Ernie the Attorney

PDF for Lawyers is going to move to TypePad too

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 17:56:08 GMT

Click here for a glimpse of the new home of PDF for Lawyers site. I plan to make this a multi-author blog and invite my lawyer friends who know a lot about PDF to share their insights here as well. Check it out.

Ernie the Attorney's posting from a new perch

Mon, 11 Aug 2003 18:29:08 GMT

Click here if you want to see where I'm posting. It's the new TypePad blogging system from the people who created Movable Type, and it rocks!!!

Okay, and now for something completely new & different - let's post somewhere else

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 18:57:33 GMT

I think I'm going to try TypePad. I signed up for the trial account and have set up some basic stuff. So for the next couple of weeks you can find my postings over here. I doubt I'll wind up there permanently (but I have plans to move somewhere soon) so don't view this as a permanent change, but feel free to subscribe to the full-length XML feed. And let me know if you have any problems.

New Blogging Service Rolls Out.

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 16:27:12 GMT

If you want to set up your own blog you might want to check out TypePad (which is from the well-established folks at Movable Type). A shining example of the power of this new blog tool is the PVR Blog, which is a great resource for information on devices like TiVo and ReplayTV and digital recording devices in general.

There are 3 levels of service for TypePad, the lowest priced one is $5.00 a month, which includes hosting and a bunch of features (i.e. the ability to publish picture albums etc). Worth checking out.

New Law Blogs Ahoy!!!

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 15:20:12 GMT

Robert Unterberger, a lawyer and legal writing instructor, has started a bevy of blogs: Law Student Writing Blog, Delaware Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, and Pennsylvannia Personal Injury Blog. I'm guessing that Robert probably is a personal injury lawyer. I'm also guessing that he is taking advantage of the newly relaxed FCC rules that allow for concentrated ownership of media.

Also, spotted on the horizon is a blog by C.E. Petit (also a practicing attorney) called Scrivener's Error. His focus is on law and publishing from the author's often sarcastic perspective.

Steph over at BlueBlanket has a new blawg called The Blawg Review that focuses on new developments in academia, such as new law journal articles.

Finally, James Carruth is a 2L at BYU Law School and he has a blog that he'd like ya'll to know about. Enjoy!

Also, check out BloggerForum by my good friend Steve Covell.

Old friends call-in

Mon, 04 Aug 2003 21:24:16 GMT

Glad to see Mike Pusateri of Cruftbox has found his way to my site (he left a comment to my earlier post on Reinstalling XP). Coincidentally, I had recently been watching his weblog after someone pointed to a post he did about hacking his TIVO.

Mike and I met at SXSW last March and I have to say he was one of the people that I most enjoyed getting to know, even if it was just a brief encounter (we commiserated after were reprimanded by the card carrying Union-member electrician who told us that we were stealing power by plugging our laptops into the unused electrical outlets during a session break).

Mike's a great guy and a major techie, and I hope to see him again soon. Apparently, if you check his site regularly, you'll learn that he's also a good cook.

Wi-Fi Hotels and Eateries in New Orleans - sprouting like Shitaki Mushrooms

Mon, 04 Aug 2003 20:37:19 GMT

The Pelham Hotel is a new downtown hotel that purports to offer free wireless Internet access (rental charge if you need to use equipment). It's one block away from the French Quarter, and within 2 blocks of the Mississippi River.

Just below the Pelham is a new 24 hour diner called Huey's that also features free Wi-Fi. I talked to the owner Jason and he said he got the idea from seeing how Wi-Fi was used at a conference in California. I had lunch at Huey's today and the place is really nice. Clean, friendly staff and the food is really good. Definitely the place to come catch some free Wi-Fi if you are in the CBD area of New Orleans.

And Jason has another place called the Wine Loft, which is a wine bar in the Warehouse District (which is near to the CBD), that also features free Wi-Fi.

And lastly, I hear that Marisol's on Esplanade (437 Esplanade Ave. 943-1912) has free wireless with your meals. Looks like New Orleans is starting to get hip to Wi-Fi, which is a good thing. It's funny that none of the local coffee shops (except one, which is in a Mall and not worth visiting) is picking up on the Wi-Fi trend.

Re-Installing Windows XP

Mon, 04 Aug 2003 15:47:34 GMT

I sympathize with Mark Pilgrim, who is reinstalling Windows XP (caution: Adult Language). Robert Scoble, who works at Microsoft as an product evangelist for the next generation operating system (code named Longhorn) also sympathizes:

"Yeah I know what you mean Mark. I need to reinstall this machine too. Not looking forward to it."

I'm not going to say anything about Apple OS X, because it can obviously create mischief too (see Dan Gillmor's recent problems).

There are three things I want from an operating system. (1) stability (2) quick access, and (3) smart Wi-Fi operation.

In my book, OS X is more stable than Windows. I'm sure that others will disagree, and perhaps my success with one particular powerbook can't be compared to my overall experience with Windows 2000 and Windows XP (over the past 3 years).

Apple's OS X definitely gives me quicker access to my computer than Windows, because I don't have to power down. The sleep function on my Apple actually works so my laptop is ready in less than 5 seconds from the moment I open the case.

Does anyone out there have a Windows machine that they put to sleep and wake up, say, 10 times a day over a month long period without having any system hangs? If so, you are blessed. The best I could get out of any of my four windows laptops was two or three days at best.

And Apple has got Wi-Fi down. Apple computers are very smart about finding and connecting to Wi-Fi access points. Windows XP is pretty good too. I'm sure that the next version will be comparable to Apple or maybe even better

But will the next version of Windows address the stability and quick access issues? And it is not like this is a cutting edge concept. I imagine a lot of people would like to have quick access to their computers. But it doesn't seem like that happens in the Windows world. Why not?

Our Federalism - God Bless it

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 20:29:00 GMT

So I'm kind of puzzled by the President's idea that we should get the federal government involved in regulating marriage. Aren't "family matters" the classic stuff that States traditionally regulate? And aren't conservative republicans usually obsessed with preserving States' Rights?

And I hear something about using the Constitution to define marriage being uttered by some conservatives. What's up with that?

Are there any rules anymore, or are we just going to turn our legal system into a Dixieland Jazz Band? I mean I've got a guitar and all. I just need to know what key we are going to start out in.

Apple OS X - how to you get to the desktop quickly?

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 17:35:42 GMT

This is one thing I don't like about OS X (unless I'm missing something). If I have a lot of programs open (which I do) I haven't found a quick way to make them all go away (not quit them) so I can see my desktop. Anyone know how to do this quickly?

Apple OS X - solid as a rock

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 17:08:00 GMT

Just checked the uptime on my Powerbook (which runs Apple's OS X operating system). It's been 9 days and 19 hours since my last reboot. Actually, the only times I have rebooted were because I installed some software that wanted a reboot to take place.

So, here are the stats for the month that I've owed the Powerbook:

System crashes - 0
System hangs - 1
Application hangs - 2
Pop Ads - 0

I leave the laptop running most of the time so it has had plenty of chances to crash or encounter incompatibilities. Right now I have 9 applications running (most of them are not full bore applications, so let's say that I only have about 4 running most of the time).

When I am not using the laptop I simply close the lid, which puts it to sleep and uses virtually no battery power. When I open the lid it wakes up within 3 - 5 seconds and is immediately ready to surf the Internet or do whatever work I need to do.

My desktop XP machine has hung or crashed a couple of times in the past week. And my wife's XP latptop doesn't hang or crash much, except if she tries to use it after putting it to sleep. Then it's about a 50-50 proposition. So, naturally, she doesn't rely on it to go to sleep and just shuts it down when she isn't going to use it for a couple of hours.

Congratulations to Donna Wentworth

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 21:07:36 GMT

First, on accepting a new stint at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. But, more importantly, on her recently announced impending nuptials.

Donna was an early and forceful inspiration for me when I started blogging. I have admired her work at Copyfight and look forward to hearing about her new adventures in San Francisco. I know she'll be missed in Boston, but she'll be welcomed in San Francisco and admired throughout the blogosphere.

Best wishes to Donna and her future husband.

Advice to New Law Students

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:57:34 GMT

I know a couple of people who are starting up at law school soon. They are busy gathering supplies and preparing for the novel experience or going to class to get grilled and lugging around weighty tomes.

Speaking of lugging heavy law books, I recently saw a law school blogger post a radical idea (which my friend A.J. Levy would call an "out of the box solution"). He took his law books to Kinko's and had them slice off the covers so he could ring bind the pages. That way he could take just the pages he needed, which would save weight.

I have another idea for law students who tote laptops. Scan all of your materials into PDF and buy a copy of Adobe Acrobat (the educational price for the full version is around $60 --and the regular price is $250). Then learn how to put stickie notes and how to annotate using Acrobat. When you go to class take notes right on the case (or statute) that you are covering. Later you'll be able to jump right to the pages with notes, and you'll be able to print your notes out. Most importantly, the notes will be attached to the materials that they relate to.

Just a thought. Of course, you could lug the laptop and the extra 15 pounds of books. Maybe you need the exercise, I don't know.

If you don't know how to scan find some techie law student to tackle the job and distribute the scans on CD-Rom.