Ernie The Attorney

Better presentations (with 3 simple rules)

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Brain Rules for Presenters

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The new iPhone 3G|s| - Voice commands rock!

I've had my new iPhone for a few days now, and so I thought I'd share my observations.  Apple touts this phone as having several new features, but some of those are simply part of the 3.0 OS upgrade (which is available to anyone with an iPhone).  The unique features of the new iPhone are: (1) faster processor, (2) directional compass for better GPS functionality (3) video and better camera, and (4) voice commands.

Most reviewers have focused on the first three features. I agree that the obvious benefits of this new phone are faster operation, and better GPS function.  The improved camera is nice, and the addition of video is good too.  But, for me, the  best new feature is the voice command function.  Most reviewers have treated this like a 'so-so' thing.  They complain that it doesn't work very well, but for the most part they think it's nice. Not great, but okay.

Voice commands are great!

I think that the voice command feature is the killer upgrade feature.  First, I have to confess I have been using speech recognition software (MacSpeech Dictate) for the past few months.  So I'm used to the idea that you have to learn how to use speech recognition software.  Once you learn it how to use it properly then you start to notice some serious productivity improvements.  Most people aren't willing to take the time to learn this kind of thing.  If the software doesn't interpret their command properly, they blame the software.  It never occurs to them that they might need to learn how to enunciate better.  I'll bet not too many TV newscasters would have this problem.

The headset matters

So, back to the iPhone. Here's the deal: if you want to fully appreciate the power of the voice command feature get a set of headphones with a controller built in.  I have the $79 Apple headset and I can't say enough good things about them.  Obviously, they're built to work with the iPhone.  On the old iPhone the volume controls couldn't be used to change the volume; you had to physically change it on the iPhone itself.  The new iPhone allows you to control volume from the Apple headset.  Bing!

The Apple headset also allows you to initiate the voice command prompt.  Simply hold the middle button down until you are prompted.  Then speak the command that you want executed.  After you issue the command you'll get a voice readback on what the software believes you said.  If it makes a mistake immediately press the middle button again and it will cancel the mistaken command.

Mistakes are okay

At first you'll make mistakes.  But don't give up.  Keep practicing and you'll quickly learn how to use the voice commands to jump quickly to the task you want to perform.  For now, those tasks are limited to phone calling and iPhone operation.  But that's still a lot.  The original raison d'être n for this device was to combine a phone with an iPod.

So here are things you can say: 

• "Call [name of person]"
• "Dial [phone number that you say, slowly] 
• "Play music" 
• "Play songs by [name of artist, spoken clearly and carefully] 
• "What is this song?" 

If you want to know what commands are available just invoke the Voice Command and look at the words scrolling by on the screen.  These are your options.  You won't have long to look before the Voice Command disappears.  But the point is that you can learn by looking as you first begin to use it. Eventually, you will learn how to use this tool to call your frequently dialed contacts.  When that happens you'll find that you are able to operate the phone without taking it out of your pocket (or your purse).

Worth learning

I've spent time learning how to operate the voice command and learning its idiosyncrasies.  As a result I have a high accuracy rate with it.  And it makes my life a lot simpler.  Dialing people while I'm driving used to be a pain in the ass (and dangerous).  Now it's dead simple.  And if I want to hear a song or activate my iPod I can do that quickly too.  You can do this too.  All you need to do is: (1) get the $79 Apple headset, and (2) be patient and learn to use the command function effectively.

If you aren't interested I understand.  But if you are tempted to take advantage of this new feature then I encourage you to make a bit of an effort. I predict that Apple will add more functionality to the voice command in the future.  I certainly hope so!

Update: 

I should have made it clear that you don't need to have the Apple headset, or any headset, to use the Voice Command function.  Just hold down the home button until the Voice Command prompt appears.  That's it!  

The advantage of the headset becomes obvious once you've used it a few times.  Before I got the new phone here's what would happen if wanted to make a call.  

1. Take phone out of pocket
2. Swipe to turn on 
3. Navigate to phone, and then to contacts within phone 
4. Slide finger carefully along right side to zero in on the contact I want to call 
5. Tap the contact's name 
6. Locate the best phone # to call for that contact 
7. Tap the desired phone # 

  Now, I do this if the phone is in my pocket and I have the headset in my ear

1. Hold down the middle button (equivalent to the 'Home button') until Voice Command announces 
2. Say "call John Appleseed [short pause] mobile'
3. Wait for confirming announcement, which if correct means I just wait for the phone to start ringing. 

If you don't a headset you still have to perform the first two actions of the old sequence.  That takes a bit of time, but it's not too bad.  But, trust me, once you get used to being able to use the Apple headphones you'll find life suddenly becoming A LOT easier. 

Update #2:

Here's a good article about using Voice Commands that lists most of the available commands and how to use them.

Update #3:

My friend Rick Klau left a comment to this post pointing out that the new iPhone comes with headphones that have a remote control that allows the voice command to work as I described with the $79 headsets. I didn't even check the headset that came with my iPhone because I had the better ones.  I still recommend those, but obviously you can use the voice command function without having to buy those separately.  Good job Apple!

Theresa Anderson rocks out on Craig Ferguson

If you live in New Orleans you've probably seen Theresa Anderson and you know what a great musician she is.  But it's nice to see other folks getting exposed to her great spirit and wonderful talent.

A funny sign of open-mindedness...

Think That You Might Be Wrong: New Orleans Mystery Art

Judge calls paper trials 'the old fashioned way.'

When courts spend money to allow evidence to be introduced electronically you can assume that they'll expect lawyers to use the new system. What new system?  Oh, well the one that New Orleans courts are adopting. The new system will end the practice of attorneys handing copies of evidence to each juror, "a method that U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan described to a jury in her court last week as 'the old-fashioned way.'" 

So doesn't it seem that the lawyers who are most familiar with digital information will be the ones most comfortable in the new setting?  I wonder what the trial lawyers who eschew technology will do now?

How I learn (quickly & easily) about technology

Yesterday I spoke at a group of legal administrators who are in town for their annual convention. The "talk" was really a small group brainstorming session about legal technology in general. One of the questions that kept coming up was a variant of something like this: how can I keep up with the latest technology trends?

Actually, the question was: what are the latest technology trends? But whenever I was asked that question I framed it without focusing on me. It's kind of pointless for me to say with the latest technology trends are. First, I'm not the best person to make technology forecasts. Second, whatever the forecast is today it will probably be radically different in a very short period of time.

The way I figure out what's going on is this: I listen regularly to the podcasts put out by Leo Laporte. I asked the group yesterday if any of them had heard of Leo Laporte and no one had. Interestingly, many people whom I considered to be fairly knowledgeable about technology have also not heard of him. 

I find this rather strange.

Almost everything I've learned about technology has come from listening to Leo Laporte (or, previously, watching him on TechTV -- which unfortunately was canceled a few years ago). Most of the important decisions I have made about technology have also been based on observations made by Leo Laporte or the panelists on his podcasts. For example, my decision to switch to a Mac computer several years ago was largely shaped by information I gathered from Laporte.

What I like most about Laporte is that he's not partisan to one operating system or another. He uses Windows computers, Macs, and Linux machines. He has extensive knowledge of both hardware and software in all these operating systems. More importantly, for the average user, he's easy to understand.

The reason is that he's been a radio DJ for over 20 years (strictly covering technology).  He has worked in television briefly (when he worked for Tech TV). Bottom line: he knows how to explain things that are complicated, and he makes it easy to understand—even if you don't know much about technology.

If you're a Mac user you should listen to a couple of these podcasts, and subscribe to them so that you receive them every week. If you're a Mac or PC user you should subscribe to The Tech Guy podcast, which is based on a radio call-in show that he does once a week in San Francisco (actually he lives near SF, but you get the point: it originates from the tech-capital of the U.S.)

I can't emphasize enough how useful these podcasts are. If you are a legal administrator for a law firm then, by definition, you have to understand the fundamental aspects of technology. But, really, everyone needs to keep up with technology these days. The most useful way of keeping up is Leo Laporte.

Laporte doesn't always know the answers, and when he doesn't he says so (and avoids useless speculation).  However, when he and his panelists agree that something is important or inevitable then you can pretty much bank on it.  Finding consensus (i.e. unbiased and informed assessments) about important technology trends is hard.  

But not if you regularly listen to Leo Laporte. 

Public Service Announcement for laid off lawyers

In response to news of continued layoffs at medium- and large-sized law firms, the Total Practice Management Association (Total PMA) is announcing a scholarship program for unemployed attorneys to attend the Get a Life.™ Conference on May 27-28 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. The Get a Life Conference is a two-day, hands-on workshop being led by experts on marketing and practice management, social networking and law firm strategy in a highly interactive format. Topics include client relations; legal marketing & ethics; staff support & outsourcing; technology enabled services; and office infrastructure and expansion. The scholarship program provides full tuition to 10 unemployed but actively job seeking law firm associates looking to gain insight and advice on running their own firm.  Candidates can read the eligibility requirements and download the application at http://www.totalpma.org/events/get-a-life-2009/scholarship-application.pdf. Total PMA will accept applications now through May 22^nd at 5:00pm CST and announce the recipients via email and on its Get a Life Conference site by May 26th, 2009 at 5:00pm CST.

To further support the legal community and specifically help law students struggling to find summer internships and employment, Total PMA is also offering 2^nd and 3^rd year law students a “Get a Life Student Discount package” for $400, a deep discount off the standard cost of tuition. This special offer is being made available to 30 students on a first come, first serve basis and is being actively promoted by Chicago area law schools, related legal news groups, and list serves.  For more information, email info@totalpma.org.

Great book about technology and law

I just finished reading Free the Market, a fascinating book by Gary Reback, the lawyer who was probably most instrumental in the government's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.  Turns out he's had a ring-side seat for most of the important antitrust litigation involving technology companies for the past 20+ years.  If you are a lawyer you'll really enjoy this book because he provides wonderful behind the scenes explanations of the formulation of strategy in the cases he was involved with.  Case such as the Oracle lawsuit involving the acquisition of Peoplesoft, and of course the Microsoft case.  

But, even if you're not a lawyer, you should read this book.  At least if you care about technology issues.  The legal system has a profound effect on emerging technology, especially in the area of antitrust law.  Okay, I know.  Many of you are rolling your eyes and saying "antitrust law is too complicated  and boring."  Well, you're wrong about that.  Antitrust law is about preserving competition, which means it's about economics more than anything.  (Don't roll your eyes again -- it's about practical economics). 

The key question posed by the book is this: do we need better government regulation of the tech sector?  Also: is the current state of technology development such that we need to re-examine how we use antitrust law to regulate it?  These are important questions, and Reback does a great job of laying the groundwork for understanding these questions.  Theory is great, but eventually it has to be put to test in the real world.  The lawsuits that Reback was involved in were acid tests of our antitrust policy. And --just as our financial regulation turned out to be deficient-- it appears that our policy needs to be re-examined.  But that won't happen if people don't take note.

If you have even a passing interest in current affairs you should read this book.  It's engaging and lively, and most of all: important.  I picked it up thinking I'd just read a few chapters, and found that I literally could not put it down. I'm glad I didn't because I now finally understand how antitrust law has shaped the development of technology in the past 20 years.  I hope that we do a better job going forward.

Here is the link to Amazon if you want to order a copy of the book (click here for the Kindle version).

Book recommendation: The Gamble

I recently enjoyed The Gamble (author: Thomas Ricks), a fascinating book about why 'the surge' campaign in Iraq was successful. (hint: it completely shifted the focus of military operations to helping civilians, rather than attempting to hold ground).  The most amazing thing, however, was how David Patraeus managed to convince top decision-makers to adopt the strategy.  I wasn't a fan of 'The Surge' when it was first proposed (or even after it became successful), but I'm glad I read this book because I know understand a lot more about why it's so easy to make poor military strategy decisions.  

The Iraq War wasn't well thought out to being with, and the political winds did not favor the surge strategy.  So how did it succeed? Read Ricks' book and you'll find out.  It's a well written book, and you won't want to put it down. After you read the book, check out this innovative presentation that summarizes the key points (and provides additional illumination into how Patraeus succeeded).

I know that there are some people who think that David Patraeus is some kind of awful person, but a few of those people might change their minds if they read this book.  Anyone with an open mind and a healthy curiosity about how social groups work (or don't work) will thoroughly enjoy The Gamble.

iPhone security tip (for people who don't like to enable security)

If you have an iPhone you probably have sensitive information on it.  If you're a lawyer or businessman, and you use your phone for business, then you almost certainly do.  You should enable the Passcode Lock on your phone that requires a 4 digit PIN to access the phone's data.  Of course, if you work in a large firm your IT person will no doubt have the ability to do a remote wipe if you lose your phone.  

But what do you do if you aren't in a large firm?  Or what if you don't like having to enter the passcode every time you fire up your phone?  Here is my tip for people in this category.  Set the passcode lock to trigger only if the phone hasn't been used for 1 hour (or, if you're really annoyed by the passcode lock, then choose the 4 hour option).  True, if the phone is stolen the thief (or finder) will have immediate access to your data.  But if the thief or finder assumes that you've not enabled the passcode lock they'll be surprised when it kicks in after a period of non-use.

In other words, if the passcode lock annoys you then at least choose one of the minimal options.  It won't annoy you and at least you'll have enabled some security.  To set the code go to SETTTINGS > GENERAL > PASSCODE LOCK > REQUIRE PASSCODE.

If you want to learn more about using iPhones in the practice of law visit this site.