as suspect. Same applies to IM (with certain exceptions like encrypted iChat). On the Web, be sure the Web page is a secure one (look for the lock icon) before entering confidential information.
6. Never open attachments in email messages, which are more often than not viruses. This advise may seem a bit over the top, but you should apply it as the general rule, with the only real exception being when you know the person who sent you the attachment and the context from the rest of the email makes it clear that that person really did intend to send you that attachment.
7. Never click on links sent in email messages. Again this is the general rule, with similar exceptions as with email attachments. These links are often to "phishing" Web sites that will attempt to steal personal information from you, or to "maliciously-crafted" Web sites that will attempt to do even worse things, like take over your machine (yes, even if you do use a Mac). Always type URLs directly into your Web browser, use known-good bookmarks, or click on links from reputable sites (including search engines) that you've gotten to through one of these methods.
8. Consider an anti-virus application. There are essentially no known Mac-specific viruses, and use of anti-virus applications can help keep it that way. Right now, anti-virus applications are essentially insurance policies, which you hope to never need to use, but are glad you have if you do. Also like insurance, you need to be sure to keep your anti-virus application, and its associated virus definitions, up to date.
9. If at all possible, do not provide any services from your Macintosh. In other words, all services in the Sharing pane of System Preferences should be off, along with other services like iTunes music sharing and iPhoto photo sharing. If you do need to offer services, use your personal firewall to restrict access to as few machines as possible (preferably just machines on your local network). And of course use good passwords for those services, in particular for the cross-platform Remote Login (ssh) service, which is often subject to dictionary attack.
10. Properly secure your wireless (AirPort) environment, both at home and on the road. At home the most important things are to change your wireless router's password and to use WPA encryption. Beyond that, don't allow your router to be administered over the Internet and add other security measures (like creating a closed network and limiting access by ID) if you feel comfortable configuring them. On the road, be sure to turn off or block any services your Mac is providing through your firewall, be cognizant of who's looking over your shoulder, use a VPN if you're talking back to your home or work network and watch our for rogue access points.
11. Bonus: Consider running your Mac as a non-administrative user most of the time. This is an advanced technique that provides few immediate benefits, but, similar to anti-virus applications, acts as "insurance" by limiting any damage that could result from a security breach. Someone gaining access to your machine would still have access to many of your files, but not to most of the underlying machine and OS itself. The easiest way to run as a non-admin user is to create a new, administrative account and then change your normally used account to a non-administrative one.

Source:  "The Top 10 Things You Can Do to Keep Your Macintosh Safe on the Internet" by Open Door Networks, published at the Internet Security for Your Macintosh blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

LifeHacker recently published a list of its top 10 favorite Mac OS X tweaks for making your Mac experience even more personalized, customized and convenient:

1. Add folders or drives to the Dock
2. Add Application shortcuts to Finder's toolbar
3. Set your default browser
4. Activate screen corners
5. Add the Path button to Finder's toolbar
6. Display folder and drive details
7. Remove Dashboard from the Dock
8. Enable the Tab key
9. Manage programs that start automatically
10. Assign custom hard drive icons

Source:  "Top 10 Mac OS X Tweaks" by Gina Trapani, published at LifeHacker.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

AppleMatters recently published an article detailing the three primary ways of protecting your data: invisibility, passwords, and encryption. Each of these provides some security, but at much different levels.

• Invisibility:  If you make files or folders invisible, other users can't see them. This method is quick and easy.  However, this is the least secure method, as a skilled user can still find your files.  There are programs (such as HideOut and Secret Folder) to assist you if you want to use this method.

• Password and Encryption Options: 

Create an encrypted disk image with password protection
This method is free, relatively easy, and very secure.  To make a secure disk image, first open up Disk Utility and click on the New Image icon. Next, choose where you want it to be saved. This next part is very important: you must select the size you want your image to be -- too small and you will fill it up too quickly / too big and you will waste lots of space on your machine.  After deciding the size be sure to set the encryption to "AES-128" and you can leave the format as read/write. Finally, click create, enter the password, and you are done. Now you can copy your files/folders onto the image. When you're done, eject the image. From that point on, opening it will require the password.

Create a separate user account using FileVault for secure data
This method is secure, very easy, and free, but it requires lots of space, requires fast-user-switching to be turned on, and only works if you use the administrator password.  To use this method, you simply create a new user account and dump all of your secure files into it. To gain access to files from your "main" account, use fast-user-switching and the "shared" folder to swap files. Of course, this method requires all the overhead associated with creating a new user. And lest we forget, the system administrator would still have access to your files. But other than those slight problems it will work just fine.

Use iCrypt
This option isn't free and bugs can cause data loss, but it is very simple, very secure, and doesn't require lots of hard drive space.  iCrypt, a shareware program, does exactly what you expect and nothing more.  To use it, you open the program, set your preferences, and then drag-and-drop to encrypt files. The encrypted files are self-extracting, which means that you can encrypt the file, send it to someone else, and as long as that person has the password, the file will be decoded as it opens.

Source:  "Ways to Secure Files in OS X" by James R. Stoup, published at AppleMatters.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Apple issued the following statement yesterday:

We will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones.

While it would be nice to have access to all of Leopard's amazing new features as soon as possible, it is comforting to know that Apple (like Ernest and Julio Gallo of yesteryear) will serve nothing before its time.   You can read Apple's entire statement by clicking HERE.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

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.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

I am pleased to present the following post from my friend, Grant Griffiths, on his ten "must-have" applications for solo practitioners using Macs.  Of his designated applications, I personally use four myself and have taken close looks at three others.  Kudos to Grant for compiling his list, as follows:

My blogging friend, Rick Georges of the Future Lawyer had a recent article at Law.com. He wrote about Ten apps for the solo practitioner. I know Rick does this just to cause me to write up an answer to his post. As he mentions in his post, he stuck to Windoze based stuff. And like Rick, I am going to stick to what I know and that would be applications I use in my own solo practice.

1. First and foremost on my list is Mac OSX itself. Now, I know what you are thinking, that is an operating system and not an application. However consider for a moment building an office and where you should start. The foundation and it should be as stable, strong and reliable as possible. Mac OSX gives you that. But it also gives you more. Not only is it a wonderful OS, it provides four of the applications I use everyday in my solo practice.

• iChat
• iCal
• Mail
• Address Book

I use each one every single day and would not want to operate my practice without them. Best of all, all four will integrate into other programs which I will discuss in future posts.

2. Second is my word processor of choice, NeoOffice.

NeoOffice is a fully-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing programs) for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, NeoOffice has integrated dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as Microsoft Office.

Released as free, open source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis.

3. Next, and one that I have discussed before is Circus Ponies Notebook. It's a combination outliner and free-form database that lets you clip, annotate, and share unstructured information. Organize your information using a familiar notebook interface complete with pages and tabs. Best of all you can organize a case in a way that makes sense to you. Not the way the software company believes it should be done. You can import photos, images, film clips, and sounds directly into Notebook from ay source. Display embedded media in your Notebook in Media Frames that give you control over the media item. Import any kind of content from the web or from other Mac apps using NoteBook's built-in Clipping Services. Copy text and other content directly into your Notebooks without leaving whatever app you are working in. You can even pre-edit clippings before sending them to your Notebook.

Notebook includes tabs on the right side just like a trial notebook. I set mine up like a Bindertek trial notebook. Labeled and color coded just like a hardcopy notebook. However, with Notebook, I can assure you one thing, I can find my information faster than an attorney using a hard copy, like a trial notebook. And I can use my Notebook version to present information and exhibits in court.

Notebook also works with iCal where you can set and manage alarms and to do's for your case.

4. Like Rick, I too use Skype. It truly is a great tool for the law office. I bought the SkypeOut service for just over $29.00 per year. I can call unlimited nationwide numbers all I want. I have it set up so that my BT ear piece connects to the calls I make and receive on Skype. And actually, Rick and I have visited often using Skype. Get it, you won't be sorry you did.

5. Pagesender is my built in fax service. It is a great software that sits on my file/fax server, Mac Mini. I use the same phone line that I use for my DSL service so I only have to tie up one line for both those useful tools. All faxes come into my office as PDF's which I than store directly to my clients virtual file folder. If I am out of the office, my faxes are emailed to me no matter where I am at. And when I need to sign something that comes in as a fax, I don't even print it. I sign it with the next application listed below.

6. With PDFpenPro I can Fill out PDF forms and edit PDFs easily. Split, combine, reorder, sign and augment PDFs with text, image overlays & watermarks. Signing is as easy as inserting my signature which is saved to my desktop onto any document I want. In my humble opinion, I just don't see how you could have a paperLESS office without this application.

7. Keynote 3 is not a replacement for PowerPoint. But a better solution for those presentations we might make as a lawyer.

Cinema-quality presentations for everyone -- with ease. Keynote puts you in the director's chair and gives you complete control over how you build and deliver your presentation.

8. For postage I no longer go to the post office to get my stamps. I use endicia for Mac. You can print mailing labels, envelopes and InstaPostage labels with ease. Print real postage from your Mac. No more standing in long lines at the post office. It works with Apple's Address Book and the next program I discuss below.

9. EasyTime billing program is my billing program of choice now. It is written by a Mac using developer for the Mac using attorney.

• easily manage clients and cases
• address book integration
• retainer billing
• multiple rates per timekeeper
• unlimited task & case notes
• task timer
• user shortcuts
• fully customizable invoices and reports
• batch invoice printing with automatic email option
• postage printing via Endicia (US customers only)
• link external documents to client & case
• assign persons (attorneys, witnesses, adjusters, etc.)
• contact overview and phone call reminder

EasyTime will develop into a full time billing, case and document managing system.

10. Finally, Basecamp is a must have practice tool. In my own practice, Basecamp is used to manage cases and clients. Each client has access to their own case. By using Basecamp, each has access too all the documents in their case and also know when important court dates are. They can leave comments or questions about their case and they can keep up on the progress of their case. It keeps clients more involved in the process.

There you have it, ten of the must have apps for the Mac using solo practitioner. I would love to have as many of you post comments here telling me what applications you feel are a must have. Lets keep the conversation going.

Oh and by the way Ben Cowgill do you have a list for the windoze using attorney? And you thought us Mac using attorneys did not have any software. I actually had to stop at ten. There is a ton more and if enough interest is expressed, I will do a follow up to this post in the near future.

Source:  "10 Must-Have Apps for the Mac Using Solo Practitioner" by Grant Griffiths, posted at his Home Office Lawyer blog. 

 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks (1)

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

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

The new software can be downloaded HERE.

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

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

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

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

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

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

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

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Rumors have surfaced that Apple may release its highly anticipated new operating system, OS 10.5 Leopard as early as next month.  Apple's planned release was in the "spring", but T3.com reports that date could be pushed up to the end of March, far earlier than initially expected.  Even better, Apple may release updated versions of iLife and iWork at that same time.

Source:  "Leopard Set For March" published at T3.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

A few days ago, I wrote a post about the basics of the Dock.  Today, I want to tell you how to use the Dock to save time in your day-to-day fuctions and thus increase your efficiency.  You can use Mac OS X's drag and drop functionality with the Dock to do the following:

• Grab text and drop it onto Mail's icon  in the Dock to automatically open an email with that text included in the body of the message.
• You can use the same drap and drop method to email documents (*.pdf, *.doc, etc.) by grabbing their icons and dropping them onto Mail's icon.
  
• Grab a web address and drag it onto your preferred web brower icon (Firefox, Safari, Camino, etc.) and it will open in a separate tab or window.
• Grab text and drag it onto Safari's icon to automatically conduct a Google search for those terms.
  

This process is something that should be more widely promoted by Apple and Mac enthusiasts because it can really change (and improve) your approach to several frequently performed tasks.  Hopefully, now that you are aware of it, you can use it to help yourself and spread the word to help your fellow Mac users.  If you have any other Dock tips, please feel free to submit them to me for publication here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It's always been there for you, but do you appreciate it?  I'm referring, of course, to the Dock -- that little strip of icons sitting there on your screen.  This feature of Mac OS X can make your life much easier, and all you need to do is spend a few moments to learn some of the neat things it can do.

Fortunately, the excellent Silver Mac blog posted an article that gives a great look at the Dock. This article covers the basic ("what are these icons?"), the intermediate ("what do the black triangles under them mean?"), and the advanced ("how can I customize the Dock?").

There is one other cool feature that the Dock can do that wasn't covered in this article, but I'm saving that for a separate post later this week.  Sorry to be a tease, but it's worth the wait.  In the meantime, check out this article to tide you over.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

To change active windows in OS X, you have several options:

• Cmnd (⌘) + Tab switches between applications.
• Cmnd + ~ (tilde) switches between windows within an application.
• Witch by Peter Maurer (a freeware utility) allows you to switch between all of your windows by pressing a shortcut and choosing from a clearly arranged list of window titles.

Source:  "Switching Windows in OS X" by Mike Sivcevic, published at his excellet Silver Mac blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Reporter Joe Hutsko conducted an experiment to write a story for anyone considering switching from Mac to PC in the wake of the release of Vista, Microsoft's new operating system.  Mr. Hutsko gave up his 12" PowerBook and began using a 17" HP widescreen notebook running Vista.

In his very thorough article, he describes the following areas in great detail:

• Impressions of Vista's appearance and actions;
• The process of moving his data to the PC;
• Multimedia, mobility, and security aspects of Vista; and
• Miscellaneous other impressions about Vista.

So in the end, which does Mr. Hutsko prefer?  He concludes his article by saying, "For me, [Macs] just works right, without really having to think about it.  So I decided to switch again. From Vista, back to the Mac -- to the brand new, white MacBook on which I told this story."

If you are interested in an honest, first-hand comparison of Vista and OS X, read Mr. Hutsko's article.  It shows what can happen when you go over to the "dark side" (i.e., Windows) only to see the light and come back again.  Seriously though, it is a good read, and you can read the full article by clicking HERE.

Source:  "A Mac User Switches to Vista" by Joe Hutsko, published at MSNBC.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Fellow attorney, blogger, and Mac enthusiast Grant Griffiths has posted two articles touting the security offered by Macs:

• "114,000 Virus: Not on a Mac" posted at FutureLawyer
  
• "Why Macs Are More Secure" posted at the Home Office Lawyer

In these articles, Grant highlights the following key factors:

• Mac OS X has a superior UNIX foundation and security features that go above and beyond the norm for PCs.
  
• He does not run a virus program on his Macs, and he has never had a virus.
  
• Dialog boxes alert you whenever you even download a file that could contain or conceal executable code (that is, a program, as opposed to a document).
  
• You can opt to make your Mac invisible to 'pings' from the Internet, a common tactic of spammers who are looking for available machines to turn into spam relay stations.

Source: "114,000 Virus: Not on a Mac" by Grant Griffiths, 'guest' posted at FutureLawyer and "Why Macs Are More Secure" by Grant Griffiths, posted at the Home Office Lawyer blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

One of my favorite blogs is Tim Gaden's Hawk Wings, which is devoted primarily to Apple Mail. With it being the holiday season, Tim recently listed the following reasons to be thankful for Mail:

1. Lean and extendable

   Apple's design strategy for Mail has created a lean and efficient email client. Unlike other email clients for Mac, Mail.app is not packed full of features and bloat that you never use. While some missing features niggle (for example, the inability to adjust the timeout delay on server connections or to opt out of format=flowed quoting if you want to), the overall result is a pared-down focussed app that is second to none.

   Its power purrs away under the hood, yet it is simple enough that you can explain its workings to your mother-in-law. I know.

   Because of this restricted focus, developers have launched an amazing array of plugins and utilities that extend what Mail can do. You chose the plugins that you want to make the email client you need on top of the rock-solid base that Apple provides. It doesn't get much better than that.

2. Unified Inbox

   Since I use it all the time and familiarity breeds contempt, I often overlook things like the beauty of Apple Mail's Unified Inbox. You can with some jiggery and pokery create a unified inbox in other email clients, but right out of the box Apple gives you the single collection bucket you need to process and deal with everything in one place. Gotta love that.

3. Looks the part and does the job

   Some email clients look the part but can't do the job. GyazMail, for example, has a nice Mail-like interface, but doesn't support IMAP or manage other core functions quite as well.

   Some email clients can do the job but look (and feel) like a wildebeest's backside. Thunderbird, I salute you (from a distance).

   Mail.app has married looks and power like no other email client on the platform. That's something to be thankful for.

4. Integration with other iApps

   While Mail keeps its focus on just doing mail and doing it well, it opens its arms to iCal, Address Book and iPhoto in ways that make life easier and more productive. There is a hack to get iPhoto to send images to other email clients, but nothing like the native, two-way interaction Mail users enjoy.

5. Address Book pictures

   This might seem like a small thing, but I love it to death. As I wrote in one of the first posts on Hawk Wings (An Ode to Apple Mail):

   I love the way Apple Mail places pictures from my Address Book into the emails I receive.... I spend a lot of the day answering emails or shunting them from one place to another. It can be a dehumanising experience. With the pictures, it's easier for me to remember that the posters are real people and that this is real interaction (even if it's happening in the rather thin, ethereal realm of the internet). I finish the day with a better feeling of having dealt with real people with real problems. I love that.

Source: "Mail.app: Reasons to be Thankful" by Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Apple recently gave a guided tour of its upcoming server operating system, Mac OS X Server 10.5 (Leopard), which it expects to release in the spring of 2007. This will be the seventh release of the server operating system since 2000 and the second version to run natively on Intel processors. You can read this "first look" by clicking HERE.

Source: "Computerworld's Guided Tour of Leopard Server" by Yuval Kossovsky, published at MacWorld.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As you may have heard, Microsoft "officially" released its new operating system, Windows Vista, today. Of course, in true "Windoze" fashion, most users won't be able to get Vista until January of 2007, but I digress...

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are no doubt aware that Apple has been fine tuning its OS X Leopard, which is slated for a Spring 2007 release. The ABA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division's Techhology eReport for November 2006 contained a good preview of Leopard. You can read Jeffrey Allen's article by clicking HERE.

Already announced features of Leopard include:

• Boot Camp :: gives you the ability to boot your Mac so that it will run Windows
  
• Time Machine :: incorporates backup capabilities into the operating system and gives you the ability to go back in time to see information as of a given date
  
• Spaces :: enables you to work from multiple desktops on your Mac
  
• Spotlight :: will incorporate the ability to search other computers on your network

Again, you can visit Apple's Leopard Sneak Peek for much more information about all of its features and functions.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The Silver Mac blog recently a great post about the many helpful things that the "jellybean" can do for you. What is the jellybean? It is the gray, oblong capsult looking button in the top right corner of most programs.

The main functions provided by the jellybean include:

• Clicking it toggles the toolbar on and off.
  
• Holding down the Command key while clicking the jellybean toggles the icons from large to small to off.

The fully illustrated post describes and shows all of the available functions the jellybean offers. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Source: "What's Jellybean's Job in OS X ?" posted at The Silver Mac blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

If you regularly work with multiple applications and windows open at the same time, like I do, you should certainly know about Exposé. This built-in feature of Mac OS X allows you to see at once as thumbnails all open windows in all applications or even in a single application. As Apple describes it, "Find the window you need. Now."

The basic functions of Exposé work as follows:

• See All Open Windows at Once: When you press the F9 key, Exposé instantly tiles all of your open windows, scales them down, and neatly arranges them. As you move your mouse over each tile, its title is displayed in the center of the window. By clicking on a tile, all windows returns to full size and the window you clicked becomes the active window.

• See All Open Windows in the Current Application: Similarly, by pressing the F10 key, you can have Exposé tile the open windows in the current application, while dimming the open windows of all other applications. Again, you can click on any window to make it the active window. Also, you can use the Tab key to switch between open applications and thus view the open tiled windows for each.

• See Your Desktop: Finally, you can use the F11 key to have Exposé hide all open windows and give you instant access to your desktop. This could be handy if you wanted to get to a document on your desktop without having to minimize or hide all other open windows to get there.

Note: If you're using a PowerBook, you may need to press the function (fn) key at the same time as the F9, F10, or F11 keys, depending on your machine's settings.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

Chris Howard has published a great list of 20 Useful OS X Tips. He states that his list was aimed at beginners and switchers, but I believe that there is something here for everyone, even experienced Mac users.

A few highlights from his list are:

• Pressing Esc while typing in most applications pops up a list of suggested completions of the word you're typing.
  
• Press Command-Q to close applications when command-tabbing. This is possibly the fastest way you'll find to close several applications in quick succession.
  
• Command click the jelly bean found in the top right corner of some applications to cycle through toolbars.

Source: "20 Useful OS X Tips" by Chris Howard, published at AppleMatters.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Mac OS X offers several options to capture all or part of your screen:

• Press Command + Shift + 3 to take a picture of the whole screen

• Press Command + Shift + 4 and drag the gray box to select the part of the screen that you want to capture

The picture is saved as a TIFF file on your Desktop, generally called Picture 1, Picture 2, etc.

If you want to copy the screen capture to the Clipboard instead of saving it as a file, simply:

• Press Control + Command + Shift + 3 to copy the entire screen to the Clipboard

• Press Control + Command + Shift + 4 to copy the selected range to the Clipboard

Source: "The Secret Screen Capture Shortcut" published at Apple.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Some MacBooks have experienced a problem in which they suddenly and unexpectedly shutdown. To fix this annoying problem, Apple has released a firmware update that it promises will solve the problem by improving the MacBook's internal monitoring system. This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, even those that have received warranty repair. You can read more about this update and/or download it by clicking HERE. Kudos to Apple for identifying this problem and offering a fast, effective solution.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As I posted earlier this week, Apple has released its upgraded MacBook Pro notebook computers. Perhaps less noticed and/or overlooked in the hoopla is the fact that Mac OS X (Tiger) has been enhanced for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors. From its Press Release:

"Apple has enhanced Mac OS® X to take advantage of the technology advances from Intel's Core 2 Duo processors, resulting in increased performance in professional applications like Aperture™ 1.5, Final Cut Pro® 5 and Logic Pro 7."

The new MacBook Pro notebooks ship with Mac OS X 10.4.8, which was just released on September 29, 2006. Switch to a Mac points out that Microsoft cannot make a claim that their current shipping operating system Windows XP has been enhanced to leverage the Intel Core 2 Duo.

This enhancement provides yet another advantage in the Mac OS X versus Windows OS comparison, as it demonstrates the inherent modern architecture of the Mac OS X operating system and that Apple can introduce updates to a shipping version of their operating system to leverage new processor features and technologies.

Source: "Mac OS X Tiger Now Enhanced for Intel Core 2 Duo" published at Switch To A Mac.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

You probably know that you can quickly search / locate anything on your harddrive via Mac OS X's Spotlight, simply by clicking Command (⌘) + Spacebar. As quickly as you can type in your search terms, Spotlight lists all relevant files, emails, contacts, images, movies, calendars, and applications. Best of all, the content of all such items is constantly indexed and updated, so your search results include what appears inside a file or document, and not just its title.

Sometimes, you may want to show the selected search result item in the Finder. By simply clicking Command (⌘) and your desired entry in Spotlight's drop-down search result list, a new Finder window will open to the folder containing the item you selected. This method apparently will not work with some items, such as iCal events, Mail messages, and bookmarks, but it seems to work just fine for everything else.

Source: "Show Spotlight Results in Finder" by Rob Griffiths, posted at Mac OS X Hints Weblog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Did you know that your Mac will zoom in on anything? This feature is available simply by holding down Control and using your scroll wheel. If you use a notebook computer, you substitute two fingerson your trackpad for the scroll wheel. Using this function, you can zoom in and out to your heart's content. This feature comes in handy when trying to view small text or fine detail, or simply to give old tired eyes a break after a long day.

Source: "Quick Zoom with Your Mac" by Adam Pash, published at the LifeHacker blog, citing this post published at The Daring Fireball blog.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

I am a big fan of Rick Georges' FutureLawyer blog. I read it daily, and he frequently has interesting and informative posts about a wide range of legal technology issues. Yesterday, Rick wrote a post in which he lamented the fact that it took him three days to migrate all his software to his new Dell notebook computer. He also wrote an article, The Agony and the Ecstasy of the Laptop Upgrade, for Law.com today on this same subject.

Rick stated in his article that "Purchasing and configuring a new computer is an adventure. It's somewhat like getting a root canal. You know it's going to hurt, but you'll feel much better when it's over." He went on to describe his "slow and agonizing" process as "two days and nights of file copying (the system stops every time it sees a file with the same name as the one being copied, requiring user intervention)," followed by "reinstalling all the software to get the essential files in the Windows folder."

The worst part is that this agony is not necessary! Mac OS X Tiger makes moving all of your files, music, photos, documents, etc. from your old Mac to your new Mac a simple, quick, easy process. When you're ready to make the "big move," you simply connect the two Macs with a FireWire cable and run the Migration Assistant. Once you double click on this program, it asks you a series of screens with simple questions about what you want to do, and then it will make the move for you (including copying your settings for things like email, bookmarks and more).

When I buy a new computer, I don't want to dread the experience or to compare it to a "root canal" at any time in any way. Fortunately, as a Mac user, I don't have to. At the risk of sounding like I'm making a pulpit call, you don't have to either, my brothers and sisters. Yes, you too can reap this and the other many benefits that Macs offer. Come join the flock -- you too Rick! We Mac users will welcome you with open arms.

You can read more about the Migration Assistant at Apple's Move All Your Stuff to a New Mac -- Quick.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks

You may not know that Macs have the built in capability to talk to you. This nifty feature is built in to Mac OS X. You simply highlight the desired text, follow the easy steps below, and away you go. You can also set up a key combination in Speech preferences to hear the text spoken.

This feature is handy not only for the visually impaired, but it can also be used when you'd rather listen to something rather than read it. For instance, you can have your Mac assist with proofreading documents such as Wills or Deeds. I find it helpful sometimes to close my eyes when listening to something to get a different, unimpeded "view" of it.

Here's how you can make your Mac speak selected text :

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Speech
   
2. Click "Text to Speech"
   
3. Select the "Speak selected text when the key is pressed"checkbox
   
4. Type one or more modifier keys (Command, Shift, Option, or Control) and another key to set the keys you'll use to hear selected text
   
5. Click OK when the key combination you typed appears in the text field

You can learn more about Apple's Accessibility and Text-to-Speeach features by clicking HERE.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Working on a Mac is soooo much easier than using a PC. Using a PC is generally slow and cumbersome, whereas Macs are quick and easy. For a great, useful example, let's take a quick look at text clipping on a PC vs. Mac:

On a PC:
Select the text, right click, and select copy. Then, go to your desktop, right click, and select New / Text file, give the file a name, and click away. Now, double click the file to open it, paste the text in there, and save it. Whew, that was a lot of work, wasn't it?

On a Mac:
Simply select the desired text, click it, and drag it to your desktop. Done. If you want to include this text clipping somewhere else, such as a Word document or an email, you simply drag the file from your desktop into the desired target, and your clipped text is automatically inserted. What could be easier?

Source: "Quick Text Clipping on a Mac" published at LifeHacker.com.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

You have probably seen Apple's commerical touting the fact that although there were 114,000 known viruses for PC's last year, there were none for the Mac. If you know someone who is still using a PC, odds are that you know someone who has been exposed to a virus.

The simple fact is that PC's are susceptible to having its operating system modified by a virus, often without the operator even knowing it is happening. On the other hand, Macs require you to type in your password before it allows any significant changes to be made.

PC users are compelled to purchase virus protection software to minimize the risk of attack. Even worse, this software is expensive, and it must be constantly updated. Many Mac users (myself included) have no separate virus protection software. I have never had any virus issues with my Mac.

I understand the need for security, but I believe that OS X's security features are more than sufficient for my needs. Macs allow you to save money and have peace of mind. To find out more about Macs and viruses, read "114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac" at Apple's website.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Mac OS X (Tiger) contains many useful PDF functions as a core component of its operating system. On the print menu in every program is a PDF drop down menu that gives you options to save, fax, and/or email any document in PDF format. This option is available with word processing documents, photos, and web pages (full or partial). Here is a screenshot which shows the PDF drop down menu and the various options it offers:

I use the "Mail PDF" function all the time, as it makes it extremely easy to email a copy of any documents to my clients. One nice feature is that when you select that option, Mail automatically opens with the PDF inserted, saving time and energy. Also, the PDF that is created is sort of a "temporary" type file, in that it can be emailed and used by the recipient, but you do not have to save it anywhere. Clients love being able to receive updated information so frequently, and I love being able to do so so quickly.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Wouldn't it be nice to have a lengthy section of text automatically summarize itself for you? Mac OS X (Tiger) has this capacity built right in, called "Summary Service" -- although for some reason, it receives little fanfare.

This function is found under the "Services" menu, and it is therefore available in most programs. Summary Service allows you to automatically summarize any selected text in most software programs. It works in all Apple products (Pages, Keynote, Safari), most web browsers, but not Word.

Better yet, you have the ability to adjust the length of the summary on the fly to make it as long or short as you want. You also have the option of displaying the summaries in either paragraph or sentence mode, which can be particularly useful with longer summaries.

I have found this feature to be particularly helpful for summarizing affidavits, online appellate decisions, and even medical research. While not perfect, it does a surprisingly good job of including the most important content in its summarization.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks