Newsletter - Legal Case Management Software - Rhode Island
Please Note: This newsletter was originally published in 2008. Although the information is ideal for the travelling professional, some of the links may not be up to date.
The Profit Point Group Newsletter
Summer is Here! Those of us with kids (and many without kids as well) will be traveling. But for lawyers in solo or small firm practices, vacations are a double-edged sword. We need to get away for our mental health. But the toll on our mental health meeting deadlines as we get ready to leave, as well as the inevitable catching up that awaits our return, sometimes makes us wonder if it is worth leaving at all.
Most of the stress associated with going on vacation involves the inability to handle minor problems before they become major problems a week or two later when you return to the office. Cell phones can help you stay in touch with your office staff and your clients, but sometimes you need more information, more access.
This issue will be devoted to the technologies that will help you stay in touch with your practice while you are gone. Doing so can allow you to leave with greater peace of mind and come home refreshed without immediately facing emergencies that could have been prevented.
Before getting to the main theme of this issue, we have a couple of important software-related announcements.
First, this issue will also contain a summary of the new features in Amicus Attorney 7 as well as information on how to sign-up for a free web- based demo of this exciting new software.
Traveling Light — The Bare Essentials
We take for granted that when we leave town, our cell phones will accompany us. If you have the right cell phone, it may be all you need to stay in touch with the office and handle any emergencies that arise during your travels. For that level of functionality, you need a smart phone.
Smart phones come in several varieties. Some run the Windows Mobile operating system, others use Symbian, but the ones we find most useful run the venerable and intuitive Palm operating system.
The current top-end Palm smart phone is the Treo 650 available from nearly every major wireless provider. Some time in the next few weeks the Treo 700p will be released by Palm and Sprint. It will eventually spread to other wireless carriers. The 700p will do everything the 650 does, but with a faster wireless network, more RAM for software and storage, and a better camera. The Palm operating system on the 700p is only slightly updated, so it should run nearly everything that will run on the 650.
So what can you do with a smart phone like the Treo that you can't do with most standard cell phones? First, the Treo will receive your office email and allow you to respond via email to the your office, your clients, or opposing counsel.
You can also receive drafts of documents via email, review and edit them on the Treo, and return them to the sender via email. This works for Word and WordPerfect documents, as well as Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations using the Documents to Go software bundled with the Treo. Editing on the tiny Treo thumb keyboard is not something you will want to do for hours on end, but it works in a pinch. If your needs are more extensive, Palm sells a nice universal wireless keyboard that works with the Treo. It is very small when folded, but nearly full-size when in use.
What if squinting at the sharp, but admittedly small, screen of the Treo is not your idea of fun? You can print a hard copy of any document you received via email (or of any email message, memo, to do list, etc.) if you can find a printer with an infrared port. Using the built-in Print Boy software on the Treo, you can print to many HP LaserJets such as the 5, 6, 2100, or 2200. series or nearly any printer with an IR port.
Of course, because the Treo is also a Palm PDA, it already has all of your calendar and contact information from your practice management system (or Outlook, if that is what you use) if you need that information while traveling. What if you need information that is not already in your system? The Treo can connect to the Web with its built-in Blazer browser and you can search for what you need. Better yet, download the absolutely free and virtually indispensable Directory Assistant utility. With Directory Assistant, you can search the YP.com database for business or residential telephone numbers and even obtain driving directions and a map to your destination that will display in full color on your Treo's screen.
Before you leave town with your smartphone, make sure you have both a car and AC battery charger. You might even want to bring a spare battery. Another nearly mandatory accessory is a Secure Digital (SD) memory card to hold extra programs and documents. The Treo 650's primarly flaw is a lack of memory for programs and data. That will be partially remedied with the 700p, but a capacious 1 GB SD card (about $50 if you shop carefully) is very useful.
Traveling Almost as Light — PDA and Cell Phone
If you already have a cell phone you like and don't want to upgrade to a smart phone, then consider a Wi-Fi enabled PDA as your lightweight vacation link to the office.
As with smart phones, PDA's come in different varieties. Also as with smart phones, we prefer PDA's running the Palm operating system because they are simple, intuitive, and synchronize well with both Outlook and a wide variety of practice management and time/billing/accounting programs.
The top current choice is the reasonably priced Palm TX, which lists for $299. It will do anything the Treo 650 can do (email, documents, etc.), but to access the Internet you must find a free or paid subscription Wi-Fi hotspot. This is getting easier all the time. Free hotspots are popping up everywhere, including most hotels, resorts, coffee shops, public buildings, etc. In the near future, entire cities will be installing free Wi-Fi coverage throughout downtown areas. A good directory of free and paid Wi-Fi hotspots is available from JiWire. Another option (although slower) is to use your bluetooth enabled cell phone as a wireless modem for the TX. Whether you can do this, and whether it makes sense financially, will depend on your wireless carrier and the details of your cell phone plan.
The TX does not have a built-in thumb keyboard, so you may want to buy the Palm universal wireless keyboard mentioned above (yes, it works with the Treo or the TX, as well as many other PDA's). But the TX has the advantage of a much larger screen than the Treo.
Can you remotely access your office PC from a TX (or a Treo)? Yes, but there are limitations. The TX's Wi-Fi connection should be plenty fast enough (but the Treo 650's Internet speeds are slow, so remote access can be sluggish).
If all you want to do is access and download documents from the office for review and editing, that is acceptably fast (even on the Treo) with the free Avvenu service. True remote control (similar to GoToMyPC or LogMeIn) can be done using free VNC software, but the setup and configuration can be difficult. For the technologically inclined, download and setup information is here. On the TX, with it larger screen and faster Internet connection, remote control is truly useful. On the Treo, because it has a much slower connection and a smaller screen (requiring more scrolling to see what you need on your office computer), it is less useful.
Having (and Lugging) It All
Sometimes you want to be prepared for any contingency. In that case, you will want to take a notebook computer, and perhaps even a printer and scanner, with you on a trip. Not all notebook computers are created equal. Choose carefully and you will have a useful travel companion for the next several years. If you buy on impulse, you may find that what you bought won't suffice even this summer.
If you are buying new rather than relying on a portable PC you already have, look for a machine running Intel's new Core Duo processor. It is the latest variant of what was originally called the Pentium M. When combined with Intel's wireless chipset, it retains the well-known Centrino brand name. As notebooks are called on to do more intensive processing chores beyond mere word processing, email, and Web browsing, memory and storage demands have also increased. Today, opt for 1 GB of RAM and a 60 GB or larger hard drive. Widescreen displays can be useful if you want to see two documents (or your research and the document you are working on) side by side.
If you are using your existing notebook, make sure it will do what you need on the trip. Upgrade RAM to at least 512 MB, verify that your antivirus software, your antispyware software, your firewall, and Windows are all up to date with the latest upgrades, definition files, and patches. Also test your wireless adapter to make sure it is functioning properly. It is your link to the Web (and also back to the office).
On the hardware side, make sure your battery is still taking a full charge and check to be sure your AC adapter/battery charger is functioning properly. You may also want to bring an extension cord in case the nearest electrical outlet is just beyond the reach of the cord connected to your adapter/charger. If you find yourself in a location with only a hard-wired Internet connection instead of Wi-Fi, bring at least a 10-foot Cat5 network cable. If you are relegated to the awful prospect of dial- up, bring a telephone cord and make sure you know before you leave how to use your ISP's dial-up access. Often this requires downloading and installing a special program and it could mean paying a surcharge for each minute of dial-up connection.
Other handy hardware items include a mouse if you don't like the pointing device built-into your notebook (who does?). Cordless mice are convenient, but you do have to worry about the battery dying. If it uses standard AA or AAA batteries, bring extras. If it uses a rechargeable battery, bring the charger.
An often overlooked piece of "hardware" is a mouse pad. You have probably discovered that an optical mouse will not work properly on a glass topped table or desk, or on a surface that is especially rough or uneven. On vacation, you may find yourself working at a glass topped or steel mesh patio table. Having a mouse pad handy will let you use your mouse on that otherwise impossible surface.
A few additional cables are essential. Although most modern printers use a USB connection, it can be a lifesaver to have a short parallel cable in your notebook bag if the only printer you can find is an old yellowed HP LaserJet from the pre-USB era. Of course, you will want to bring a USB cable as well. Storing extra cables in heavy duty clear plastic bags (the kind with the zipper closing mechanism) is very handy for keeping the cables organized when traveling.
Speaking of notebook bags, make sure you have one that is large enough to hold and rugged enough to protect what you are bringing on the trip. Which one you select is often as much a matter of taste and style as it is of function, so we have no specific recommendations. However, if you will need extra battery power for extended work sessions between AC outlets, the APC line with its optional universal battery may be just what you need.
There are a variety of portable printers and scanners available. Canon once made a portable printer, the BJC-85, that had an optional snap-in scan head, making it a dual purpose machine. There are still a few of these printers (new, used, or refurbished) available from various sources on the Web if you are interested. If you want separate devices, the Canon Pixma iP90 or i 80 are worth considering. Our favorite portable scanners are the Visioneer Strobe Series (XP 100, 200, or 300).
The Software/Service Connection
Whether you take your own notebook computer with you or your rely onthe availability of a PC at your destination (and all stops in between),you need to plan ahead for remote access to your office.
There are a number of viable options for remote access and control,but two leading Web-based services are the easiest to configure and usewhile offering solid security. The market leader and perennialcomparison test winner is GoToMyPC. The hostprogram runs in the background on your office PC. So long as thatcomputer is left on and has an Internet connection, you can reach itfrom any Internet-enable computer in the world. There are two levels ofpasswords to provide security. Once you log in, if you have fastInternet connections at both ends (your office and the remote computerat which you are working), it can be almost like sitting at your desk.You have access to all of your programs and documents. A single computersubscription is either $20 per month or $180 per year if paid annually.Given its speed, security, reliability, and features, this is a truebargain.
Similar to and almost as good as GoToMyPC is LogMeIn. LogMeInhas both a free and a paid version. The free version lacks features suchas file transfer (you can use Avvenu for that if the need arises). The paid version is full- featured likeGoToMyPC. A single PC subscription is only $13 per month or $70 per yearif paid annually.
It is also possible to use the Remote Desktop feature built-into Windows XP Professional to connectto your office computer. This method is a bit more complicated becauseit will likely may require special configuration of your office networkand the installation of the Remote Desktop client on the remote computer you are using to access your officePC. The same concerns would apply to the free RealVNC remoteaccess software, which requires that a "server" program be installed onyour office PC and a "client" on your remote PC. If you are interestedin either of these options, contact us.
The most important advice we can give you is to plan ahead. Wellbefore you leave town, download the software or service of your choice,install and configure it, and then run a test from home to make sure youcan connect to your office computer remotely. Most important, make sureyour office staff knows that your computer must be left on if you are tohave remote access.
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