We brought our show to the 2009 General Practice Summit at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville. Here Bill tries to impress Britt Simonson of the TBA with his gadget of the year, the Flip Video recorder, while Phil films the encounter on his Flip Video
We hear music on (our computers, mobile devices, portable device and home systems). Online music sites that stream music for free (legally!) are becoming as plentiful as tweets on Ashton Kutcher’s twitter account (and he has over 3 million “followers”). Ok, there aren’t quite that many, but there are a bunch. Here are our favorite ones.
Our favorite is Pandora (www.pandora.com). Pandora is an “internet radio station” that “plays only the music you like.” For example if you are a big fan of Hannah Montana, you can create your own radio station that plays only Hannah Montana music and similar music of other artists. As Pandora puts it, Pandora will “create a station that explores just that part of the music universe.” If you don’t like the song that Pandora picks to play for you, you simply click the “thumbs down” button, and it will never play that song on that station for you again. The station Pandora creates can also be based upon a favorite song. Pandora will work on your computer, be it a Mac or a PC, as well as on your Blackberry, iPhone, Palm Pre, or Windows Mobile phone. It will also work on any WiFi-enabled device that has a browser and can connect to the internet. You can connect any of these devices to your home stereo and stream music through your auxiliary input for a “poor man’s” Sirius/XM radio. There is also a subscription version of Pandora that allows you to avoid the advertisements, but, since you really don’t “watch” Pandora, you only listen to it and the audio advertisements are sparsely placed, we don’t know why you would want to subscribe.
There are many others, though. Some may be your favorites. For example, another of our favorites is ShoutCast (www.shoutcast.com). ShoutCast is a comprehensive directory of the many, many, many internet radio stations out there. On ShoutCast you can search for the genre of music you like, find a station that plays that genre and listen to your heart’s content. There is also last.fm (www.last.fm ). Last.fm is a “music community, and it is very popular. It goes a step farther and recommends “music, videos and concerts based on what you listen to.” If you are a musician, last.fm will allow you to upload your music and earn royalties from last.fm listeners and even recommend your music to new listeners. There is also Slacker (www.slacker.com ) and many more such as MusicMesh (www.musicmesh.net), blogmusik (www.blogmusik.net ) etc.
Then there are “music social networks” - sort of like Facebook for music - iLike (www.ilike.com ), PureVolume (www.purevolume.com), and imeem (www.imeem.com ) for example. There are many more.
There are other unusual music sites such as musipedia (www.musipedia.org ) where you can whistle a tune into a computer using a microphone, tap out the rhythm of the song or by search on keywords, and locate the song. FindSounds (www.findsounds.com ) is another cool site where you can search the web for sound effects and music instrument samples.
Again, there are so many music-based sites that we cannot even list a significant portion of them here. Email us with your favorite sites at ramseywt@gmail.com or phampton@logicforce.com.
In addition we are launching a new video blog on the NBA web site. Check it out at www.nashvillebar.org. In our first video blog, we will give you a tour of the lovely NBA offices using the ultracool Flip video camera (the subject of last month’s article).
See you next month.
Bill and Phil
Have you ever been somewhere, and out of the blue you wished you had your video camera with you to capture some unplanned moment which no one would ever believe, save for the video evidence? But alas, you don’t have your five pound camcorder with you, much less a fully charged battery or a fresh tape, DVD, or whatever else you have packed in your vacation camera bag. Have no fear, the Flip Mino Video camera (www.theflip.com) or it’s slightly less expensive (and slightly larger) cousin, the Flip Ultra, is exactly what you need when traveling light and that unexpected video moment occurs. The price points on these Flip cameras are so sweet, you may want to purchase one for each member of the family. The prices range from $149 to $230, depending on the model you get, distinguished by the amount of video you can record (memory size) and whether or not you can record in high-definition (HD). This gem is about the size of a mobile phone and can easily fit in a coat pocket or purse.
Beyond the price and portability, however, the real beauty of the Flip Video camera is the simplicity. It is really hard to screw up a video shoot on this thing….simply aim the camera at the target and punch the large red button on the back of the camera and voilá, you’re filming. To stop filming, you simply press the red button again. Each time you start and stop filming, a new video file is stored on the camera’s internal memory chip.
You can play back your videos on the built-in LCD screen on the back of the camera. Downloading the videos is just as easy. The designers were clever enough not to add to the proliferation of odd-shaped USB cables waiting to get lost in the bottom of our laptop bags; they built the USB plug right into the camera unit. Simply pull the USB plug down and plug it into a USB port on your PC. Software included with the camera allows you to review, edit, and download the video files to your hard drive, or easily upload them directly to Flip’s own web site, YouTube,etc. Best of all, you don’t have to be a video tech guru to get it to work.
Of course, for this price you don’t get all the bells and whistles or capacity found on serious digital video cameras. The maximum amount of video that can be stored is 60 minutes on the Flip Mino and 120 minutes on the Flip Ultra. No, you don’t get picture stabilization or night vision or digital zoom; but, honestly, you don’t really know how to use that stuff anyway, do you?
We really like the Flip video cameras because you can capture really good quality video without breaking the bank or having to get your techie kid to show you how to operate your camera. The digital videos created by these cameras are surprisingly clear and vivid. They can easily be incorporated into PowerPoint presentations, trial presentation packages, or simply uploaded to your blog, Facebook, YouTube, or some other mindless social networking site. So join the trend and start creating a video record of your life, or work, or fun, or whatever. I mean, still photos are so 2000 late!
Bill & Phil
MOBILE BROADBAND ROUTERS: YOU ARE (ALMOST) THE NETWORK
We are excited about a very handy and useful gadget. The gadget is called a cellular broadband router or a mobile broadband router. It is rapidly becoming a highly popular product.
One of the pioneers of this technology is CradlePoint Technologies. CradlePoint actually shipped its first mobile broadband router, the CTR-350, in late 2007. It has continued to develop this technology, and has received several awards for innovation. Basically, the product works like this:
You take your mobile broadband modem (or even a cellular phone that can double as a modem) and plug it into a CradlePoint product via a USB port. CradlePoint has several types of products — some for the home office, some for mobile use, and some for large scale enterprises or other special applications. We prefer the mobile unit, the CTR-500.
Once you have plugged your cellular modem into one of these devices, you can then use your CradlePoint gadget as a router, and give ten or more people access to the same mobile broadband signal. In other words, these devices can convert your mobile broadband modem into a device that creates a “wireless cloud” that allows multiple users to gain access to the Internet. The CTR-500 is particularly nifty, because it is really small enough to place in your pocket. Thus, you can walk around the office, or down the street carrying your own little wireless cloud along with you. Never fear, though, the CradlePoint devices and others like it have very stringent security features that won’t allow others to “piggyback” on your signal.
The devices are very handy while traveling in motorhomes, in vans, or in automobiles. You can literally give everyone in the vehicle Internet access. We have personally tested out the CTR-500, and it works great while you are traveling down the highway. You can also use these devices as a backup for your Internet connection if it happens to go down in your home or office. We have used the CTR-500 and a Verizon mobile broadband modem to provide emergency Internet access at home when the Comcast signal went down.
The success of CradlePoint in this market has not gone unnoticed by the wireless carriers. For example, the folks at Verizon now have a product called the M.F.2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. It combines a router and mobile broadband modem into one very small package. The gadget itself is 3.5 inches by 2.3 inches by .4 inches and weighs 2 ounces. In other words, it is the size of two credit cards stacked together. However, it will only allow up to five devices to connect at one time. Even the smallest CradlePoint device will allow up to ten.
We don’t know about you folks, but we really enjoy walking down the street and carrying a network that will allow others to connect to the Internet “through us.”
See you next month.
Bill and Phil
Riding On The Cloud
By now, we’re sure you have heard of the latest buzz phrase coming from all of your geeky IT friends, “cloud computing”. So what exactly is cloud computing? No, it has nothing to do with the altitude of your server room or the smoke cloud that hovers around your harried IT guy. Cloud computing is simply the concept of accessing software applications and storing electronic data on servers and systems that are remote to your local network.
Despite the hip newness of the buzzword, this concept has actually been around for a while. Google, Yahoo, Hotmail and other web-based e-mail services all operate on the cloud computing paradigm. To use Gmail (Google’s web-based e-mail service), you don’t have to purchase any software at all. Online banking and payroll services are other cloud computing examples that have been around for while. What is new and is getting a lot of attention, however, is the proliferation of the cloud concept into areas such as data backup, online storage, document management, and even basic office functions such as word processing.
Google is one of the ring-leaders in the cloud computing stampede. Not only do they offer online messaging and calendaring, but they are also moving into the realm of traditional document management with the Google Docs application. Instead of editing your documents on your local PC and saving them to your My Documents folder, to a network drive, or even to a network document management system, with Google Docs you simply create, edit, and store your documents on a remote server residing somewhere in the Google kingdom. The advantage, of course, is that with the web interface to your documents, you have access to your data wherever you are in the world as long as you have an internet connection. You reduce your dependence on local IT support as well as computing infrastructure to store and maintain backups of your data. Disadvantages of this type of system include loss of physical access to your electronic data; the risk of relying upon a third party provider to host the lifeblood of your practice (especially in a shaky economy); and the potential loss of privacy or a client’s perception that privacy may be compromised.
Other software providers are jumping on to the cloud computing bandwagon as an alternative to expensive software licensing and beefy servers at the local firm. Net Documents is a web-based document management system offered by Lexis-Nexis that hosts all of your documents in a secure environment that is accessible via secure login on the web. Rocket Matter is a web-based practice management and time and billing system that requires no software installation on the local desktop other than a web browser. Online backup services such as i365’s eVault, eFolder, and MozyPro are just three examples out of many that take the burden of data backups and disaster recovery planning away from the local network and shifts it to the cloud.
There is no doubt that cloud computing is a growing trend and one that is likely to impact the day-to-day operation of our firms even more in the future. Even so, we are just a little reticent to trust all of our precious data to the cloud. We don’t mind an online repository to host our personal collection of mp3’s that will follow us as we globetrot around the world; but to have our personal, private, proprietary information under the control of the likes of Google, Yahoo, et. al., frankly is a little bit scary.
See you next month.
Bill and Phil
“Netbooks – Everyone’s Talking ‘Bout the New Kid in Town”
There is a new kid in town. Everyone loves him, even though he is small, thin, cheap and not particularly “smart.” Everyone calls him “Netbook.”
No, he is not the subject of an old Eagles tune. Netbook is the hottest thing in electronic gadgets right now. Everybody’s talking about him.
Netbooks are very small laptops that are inexpensive, but surprisingly useful. Originally, they were used primarily for wireless communications and internet access. But these days, a netbook may be the only laptop a tech-savvy user will carry.
Netbooks’ origins can be traced back to Psion (which trademarked the name “netbook” in several countries) and the One Laptop Per Child Project. These devices had a limited amount of success. In 2007, however, a Taiwanese company, Asus, released the Asus Eee PC, and things started to change. People loved them. I, like many others, “poo-pooed” the Eee PC. By 2008, however, I ate my words and bought an Acer Aspire, with 1 gig of RAM and a 160 gig hard drive for $300 at Costco. I like the “new kid” a lot.
It is light (2.4 lbs.), small (9.5 inches by 6.5 inches), and has a built-in wireless card. The screen is small and the keyboard is cramped, but it is amazingly powerful. It quickly connects to wireless networks, but it is not just limited to web-surfing. You can run Microsoft Office, itunes, and most other software. Photoshop is too much for it, but who cares? Most common computer tasks—email, Web surfing, watching streamed videos—require very little processing power. Most tasks on computers these days are done on-line anyway. Netbooks, like the Acer Aspire fill the bill quite nicely.
Like any other new kid in town, there are some hidden, undesirable personality traits. In my experience, the battery life on these machines is short – 2, or at most, 3 hours. In addition, most of these machines have an operating system like Linux or Windows XP Home Edition, and therefore, they don’t “play well” in a large, networked computer environment. I understand, however, that the next generation of these devices will have twice as much battery life and even more computing power and features.
The next generation may, then, make the old generation, “just another new kid in town.”
See you next month.
Bill and Phil
Yes, it’s that time again – time for Bill and Phil to unveil their recommendations for Christmas stocking stuffers for the geek (even a non-lawyer geek) in your life. We have chosen stuffers that are less expensive (even free, in some cases this year) so you can save your extra money to help bailout GM, Ford and Chrysler.
1. Flip video camera — Pure Digital Technologies. http://www.puredigitalinc.com $100. This video camera is very small, about the size of an average smartphone. It records an hour of video (in HD if you need it). It is very simple to use – just point and shoot. To download the video, just flip out the USB connector and plug into a PC or a Mac. You can carry it in your suit coat pocket, so you can easily stuff it into your favorite geek’s stocking.
2. Ipod Touch (1st or 2nd generation) http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch starting at $229– Still on our list for this year, this ipod continues to set the standard for cool electronic gadgets. There is an upgraded version (Generation 2), but you can still buy a Generation 1 Touch at a discount. But why? Generation 2 is even sleeker and better, with volume buttons and a built in speaker. You can get e-mail, surf the web, play games, and, of course, play music.
3. Solio 1000 Universal ‘Hybrid’ Charger http://store.solio.com $79.95 — This stuffer is for the green geek. This device has an internal battery that can be charged by the sun, or, in a pinch, from a USB port on a computer, or, for a last resort, a wall socket. You can then use it to power almost any electronic device, especially cellphones, MP3 players and GPS units because it has adaptor “tips” to fit almost all of them. It stores power for up to a year on a charge using 1 hour of sunshine for 15 minutes of cell phone talk time.
4. Pandora Radio http://www.pandora.com FREE! This is just a web site, so you really can’t stuff it into a stocking, but, at a minimum, it is very handy for Christmas. When we first found out about this service, we thought it would not make it. After all it is free! But sponsors like Best Buy and Absolut Vodka apparently keep it on the air. In any event, you can create your own custom radio stations that will play the music you like continuously for free. At Christmas, just create a Christmas “radio station,” and it will play Christmas music 24/7. It will immediately put even Scrooge in the Christmas Spirit.
5. Polaroid Pogo http://www.polaroid.com/pogo/us $99.99 Capture those magic Christmas moments with this printer that will fit into a stocking. It is about the size of a deck of cards. The Pogo solves the biggest problem with taking pictures with a cellphone — the fact that you can’t look at them anywhere besides your phone. It connects to phones via Bluetooth so you don’t have to worry about cords. In fact, it will print instantly from PictBridge cameras, as well as any device that can print via Bluetooth. It prints using ZINK (zero ink) technology using embedded clear dye crystals in photo paper, and then uses heat to activate color in the crystals.
6. Slingbox – Are you spending long hours at the office on the weekend and missing the historic Vanderbilt, Titans, (and Volunteers) football seasons? Get yourself the incredible Slingbox device from Sling Media (www.slingmedia.com). The Slingbox Solo retails for just $179.99. You just plug this box in to your home computer network (you do have one by now, don’t you), plug in to your cable or satellite TV receiver and a go through a few short setup screens. You then can watch TV on your laptop or office PC, well anywhere that you have a decently fast internet connection. You receive the signal from the Slingbox via streaming technology over the web. There is no monthly access fee just the initial purchase of the Slingbox device. You can purchase online or at most major electronics retail outlets.
7. Portable GPS Device – If you’ve been shopping at all this season, you cannot miss this year’s gift de jour, a portable GPS unit. The world’s gone crazy for GPS (stands for Global Positioning System). There are many different models and manufacturers that are worthy of consideration, including the Garmin Nuvi, the TomTom One, and the Magellan RoadMate. The good news is that prices have dropped quite a bit for these devices recently, making them the perfect stocking stuffer. Features to look for are touch screen display easily viewed in sunlight, voice navigation, updatable maps, no service fees, and other add-on functions such as an MP3 player.
8. MP3 and iPod Sound Hat – Tired of wearing those pesky earbuds for your MP3 player while jogging, skiing, or some other winter outdoor activity? Get the Sound Hat for $27 on www.iwantoneofthose.com. This stylish beanie hat has built-in speakers that can attach to an MP3 player or phone. No more worrying with earbuds or headphones as you fly down the slopes to your favorite tunes.
9. Optical USB Mini Keypad Mouse – In honor of the 40th birthday of the computer mouse this year, why not celebrate by getting a little extra pizzazz on this most important and overshadowed computer accessory. The KM-1411 Tenkey Mouse ( $20 www.ezkey.com) combines the essential optical mouse functionality with a standard 10-key keypad. The unique design features a removable transparent cover over the keypad. This device is perfect for mobile laptop users who must sacrifice their 10-key keypad in exchange for a smaller laptop footprint.
10. Microsoft OneNote 2007 – This hidden jewel of the Microsoft Office applications is basically a digital notebook which allows the unorganized to become organized. There is a free 60-day trial you can download at Microsoft.com. The retail price is $99. (It is included with some flavors of the Microsoft Office 2007 suite). OneNote 2007 allows you to gather and organize text, documents, e-mail messages, photographs, audio and video files, all in one electronic notebook on your computer. You have to try it out to really appreciate how you can use it to organize your digital world.
BILL AND PHIL’S GADGET OF THE MONTH CLUB
GREEN GADGETS
As all of you know, April 22, 2008, is Earth Day. At our monthly NBA Journal Editorial Committee Meeting in March, I whined and moaned to the Committee that I did not have any “Green Gadgets” to put in this month’s column. Phillip Hampton and the NBA Journal Committee quickly proved me wrong. I was quickly flooded with emails from Stephanie Reevers, Marjorie Haines, and others, including my “techie-partner,” Phillip Hampton, with any number of websites and articles containing copious listings of green gadgets. A simple Google search for the term “Green Gadgets” will return page after page of listings of green gadgets and articles about them. For example, there is www.greatgreengadgets.com, www.coolgreengadgets.com, www.greenguide.com, and, of course, www.greengadgets.com that redirects you to www.store.greengadgets.ca. All of these sites have interesting green gadgets. Here are just a few of them:
1. There is the Fujitsu Life Book Laptop that is made from materials that are derived from corn. However, it is presently for sale only in Japan. The manufacturing process results in great energy savings, and the shell of the computer can be completely recycled. www.fujitsu.com.
2. There is the Eco Pod. The Eco Pod represents a revolutionary design in coffins that are made from naturally hardened 100% recycled paper. It is the ideal product for a non-toxic burial. You can find it at www.nigelsecostore.com.
3. There are any number of items that use solar power to recharge the batteries on cell phones or small phones or other handheld devices. For example, there is the solar cell strap from StrapYa, featuring a tiny solar cell that is about the size of a key chain. You can use it to recharge your telephone battery on your handset. This item is available at www.strapya-world.com. There is also a dock made by NRG that uses a photovoltaic panel to capture solar energy for charging personal and handheld devices at home. There are many such devices made by this company, and they can be found at www.nrgdock.com.
4. Then there is the Aion. The Aion is a multi-functional appliance which utilizes plants for their filtering and cleaning properties to provide a renewable source of cleaning water. When cooking, the plant acts as a filtering hood. When it’s time to clean up, place the dirty dishes in the sink, shut the hood and a natural cleaning cycle will begin. This gadget is not yet fully commercially available but will be available very soon. You can read more about it at www.antoinelebrun.fr. Antoine Lebrun is the designer of this futuristic Jetson-like gadget.
5. Finally, there is Sony’s new XEL-1 television which uses an organic light-omitting diode (OLED technology). It uses very little electricity and the picture on the television is incredible (much better than any HD television you have seen). The television only comes in an 11 inch model that is amazingly thin (only 3 mm.). The price is amazing as well. It costs $2,500. You can see it at www.sonystyle.com. This is the television of the future, though.
So, as usual, I was wrong (just as I was wrong when I said in last month’s issue that Ed Yarbrough is “repelling” instead of “rappelling”). There are plenty of green gadgets out there. Try some of them out. See you next month.
See you next month,
Bill, on behalf of Bill & Phil - www.thebillandphilshow.com
www.Jott.com: You Can Leave Home With It
There is a very cool and useful website/Internet service called Jott, www.Jott.com, and it is free!
Jott is a cell phone/voice recognition/reminder service that works as follows. First, you log on to www.Jott.com and set up an account. Next, set up your contacts with each contact’s email address and/or phone number. After you have completed the initial setup, call 1-866-Jott-123. A voice comes on the telephone and asks the question “Who do you want to Jott?” (Ignore the grammar error.) You then dictate the message (from your phone –cell or wired) to your contact, your calendar, to folders you have set up (to do list, etc.), to a Blog or to yourself.
For example, you will be asked as follows: “Who do you want to Jott?” You will answer “Phil.” The voice will then say “Phillip Hampton, is this correct?” You will answer “Yes.” You will then hear a prompt to start dictating. You can dictate a message up to thirty seconds. Then the cool part begins.
If you have dictated clearly enough (and this service is very forgiving), the Jott voice will say “Got it.” The service will then automatically send an email or a text message to the designated recipient. If the message is to yourself, it will send you a reminder email, or will place a reminder on a calendar, or will place the item in a “to do” list.
The service apparently uses a very sophisticated voice recognition system, because it very clearly and accurately converts your voice to text. I have had very few errors since I have been using Jott. For example, just to check out the service, I dictated an entry in the Bill Ramsey and Phillip Hampton Blog (www.theBillandPhilShow.com) using Jott. All I had to do was tell Jott that I wanted to Jott “Blog.” Jott then created an entry for our Blog and it accurately converted my voice to text as follows:
I am dictating this Blog through a new service called Jott, www.Jott.com. I am posting a Blog using my cell phone and the service Jott is posting it to the web.
When your recipient receives the Jott message, the recipient also receives a recording of your message in case there is a misunderstanding.
I enjoy the service. It works great and it is free. Give it a try.
See you next month,
Bill and Phil
Bill and Phil Gadget Article
June 2008
This month’s column features some technology gadgets that we are not necessarily endorsing, but we are seeing more and more as factors in litigation. Specifically we turn our attention to spy technology. The reason we are highlighting these eavesdropping gadgets is because whether in domestic law or in corporate investigations, increasingly computer forensic examinations are uncovering the existence of some of these technologies in homes and in the workplace. Attorneys should be aware of the existence of this technology and its potential impact upon discovery and litigation.
Spectorsoft Corporation (www.spectorsoft.com) sells several software applications that can be classified as “monitoring” tools. Spector Pro, eBlaster, Spector 360, and Spector CNE are their signature products which are all designed to capture a computer user’s keystrokes, intercept e-mail, and monitor internet usage, all without the user’s knowledge. When one’s computer has been loaded with this software, every web page visit, every internet search, every password entered, every document authored, even every e-mail received can be forwarded surreptitiously to a remote user. The existence of these programs is very difficult to detect on the victim’s computer; and often the Spectorsoft programs are only detected via a computer forensic examination on the hard drive. Imagine a wife’s surprise when an investigation on her ex-husband’s hard drive uncovers the existence of every “private” e-mail that she has sent to or received from her attorney.
Another spy software application found at www.e-stealth.com is MobileSpy, which can be used to exploit Bluetooth connectivity on mobile phones to eavesdrop. According to the product website, this software can be used to view contact lists, read text messages, view photos, and access phone call records from a remote mobile phone. The software maker further states that “nothing is logged, you leave absolutely no trace of your spying activities”. Pretty scary!
The Super TrackStick Personal GPS Tracking Device (www.spygadgets.com) is a very compact GPS unit that can be slipped into a backpack, purse, or vehicle to record movement virtually anywhere in the world. Once the trip has been recorded, one can plug the GPS device into a computer via the USB interface and download a record of the entire trip.
Keyloggers, which capture and record user keystrokes on a computer, are widely available on the internet and come both in hardware and software varieties. There is a good review of many common keyloggers at keylogger.com. Interestingly, a disclaimer on the site states, “…breaking into other people’s computer without their permission can be considered illegal by the courts of many countries.” The existence of keyloggers is a very good reason for never conducting any type of confidential business or communication on a public access computer, such as in a hotel business center or an internet kiosk at an airport.
Webcams can be a nuisance when your kids are sending silly video instant messages to their friends. Sophisticated, stealth webcams can be a dangerous spy tool used for nefarious purposes. Stealthcams come in many varieties, disguised as clocks, mirrors, common AV equipment, and even air purifiers. Many of these examples can be seen and purchased at www.theprotectionpros.com.