TechShow 2013 – Lawyers and Technology


Screen Shot 2013-03-02 at 7.13.53 AM.png

The old myth about lawyers being technology adverse is still largely true. Recently I had a case where opposing counsel was using WordPerfect, for DOS. However, there are a group of legal professionals, who realize the advantages technology brings them. These intrepid lawyer-geeks are paving the way and I’d like to count myself among them. Once a year this brotherhood (and sisterhood) and technology inclined legal professionals gather in Chicago for the America Bar Association TechShow.

Forget everything you’ve ever leared about professional conferences. This is different. The TechShow feels a lot more like Macworld than a trade show. There are excellent vendors showing off products to help you run circles around opposing counsel and there are some amazing speakers that will show you how to use technology to work smarter, faster, and better. They even have an entire day devoted to the Mac..

The feature speaker this year is David Pogue. I’ve seen him speak before and he is really engaging and funny. This year I’m presenting sessions on taking your law firm paperless and a session on using built-in tools, Automator, and AppleScript to kick some serious ass with your Mac. The conference is April 4-6 and in addition to being very instructional, it is a lot of fun. If you are a MacSparky reader and attend, make sure to look me up.

∞

OmniFocus Setup, part 1

The Omni Group just posted part one of the presentations from The Setup. This includes presentations by Michael Schechter, Thanh Pham, Tim Stringer, Dinah Sanders, and Sven Fechner. There are some great ideas in there.

∞

Book Recommendation: The Rook



41cob2rASnL._SL175_.jpg


On the heels of my last fiction recommendation, the Incomparable recently made another recommendation, The Rook, which I downloaded via Audible and (thanks to some fortunate traffic jams) I finished quickly. This is the story of an amnesiac, Myfanwy Thomas, who wakes up in a London park surrounded by dead people wearing latex gloves. It turns out she is part of a supernatural MI5 and from page one, the game is afoot. The book is quirky, funny, and by about halfway through, I couldn’t wait to see where it all went. If you’d like a fun read, check this one out. When you’re done, go download episode 128 of The Incomparable and listen to Jason, Scott, and Dan talk about it, but only after you’re done.

The Rook

Amazon Affilate Link

Audible

Nerdy Professionals iPad Basics Webinar in Two Days


Depositphotos_7335118_m.jpg

Ernie Svenson and I are gearing up for our introduction to iPad webinar in just a few days. We’ve been working hard on this presentation and plan to make learning to use the iPad fun and instructional. This first session is all about the basics including things like Siri, the keyboard, settings, and security. Future sessions are going to go much deeper down the rabbit hole but for this first one we needed to get the foundations in. If you know any professionals that are considering an iPad or need help with their existing iPad, send them to us.

Also, tell them to use “macsparkyblog” as a discount code to get 10% off and you’ll look like a hero.

∞

Calculating Dates with Siri

Maybe it’s a lawyer thing but I quite frequently need to calculate dates. For instance, I need to figure out what day is 30 days after I serve documents on somebody or how many days elapsed between date X and date Y. 

I was thinking this would be really convenient if I could do it with Siri but the Siri documentation doesn’t say anything about calculating dates. After a little experimentation, however, I stumbled upon the necessary syntax:

“What is X days from Y date.”

For example,  “What is 30 days from June 1, 2013.”


siri dates 4.jpg

It also works in reverse.

“What is 30 days before June 1, 2013.”


siri dates 2.jpg

Figuring out days between dates also requires a specific syntax.

“How many days between June 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013?”


siri dates 1.jpg

As you can see, this search returns a Wolfram Alpha page, which isn’t as pretty but includes more details. Once you internalize the syntax, you’ll find there is no faster way to calculate dates than with Siri.

Book Recommendation: Among Others


6a00d8345295c269e20153907f1833970b-320wi.jpg

I am really happy about subscribing to Jason Snell’s Incomparable podcast. In addition to entertainment and information, Jason and his merry gang are also great sources for book, movie, television, and comic recommentations. On their recommendation I just listened to Jo Walton’s Among Others. The book is the diary of a 15-year-old girl during 6 months of her life as she deals with magic, science fiction, and (hardest of all) being a 15-year-old girl. The book won last year’s Hugo Award and I really enjoyed it. Now I’m trying to get my 16-year-old daughter to read it.

If you are an Audible subscriber (I am), I recommend listening to the Audible version. The primary character’s Welsh heritage is a big part of the book and having someone read it with a Welsh accent made it all the better.