I haven’t dropped the cash (yet…) for a MacBookAir, but Ernie the Attorney’s review highlights its temptations:

It’s the thinnest notebook ever, and yet it has a full sized keyboard. And the keyboard is backlit so that when you work in dark places the keys light up. It’s got an 80 GB drive, which is plenty of basic storage (I keep my client data on an 80 GB external drive attached to my desktop so I really don’t need much on my laptop). And 2 GBs of RAM is a healthy dose. I know that there are lots of people who want a laptop that functions as a desktop replacement. The MacBook Air ain’t it. It wasn’t designed for people like that.

I feel like it was designed for people like me. And I’m quite pleased with it!

Sigh…

InfoWorld asks the question, “will the CEO’s crush object ever truly be business legit?“. The author highlights some of the security risks:

“Now holding up to 16GB, the iPhone’s storage capacity gives IT jitters because it can be used to steal large amounts of data from an unprotected PC. Moreover, the iPhone comes with a built-in camera, which many IT departments do not allow as a matter of policy.”

A slightly overzealous commenter to the story expands:

Please enlighten all of us how to get files on an iPhone without jailbreaking it. Additionally, every phone any executive would ever consider has a camera as well as camcorder capability, a fact lost on some of your security experts.

My thought of course is that anyone looking to steal data from an enterprise wouldn’t have a problem jailbreaking an iPhone or coming up with other nefarious ways of getting data out. The camera is one area, but not the only in security risks.

One nice thing though, as a solo or small firm attorney, you can easily try things out like the iPhone — being flexible is what it’s all about.

(Via The Mac Lawyer.) Ultimate source:’ ‘MacBook Air - The Litigator’s Review‘ by Peter Summerill, posted at his MacLitigator blog.

The Air’s light and thin characteristics make it much less obtrusive and more natural to carry around a courtroom. But, that screen still sits at a 90 degree angle, raising the barrier between you and your audience, deponent or interviewee.

His ultimate pros and cons:

Pro- Light; goes anywhere; super bright and fast screen (almost feels like an instant-on computer); small form factor makes it less obtrusive.

Con- Still a laptop; battery life not as advertised; a little bit expensive

Either way, I still want one.

Ever on the lookout for simple ways of remotely communicating with clients, I came across TokBox today after the suggestion from a contact to have a meeting over it. It uses flash for the video conferencing, and the sound and video quality were pretty good, considering. My video call today was from England to England, so I haven’t put it up to the test of the transatlantic connection. The thing I really liked about it is that it is in flash — so no Mac/Windows issues — and in a browser — so easier for those less technically inclined.

(Via How to Change the World.) I highlighted two that I think are useful for those looking at their law firm websites, though of course the comments on ad content wouldn’t be relevant…

Avenue A Razorfish 2008 Digital Outlook Report: ”

Only a few years ago, a Web site’s home page was the most prime piece of digital real estate a publisher could offer. Not so much today, however. The relevance of the home page as a media buy is on the wane. Search, social networks, blogs, and RSS (among a host of other online sources) are driving more and more users deep into today’s Web properties. Now, the majority of consumers bypass a site’s home page completely.

Every page is now a home page, each of which will have a wider reach, a lasting shelf life, and the ability to attract a new audience like never before. To capitalize on this, ensure that every page has a strong, clear global navigation scheme and related content that is visibly promoted. And don’t forget to make sure that display advertising gets prominent, above-the-fold, home-page-like treatment (300×250 rectangles and 728×90 leaderboards). Remember, every page can be accessed in any conceivable manner and in any conceivable order—you can’t design properties to control user flow anymore.

So the lesson is, make sure all your pages have good navigation as potential clients are likely to jump right into your firm’s site content, and get out there on social networks and RSS so that they come to your site in the first place.

I started this blog because I have several other blogs, but none of them I felt gave me a place to comment on all the material I read on an almost daily basis about legal practice management — hence laptop legal. I have a practice-oreinted blog, and one for my academic endeveavours. So this is it, my comment space on using a mac and on being a solo or small firm legal professional. I was going to wait until the site was perfect before I started posting, but I kept running into things to post about before I finished. So I decided to just get on with it.

So here we go!