TechnoLawyer: Gadgets/Shredders/Office Gear

In today's special holiday edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers three new iPod accessories — the first ever in-ear wireless earphones, a Star Trek-like iPod video viewing system, and an iPod battery pack that will take you across the pond and back even if you watch videos the whole time. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Unchain Your Head and iPod
By Dennis Kennedy

Serious audiophiles and frequent fliers always rave about in-ear earphones. They like the combination of high fidelity sound and external noise reduction. If the powers that be could only figure out a way to eliminate those darn wires.

Etymotic Research, which developed one of the first in-ear systems, has introduced the wireless Ety 8 — the first and only wireless (Bluetooth) in-ear earphone system. The company claims that Ety 8 sounds just as good as its wired models. Ety 8 uses a new folding technology to reduce the size of the antenna. As with all earphones of this type, the earpieces fit snugly in your ear canal — no external support is needed. A perfect fit is critical so Etymotic provides you with a choice of 3-flange, 2-flange, and foam ear tips.

The technical specs on Ety 8 are comparable to the rest of Etymotic's products. Each earpiece weighs only ounce. One earpiece houses the battery and the other houses the antenna as well as iPod controls (play, previous/next, and volume). Expect a 10 hour battery life, with an automatic shut-off after 5 minutes if no audio is playing.

The iPod version comes with its own adapter and works with fifth generation iPods and first and second generation Nanos. Ety 8 is compatible with devices supporting Bluetooth specification 1.1 and higher and supports A2DP and AVRCP profiles for stereo listening. It comes with a USB power port for charging and a leather case.

Ety 8 with the iPod adapter costs $299. If you use a Bluetooth device other than an iPod, the earphones cost $199. Learn more about Ety 8.

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Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

This week's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire will cover three new iPod accessories for you to consider when holiday shopping. Why iPod? We think it will once again reign supreme as the leading technology gift this year. Below I've placed a pick of my own.

FM transmitters enable you to play your iPod through an unused FM radio frequency. However, in large cities, finding an unused frequency may prove difficult so what you need is a transmitter with the power to jam a weak radio station.

I can't say that my Kensington Digital FM Transmitter/Auto Charger is the best one out there, but I can give you a real-life field test in a tough environment — Manhattan. Set to 88.1 FM, my iPod's signal comes through loud and clear with no static (except when I'm near the Empire State Building for some reason). You can store three frequencies, but I've needed just this one.

I also like the connection through the iPod's dock connector, which provides better quality sound than the headphone port, and enables me to control the volume with my car stereo. As an added bonus, the charger eliminates concerns about battery drain. The Kensington Digital FM Transmitter/Auto Charger costs about $80 and comes in white or black. Take a look at some photos.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming December 8, 2006 to Fat Friday: Harold Burstyn discusses his law career and his experience with age discrimination, Nicholas Bettinger reviews his multiple monitor setup and two utilities that can make such an arrangement even slicker, Channing Strother discusses GPS in the car and the advantages/disadvantages of using your laptop, a portable device, or a built-in unit, Dean Birch explains why his firm's file naming convention does not include dates, and D. Paul Dalton discusses online data storage versus local media. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming December 5, 2006 to TechnoFeature: You wouldn't be caught dead using a cassette player instead of your iPod for listening to music these days, so why stay stuck in the dictation dark ages? That tape recorder has got to go. In this article, attorney Jeffrey Allen explores the realm of digital dictation and how it can benefit today's mobile lawyer. Learn how ultra-portable devices and digital media can make your dictation fast and flawless.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers an online store for legal-oriented prints, a Windows XP utility for managing open windows, and a space- and place-shifting device for recording FM and online radio programs. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Dress Your Office for Success
By Dennis Kennedy
For many lawyers, the "art" on the office walls consists of their framed law school degrees and state licenses. Most art galleries do not have a legal section. What if you could choose from a great selection of legal art prints to give your office a look both appropriate and unique?

LawGallery is an online store that focuses exclusively on legal prints for the legal profession. In the store, you'll find a large selection of prints depicting the practice of law. Many feature historical elements, including famous trials, lawyers, or courthouses. Less serious lawyers will find a variety of humorous prints.

Most prints date from the 1800s and early 1900s and will give your office a decidedly British feel. Examples of prints include drawings of the Royal Courts of Justice and Westminster Hall. You will also find prints of American cases like the "Trial of Guiteau for the Murder of President Garfield." LawGallery provides historical research and other information about each print and its subject matter.

LawGallery has made some of these reproductions itself and licensed others. The company uses "museum-grade" inks with a fade-free life span of 25-100 years depending upon their exposure to light. The company also employs archival processes when mounting and framing its prints. You can choose from many styles of mats and frames. LawGallery's own professional curator can even help you choose the most appropriate frame for a particular print and its location.

Prices vary depending on the print and framing option you choose. Most prices seem to fall between $200 to $600. LawGallery unconditionally guarantees each sale; you can return a print for a full refund. Learn more about LawGallery.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 10, 2006 to Fat Friday:  John Starkweather explains how he has embraced branding and technology at his small firm, James Zuffoletto discusses the "unhappy lawyer" phenomenon, Diane Hopkins shares a real-life client story involving Tabs3 that teaches an important technology lesson, Arshia Javaherian reviews Sonnet's PodFreq FM Transmitter for the iPod, and Aaron Morris discusses his unique multiple monitor setup. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 20, 2006 to Fat Friday: Mark Lieb discusses how a firm's litigation support department should operate, John Dorst reviews Sonnet's PodFreq FM transmitter for the iPod, Douglas Simpson reviews his experience using Copernic Desktop Search over the past year, Thomas Shigo chimes in on the DIY v. hire a consultant debate, and Jeff Wyatt reviews the Brother HL-5250DN laser printer. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a gadget that enables laptop users to reap the benefits of multiple monitors, a hot new smartphone guaranteed to make lawyers drool, and a document management system with a fresh approach. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

You Can Never Have Two Many Monitors
By Dennis Kennedy
You decide to replace your desktop PC with a laptop. After all, laptops can do everything desktops can do, right? They can even burn DVDs nowadays. Soon, you start hearing about all these lawyers using two or three monitors. And then you learn the ugly truth — your laptop has just one video port. Ouch. Burned by technology yet again.

Matrox feels your pain and has created two products designed to bring you into the 21st century law office — DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go. These two products enable you to respectively run two or three monitors from a single video port.

A black box measuring about the size of your hand, the DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go do not contain graphics cards. Instead, they contain patent-pending circuitry that takes the memory of your existing graphics card and redistributes it among multiple monitors. Matrox claims that you will not see any distortion or scaling, which makes sense since no interpolation occurs — you're just using the actual memory in your laptop.

The DualHead2Go can drive two monitors at resolutions up to 1280x1024 pixels. The TripleHead2Go can drive three monitors at up to 1280x1024 pixels. If that's not enough, you can alternatively use the TripleHead2Go to drive two monitors at higher resolutions, including widescreen monitors.

The DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go require a VGA output connector (easily achieved with a converter if your laptop has a DVI output), and works with Windows 2000/XP. The DualHead2Go sells for about $150 and the TripleHead2Go sells for about $300. Learn more about DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 10, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Apple's iPod has taken the world by storm. Everywhere you look, you see people wearing the signature white earbuds. But amidst this storm, Apple has inspired ever greater competition from other companies that have come up with new uses for their media players in hope of taking some of Apple's market share. In this article, trial consultant David Mykel explores several portable media players (including the iPod) and how you can put them to use as a litigation support tool when you gear up for your next trial. In short, David will show you how a portable media player can become a litigator's best friend.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a discount online store for inkjet cartridges and laser toner among other supplies, a utility that runs Windows on your Mac, and presentation software for your iPod. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Alternative Fuels for Your Inkjet and Laser Printers
By Dennis Kennedy
Ink and toner are as essential for the operation of today's law firms as gasoline is for running our cars. Unfortunately, the prices of inkjet cartridges and laser toner cartridges can give us the same sense of sticker shock as seeing $3/gallon gasoline at the pump.

Databazaar.com is one of the industry leaders in providing inkjet cartridges, laser toner cartridges, copier and fax supplies, paper, and projector bulbs at discount prices. You'll also find cables and printers at Databazaar.com.

Inc. magazine recently mentioned Databazaar.com in an article on "business bargains." Databazaar.com carries cartridges for almost every brand or make of printer, including HP, Brother, Canon, Epsom, Dell, Imation, Lexmark, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, and Xerox/Tektronix.

Databazaar.com sells genuine new inkjet and toner cartridges as well as compatible cartridges in factory-fresh retail boxes — the same ones sold by manufacturers and big box retailers — at deeply discounted prices. Plus you get free shipping on all orders. All orders ship within 24 hours, except on weekends and holidays.

Databazaar.com offers a comprehensive, well-organized Web site. You can check and compare prices. Even better, the site offers RSS feeds for you to stay apprised of new products and special offers without visiting the site. Learn more about Databazaar.com.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.