tips & tricks

“Multitasking” is a Myth

November 9, 2009

A myth has arisen that multitasking is effective, and that those who are technologically savvy are particularly effective at it. But studies, including a 2009 Stanford University study—have shown that it is just that: a myth. In fact, frequent multitaskers were shown to have more difficulty filtering out useless information.

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Windows will not actually speed up if you do the following . . .

August 6, 2008

From Lifehacker, nine things that will not actually speed up Windows. Among them, disabling Microsoft processes, clearing out your registry, and memory “optimizer” programs.
What will work: running SpyBot every now and then to clear out resource-hogging spyware, and using Firefox instead of Internet Explorer so you get less spyware in the first place.
Debunking Common Windows [...]

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Switching from Windows to a Mac

July 24, 2008

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 [...]

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Remove attachments in Outlook

June 6, 2008

You can already remove attachments in Outlook—but only one at a time, which gets to be a big waste of time.
Outlook Attachment Remover (clever name, huh?) does just what it says, but in addition to removing attachments from one message at a time, you can scour an entire folder clean. This works well if you [...]

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Two great tools for speeding up your system

December 6, 2007

Once you have checked for spyware and run the PC Decrapifier, and your computer is still running slow, it is time to take a good look at the programs you have running all the time. Some you can see in your system tray. Others run invisibly in the background, hogging system resources and slowing down [...]

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It is all about procedures

August 22, 2007

No matter what you use to manage your practice, whether a case management product like Time Matters or simply Outlook (or Evolution, or whatever) and the file manager, the efficacy of the system depends on good procedures. No software eliminates the need for good procedures. However, modern technology, especially in a paperless law office, means [...]

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Top 5 free, open source applications for lawyers

August 21, 2007

Free is better, and open source is superior. There are fantastic free and open source alternatives to the software lawyers use every day. Here are my top 5 most valuable free applications for lawyers:
1. OpenOffice.org
Office 2007 is pretty, but from a user perspective, it is an upgrade hardly worth the pricetag. Plus, Microsoft’s rejection of [...]

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Better Google searching (for lawyers)

July 27, 2007

Law.com’s Legal Technology page has a useful article on how to find what you are looking for more accurately with Google.

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Outlook’s Activities tab

April 4, 2007

I have mentioned the Activities tab in Outlook several times, but I don’t think I have explained exactly how to get to it. The Activities exists as a tab in Outlook 2000-2003, and as a button in Outlook 2007. Open up any contact and look just under the task bar and menu, and you should [...]

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