Disk Warrior Gets its Spots

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As I reported last week after talking to the Alsoft people at Macworld, the new version of Disk Warrior is out at 4.1. It is Leopard compatible. The new version also fixes hardlinks which sounds to me like medicine for Time Machine.
The Alsoft web site explains:
Owners of DiskWarrior 4 version 4.0 will soon be able to download a free CD updater. When available, this free updater will allow you to create a new startup CD containing the updated DiskWarrior application. Please note that the new startup CD will start up the same set of Macs as your current DiskWarrior CD. Your new CD will not start up any Mac that your current DiskWarrior CD can not.
Now, if we could just get back SuperDuper ….

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1Password Updated … Again

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Well I probably sound like a 1Password fanboy and … upon reflection … I realize that I am.
Tonight I booted up my favorite password, secure data, kitchen sink application to find out there is another update. This is no small update either. The list of new and repaired features is thorough. When I met 1Password developer Dave Taere, we just immediately clicked. He is passionate about making 1Password the best application possible and he is delivering. Enough of my rambling though. Upgrade your 1Password and check out this feature list.
NEW Replaced Setup Assistant with Welcome screen in the main 1Password application.
NEW New Generic Text Importer allows importing of any data from a comma separated text file.
NEW Added Cmd-0 shortcut to open main 1Password window.
NEW Added option to export only selected items to 1Password Interchange File.
NEW Added password strength indicator to Strong Password Generator window.
NEW Added shortcut menu button in 1Password Import Assistant.
NEW Added password strength information to Web Forms.
NEW Added Display scope (Always, Web Pages, HTTP Auth, Never) to Web Forms. Allows you to prevent specific forms from ever appearing in the Restore Form list.
NEW Added Australian and Swiss bank account information to Wallet.
NEW Redesigned Sync to my1Password window.
NEW New Sync with my1Password implementation that allows data synchronization across multiple Macs.
CHANGED Improved diagnostics to detect non root:admin file ownership in Leopard InputManager folder.
CHANGED Updated Safari restore instructions when its code signature was modified.
CHANGED Improved import of comments from KeePassX.
CHANGED Updated diagnostics to point to the correct Rosetta Knowledge Base article.
CHANGED Added support for user-editable fields in generic import.
CHANGED Added support for quoted and multi-line fields in generic text import.
CHANGED Now retaining previous column type selection when changing generic text import options.
CHANGED Fixed Autosave in Firefox 3. Should now correctly observe form submit and prompt user with the Autosave dialog window.
CHANGED Export to Palm and Treo can now be used during the trial period without adding the Palm license.
CHANGED Added check for Rosetta settings when Safari fails to decrypt the keychain entry.
CHANGED Improved credit card fill on German websites.
CHANGED Added 512×512 1Password icon for better Leopard support.
CHANGED Renamed plain-text backup to 1Password Interchange File.
CHANGED Updated About screen.
CHANGED Added [I have a license] button to the Registration Required screen.
CHANGED Removed keyboard shortcuts from the context menu as per Apple guidelines.
CHANGED Made sure Rename and Delete folder menu items are disabled for special folders.
CHANGED Simplified backup filename generation to avoid intermittent backup errors.
CHANGED Improved Passwords Plus importer to ignore invalid CSV lines.
FIXED Made sure all Wallet items are displayed in iPhone bookmarklet.
FIXED Fixed bug with back button in Firefox 2. Back button was disabled for first navigation of windows other than initial.
FIXED Made sure column widths are saved and restored correctly when switching the sections and folders and restarting 1Password application.
FIXED Fixed a problem with 1Password.app being copied as 1Passwd.app into Applications folder when the program was launched from the disk image.
FIXED Fixed problem with Sync to my1Password by encoding special characters as Unicode.
FIXED Fixed import from KeePassX.
FIXED Fixed problem with images being resized incorrectly in Import Assistant.
FIXED Fixed problem with Delete Folder via shortcut menu not working in Mac OS X 10.4.
FIXED Fixed problem with Go-n-fill link not working in the object list view.
FIXED Fixed possible infinite loop in the Strong Password Generator window.
FIXED Fixed crash in Strong Password Generator.
FIXED Fixed import from Passwords Plus when the file was exported from Mac version.
FIXED Corrected 1Passwd spelling in Security Warning.

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Happy Birthday Mac

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On January 24, 1984, Apple unleashed the Macintosh on a hungry public looking for a computer that worked with them instead of against them. At the time I was in High School slugging away at my Atari 400 computer. Man did I want a Mac bad but there was no way my parents could have afforded the little box that said “hello.”
Well here we are 24 years later and the Mac is still making work and fun a lot easier.
Happy Birthday Mac!

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Parallels on a Windows Network

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I’ve been in the same office for 15 years. For giggles I decided to move to another office recently. It is a little bigger and has a better view. Also, it is good to shake things up once in awhile. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until after I got all my furniture moved that there is no ethernet into my new digs and as far as the network is concerned, I fell out the window.
So my PC box sits in my computer stand with its two monitors silent while I attempt to get someone to wire it up. Mainly out of necessity but also out of Mac geekiness, I decided to see if I could exist on a windows network with nothing but my MacBook Pro. Turns out I can.
We use a specific program that is a relational database for lawyers called TimeMatters. It is PC only and although the program can be frustrating, one thing it does very well is keep all of your data on the server. So I booted up parallels and had an extended call with a very smart PC friend of mine and in about an hour we had my Mac securely on the network with TimeMatters installed on my laptop and working flawlessly in Parallels. For the last few days I’ve been doing most word processing in Pages and jumping over to Parallels for the database management stuff. I’m very pleased at this newfound ability and amazed why I didn’t take steps to make this happen earlier.
I’ve frequently used Parallels for another legal PC only program, CaseMap, but interacting with the office database on my Mac seems to step it up a notch. It makes me feel a little bit of a rebel. The lone wolf.

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Okay, maybe I’m laying it on a bit thick, but I’ve had very few problems. Once Parallels sent one of my cores spinning up for no apparent reason. I logged out of windows and rebooted the virtual machine and everything sorted itself out. Other than that, no complaints. And the fact that my cable installer seems to be busy doesn’t really bother me so much either.

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A Lawyer’s Take on Macworld 2008

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In addition to being an affirmed Mac geek, I am also a lawyer. So as I spent the last several days talking to developers and roaming the halls of Macworld, a few things in particular got me excited about practicing law with my Mac.

Macbook Air

Apple’s new machine is a real eye catcher. It is just three pounds and manages to keep a 13 inch monitor. While this would be really nice for the roadwarrior or running around in depositions and trial, the $1800 price tag makes me look twice. If you really need thin and are willing to sacrifice a bit of functionality (no ethernet or firewire) you may want to check it out. I’m sticking with my Macbook Pro for the time being.

MacSpeech

For those of you former PC users who miss having DragonDictate in your toolbelt, fret no more. I was never a big fan of iListen, but the folks at at iListen recently acquired the license for the Dragon recognition engine for use on the Mac. Their new product, MacSpeech Dictate will be releasing next month and looks fantastic. I spent about an hour at their booth and am very impressed. I also watched David Pogue fawn over it as it produced very accurate and quick results.
I wasn’t alone in my opinion that this product will change things. It was one of the “Best of Show” award winners by several publications. Put this one at the top of your list for productivity boosters.

OmniFocus

I’m a big fan of the Omni Group applications. I use OmniOutline, OmniPlan, and OmniGraffle to manage much of my caseload. I got in early on the beta of their OmniFocus task management application and it was just released as a 1.0. This application is fantastic for keeping all the plates in the air. I did an extended review of it at Macsparky.com
I talked to the folks at Omni and they are going to do everything in their power to get these applications on the iPhone once the iPhone SDK releases.

BusySync

For the small offices that don’t need the expense of a server but want to sync iCal calendars between multiple desks, there is a great little application called BusySync. For a cost of $20 per computer, you get seamless bonjour and net syncing between machines. They have a new version due out soon that will also allow for Google calendar syncing.

Bento

FileMaker is the best application for database intensive solutions. If you are running a small practice, FileMaker’s smaller application, Bento, looks really robust.

Billings and Daylite

Marketcircle continues its place at the top of small office management software. They had a nice booth and made regular presentations. I was unaware of some of their interesting add-on products like Daylite Delivery and the FileMaker connector. These guys fill a very particular niche.

Fujitsu ScanSnap

I love my Fujitsu ScanSnap. It is a reliable, fast scanner with a small footprint. Now they have a portable version, the S300M, that retails at $295 and looks perfect for those depositions on the other side of the country.

Smart Board

Smart Technologies has a very impressive device you install over your LCD television that allows you to create a virtual white board like you are John Madden. The price point is steep. I was told “around $5,000” but it sure is nice.

Storage – Drobo and TimeCapsule

While TimeCapsule is aimed as a consumer device, 1TB storage with a built in wireless “N” router is a pretty attractive product.
I was also impressed with the Drobo that allows you to drop up to four swappable drives in with no headache. Interestingly, if you pull out a drive while it is running (or if the drive dies), Drobo automatically moves the data around to protect its integrity. The Drobo device costs $500 without any drives.
For all of you Mac lawyers, I highly recommend visiting Macworld sometime when you get a chance. Not only will you find some great tools for your practice, you’ll probably have a good time while you are at it.

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