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Tech Talk Techno trucs
he ABA Techshow, scheduled as always for March in
A New York T Chicago (see last month’s National, p. 50), is the premiere
North American legal technology event. But there are plen-
ty of regional programs as well that draw large crowds. Both
minute
Gotham’s Legal Tech
Vancouver and Toronto now host successful annual legal technol-
ogy shows, and New York’s is one of the biggest around.
The most recent New York edition included seminars and
demonstrations of gadgetry designed to make every lawyer’s prac-
tice more efficient — as well as
some more exotic items. For
The main focus in instance, Expedite VCS demon-
offered tips for PDA users strated its eye-catching audio-
and more both the seminars video ViewWriter designed for
multi-media presentations.
and at the trade The ViewWriter is a screen
show was on prac- mounted into a tabletop creden-
za. Presenters can input a cam-
tical things every corder, computer, cable net-
work/video switch, or micro-
lawyer could use. phone into the ViewWriter, or
they can write directly onto the
screen with a marker. The View-
Writer then outputs via television or computer monitor, videocon-
ference or LCD projector, CD recorder/VCR, PA system or even
Web conference.
PHOTODISC
Two Canadian companies hosted trade fair booths alongside
the many American companies: Toronto-based Amicus Attorney,
M
obile devices like lap-
tops and Personal
Data Assistants (PDAs)
Can you keep a secret?
Maybe — but your laptop and
information on your PDA or lap-
top, you need to take extra steps
to secure or encrypt the informa-
have become standard tools of tion on them.
the trade for lawyers. But if you PDA probably can’t. There are various security
use either or both of these de- and encryption programs that
vices, your ability to keep client this bypasses the login and gives they’re not foolproof: someone can achieve this goal (see inset).
confidences could be questioned. the user full access to the hard who knows what they’re doing While each works in different
Why? PDAs and laptops are drive. Later versions of Windows can easily get around these ways and has different features,
so small and portable, they’re are more secure, and won't fin- challenges. And once they’ve they all share some common
particularly susceptible to loss or ish loading if you can't provide done so, they’ll have full and functionalities.
theft. Chances are, you have a the correct password. unfettered access to all the On startup, they’ll challenge
great deal of confidential and While these measures will information on the device. In the user to provide a password,
privileged client information on stump the average person, order to really protect sensitive a more challenging variety that’s
one of these devices. What would more difficult to get by. They’ll
happen if you left your PDA at also encrypt the data, so that
Tim Horton’s, or if your laptop
was stolen from your office?
Portable security software even if a thief can get by the ini-
tial password challenge, the
You can take some steps to Laptops data will be scrambled and
protect your data, of course. On PointSec for pc: www.pointsec.com incomprehensible. The encryp-
your PDA, you can enable the SafeGuard Easy: www.safeguardeasy.com tion process occurs in the back-
password feature, which requires ground and is completely trans-
SecureDoc: www.winmagic.com
the user to provide the right pass- parent to the user, so there’s no
TokenGuard: www.tokenguard.com need for user intervention or
word before gaining access to the
information on the PDA. PDAs user training.
As for your laptop, you can PDADefense: www.pdadefense.com Don’t take chances with your
configure it so that it displays a portable devices — they’re not
PDASecure: www.trustdigital.com
login screen at startup. That very good at keeping secrets.
said, for Windows 98, getting PointSec for Palm: www.pointsec.com .................................................
past the login screen is as sim- SafeGuard PDA: www.safeguardeasy.com By Dan Pinnington, Director,
ple as pressing the [Esc] key — TealLock Corporate: www.tealpoint.com PracticePRO (www.practicepro.ca).
16 NATIONAL JANUARY · FEBRUARY 2004
demonstrating its widely used practice management software;
and Burlington, Ontario-based Adlib eDocument Solutions, a Surviving the crash
vendor of document conversion software.
The main focus in both the seminars and at the trade show
Rescuing lost computer
was on practical things every lawyer could use. For instance, at a data is possible, but full recovery is rare
seminar on handheld devices, two legal technology experts, con-
D
sultant Carol Schlein and Brett Burney, provided a wealth of espite our growing de- over any sections of your drive that
advice to optimize your Palm Pilot and or Pocket PC handheld: pendence on comput- contain data.
1. Learn to use shortcuts: record commonly used phrase short- ers, the sad truth for Sometimes, though, software
many small- to medium- can’t save you. If your drive has suf-
cuts such as “telephone call with client,” and learn to use the
sized law firms is that few invest in fered more severe physical damage
Copy, Cut, Paste and Undo commands.
a proper backup system. “I don’t — a screeching or grinding sound
2. Synchronize your PDA to management programs, including think anyone loses any sleep over from your CPU is usually a sign —
Amicus Attorney or Microsoft Outlook. Schlein even uses Time their hard drive — but they should,” don’t try to fix the problem yourself.
Matters to download her children’s schedules into her handheld. says Cory Furman of Saskatch- It’s time to call in the big guns.
3. Purchase a billing program to record your time directly onto ewan’s Furman & Kallio. There are a number of outside
your handheld. Both speakers said this was one of handheld tech- “I’ve had the horrifying experi- data recovery companies that spe-
nology’s most direct economic benefits to law firms. After using ence of losing something that is not cialize in the delicate job of sal-
such a program, Schlein was surprised to learn how much time backed up,” he says. “It only has to vaging your files. “For a hefty fee,
she’d previously been undervaluing in answering client phone happen once or twice, even for they can take your dead hard drive
something as simple as a factum, and try to breathe some life back
calls while away from her office. The same held true for tracking
for you to regret it.” into it,” he says. Some of these
her mileage and out-of-pocket expenses on her Palm.
But if you’re one of the unfortu- firms can even resurrect files lost
4. Take documents with you: Documents to Go lets you copy doc- nates who’ve lost their data and as a result of fire damage.
uments, including spreadsheets, onto your PDA. didn’t back up, there’s more you But be forewarned: they can’t
5. Use a USB Drive to back up critical files onto your handheld can do than just wring your hands. always deliver 100 percent satisfac-
(see “The portable brain,” National, November 2003, p. 16) There are now options at your dis- tion. “They may not get you every-
6. Use the free advice offered by your handheld vendor, at www posal for when that screen in- thing back, but they’ll get you some
.pocketpc.com, www.pocketpassion.com, or www.palmone.com. N evitably goes blank. of it, anyhow.”
“It depends on what kind of a Furman recently shelled out
data loss you have,” Furman $5,000 for a tape backup system
explains. “If it’s something where that records days’ worth of memos,
somebody just screwed up and hit briefs and scanned documents onto
Mince, alors! ‘Delete,’ you can buy little programs
for about $100 that you sort of sic
on your drive — then you cross your
a Zippo-sized tape that can be
stashed in his pocket. Pricey, but
invaluable, even when it comes to
L’écran plat à cristaux liquides n’est fingers and hold your breath and the smallest of mistakes.
hope that the program finds it.” “Say you deleted something
plus un bien de luxe. These so-called “Undelete” pro- that you shouldn’t have,” he says.
grams are often included as part of “You don’t want to be the one to
D
an operating system, or they can be have to go to your secretary with
bought from companies like Norton your head in your hands and tell her
ans nos sociétés de consommation, la réussite se mesure Utilities. The best of these recovery that the brief that she’s been typing
trop souvent à la possession de certains objets à la mode. Il programs don’t write to the hard for the last ten days is gone. Trust
y a vingt ans, quiconque disposait d’un téléphone cellulaire drive, which means they won’t take me — it’s well worth the price.” N
montrait qu’il avait réussi. Dernièrement, posséder un écran
d’ordinateur à cristaux liquides, communément appelé « écran plat »
constituait le nec plus ulta. D’ailleurs, il y a à peine deux ans, un col- Mais avant tout, l’écran plat provoque moins de fatigue visuelle que
lègue coupait le souffle à tous ses clients avec un semblable moniteur l’écran classique. Un avantage indéniable pour les usagers intensifs
qui lui avait coûté près de 2 500$. comme les juristes et leur personnel.
Les temps ont bien changé et l’acquisi- Côté désavantages, mentionnons un léger
tion d’un écran à cristaux liquides n’im- déficit par rapport à l’écran classique au
pressionne plus personne. On ne débour- niveau de la définition des couleurs et de la
sera maintenant qu’environ 400$ pour un vitesse de rafraîchissement des images.
écran de 15 pouces. Pourtant, s’ils n’épatent Cependant, l’impact est peu important en ce
plus la galerie, les écrans plats constituent qui concerne les besoins des cabinets
plus que jamais un achat judicieux. juridiques puisque ces faiblesses resteront
Pourquoi? Mis à part leur « look » plus mo- difficilement perceptibles. Seuls les infogra-
derne, le gain d’espace qu’ils permettent phistes et les adeptes de jeux vidéos seront
sur un bureau encombré n’est pas à justifiés de s’en plaindre!
dédaigner. Ils sont aussi plus respectueux de l’environnement Un choix écologique, économique et bénéfique pour votre
puisqu’ils sont moins énergivores et contiennent moins de vision, l’écran plat à cristaux liquides n’est peut-être plus l’apanage
matières dangereuses comme le plomb. De plus, ils émettent moins des frimeurs mais ne manque pas d’honorer les astucieux. Exhibez-
de radiations et sont moins sujets aux interférences électriques. le fièrement! N
JANVIER · FÉVRIER 2004 www.cba.org 17
