As I previously posted, I am honored to be speaking at the inaugural "Mac Track" at this year’s TechShow 2008, sponsored by the American Bar Association. If you are planning to attend, please note that the "early bird" discount expires this Friday, February 1, 2008. Also, if your bar association is listed here, you may be entitled to a discount. You can learn much more about TechShow 2008 by visiting my prior post or by clicking on the image below to visit its website.
The Tennessee Bar Association is sponsoring Law Technology 2008: Marketing, Management and Techology Solutions for Your Firm on February 22, 2008, at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville. I will be presenting two sessions at this CLE, which will focus on using Macs in your law practice. I am looking forward to getting back to the Music City, and I hope that my readers will attend if they are able to do so. Much more information about this seminar is listed below.
This year’s program includes something for everyone! Hear about legal technology trends for 2008 and the latest technology in the courts. Lawyer, author and marketing guru Greg Siskind discusses marketing through webinars, blogs and podcasts. Dual track programming allows attendees to select the programs they want. Guest presenter Ben Stevens, publisher of the well known law office management blog, “The Mac Lawyer,” will discuss why Macs are better than PCs and the equipment and software that can be used in a Mac law office.
Law Tech 2008 also offers ethics programming relating to management and technology and pluses and pitfalls of Microsoft Vista and Office 2007.
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to interact with a number of exhibitors! Vendors for a number of other technology-related products will also present at the program. A number of door prizes will be given away including an Apple iPod Shuffle, Best Buy Gift Certificate, Shell Gas Card, Blockbuster Gift Card and much more!
Save Money: TBA members can use the three prepaid CLE credits that come with their Complete Membership to reduce the cost of this program. 6 hours dual CLE • 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. — REGISTER NOW
One of my favorite Mac legal bloggers, 
David Sparks, attended this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and he recently published the following thoughts about it at MacSparky:
In addition to being an affirmed Mac geek, I am also a lawyer. So as I spent the last several days talking to developers and roaming the halls of Macworld, a few things in particular got me excited about practicing law with my Mac.
Macbook Air
Apple’s new machine is a real eye catcher. It is just three pounds and manages to keep a 13 inch monitor. While this would be really nice for the roadwarrior or running around in depositions and trial, the $1800 price tag makes me look twice. If you really need thin and are willing to sacrifice a bit of functionality (no ethernet or firewire) you may want to check it out. I’m sticking with my Macbook Pro for the time being.
MacSpeech
For those of you former PC users who miss having DragonDictate in your toolbelt, fret no more. I was never a big fan of iListen, but the folks at at iListen recently acquired the license for the Dragon recognition engine for use on the Mac. Their new product, MacSpeech Dictate will be releasing next month and looks fantastic. I spent about an hour at their booth and am very impressed. I also watched David Pogue fawn over it as it produced very accurate and quick results.
I wasn’t alone in my opinion that this product will change things. It was one of the "Best of Show" award winners by several publications. Put this one at the top of your list for productivity boosters.
OmniFocus
I’m a big fan of the Omni Group applications. I use OmniOutline, OmniPlan, and OmniGraffle to manage much of my caseload. I got in early on the beta of their OmniFocus task management application and it was just released as a 1.0. This application is fantastic for keeping all the plates in the air. I did an extended review of it at Macsparky.com.
I talked to the folks at Omni and they are going to do everything in their power to get these applications on the iPhone once the iPhone SDK releases.
BusySync
For the small offices that don’t need the expense of a server but want to sync iCal calendars between multiple desks, there is a great little application called BusySync. For a cost of $20 per computer, you get seamless bonjour and net syncing between machines. They have a new version due out soon that will also allow for Google calendar syncing.
Bento
FileMaker is the best application for database intensive solutions. If you are running a small practice, FileMaker’s smaller application, Bento, looks really robust.
Billings and Daylite
Marketcircle continues its place at the top of small office management software. They had a nice booth and made regular presentations. I was unaware of some of their interesting add-on products like Daylite Delivery and the FileMaker connector. These guys fill a very particular niche.
Fujitsu ScanSnap
I love my Fujitsu ScanSnap. It is a reliable, fast scanner with a small footprint. Now they have a portable version, the S300M, that retails at $295 and looks perfect for those depositions on the other side of the country.
Smart Board
Smart Technologies has a very impressive device you install over your LCD television that allows you to create a virtual white board like you are John Madden. The price point is steep. I was told "around $5,000" but it sure is nice.
Storage – Drobo and TimeCapsule
While TimeCapsule is aimed as a consumer device, 1TB storage with a built in wireless "N" router is a pretty attractive product.
I was also impressed with the Drobo that allows you to drop up to four swappable drives in with no headache. Interestingly, if you pull out a drive while it is running (or if the drive dies), Drobo automatically moves the data around to protect its integrity. The Drobo device costs $500 without any drives.
For all of you Mac lawyers, I highly recommend visiting Macworld sometime when you get a chance. Not only will you find some great tools for your practice, you’ll probably have a good time while you are at it.
Source: "A Lawyer’s Take on Macworld" by David Sparks, published at MacSparky.
As I previously posted, the "Using Macs in Trial 2" seminar is scheduled for February 29 — March 1, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. It was announced last week that Rick Borstein will also be speaking at this seminar, in addition to the other fantastic speakers.
Rick is a Business Development Manager with Adobe, specializing in the Acrobat-Legal Market, and he publishes the Acrobat for Legal Professionals blog. Rick’s presentation will focus exclusively on legal examples and applications of Acrobat, and it should be great.
If you want to get more information about the "Using Macs in Trial 2" seminar, including the topics, location, cost, etc., simply click HERE.
Last May, I attended the inaugural "Using Macs in Trial" in Dallas, TX. It was a great seminar, and it met my number one criteria for any seminar — it contained many helpful, practical tips that I could immediately implement into my practice. The subject matter was appropriate for both new and veteran Mac users, and the discussions with the other attendees were insightful as well.
The follow up seminar, cleverly titled "Using Macs in Trial 2", is scheduled for February 29 — March 1, and it will again be held in Dallas. This seminar looks to be as good as, if not better than, the one last year, and I urge you to make plans now to attend. I will be there, and I am looking forward to both the seminar and seeing the friends that I made there last year.
Using Macs in Trial 2 :: Hosted by Foreman, Lewis & Hutchison
Date :: Friday February 29, 2008 (afternoon) and Saturday March 1, 2008 (all day)
Location :: Embassy Suites Outdoor World At DFW Hotel, Grapevine, Texas
Travel :: Recommend that you fly into Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport if possible. Dallas Love field is approx twenty minutes away if you want to rent a car or pay for a cab.
Cost :: $150 for the Seminar and Meals [covers a per person charge for use of meeting rooms at hotel, refreshment breaks, dinner Friday evening (speaker presentation during dinner), lunch Saturday (presentation during lunch), and high speed internet connection in the seminar meeting room.] The $150 seminar fee must be paid by
February 8 so they can adjust the seminar facilities to larger space if
needed. You should send a check to Foreman, Lewis & Hutchison, 611 S
Main, Ste 700, Grapevine, Texas 76051 or call 817-336-5533 and ask for
Kristy to pay by credit card.
Accommodations :: Attendees are eligible for a discounted suite at the rate of $124 per night for Friday and Saturday night. Reservations can be made online or by calling 972-724-2600 and asking for the MacLaw rate. Accommodations include a breakfast buffet and a cocktail reception. In-room internet is an additional charge. The Hotel has a complementary airport shuttle. The discount rate for hotel rooms will remain available until February 8th, pending availability.
Seminar Topics :: The seminar is directed to the use of Macintosh computers in a trial focused litigation practice. Some of the topics will be applicable to general law office use of Macs. A favorite portion of the seminar last year was an open discussion / sharing of specific practice based problems and solutions. The seminar should be a wonderful tool for both advanced users and those new to or considering a conversion to a Mac based practice. The use of all programs will be demonstrated in a step by step form – bring your MacBook and work along with the speaker. Topics will include:
Continuing Legal Education Credits :: The seminar received approval for CLE credit last year from the State Bar of Texas (with reciprocity available in other states per their rules). Similar accreditation will be applied for this year.
Earlier this week, Apple announced a whole new way to shop at your local Apple Store. Personal Shopping is a free
service where you and a dedicated Mac Specialist explore and test-drive
products to find out which ones are best for you. This service is free, and it affords you undivided attention, even in a busy store.
Source: "Apple Unveils ProCare Changes; Project LaunchBox; iPhone Parts", published at AppleInsider.
Today, Apple announced changes to its ProCare program. As previously posted on this blog, this program provided personal training, priority repairs and service, and setup services — all for $99 per year.
Now, the "old" ProCare has been split into two separate $99 packages.
In my opinion, these programs are still an excellent value, and I can understand to a degree why Apple split ProCare in two. All good things must pass in time. The two packages now available are:
ProCare membership starts with a complete setup of your Mac and includes premium benefits like same-day service at the
Genius Bar, Rapid Repairs, yearly tune-ups, and more for up to three computers.
Personal training sessions are designed to move at your pace and
provide the support and guidance you need, whether you’re new to Mac or
ready to master the latest pro software.
Source: "Apple Unveils ProCare Changes; Project LaunchBox; iPhone Parts", published at AppleInsider.
If you live close to an Apple Store, you should learn about and take advantage of Apple’s ProCare program. For the low, low price of $99.00 per year, you get the following:
I can’t think of any drawbacks to this program. Where else can you get 52 hours of one-on-one training by a “Genius” for $99.00 per year? I only wish that there was an Apple Store closer to me, so that I could take advantage of ProCare. You can learn about Apple’s ProCare program by clicking HERE.