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 Performance Tweaking Myths | Lifehacker

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)

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 are on an Exchange server with a mailbox size limit, or you just want to put a bit of spring back in Outlook’s step.

Outlook Attachment Remover Frees Up Inbox Disk Space [Lifehacker]

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 your machine.

To help, there are two great Windows utilities, Autoruns from Microsoft and the Startup Control Panel from Mike Lins. Both do much the same thing. They show your computer runs, whether at startup, logon, when you start Internet Explorer, etc. Just uncheck the services you don’t want running all the time. Like Quicktime, RealPlayer, and other stuff. When was the last time you actually used Bluetooth? Shut it down. What about infrared for file transfers? Shut it down.

Prune the services you don’t need, and you will regain a lot of speed.

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 office, means adhering to procedures may be far less onerous than it used to be.

The most important procedures revolve around making sure it is easy to find all contacts, appointments, tasks, e-mails, and documents associated with a case.

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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 Open Document Format, which is becoming the world standard (and should be the courts’ standard, if they can de-Microsoft their thinking), is troubling. OpenOffice.org, or OOo, is a fantastic alternative. It is also in wide use worldwide, and sponsored by Sun Microsystems. This is a full replacement for Office, minus Outlook, and attorneys can make the switch and not look back. Among other things, OOo can save to .doc format, and makes it easier than ever to create PDF versions.

2. TrueCrypt

As I have said many times, encryption is no longer optional. Law firms that do not encrypt client data are risking lawsuits if and when client data is stolen. TrueCrypt is a serious piece of encryption software that makes encryption easy and convenient. My favorite feature is the ability to back up the encrypted container so that my backups are encrypted, as well.

3. AVG or Avast anti-virus

It is a bit eerie how much Norton and McAfee resemble the viruses they protect your computer in. Virus-like, they invade every nook and cranny of your operating system, bogging your computer down. Uninstall them and go with a free alternative that protects just as well and doesn’t slow you to a crawl.

4. GnuCash

Looking to move beyond your outdated accounting software? GnuCash is a double-entry accounting package that should do the trick just fine. If you like sending Quicken files to your accountant, you can do that, too will have to make do with printing out HTML reports (see comment, below).

5. UltraVNC

UltraVNC (and numerous other free VNC applications) lets you access your computer remotely from anywhere. Setup takes just a bit of knowhow, but once you are up and running, it is amazingly smooth. Best of all, you can access your computer using any VNC with any operating system for maximum versatility.

Finally, if you do use free, open-source software, support the project by donating.

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

I was poking around the Internet today and ran across a few useful pages on Microsoft’s website with guides for lawyers using Microsoft Office to track clients, time, etc. First, Microsoft has a list of “legal articles” with useful information for lawyers using Office. One of the most useful is a tutorial on setting up and using Outlook to track billable time using tasks. It looks like a pretty smooth method. At least as good as Time Matters, anyway. I will try it out for a couple of files and give a full report. It looks like you could easily use this method in other PIMs like Evolution, as well.

You can also find a list of useful templates.

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 see several tabs (2000-03) or the Ribbon (2007). The second tab is the Activities tab. The Activities button should be visible on the default Ribbon in 2007. Click it, and all your e-mails to and from that contact should show up in a few seconds. If you have linked any contacts, appointments, or tasks to that contact, those will show up as well. This is how I track cases (using contacts in a separate folder as cases) similar to the way

Geek humor from the dawn of the Internet.

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