Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Brother Toner Tape Trick & Hot Deal on Fanurio Time Billing Software!




With the crummy current economy, I think everyone appreciates some money saving tips.  I'll share them whenever possible on this blog if they relate to technology.

In my office and home, my first choice for laser printers are Brother models.  Brother printers and multi-function machines are usually offered at a bargain price, tough as nails and dependable in my experience.  Most of the time  they just work, and that's what counts the most to me.  I abhor wasting time fooling around with paper jams and temperamental printer drivers.  The MFC models also offer a lot of bang for the buck in terms of cool features.  Sometimes I marvel at all the amazing functions they pack into a until that sells for about $150 (or less).  At this point I've owned quite a few Brother models over the years and I was always more pleased with them than other brands I have tried.  I've had very frustrating experiences with HP, Xerox and Panasonic.  Also, Brother toner supplies are relatively economical compared to some brands.  The current model I am using at my office is DCP-7040  (pictured above) which takes TN-330 or TN-360 toner cartridges.  It works fabulously as a compact and easy to use black and white laser printer, (color) sheet fed scanner and digital copier.

That said, I often have not felt I was getting the full use of the toner cartridge.  In other words, the "Toner Empty" message would pop up on the screen too soon and force me to trek to Office Max for a replacement.  This is very annoying when you just know, there's no way you got 1500 (or 2600) sheets out of it! 
The last time this happened to me, I searched for the toner online in the hopes of finding a discount source for it.  While checking out the price at one of my favorite tech stores, Newegg, I came across some very helpful information affectionatly known as a the Brother "Tape Trick."  Here it is in the original poster's words, "To solve the End of life for the toner, take a little piece of tape (cannot be clear tape) and cover over the little circular window on the right side of the cartridge. This effectively tricks the printer into thinking there is still full toner."  I tried it and it works great! 

By the way, Newegg's price on Brother toner is outstanding.  Right now, the TN-330 cartriges are only $32.89and the higher yield TN-360 is only $47.84.  Even better, both ship free!  As a comparison, the same toner atStaples is currently $56.69 and $68.29 and if you buy three, the price drops to $55.00 and $66.00 -
- whoopie!  See what I mean, go Newegg!

Newegg Shopping Links:


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One of my favorite software sites to check out on a daily basis is Bits Ju Dour.  This site features quality software from small publishers on sale at a hefty discount for one day only

Today, Bits Ju Dour is offering a program that may be interest to attorneys in solo practice.  It's a Time Tracking and Billing Management program called Fanurio.  From the product description:
"Fanurio is a great piece of time tracking software that’s specifically designed to be used by freelancers, providing the tools to accurately bill your time and get paid. Besides its intuitive interface, Fanurio offers a flexible timer to track your hours and the ability to produce detailed invoices that are customized to your own look and feel. After all, just because you're freelance doesn't mean that you shouldn't be professional."  


Personally, I've used Intuit's Quickbooks at my office since 1996.  I'm really not a big fan, but not motivated enough to change from it.  However, if you are just starting out or unhappy with your current time and billing software, why not give Fanurio a try?  It's available today only for the special price of $23.60.  Yes, that's less than the price of a pizza delivered to your home.  After today, the price of Fanurio goes up to $59.00 -- still an amazing bargain.  My bloated copy of Quickbooks Pro "Professional Services Edition" on the other hand costs hundreds of dollars (about $300 to be exact) and I probably only use 20% of the features.  The standalone timer, is a total joke and hasn't been updated in over a decade as far as I can tell.  It was so bad, I stopped using it completely.

If you try out Fanurio in your law office, please let me know how it works out.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-- Michael

Monday, May 25, 2009

My new HP Mini Netbook!


A couple of weeks ago, my geek tendencies got the best of me and I purchased a  HP Mini Netbook.  I had been eyeing netbooks for over a year.  Most of the current models are similarly equipped and sell for about $400.  My rationale for getting one was to have a truly portable computer that I could take with me everywhere.  Despite being a tech guy, I am not too keen on the whole Blackberry craze or expensive "Smart" phones.  In this regard, I am sort of old fashioned.  I mostly just want to talk on my phone.  I don't care if there is an "app" to bill my clients, open Microsoft Word documents and convert the US Dollar to Japanese Yen.  These are tasks for a "real" computer with a decent sized screen and usable keyboard, not my phone.  Of course I already had a couple of perfectly functional notebooks, but they are too heavy, expensive and inconvenient to tote around everywhere. Hence, the idea of a two pound netbook devoted exclusively to mobile use was highly appealing.  

I decided on an HP Mini after researching user reviews and discovering the keyboard was nearly as large as a standard laptop.  This is a big usability plus in my view.  I also decided to get the model without a hard drive (1030NR). Instead it uses a 16 GB "solid state" memory drive by Samsung with no moving parts. It's sort of like a built in USB flash key, but it emulates a hard drive.  These drives are very durable, but only offer about 1/5 the storage space of typical netbooks with traditional hard disk.  Windows XP takes up about 4 GB right out the box, so users have 12 GB to work with.  After adding a office suite, Firefox, anti-virus protection and some favorite utilities only about 7 GBs remain on my netbook.  

This is a concern, however it is not as bad it sounds.  The netbook has a SDHC card slot and another dubious proprietary "Mini Mobile Drive" slot.  I added a inexpensive Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Cardfor about $40 bucks and now I have instantly tripled my free storage space.  In addition, after doing some research, I learned that the over-priced HP "Mini Mobile Drive" is actually a Transcend "Jet Flash" and the 8 GB model can be had at an Amazon seller for mere $31 bucks.  Admittedly, that's a pretty crappy price compared to the SDHC card, but consider that HP is presently selling their 4 GB rebadged "Mini Mobile Drive" version for $24.99!  The Jet Flash drive is designed to stay in the netbook all the time and mine shipped with a 2 GB model.  It is so tiny, I nearly tossed it out with the packaging!  Only time will tell whether or not the relatively limited amount of storage will create unforseen challenges.  I suspect not, especially as more and more storage options become available "in the cloud."

It's too early to write about my experiences with the netbook, but I will say that it mostly worked right of the box.  I did encounter trouble getting it to connect to my home network.  Eventually, I determined the problem was related to the fact it was encrypted using 64 bit WEP.  When I changed the network to 128 bit encryption, it connected easily.  This will probably not be a big issue in the future, but I hope it is something that HP addresses.  Obviously a netbook should be able to connect to the widest range of wireless set-ups out there without hassles.

-- Michael

Friday, May 22, 2009

AIM on the Move



A new version of my favorite instant messenger client, AIM is available.  I started using AIM back in the dial-up days when AOL was popular and stuck with it over the years.  I have always found it to be simple to use and quite reliable.  Besides chatting, it's also a pretty good way to send a large file directly to a friend.  My biggest pet peeve used to be the inability to log conversations.  I had to use a third party program called "DeadAIM" to do this.  However, since version 6.0 was released several years ago, this no longer is an issue. Version 6.9 allows you to get Twitter and Facebook updates for your friends directly inside of AIM.  It also allows you to find buddies by email address and has the ability to send and receive IMs via your cell phone. 

Now that AOL has finally adopted an "Open AIM" posture, more and more developers are writing plug-ins for the client.  Eventually I expect this will add a great deal of functionality to the program, especially with regard to integration with popular third party websites such as eBay, Facebook and MySpace.  In the past, AOL severely hampered development of this type by being overprotective of one of their flagship products.  Programmers were provided with poor APIs and sparse documentation on how AIM worked.  Even worse, AOL placed all kinds of restrictions on how AIM could be used.  Today, it's different story!  AOL now embraces third party developers and even started an advertising revenue program called AIM Money.  With such a vast potential number of eyeballs, this may become a hot opportunity and catalysis for new innovative extensions. 

If you like the bleeding edge, a beta version of AIM 7 is also available to try out.  It features a spiffy new interface, performance improvements (AOL promises it is faster and less of a resource hog), bigger icons and bigger emphasis on status updates, which is sort of Twitterish.  Download it here if you want to give it a spin!
You can keep on top of AIM news on Twitter @ AIMRunningMan.  YES, the Running Man is back!
My law office AIM screen name is "crossonlaw".

-- Michael

P.S. -- As far as my law office goes, I do not usually communicate with clients or other attorneys via instant messengers.  However, I see no reason why it would not work well for simple communications such as setting up meetings, confirming that something was received in the mail or the like.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to elicit instant messenger contact information on my client intake data sheet I have clients complete at the initial consultation and try this in the future.  I may also post an IM availability "badge" on my website in the future as a way to reach more prospective clients.  AIM has tools to do this here.  I'll report back on the success of these efforts at a later date.  In the meantime, I'd like to hear from other attorneys on their experiences with using instant messenger clients in their practice!

"Running Man (AIM)" Photo Credit:  K.W. Reinsche on Flickr (Creative Commons License).

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fly a lot and want to be more productive? - try AirTran!



Do you fly a lot and wish you could be more productive in the air?  If so you might want to book your next flight on AirTran.  The low cost carrier that targets business travelers is the first to offer wi-fi on every flight!  That's right, fly AirTran and you'll be able to read and respond to e-mail, browse the internet, instant message and Twitter to your heart's delight once the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet and the captain gives the green light to use portable electronic devices.  Besides laptops, smart phones and other wi-fi enabled devices such as blackberries can be used as well.  AirTran is offering this service in partnership with Goto.  It should be available on every jet in the AirTran fleet by "Summer 2009." 

Unfortunately, the wi-fi service is not being offered for free.  AirTran is charging different prices depending on type of device used and how long the flight is.  iPhones and Blackberries are $7.95 and laptop wi-fi service is $9.95 for all flights three hours and less and $12.95 for all flights over three hours.  I'm certainly not fond of the recent trend of some airlines to nickle and dime customers to death.  On the other hand, from the attorney perspective, if the wi-fi is used on billable activities such as e-mail communication with clients or to conduct online research, the added cost is trivial.

Personally, I usually fly on Southwest.  In my experience Southwest's fares are often the lowest, their customer service is usually very good and they have a relatively generous frequent flyer program (8 roundtrips in two years = one free roundtrip ticket).  Hopefully, the "Luv" airline will follow suit.  This is a perfect use for my newHP netbook!  Presently AirTran does not fly out of Sacramento and I've never had an opportunity to try them.  I'd like to hear from others who have.

For more information on AirTran's new wi-fi service, click here or visit GoTo's wesbite.

-- Michael

Monday, May 11, 2009

SnapLogger - essential time tracking tool for lawyers!




A couple of weeks ago I discovered a nifty small utility for Windows that I immediately put to use in my law practice.  I knew it would be amazingly useful for attorneys as soon as I read about it.  The program is called SnapLogger

SnapLogger sits in your system tray and inconspicuously takes screen snapshots of whatever you are working on at intervals you can set.  I sent mine to "take pictures" every 60 seconds.  If you lucky enough to have a fixed work schedule you can tell it to stop recording at a certain time as well.  The snapshots are automatically stored as ordinary JPG files in folders organized by date.  The program is smart enough to stop recording when your computer in inactive and you can also tell it to exclude certain programs (such as Solitaire).  There is a built in viewer and a slideshow "movie" mode.  The publisher is Uconomix Technologies which appears to be a small startup in India by Yash Gadhiya.  SnapLogger only costs $19.99.



I am positive this program will help me keep much better track of billable activities.  It's not always possible to record time entries immediately after completing a task, and in the past it was a tedious task to try and remember everything done on behalf of a client.  Now, so long as the activity involves the computer (and at this point nearly everything I do in my office does), it will be impossible to forget billable time if you install SnapLogger.  No doubt the program will pay for itself on the very first billing cycle after it is purchased.  It may turn out to be useful for other purposes as well.  If so, I'll keep everyone updated! 

Attorneys and other professionals reading this who bill by the hour, buy this program now!

-- Michael

"Time & Money" Photo credit:  Evan S. Photography (creative commons license)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Welcome to my Law Tech Geek Blog!

Hello and welcome to my new "Law Tech Geek" blog!


By way of introduction, I'm a practicing attorney in solo practice in Sacramento, California.  My main areas of practice are family law, bankruptcy and small business matters. 

I've been keenly interested in computers and technology for over twenty years now.  Prior to law school I worked as a freelance computer consultant, sold computers and software at the retail level, operated a popular public computer bulletin board (BBS) in the pre-Internet era, and was the moderator for multiple computer related discussion groups on Fidonet.  During this time I dabbled in computer programming (mostly Quickbasic and Turbo Pascal) but my projects never quite jelled and I had difficult wrapping my head around Borland's new Object Oriented Programming which was all the rage at the time.  While attending law school at the University of the Pacific in the early 90's, I was the Sysop for the school's BBS that facilitated online discussion between students and faculty members. 



Since "going solo" in 1996, I've continuously tried to find better ways to incorporate technology in my law practice.  Besides the ever present "cool" factor, advancements in technology always hold the promise of making life easier and increasing efficiency, which is something akin to the Holy Grail for busy professionals that bill by the hour (and probably all overworked small business owners).  Some of my tech experiments have proven to be a great success while frankly others have been a spectacular flop, but since I am a true tech geek, I've enjoyed the ride just the same.  I recently served for three years as the chairperson of the Sacramento County Bar's Law Practice Management and Technology Section, affectionately know as SLUG.  Sadly, the SLUG section is now defunct but I continue to regularly receive e-mails and telephone calls from former members.

In the future, this blog will contain a mishmash of tech and law related posts.  Stay tuned!

-- Michael

P.S. -- Today Turbo Pascal is considered "antique software" believe it or not and Borland gives it away for free. Click here to download version 5.5, which was probably the best ever!