TechnoLawyer: TL NewsWire

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covers an online postage service, a spell-checking program that corrects as you write in any program, and free antivirus software for your PC. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Online Postage for Image-Conscious Firms
By Jill Bauerle
Why wait a hundred years? Put your face on a postage stamp today in a few simple steps with the help of Endicia, an online postage service for both Mac and Windows users. Endicia saves you the headache of bulky, temperamental mail meters by enabling you to print easy-to-read, bar-coded  postage onto an envelope or address label. With Endicia, you can design your own postage using a combination of logos, photos, and text. You can also design envelopes, postcards, and other mail items with the postage affixed. Endicia also features electronic delivery confirmation, package services (e.g., parcel post), express mail, international mail, insurance, and more. Endicia enables you to track postage by client/matter for cost recovery, and integrates with the address book in ACT! and Outlook. The accompanying Endicia software comes in five versions: Basic Service, Premium, Mac, Professional and Platinum Shipper. The Premium, Professional, and Platinum versions have professional shipping features such as "stealth postage" that hides the postage price. They also integrate with auction management programs like DEK and Galaxy and carrier systems like FedEx and UPS. The Mac version integrates with iPhoto, and features built-in support for electronic postal scales. Endicia supports Windows 2000 and higher and Mac OS X. Endicia sells a starter kit that includes one year of Endicia Standard, a label printer, and a 10 pound scale for $239.95 (add $10 for a 25 pound scale). Thereafter, you'll pay just $9.95 per month or 99.95 per year. The Premium plan costs $15.95 per month or $174.95 per year. Learn more about Endicia.

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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covers a powerful document search tool from one of the biggest names in the tech industry, a Windows Explorer replacement utility, and a new "photocasting" service for sharing your photos, either publicly or privately. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Google Your Clients and Colleagues
By Jill Bauerle
If you work in litigation, you're always looking for the quickest way to search through thousands of irrelevant documents for a few critical ones. You used to call it hard work. Now you can just call it Googling. The Google Mini soups up your intranet with Google's famed search technology, enabling you to find the proverbial smoking gun in an instant. You can also use it to search your firm's work product — find a model brief just as quickly. Just plug in the small, slender box and, after 30 minutes of configuration, it's ready to go. Three versions exist that will search up to 100,000, 200,000 or 300,000 documents respectively. Your colleagues will instantly recognize the Google Mini's interface, saving you training time on top of searching time. The Google Mini works with over 220 file types, including HTML, PDF and Microsoft Office, and features a self-learning spell-checker. Google Mini pricing starts at $2,995 (100,000 documents), including hardware and software plus one year of support and hardware replacement coverage. Learn more about Google Mini.

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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covers a free toolbar for fast, easy legal research, software that can map your entire network and help you manage desktop application licenses, and a service that enables you to create unique e-mail addresses on the fly to prevent spam. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Raising the Bar for Legal Research
By Jill Bauerle
Knowing shortcuts when you search LexisNexis can save you time. Now you can save even more time with the new LexisNexis Toolbar, the first toolbar designed specifically for online legal research. The LexisNexis Toolbar integrates with your Web browser for immediate gratification when you must find information, fast. To this end, it provides several options for searching. As you might expect, you can type your terms into the search box, select your source, and click "Search." However, you can also conduct searches by highlighting keywords on Web pages. The LexisNexis Toolbar also supports most favorite LexisNexis command searches. In addition to searching various LexisNexis sources, you can also use the LexisNexis Toolbar to Shepardize and pull up citations. It can even run Google and MSN searches. However you use it, the LexisNexis Toolbar saves you from continuously logging onto the LexisNexis home page and clicking through multiple screens. You can download the LexisNexis Toolbar for free. To use it, you'll need Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. Learn more about LexisNexis Toolbar.

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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covered an online service that enables you to easily build your own Web site complete with blogging capabilities, a program that converts text documents and e-mail into MP3 files, and a free application that creates a peer-to-peer VPN between any two computers. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Web 2.0 as Easy as 1-2-3
By Jill Bauerle
Problem: Your firm needs a Web site and a blog desperately, but you don't want to hire a designer and you don't want to become one yourself. The solution? Squarespace, a service that provides you with a design, template, and secure platform for your Web site and blog in one package — at your own domain name. Squarespace's modular site-building architecture enables you to configure your Web site similar to the way you use My Yahoo! or Google's personalized home page. Once you've designed the structure, pick and choose from hundreds of appearance-managing functions to personalize your site — and change them at any time! For a meta-look at your Web site, click "Site Overview" to track recent posts, traffic and your Google PageRank. Sophisticated, versatile, and stocked with the latest in Web technology, your site will look and work exactly how you envisioned it, maybe even better. Squarespace features a tool for attaching podcasts to a blog entry, short URLs, member accounts for employees to log journal entries or subscribe to e-mail updates, Moveable Type importing, spell checking and anti-spam filters. Your blog page features category headings, printable article links, threaded discussions, RSS subscription, multiple authors, XML-RRC pinging, and timed publishing dates. You can even incorporate Amazon affiliate links to that hot new legal treatise you just published. Your Squarespace blog has a special function for importing and crediting Web sources. Once you set up your Web site, maintain it by logging on as the administrator and editing the content using WYSIWYG or HTML. Prices for a Squarespace Web site start at $7 per month. Learn more about Squarespace.

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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covered an application that converts one Linux PC into two virtual workstations, a utility that blocks unauthorized executable programs from invading your Windows PC, and a free, editable information resource on the Web for tax professionals. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Where's the Second Computer?
By Jill Bauerle
Providing a PC in your reception area is a welcome gesture for waiting clients, but if you have a busy reception area, you'll have to furnish two computers, doubling the cost. Not so fast. With Desktop Multiplier, you can transform a single Linux PC into two computers (Linux with Firefox works fine for Web browsing and checking Web-based e-mail). This free software add-on by Userful, developers of public computing software, can save your firm as much as $500 per station in hardware costs and hundreds to thousands in maintenance per year.  The software turns one computer into two virtual workstations — you'll need two keyboards, mice, and monitors. If your firm runs browser-based applications, you might be able to employ Desktop Multiplier beyond your reception area, saving even more money. At home it's an excellent way to "buy" the kids an extra computer. Desktop Multiplier runs on Linux OS and requires 15 MB hard disk space and a minimum of 64MB memory, a dual video card and extra USB keyboard and mouse. Learn more about Desktop Multiplier.

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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, tech expert Jill Bauerle covered a free, Web-based application that enables you to collaboratively draft, edit, and compare documents, an online store (not iTunes) that sells iPod-ready videos, and a versatile iPod car connector. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Getting it Write (Free Document Comparison Tool)
By Jill Bauerle
Sometimes hitting "Save" after editing a document is the most destructive thing you can do to your work. We've all had bad writing days, but that doesn't mean you can't salvage older versions of a file, even without document comparison software. Using Writeboard, a Web-based, document revision tool, every word you've ever deleted or changed is saved and at your disposal. Perfect for collaborating on contract clauses or editing a blog post, memo, or letter, Writeboard is easy to use and, best of all, free courtesy of 37 Signals, creators of other Web-based tools (some free, some not). After signing up, your browser takes you to a clean page. Once you compose and save a document, send it to others or, if you're working solo, leave it until your next draft. You can use a simple set of codes for bold, italics, underlining, and even adding hyperlinks. Edited versions of your Writeboard save as a list of separate links on a sidebar of the home page. Invite as many people as you'd like to collaborate. Once multiple versions exist, labeled with  the name of the editor, time and date, a special function enables you to compare them side by side. In this view, WriteBoard shows you changes in gray, additions in green, and deletions using strike-throughs. Each Writeboard has its own URL for quick access from any computer. Other functions include an RSS subscription for notification each time the document changes, a "Comments" section at the bottom of the page for users to post notes, an "Export as Text" button for saving back to your hard drive, a "Send as E-Mail' Button, and a "Delete Writeboard" button when the last edits have occurred and you've breathed a sigh of relief. Learn more about Writeboard.

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.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

Discovery and Trial Presentation Software for Free?
By Jill Bauerle
Give a litigator five different litigation support products, and she'll roll her eyes. Give a litigator one easy to learn solution, and watch her productivity soar. Give it to her for free, and she'll smile. That's the idea behind Visionary 7.1 from Visionary Legal Technologies. With Visionary, you can take a case from first discovery to final verdict thanks to its integrated suite of tools. For example, with Visionary's IssueBuilder, you can gather all your key points into easy to use digital outlines, or prepare powerful, scripted presentations for mediations, arbitrations, and courtroom testimony. The Fact Database enables you to summarize your case materials and weigh case facts. The Objection Editor quickly removes objections from transcripts with one click of the mouse. The powerful Search Function facilitates complex Boolean searches across the entire case. And before you start searching, you can use hundreds of user-definable fields to code case documents. Plus, hyperlink exhibits, create video clips on-the-fly, and collaborate with other members of your trial team via Visionary's networking capabilities and export options. Visionary's dual screen, CourtViewer Mode makes it easy to present your case before judge and jury. Best of all, Visionary 7.1 is free with no limits — install it on every PC in your firm if you wish. Learn more about Visionary 7.1.

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.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

Way Beyond PDF
By Jill Bauerle
Before you can begin the process of analyzing your case with litigation support tools, you must first transform paper into bits. The same goes for creating a paperless office via your document management system. DATAssimilate's DATAssimilator 4.0 facilitates this first step and exports to a wide variety of tools commonly used by law firms. Talk about a product that lives up to its name — DATAssimilator enables you to scan, code, PDF, OCR, bates stamp, search, print, and much more. Used by litigation support firms, DATAssimilator can process thousand of documents in real-time. Its friendly interface makes it accessible for any law firm that wishes to handle smaller cases internally or create a paperless office. DATAssimilator's scanning component supports virtually all scanners (including duplex), and enables you to scan individually or in batches in black and white, grayscale, or color at any dpi setting. The branding component enables you to add Bates stamps and endorse captions. The PDF component converts to PDF image only or with embedded searchable text thanks to the built-in OCR component. The reporting component tracks all your work, and enables you to assign time or dollar values for each task you've performed. Although you can export the documents you process to other programs, DATAssimilator has its own robust search tools, which support Boolean, pick lists, phrases, wild cards, and sorting. You can even search within searches, and save your searches. The coding component enables you to not just code documents fast, but track who coded what and find documents with incomplete coding. Each component of DATAssimilator sells for $495; the entire suite sells for $2,995. Learn more about DATAssimilator.

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.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

Depositions, Lies and Videotape
By Jill Bauerle
How important is body language and tone of voice in a deposition? To a jury, extremely important. Recently, using video clips created from synchronized video courtesy of VideoSynching.com to impeach witnesses, a Cleveland law firm won a $43 million dollar verdict for an insurance company in a non-compete lawsuit. VideoSynching.com synchronizes a court reporter's transcript with the deposition video and places both on a CD. Unlike other services, VideoSynching.com works directly with law firms. By cutting out the middleman (i.e., court reporters, videographers, etc.), it can offer lower prices. How does it work? You send VideoSynching.com an ASCII transcript and video (VHS, DVD, etc.), and it will create your synchronized video CD and ship it to you within 3-4 days. You can also rush an order for next-day or two-day turnaround. The online order form takes just a few minutes to complete. The resulting CD comes bundled with DVTDiscovery — software that shows both the transcript and video together on a split screen. The keyword-searchable CD enables your team to quickly jump to key sections in the deposition and create standalone clips of the deposition to present during the trial. You can also import the synchronized video into other litigation software, including CaseMap, Summation, LiveNote, RealLegal Binder, Sanction, TrialDirector, and more. Use it for opening and closing arguments, impeaching witnesses, expert preparation, settlement videos, or PowerPoint presentations. VideoSynching.com supports Windows PCs. The service costs $70 per tape plus an additional $30 for digitization if necessary and $12 for shipping. VideoSynching.com provides toll-free tech support as well. Learn more about VideoSynching.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.

Coming November 2, 2005 to TechnoLawyer NewsWire: In this issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about a service that synchronizes deposition videos with their accompanying transcripts, software that efficiently handles metadata and document security issues, a handy device that routes your calls over your landline or broadband connection depending on the circumstances, an e-mail backup service that kicks in when your mail server kicks the bucket, and an amazing gadget that scans text and translates it into the language of your choice.

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.