Digital Samurai

TWITTER - JUST DON’T DO IT

Want to see what other attorneys in your firm are up to right now? How about what they ate for lunch or whom they’re meeting for dinner tonight? There’s a service that’s becoming increasingly popular with attorneys whose purpose is to answer one simple question: What are you doing right now?

Twitter is a free mini-blogging service that allows users to stay in touch with one another by sending frequent status updates in the form of short text-based messages, delivered in a number of formats. When a user’s status is updated, a notification is sent out to everyone who is “following” the user. Attorneys are supposedly using this tool for business marketing and staying in touch with colleagues. It's great for those with ADD.

Seriously, there are many issues with using the Twitter service, starting with the instability of the Twitter network.  The network is frequently down and cannot be considered a reliable method of delivering information. Secondly, spammers are exploiting Twitter. It’s another method for spammers to attack you, on top of the attacks from users who update their status way too frequently, with TMI about minutiae. Twitter is a time-sucking distraction, plain and simple. We’ve seen it used constructively exactly once, at a conference where Twitter was used to identify the sessions as “mind-numbingly boring” or “way cool” so folks could head to the useful sessions.

Let’s not forget the number of security concerns that are introduced when using this service in your law firm. Your network will become more vulnerable to attack, there is no control over what information users can post or where data is sent, and ALL data is transmitted through the Internet, even when one employee “tweets” another. See any issues with data confidentiality and privacy? We sure do.

Our advice to lawyers is to stay away from Twitter. If you need to update someone, send an e-mail or pick up the phone. Your IT staff will thank you.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

THE G1 PHONE – GOOGLE’S ANDROID DEBUT

Google has a phone? You better believe it. The Manifest Destiny of Google continues to expand.

The HTC Dream, the first phone featuring Google’s Android operating system, will be sold in the U.S. starting in October. The G1 phone is only available to T-Mobile, priced at $179 with a two-year contract. However, this will be the first of many phones to come with Google’s Android operating system. We suggest you wait.

First, let us be clear. Android is not a business-friendly OS. It’s not compatible with Microsoft Exchange Server and in fact, is tightly-integrated with Google’s online services. That’s a deal breaker for us. Really, you must have a Google account if you expect to be able to use this phone. The e-mail, calendar and contact apps will only synchronize with your Gmail account and not with Microsoft Outlook on your Desktop computer. The phone does support Word and Excel files, which is a minor consolation. Also unsurprising is the inclusion of Google Maps, YouTube, Google Talk and Google Search apps with the new OS. Didn’t Google learn anything from Microsoft’s problems?

Android is seriously lacking in multimedia capabilities, featuring a poor music player and offering no video support outside of the YouTube application. That sure makes it hard to be a serious alternative to the iPhone.

The Android OS is in need of some major enhancements if it expects to compete with Windows Mobile devices, the iPhone and other smartphones. For now, it appears that Google will have to go back to the drawing board on this one.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

iPHONE 3G: IS IT BUSINESS READY?

Lawyers – just like everyone else, they want to be the cool kids on the block. Many of the lawyers we work with bought the iPhone long before it had any ability to serve as a business phone. Now, the buzz over the release of the next generation iPhone has finally passed and the dust has settled. We don’t know what all the hype was about. Apple has worked hard at marketing the next gen iPhone to the business community. But is the iPhone 3G REALLY ready for prime time? We have our doubts.

The next gen iPhone offers features for the business user such as support for over-the-air synchronization of e-mail, contacts and personal calendar with Microsoft Exchange Server. Exchange support was previously not available in first generation iPhones. The iPhone 3G uses the UMTS/HSDPA (3G) data network that provides the phone with fast download speeds, which makes the phone great for streaming audio, downloading files or surfing the web. The new App Store is included, allowing you to browse, purchase and download apps directly to your phone. The next gen iPhone even offers a longer battery life than the previous version. All great features right?

But even with the improvements, the iPhone still has its major disadvantages.  First, you are stuck with the AT&T network. Enough said. Get ready for two years of dropped calls and poor service coverage. In addition, the 3G network is not as widespread as the marketing hype would have you believe, which means your data flow will be significantly reduced. We prefer to choose our wireless carrier, not vice-versa. The iPhone doesn’t natively support the editing of Microsoft Office documents. In order to edit Office documents a third-party app will need to be purchased. This may not be an issue if you just want to read the files instead of editing them. Unlike their competitors, Windows mobile devices come preinstalled with Microsoft Office Mobile Edition, which allows editing.

We are strong supporters of the very business-friendly Treo smartphones, newly dubbed the “iPhone Killers”, and still believe that the iPhone is better suited for your teenager than your law practice.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

GREENPRINT – EVEN LAWYERS CAN LEARN TO SAVE TREES

Every attorney likes to print. We know first-hand. We have one here in our office. (Take it easy boys – I’m still your editor – Sharon) It’s hard to think of a profession that prints and wastes more paper than the legal profession. But even the worst of the paper wasters can do more (easily!) to save the environment and reduce their overall printing costs. And no, we are not talking about using recycled paper but rather something far better.

GreenPrint Technologies has a software product, GreenPrint, which eliminates unwanted pages from your printing jobs saving you ink, toner, paper, money and trees. 370 trees and counting according to the web site. The software intercepts your print jobs and highlights unnecessary pages that can be removed, such as blank pages. How many times have you printed a web page that prints on two pages of paper, with only a single line of text on the second page?  Usually the second page only contains a URL, logo or banner ad.  No longer will these wasted pages need to be printed.

GreenPrint makes recommendations about pages that should be removed from the print job and prompts the user for approval before the job is sent to the printer. The software tracks the number of pages and costs that have been saved using the software, a great feature for the cost-conscious. There is a free edition of the software for home use and an Enterprise Edition for businesses. The Enterprise Edition costs $70 per license, with volume discounts available for larger orders.

We are going to take a serious look at this product (especially for Sharon), as should any firm that prints as much as we do.

To read more about GreenPrint, visit their web site at www.printgreener.com.

- John and Mike

703-359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

ABA JOURNAL – MORE WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED

One of the stellar benefits of membership in the American Bar Association is the ABA Journal. Believe it or not, Mother ABA has gone high tech. It now offers more delivery options to better accommodate the mobile attorney.

You now have the ability to stay connected to the ABA Journal through a number of different communication channels:

Daily Newsletter – latest headlines delivered in daily e-mail updates

RSS Feeds – add the ABA’s RSS feed to your aggregator of choice

Twitter Feed – follow the latest headlines and updates through your Twitter account

Mobile Edition – news formatted web site specifically for mobile phones

iPhone Application – specially designed application for the iPhone delivers the latest headlines to your device is available for download through the iTunes Store. Apple iTunes is required.

Facebook Page – become a friend of the ABA Journal on this leading social network site

You choose how and when you get the information. It can’t get any easier than that.

Now, if only we could get an app for our Windows Mobile devices, we would be in business. iPhone app? What were they thinking?

- John and Mike

703-359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

INTERNET EXPLORER 8 BETA 2– USER BEWARE

Redmond is at it again. Just when you thought that you had time to download and experiment with Google Chrome, Microsoft has countered with its own new browser release. The next generation of the Internet Explorer browser has arrived.

And so the browser war continues…

Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 (IE 8) is currently available for download and use from Microsoft’s web site. IE 8 contains many innovative new features such as color-coded tabs, increased privacy options and built-in security, with only slight alterations made to the browser window layout. The built-in security features includes Microsoft’s SmartScreen filter, which adds malware protection to the existing antiphishing protection first introduced in IE 7. The browser also includes InPrivate, a feature synonymous with Google’s Chrome Incognito Window, which stops the caching of files to your computer. This is commonly referred to in the industry as operating in “porn mode.” The browser includes a Suggested Sites feature that logs (sends to Microsoft) the web sites that a user visits, and then will make suggestions of alternate web sites that a user might enjoy based on their browsing history. The captured data is sent to Microsoft for “reporting purposes,” but at least they disable this feature by default, unlike Google Chrome’s Suggest tool.

But users should be forewarned. Once the software is installed, it cannot easily be removed without first uninstalling Service Pack 3 on XP systems. Users are already reporting problems with system crashes, browser incompatibility with popular web sites, and other Microsoft online services. Isn’t it ironic how IE 8 doesn’t work with Microsoft’s services such as Hotmail, LiveSearch, and Windows Live Meeting? The boys (and girls) in Redmond need to talk across their cubicles!

And that’s just one of reasons why we use Firefox.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com

GOOGLE CHROME – ANOTHER GREAT GOOGLEVENTION?

If it isn’t a word, it ought to be. Google has announced yet another Googlevention!

Finally, Google wants to get into the browser business. They’ve grown tired of Internet Explorer and Mozilla FireFox dominating the browser market and want a piece of the action and more of the electronic universe. Enter Chrome.

Chrome, in beta version, was released to the public for download this past Tuesday. Already, the browser has caused quite a stir, both good and bad. The open source browser is very simplistic, with a browser window that is clean and straightforward. Under the hood, the browser is quite different from its competitors. The tab-based browser keeps each tab isolated as a separate process, preventing one tab from crashing another. Chrome can also import a user’s settings from Internet Explorer or FireFox. This makes migration to the new browser less painful.

On the other side, Chrome has its problems and its detractors. Only a few hours after its release, a number of security vulnerabilities were discovered. For you propeller heads, the Chrome user-agent identifies itself as Webkit 525.13 (Safari 3.1), which is an older and vulnerable version. Additionally, Chrome is currently only available for Windows-based systems, with Mac and Linux versions in development. Also, there appears to be an issue with the License Agreement and that the data Chrome collects may not be “private” and may be made “available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships,” just like Google Search. This should raise a red flag for attorneys, especially if you use your Internet browser to create privileged materials. Google has hardly been a champion in the privacy arena.

Keep in mind when “surfing with the Chrome”, that the browser is in beta. It’s in beta (a) to determine the demand for the browser and (b) to identify and resolve any bugs. The final product should be much better as feedback rolls in. Google made it big with GoogleDocs, Gmail and Google Search. It looks like Google feels it has a “manifest destiny.” And so the empire expands.

To download Google Chrome visit the web site at www.google.com/chrome, but perhaps you should wait for the patched version first.

- John and Mike

(703) 359-0700
digitalsamurai@senseient.com
www.senseient.com