Category Archives: Hardware

Guest Post :: Fall 2011 an Early Christmas for Apple Followers?

By J. Benjamin Stevens on July 14th, 2011 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, iPhone

Barely a day passes at the moment without something of a flurry of new Apple rumors from ‘credible’ sources and so-called industry ‘experts’ across the board, with regard to weird and wonderful launches set to take place in the not so distant future. Indeed, the sheer volume of such speculative reports alone results in the… Continue Reading

Special Offer for The Mac Lawyer’s Readers on External Battery for iPhone / iPod

By J. Benjamin Stevens on June 22nd, 2011 Posted in Hardware, iPhone, Product Reviews, Special Offers

A few months ago, I posted a review about the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone external battery. Richard Thalheimer, the owner of Richard Solo, has authorized a special offer for The Mac Lawyer‘s readers. This external battery, which originally sold for $69.95, is now available for only $5.98 each (and only $5.09 each if you buy two or more) for shipments… Continue Reading

Special Offer on External Battery for iPhone / iPod

By J. Benjamin Stevens on March 4th, 2011 Posted in Hardware, iPhone, Product Reviews, Special Offers

Richard Solo makes many outstanding products, and I am a big fan of their company in many respects. Its owner, Richard Thalheimer, emailed me earlier this week and extended a special offer for my readers. Until March 31, 2011, you can purchase the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone external battery for only $19.95. This outstanding battery provides 1800 mAh… Continue Reading

PC World’s “Reliability and Service Survey” Finds Apple Best in Quality

By J. Benjamin Stevens on December 2nd, 2010 Posted in Hardware, Mac vs. PC, Product Reviews

Earlier this week, PC World released the results of its annual "Reliability and Service Survey", which interviews customers and asks them about the tech products they use, how reliable those products are, and the quality of the services associated with those products. After interviewing over 79,000 people, PC World concluded that Apple was the best tech firm… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: Implementing the Updated MacBook Air

By J. Benjamin Stevens on November 24th, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, Product Reviews, Switching to Macs

The following Guest Post is from one of my readers, John Millard, an attorney in Texas, in which he explains how he implemented his new MacBook Air into his practice: MacBook Air and TrialSmart I bought my new 13′ MacBook Air three weeks ago at a local Apple Store. I opted for the higher end 2.13 GHz… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: Initial Impressions of the Updated MacBook Air

By J. Benjamin Stevens on November 22nd, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, Switching to Macs

The following Guest Post is from one of my readers, John Millard, an attorney in Texas, in which he explains his impressions of the new MacBook Air: A little bit about myself I’m a solo lawyer handling mostly divorce, custody and car wreck cases. I need the ability to quickly and easily present exhibits and video… Continue Reading

10 Reasons to Buy the New MacBook Air

By J. Benjamin Stevens on November 3rd, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware

Hot on the heels of the stunning iPad comes the new MacBook Air – needless to say, it’s generating a positive buzz in the laptop and netbook market. Apple has outdone itself this time; not so often do you see so much packed into such a tiny and sleek package. So if you’re looking for… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part Three)

By J. Benjamin Stevens on August 27th, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology

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… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part Two)

By J. Benjamin Stevens on August 25th, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part One)

By J. Benjamin Stevens on August 23rd, 2010 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology

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… Continue Reading

Steve Jobs Explains Apple’s Concerns About Flash

By J. Benjamin Stevens on April 30th, 2010 Posted in Hardware, Mac OS X, Software, Technology

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… Continue Reading

Apple Announces Update to MacBook Pros

By J. Benjamin Stevens on April 14th, 2010 Posted in Hardware

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… Continue Reading

iPad Envy? Save Money with Gadget Spa Day

By J. Benjamin Stevens on January 29th, 2010 Posted in Hardware, iPad, Technology

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… Continue Reading

Five Reasons to Partition a Hard Drive

By J. Benjamin Stevens on December 2nd, 2009 Posted in Hardware

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… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: Wireless Microphones for Use with MacSpeech Dictate Legal

By J. Benjamin Stevens on November 16th, 2009 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, Product Reviews

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: I. Introduction 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… Continue Reading

Guest Post :: Being Seduced by a Server

By J. Benjamin Stevens on November 2nd, 2009 Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware

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… Continue Reading

Apple’s Mac Mini Server More Cost Effective Than PC Servers

By J. Benjamin Stevens on October 28th, 2009 Posted in Hardware

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… Continue Reading

Is Apple’s Magic Mouse More “Hocus Pocus” Than “Voila”?

By J. Benjamin Stevens on October 26th, 2009 Posted in Hardware, Product Reviews

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,… Continue Reading

How Many Monitors Should You Use?

By J. Benjamin Stevens on October 5th, 2009 Posted in Hardware

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… Continue Reading

How to Use Scanners with Legal SaaS Applications

By J. Benjamin Stevens on September 28th, 2009 Posted in Hardware, How Do I ... ?, Software

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,… Continue Reading

Mac Pricing :: “Apple Tax” or “Microsoft Discount”?

By J. Benjamin Stevens on June 17th, 2009 Posted in Hardware, Mac vs. PC

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… Continue Reading

WWDC Recap :: iPhone 3G-S Hardware and Software

By J. Benjamin Stevens on June 11th, 2009 Posted in Hardware, iPhone, Software

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,… Continue Reading

WWDC Recap :: New and Updated MacBooks

By J. Benjamin Stevens on June 10th, 2009 Posted in Hardware

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… Continue Reading

How to Use the PC Versions of the Fujitsu ScanSnap on Your Mac (updated)

By J. Benjamin Stevens on June 3rd, 2009 Posted in Hardware, How Do I ... ?

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… Continue Reading