TechnoLawyer: TL Editorial

I recently purchased my first camera — ever. Previously, I had used either hand-me-downs (first a Pentax SLR and then an Olympus SLR) or disposable film cameras. I would have gone digital earlier, but as often happens, my expectations exceeded the marketplace.

What I've long wanted is an ultra-compact 5 megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom that takes high-quality photos and unlimited-length movies.

I ended up settling for the Canon PowerShot SD500 (recently replaced by the nearly identical SD550), an ultra-compact 7 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom that takes high-quality photos and unlimited-length movies.

I paid $499 at Crutchfield, and also purchased a 1GB Lexar 40x SD memory card for about $100. Tip: Crutchfield gives you a $25 gift card when you buy this digital camera so buy the camera first, and then use the gift card to buy the memory. Also, you can haggle on prices and on shipping charges if you order by phone (ask for Bo). You might find the camera for less money elsewhere, but Crutchfield provides much better service than Amazon or the big box stores.

If you plan to take still photos only, you may not need 1GB of memory, but the camera features a terrific movie mode. I recently shot some footage that will make its way into a short TechnoLawyer-related video that we plan to release soon (stay tuned). You can shoot video at 640x480 pixels 30 fps in MPEG-2 until your memory card fills up — perfect for Web video projects. My 1GB SD card holds about 8 minutes of video. The quality is terrific. However, I would advise against relying on the built-in microphone as it tends to pick up camera sounds. For our upcoming video, we plan to replace the sound that the camera captured with post-production voice-overs, music, and sound effects.

Tip: The SD500 shoots video in 640x480 AVI, but most video editing software (we use iMovie HD) requires 720x480 DV footage. After trying various conversion maneuvers, I discovered one that does not harm the quality of the video. Just open the SD500 footage in QuickTime Pro (available from Apple for $29), export to DV, and then import the DV version into your editing software.

Video aside, most people buy cameras like the SD500 for still shots. The SD500 performs as well as you could hope for such a small camera. What do I mean? As long as you work around the SD500's limitations, you'll get amazing photos. For example, I quickly learned not to use the flash for close-ups because it's too close to the lens.

Like any gadget, the SD500 has more features than you'll ever use. Thus far, I've made use of the following for my still shots: optical zoom (3x), manual mode (especially ISO settings), burst mode (for capturing a series of action shots), macro mode (for extreme close-ups), My Colors (for photos that highlight just one color with everything else in black and white), AiAF (nine-point auto-focus — criticized in some reviews, but it has worked flawlessly for me), and Scene Modes (for specific situations, such as beach, indoor, etc.).

I've had so much fun using my SD500 that I recently volunteered to take some photos for AppleInsider, a fellow independent online technology publication.

Highly recommended — and not surprising that Canon now has the largest market share among digital camera makers.

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.

We have about 234 TechnoLawyer members in the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. We hope they're all safe and secure, and we wish them and their fellow citizens the very best in the wake of this tragedy. Now, for a rant. The shocking video footage of New Orleans looks like that from a third world country, not the United States. No offense to third world countries, but our financial and intellectual resources should have prevented the failure of the levee system. New Orleans is simply too important a city for second-rate civil engineering. This year, Hoover Dam celebrates its 70th anniversary. Clearly, the ability to hold back massive amounts of water has existed for many years. Yet once again we find ourselves facing a preventable tragedy with costs (economic and, tragically, human) that will far exceed the preventive measures we could have taken. Read more.

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.

For those of you not familiar with the TechnoLawyer (Calories Count) Diet, a quick recap: In early 2004, I set out to lose weight by developing a deep understanding of calories and caloric density, calculating the daily caloric intake (DCI) for my desired weight, and then creating about 20 filling and enjoyable meals that fit within my DCI. Today, I'll weigh in again, plus share my latest calorie counting insights and review my new high-tech Tanita InnerScan BC533 scale.

When I last checked in on November 29, 2004, I weighed 147 pounds. This morning, I weighed in at 140 pounds. Therefore, I'm down 45 pounds total from the 185 pounds I weighed in early 2004. I now consider myself at my ideal weight.

Counting Calories at Lunch ...

When you're overweight, you can lose weight relatively easily, but when you're at the high end of your normal weight range, it becomes much more difficult to lose weight. For example, I quickly lost 30 pounds in my first three months, but it then took a year to lose 15 more pounds.

I had difficulty counting calories at lunch because I always eat lunch out, and none of my usual haunts provided nutritional information. But then last August, Chipotle, an upscale Mexican fast food chain, opened up near our office. After obtaining a nutritional chart from the company, I realized that Chipotle could help me lose more weight.

Most of the people standing in line every day at Chipotle are overweight. And no wonder — the burritos they buy consist of 1,500 calories or more! By contrast, my burritos range from 600-1,000 calories depending on what I plan to eat for dinner. For example, a burrito bol (no tortilla) with pinto beans (two scoops), chicken, tomato salsa (two scoops), and guacamole contains 715 calories.

And now for the best part — thanks to ChipotleFan.com, you need not manually count calories. Instead, the site features a nutritional calculator — just check the items in your burrito and the Web site counts the calories for you. (It amuses me to no end that a fan Web site is better than the corporate Web site.)

For all I know, you may hate Mexican food. Therefore, I'm not suggesting that you eat at Chipotle every day. However, if you want to reach the low end of your normal weight range, try to eat lunch at places that provide nutritional information. This way, you can plan your meals and stay within your DCI.

Ironically, the fast food chains do the best job of providing nutritional information, including calories. I'm certainly not an advocate for the fast food industry, but despite what the documentary Super Size Me would have you believe, you could eat three times a day at McDonald's and lose weight (filmmaker Morgan Spurlock gained weight because he consumed too many calories, not because he ate at McDonald's).

I'm not suggesting that you do so (nutritional concerns aside, many McDonald's items have a high caloric density, which makes it more difficult though not impossible to stay within your DCI and also satisfy your hunger). Instead, I'm just demonstrating how much control you can have over your weight when you count calories and plan meals. Too bad all restaurants don't provide nutritional information.

Tanita InnerScan BC533 Body Composition Monitor (Scale) ...

In July 2005, I purchased a Tanita InnerScan BC533 scale. This clever gadget not only calculates your weight, but also your body fat percentage, water percentage, visceral fat, muscle mass, physique rating, bone mass, DCI, and metabolic age.

In particular, monitoring body fat will help you to determine if you're losing fat or muscle. If you find yourself losing muscle, you may need to work with a professional. My current body fat percentage is 13.3%, which falls within the normal range of 8-19% for 18-39 year-old men, though I'd like to get it down to 10%.

The scale works by sending an electrical impulse through your body — completely harmless unless you're pregnant or use a pacemaker, in which case you should not use the scale. To get started, you enter your age, height, gender, and activity level. The scale has 4 presets (if you don't have 4 people in your household, you can use more than one preset for yourself to play around with activity levels), plus it also has a guest mode (great for dinner parties — uh, maybe not!).

I love the scale, but would like to report on two interactions with Tanita.

First, my scale arrived with the wrong manual and reference guide. The reference guide is important because most of the readings have no meaning without the accompanying explanation. At first, Tanita sent me a Xerox copy of the manual and failed to send me the reference guide — very annoying. After complaining, it sent me the actual, bound manual and reference guide.

Second, I agree with all the scale's readings except DCI. Given my interest in (obsession with?) weight control, I consider myself an expert at DCI. I eat 1,700 to 1,800 calories/day, but the scale provides me with a DCI of 2,400 to 2,500 calories/day. Given this 700 calorie discrepency (that's 247 grams of ice cream!), I sent Tanita my statistics thinking that my scale might have a defect, but Tanita stands by its DCI calculation. This disceprency remains a mystery to me, but I'm sticking with my DCI, not Tanita's.

Tanita also sells the IronMan BC554 — identical to my InnerScann BC533 except that it features a different design and calculates Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) instead of DCI. BMR provides you with the amount of calories your body burns even without any physical activity (your baseline). Multiplying your BMR by an activity factor is how you calculate DCI. The trick lies in choosing your activity factor.

Finally, a buying tip. I initially purchased the scale from Amazon, but Amazon shipped it "naked" without an outer cardboard box. As a result, the scale arrived looking like it had travelled through a war zone. I returned it, and instead ordered the scale from Bodytronics, which packed it properly in a cardboard box.

Bodytronics sells the BC533 for $120 and the BC554 for $130.

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.

Over the past few months, my colleague Sara Skiff has proved to the legal world what I've long known — TechnoLawyer members are fascinating people with interesting and successful careers. In the Member News section of this blog, Sara reports on the latest accomplishments of our members. Below I've collected links to all of Sara's articles to date. Maybe Sara's next article will cover your accomplishments.

New Blogs Cover Divorce Law, Commercial Contracts

Sean Tierney's Sentinel Designed to Help Lawyers with OFAC Compliance

Grace Carter, Celia Elwell, and Dwayne Krager Among Top 15 Paralegals in the US

Let Arnie Herz Help You Optimize Your Legal Career and Gain a Competitive Edge

Neil Squillante Participates in MarketingProfs' Thought Leaders Summit on E-Mail Marketing

Appellate Lawyer Joanne Frasca Scores a Win for Athletes First

Dennis Kennedy and Matt Homann Are Ready for Their Close Up, Mr. DeMille

Dan Pinnington Discusses Legal Malpractice in Law Practice Today

Barchives: A Blog for Bar Associations Is Born

Edward Poll Receives High Distinction from the Society for Advancement of Consulting

InhouseBlog Added to Law.com Legal Blog Watch

A Retina Specialist Has an Important Message for Diabetics — Get a Fluorescein Angiogram

Jan Kabili "Wows" with New Photoshop Book

Raise Your Glass — Attorney William Wilson Celebrates Supreme Court Victory

Family Law News Publishes Article by Family Law Specialist John Harding

Ina Kay Zimmerman: Dedicated to Serving the Legal and Now Personal Needs of the Nation's Elderly

Tom Lamb Launches Drug-Injury.com

CNET News.com Publishes Document Security Article by Joe Fantuzzi

Harold Burstyn Accepts New Role at Milde & Hoffberg

Jeff Sheldon Interviewed by Sky Radio

Michael Bates Blogs About Alberta's Fair Trading Act

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.

In the film Punch Drunk Love (which I don't recommend incidentally), Adam Sandler's character realizes that a pudding company has made a mistake with its promotion for free miles — buying pudding and racking up free miles turns out to cost less than buying a plane ticket.

Has the document management startup Authoritative.Net made a similar marketing goof with its version 2.5 release of FileCenter? Probably not (Todd Rapier and his cohorts are savvy marketers — they advertise in TechnoLawyer after all), but if you have lots of JPEG, PDF, or TIFF image files that you'd like to convert into text for free, listen up.

FileCenter 2.5 comes with two free utilities — FileConvert and PaperMaster Conversion. FileConvert batch converts JPEG, PDF, or TIFF image files into full-text searchable PDF files. The catch is that FileConvert works only in conjunction with FileCenter. But Authoritative.Net offers a free 30-day fully functional version of FileCenter, which means you could batch convert tons of image files during those 30 days free of charge. I have verified with Todd that this scheme will indeed work. Pudding anyone?

Of course, Todd and his team are betting that those who take advantage of this freebie will end up keeping and paying for FileCenter. That's probably a good bet considering the favorable reviews of FileCenter in recent editions in Answers to Questions.

FileCenter 2.5 and the free utilities should become available sometime this week.

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.

Many legal vendors inexplicably hide their senior executives, especially their founders. Good luck finding bios of these people on many legal vendor Web sites.  Are these executives shy?

Actually, I shouldn't even joke because it's a serious marketing flaw that probably costs a lot of sales. With all the scams out there nowadays, you must establish trust.  Executive bios do exactly that.

If you're Apple or Microsoft and have spent billions on your brand to establish familiarity and trust, you need not worry so much about this issue (though to their credit, both of these companies provide executive bios on their respective Web sites).

Most legal vendors don't have this luxury. Instead, they must establish trust when lawyers unfamiliar with their products visit their Web site by way of a TechnoLawyer newsletter or other such source.

Executive bios reassure lawyers that the legal vendor and its are products are legitimate. By contrast, when bios don't exist exist, lawyers may conclude that the legal vendor has something to hide (e.g., an undercapitalized home business).

I myself tend not to buy products from small businesses with which I'm unfamiliar if I cannot find out who runs the company (a poorly designed Web site also turns me off, but that's a topic for another day).

Fortunately, some legal vendors understand that making their executives more accessible can boost sales. For example, CaseSoft not only provides bios of its two founders, but also tells a story about how they started the company. No surprise here since CaseSoft has built its rapidly growing software business in large part by making its founders so accessible (e.g., CEO Greg Krehel personally writes all of the company's TechnoLawyer advertisements and lists his e-mail address in each ad).

Another favorite example of mine comes from outside the legal profession. When you make a purchase at Saks Fifth Avenue, your receipt lists the name and e-mail address of the store manager. In a future post, I'll discuss how this best practice resulted in a sale that Saks would have otherwise lost.

In the meantime, I hope this post will encourage more legal vendors to begin making their executives more accessible. Adding executive bios to their Web site is a good first step -- and costs virtually nothing. What do you think?

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.

In the last issue of TechnoGuide, I discussed using a legal blog as a search engine optimization tool. That same day, ClickZ published a poignant article about search engine optimization by Mike Grehan entitled "Why You Don't Rank on Search Engines." The article discusses link building, an important component of search engine ranking. In the article, Grehan writes: "Ask yourself, 'Why would anyone want to link to my site?' Be brutal." This question is indeed one that every law firm should ask before it embarks on a blog or an expensive redesign of its Web site.

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.

As you know, we announced the results of the 2005 TechnoLawyer @ Awards last week. In the old days, we used to hold a ceremony in a chat room with each winner contributing an acceptance speech. Nowadays, since virtually everyone has a Web site, we've rounded up some of the announcements from winners and finalists. Once again, congratulations to all of them!

Our Official Announcement

Jim Calloway's Announcement

Dennis Crouch's Announcement

David Moon's Press Release

Dennis Kennedy's Announcement

Bruce MacEwen's Announcement

Software Technology's Press Release

CaseVault's Press Release

CaseSoft's Press Release

Dataflight's Press Release

LexisNexis' Press Release

We'll update this Post as more announcements appear.

PS: After posting five days/week for 12 weeks since our launch, we're taking a break — no blog posts until next Friday, July 8th. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

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.

On June 21st, we published a TechnoFeature by Joe Hartley that questioned the use of blogs as a legal marketing tool. As you might expect, several legal bloggers responded. The always insightful Bob Ambrogi penned the most detailed and fair-minded response in his article, Blogging's Contrarians.

My quick take on legal blogs as a marketing tool is that they can drive traffic to your site. In this respect, they can serve as a "search engine optimization" tool. But while you can pretty much get indexed in all the major blog search engines overnight, it will take some work to get indexed in the search engines that most people use to find lawyers — Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. Once your blog gets indexed by the major search engines, you'll need to figure out how to convert that traffic into "qualified leads." In short, blogs can work, but they require work (both pre- and post-launch).

I personally think blogs work better for publicity than for generating leads. In my experience (thus far), an online ad campaign with optimized landing pages performs much better at delivering qualified leads. Yes, ad campaigns cost money, but well-designed ad campaigns usually pay off — and, unlike writing a blog, law firms can outsource an ad campaign. As I've said many times, today's world requires a multi-channel approach to marketing — you cannot rely on just one marketing channel to grow your law firm's business.

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.

You've all heard about the incredible broadband Internet access in countries like Japan and South Korea — half the price we pay and up to 25 times faster. But you probably haven't heard about Mauritius, a tiny island nation off the the coast of Africa that plans to become the first nation with coast-to-coast WiFi. Meanwhile, here in the United States, Philadelphia seeks to become the first large American city with universal WiFi, but as usual, special interests are working hard to derail this plan. If I had to bet, I'd put my money on Mauritius over Philadelphia. The United States invented and then popularized the Internet, yet we are losing the broadband battle — badly. Just as I was sick and tired of dial-up speeds at the end of 1999 when I switched to DSL (I now use cable), I'm now sick and tired of what we call broadband in this country, which is not true broadband. Using the SpeedTest at BroadBandReports.com, my home download speed is 4.724 Mbps and my upload speed is 468 Kbps. Pathetic. Read about Mauritius. Read about Philadelphia. Test your broadband speed.

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.