If you have a Mac, you probably have an iPhone. With Airlock, you can use your iPhone to automatically lock and unlock your Mac when you are away.

Airlock uses Bluetooth to tell your computer when you leave the room (or other proximity; you can change the settings). When you leave, your computer is locked by Airlock. When you return, Airlock will wirelessly tell your computer you are back, and unlock your computer.

You can also program Airlock to tell your computer to run various programs upon your return. If you lose your iPhone, or the battery dies, you can still use a manual login function, so you are not left in the lurch.

Unfortunately, Airlock can cause minor problems if you use a wireless keyboard or mouse. Because of a Bluetooth firmware issue, Airlock can cause your mouth or keyboard to disconnect. Apple is apparently working on a firmware update to correct this.

There are other ways to have your computer automatically lock, such as making a hot corner that puts your computer to sleep, or setting up your screensaver to come on after five minutes of inactivity. Airlock, however, seems to be the easiest, and quickest option.

(photo: CarbonNYC)

Use Your iPhone to Secure Your Mac is a post from: Lawyerist

Macs are born awesome, but add some of these applications and watch your productivity soar.

1. Dropbox. An online harddrive, like an IDisk/MobileMe drive, but oh so much better. Dropbox is much, much faster than IDisk. You can install it on multiple computers and sync all of your files. It does a fantastic job of updating instantly and integrates very well with OS X. 2 GB of online storage is free.
2. Things/Studiometry. Both programs are task-management/organizational programs. I tried Things for 30-days and forgot about it after two. Studiometry is getting rave reviews from a fellow Mac user, and from what I have seen, it is far superior to Things. Things retails for $49.95 and Studiometry costs $199.95.
3. BusyCal. I have not tried it yet, but it appears to be a cross between ICal and Google Calendar. In other words, a better version of ICal. One massive upside is the ability to sync with more than one device. Retails for $40.
4. Coconut Battery. If you have a laptop, this is must own, and it is free. Coconut Battery will show you how much battery life you have, and how that compares with the original capacity. Very useful to determine when you need a battery.

Macs rock, add some new applications and rock even harder.

20+ Mac Apps to Increase Your Productivity | Mashable

(photo: orcmid)

Optimize Productivity on Your Mac is a post from: Lawyerist

Gmail and MobileMe are both great e-mail services, and both have a few features the other does not, but I think Gmail is just a touch better.

Here is why:

Tools that work well on both systems

1. Search your mail;
2. Check e-mail from other accounts; and
3. Forward your MobileMe or Gmail e-mail to another account.

Unique MobileMe features

1. Quick reply and delete;
2. iPhone locator (yes, kind of a gimme, but a very cool feature); and
3. Costs a cool $99 for a year (includes your own cloud—web page hosting, picture hosting, a massive online hard drive, and other cool features).

Unique Gmail features

1. Condenses multiple message “conversations” into one e-mail, which keeps your inbox less cluttered, and makes it extremely easy to read through a chain of emails without scrolling through eighteen “to: bill smith@hotmail, from:kerrysmith@ hotmail, re: nothing;”
2. Labs. You can add multiple inboxes, multiple canned responses, and all sorts of other neat features; and
3. Like Google Calendar, it is free.

If you need a cheap way to post your pictures online and need an online hard drive, MobileMe is not a bad deal. If you are a Mac user, it certainly fits in seamlessly with everything else you do.

But if you want to do more and really get the most out of your e-mail, Gmail is the way to go.

(photo: Grifmo)

MobileMe v. Gmail Showdown is a post from: Lawyerist

I love all things Mac, including the Mail App. But I use Gmail for my work e-mail—and it is great, too. But which one is better?

For the next week I am going to use Gmail and Apple’s web-based browser, me.com, and offer the pros and cons of both.

Gmail has one indisputable advantage—it is free. Apple charges $99 per year for a me.com e-mail address, but you get tons of other stuff, like online storage, website and photo hosting, iPhone locator, and more. For the purposes of this challenge, I will stick just to the e-mail systems.

Check back for my detailed comparison of the two e-mail systems.

(photo: Tancread)

Gmail vs. MobileMe is a post from: Lawyerist

I am a consumer rights attorney in Minneapolis, and I absolutely love it. I am fortunate to have a great mentor, which makes my job almost too good to be true.

I went to the University of Minnesota law school, learned a ton in class, but learned even more working for the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office—representing clients in court twice a week. I like to think of consumer law as doing public defender work in the civil realm.

Prior to law school, I lived in Hollywood and tried to be the next Spielberg, but ended up helping produce Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “governator spots.” I was also hired by Marvel Comics because of my expertise and familiarity with all things Marvel. I am still disappointed I did not meet Spiderman.

I regularly contribute to a consumer blog, Caveat Emptor, along with another legal site, AdviceScene. I am the co-publisher of Elder Parent Help, a website that provides resources to helps individuals care for their aging parents and loved ones.

My posts on Lawyerist will deal with networking, law school survival tips, everything Apple/Mac, and everything small and solo law practice.

Lawyerist Contributor: Randall Ryder is a post from: Lawyerist

About a year ago, I started blocking off Friday on my calendar, calling it a “writing day.” Apart from the odd court date I have no control over, that block of time is inviolable. I use my Fridays to work from home (where I am right now), catch up on reading material, write briefs or blog posts, or catch up on administrative tasks.

It took a little bit of ingenuity to make sure I could get everything done from anywhere, but here is what I use to keep my office functioning on the move.

Remote access to files

In order to get things done outside the office, you must be able to get to your files. I use Dropbox to sync files between my office computer and home (and to my law clerk’s computer, for that matter).

All mobile files—any that leave the office, really—whether on a laptop or flash drive, must be encrypted. This is a rigid policy at my firm.

Fortunately, encryption is easy to do. I use the built-in Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption on my laptop. My law clerk uses Apple’s built-in FileVault on his Macbook Air. You could also use TrueCrypt, if you do not have one of those programs built into your operating system. (You need Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate for BitLocker, and same will be true for Windows 7.)

Getting phone calls from anywhere

Some Fridays, I want to be able to answer the phone. I use Skype at the office, so it is easy enough to use it at home, too. I have a Philips VOIP 080 handset that I enjoy using, but you can find Bluetooth headsets, wired headsets, and many other options.

Call quality varies, but I get excellent call quality nearly everywhere, including the occasional coffee shop crowded with other web workers.

If you are not using Skype at work, you could just as easily forward your work phone to your Skype account or mobile phone on Fridays—or just wait until Monday to check your messages.

Wireless printing

Working from home is no fun if you are tied to the printer. I use a Netgear wireless print server so that if I need to print a letter or brief draft, I can hit the print button from the backyard.

Setting it up is a piece of cake. I finally got around to reconnecting it this morning, so I just did it again. Netgear includes an easy-to-follow walkthrough that mostly involves plugging in your printer, the print server, and your computer to one another so they can all say hello.

Total cost of all this technology, not counting the laptop: about $200 to set up, and about $100 per year, if you get all the premium features of Skype and Dropbox.

So next Friday, get thee out of thy office and onto thy porch!

Edit: my home-office assistant just reminded me how important it is to have a home-office assistant:

A home-office assistant is critical to your home-office productivity and Friday happiness.

(photo: Plutor)

Work From Home (or Anywhere Else) on Fridays is a post from: Lawyerist

Thinking of adding a Mac to your stable of computers, or just ditching Windows entirely? Lots of people are doing it. Macs—especially the laptops—also have a lot of advantages over Windows computers for the solo practitioner.

My wife recently got a MacBook after using Windows for years, and the switch was relatively painless. But there are a few differences. For example, on a Mac, closing the window does not close the program, like it does in most Windows apps. And it can take a minute to figure out where the right mouse button is (on a laptop, just use two fingers on the touchpad while clicking).

In addition to Mossberg’s basic tips, Apple offers some “101″ guides for the new Mac user: Mac 101 and Switch 101.

Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows | All Thing Digital (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

Switching from Windows to a Mac is a post from: Lawyerist

We bought my wife a Macbook a couple of weeks ago after she finally agreed that her broken-screened, dead-USB, no-battery laptop was nearly unusable. (Most of those conditions were my fault, albeit by accident.) So we picked up a $1,099 white Macbook.

My wife is not a technophobe, but she is no geek, either. She was up and running, on her own, in minutes. The Macbook is ready to go right out of the box. She especially loves the size, long battery life, and the fast recovery from suspend when you open the case—seriously valuable features for wired litigators. And OSX Leopard is just beautiful. It makes Windows look clumsy, and Ubuntu dowdy, by comparison.

Of course, it works just fine with her Outlook Web Access and file access for her work, and she has no problem opening Word and Powerpoint documents in iWork, which, at $80, is a steal when compared with Microsoft Office.

As some know, the three other attorneys and one law clerk I share office space with also use Macs. I am the lone rebel in the office, using Windows until recently, and now Ubuntu, but always a PC. Playing with my wife’s computer, I am wavering. I am definitely going to get us a Mac Mini for a living room computer—once they include a Blu-Ray player, anyway—but I may just get myself a black Macbook when it comes time to upgrade my trusty ThinkPad T43.

Macs are awfully tempting is a post from: Lawyerist

This summary pretty much says it all:

“When a company as tech savvy as Intel, with full source code access and having written several large chunks of the OS, says get stuffed, you know you have a problem. Well, everyone knows MS has a problem, but it is nice to see it codified in such a black and white way though. Reassuring, like a warm cup of tea, or a public kick to the corporate crown jewels.

The way I see it, you have three options: (1) stick with XP until the next version of Windows if you don’t mind using seriously old—yet still functional—technology; (2) get a Mac, and enjoy cutting-edge technology well-suited to lawyers’ needs; or (3) switch to Linux, save money, and enjoy also-cutting-edge technology on your current machine.

Intel won’t touch Vista | Inquirer (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

Intel won’t use Vista—so neither should you is a post from: Lawyerist

The internet is abuzz with news of the iPhone 3G, the most powerful feature of which seems to be a price tag that finally brings the iPhone into direct competition with other smartphones. I am not giving up my BlackBerry Pearl any time soon, though.

What I want to know is when is Apple going to update the MacBook and MacBook Pro? A 14.1″ screen option would be nice. OLED screens, maybe? Multi-touch on the MacBook?

But there are no rumors coming out. Macrumors has about thirty-five posts on the new iPhone, and seems to have forgotten about the rumors of a new MacBook pro.

iPhone 3G . . . blah blah blah is a post from: Lawyerist