Author Archives

    Bryan Sims

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    Efiling and Cook County

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    Yesterday i attended a presentation by the Cook County Circuit Clerk about the efiling system they are planning to roll out in March 2009. The vendor Cook County selected is USCourts.com, which is also the vendor for the statewide efiling project in Alabama. The fact that this vendor has a track record doing this is encouraging. On the other hand, Cook County has a few more filings than they have in Alabama. According to the 2007 Annual Report on Illinois Courts, in 2007, ther were a total of 1,955,480 cases filed. According to the USCourts.com representative yesterday, last year there were approximately 250,000 cases filed in Alabama. This number seems low to me for Alabama. I would note that the 2007 Annual Report on Illinois Courts shows that in 2007 there were 318.126 cases filed in DuPage County. Nevertheless there is no question but that they were dealing with fewer cases in Alabama than they will be in Cook County.

    Based on the demo presented yesterday, it appears that attorneys will be able to file cases, have summons issued, and review all electronic documents on their case from within the system. I am interested to see what further information is released as this project is rolled out over the next couple of months.

    One thing I found interesting at the presentation was that there were several questions that were directly related to AOIC rules, including questions about public access to court documents over the internet as well as questions about why the clerk had to print copies of electronically filed documents. I thought it was clear from several people in the room that there is a huge desire for the ability to access court documents remotely. I am glad I am not the only one who wants this.

    Update: I forgot to mention that the efiling project is being rolled out first only to Law Division cases on the Commercial Calendar. Clerk Brown said yesterday that she plan to roll it out to other divisions once the project starts and she gets permission from the AOIC.

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    PDF Tips and Tricks

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    Recently PDF for Lawyers pointed to a great article on How to Do Everything with PDF Files. I don’t know that the list actually covers how to do everything. However, it is a pretty comprehensive list with several different tips, including several for creating PDFs without using Adobe Acrobat. The first few tips include:

    Q: First things first – How do I create PDF documents on my computer without Adobe Acrobat?

    A: Get a copy of DoPDF – it installs as a virtual printer driver on your desktop just like Acrobat and lets you print PDF files from any Windows application including images, documents, emails, websites, etc.

    Q: I don’t want to install software just for converting a bunch of documents to PDF. Do you know of any alternative?

    A: Upload your documents to Google Docs via the browser and then export them as PDF files. Simple.

    Q: A client just sent me a PowerPoint presentation by email. Since I am travelling without the laptop and my mobile phone cannot read PPT files, what should I do?

    A: Forward that email message (with the PPT attachment) to pdf@koolwire.com – they’ll convert the presentation to PDF and email it back to you immediately. Most mobile phones can read PDF files.

    Check out the article for the entire list. The list contains some excellent tips for manipulating PDF files if you do not have Adobe Acrobat.

    Now I, like Ross Kodner, believe that the best PDF solution available is Adobe Acrobat. Further, as Ross explains, multiple ways exist to get a full version without paying list price. Additionally, when compared to other similarly powered software solutions, the street price of Acrobat is not out of line.

    Despite my believe that everyone should have a full version of Acrobat. I recognize that the solutions in this list are useful for two groups of people. First, there is the large number of people who can’t or won’t purchase a full version of Acrobat. Second, are those who have a full version of Actobat but who are stuck working on a different computer because of travel, etc. In either situation, the tips here give you a great option to create or manipulate PDF files.

    Note: I recently installed and begin using Nitro PDF and am in the process of evaluating it. I will be providing a full review on it in the near future. In the meantime, I would note that it has many features not found in other PDF programs and I am enjoying trying it out.

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    A Great CLE Idea

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    I love what the people at Mentor CLE are doing. They make their presentations available for free on the Internet. If you want credit for them you simply pay $19.95 per hour.

    Recently they added their newest product, a daily three minute audio report on recent developments in the law. You can choose to receive the daily reports via email or cell phone. Alternatively, you can simply listen to them on your computer.

    The email I received announcing this service stated:

    A convenient new type of MCLE course is now available for Illinois lawyers.

    The MentorCLE Daily Briefing is a three-minute audio report on recent developments in the law – delivered to your computer or cell phone each day.

    By listening to the reports, you earn one hour of Illinois approved MCLE credit each month, which adds up to 24 hours each two-year reporting period. If you can’t listen some days, you can always go back and listen later. We even offer a weekend wrap-up of all of the week’s reports, for those attorneys who would prefer to listen once a week rather than daily.

    I think the model that Mentor CLE has adopted is great. It allows you to listen to presentations for educational purposes and/or credit purposes. The new feature with the daily briefing is simply an additional benefit that will allow you to fulfill much of your CLE requirements both easily and inexpensively.
    I would like to see the service offer the both the daily updates and the video presentations as downloads to be viewed or listened to on a portable device. Additionally, the daily updates would be perfect for delivery as a podcast via RSS.

    Regardless, if you are an Illinois attorney, I urge you to check out the offerings from Mentor CLE.

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    Cool Web Applications Usable by Anyone

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    Recently, Dumb Little Man posted 21 Excellent Web Apps for College Students. The list included some obvious choices such as Wikipedia, Gmail, Zoho, Google Docs, and Google Calendar. It also included other suggestions such as Remember the Milk, Bookfinder, Drop.io, and Flowchart.com.

    You should review the entire list. Although written for college students, there is almost certainly something on the list the you can find useful. For example, although I have no need to Rate My Professor, I was able to use the website to track down a college professor that I had lost track of and, over the last several years, had been casually searching for. The instacalc is also quite useful, especially for the math challenged attorneys that I often run into.

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    More Thoughts on Digital Signatures

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    I have written multiple times about using digital signatures. As I have pointed out before, however, what I am referring to in my posts is actually just a picture of my signature added to a PDF file. A true digital signature is different and includes security and verification protocols. Recently Adobe Acrobat hosted a webinar on using and deploying digital signatures.

    Unfortunately, most of the conversation was over my head. It looks like I was not the only one. Ernie the Attorney reports at PDF for Lawyers:

    The other day I attended a free online webinar by some Adobe gurus who dove deep into the arcana of digital signatures.  After the dive I realized that I had a mild case of the bends.

    Here’s the problem.  Like most people who don’t live in an ‘enterprise world,’ where there’s a rigorous document review cycle, I just want to sometimes slap a ‘digital signature’ on a document and not have the recipient feel like I’ve sent them some bizarre totemic glyph.
    My needs are simple.  Apparently, true digital signatures are not.
    Ernie correctly notes that people are not familiar with digital signatures and most do not know what to do when they see one. As Ernie explains:
    A signature, digital or not, has to satisfy two elements: (1) non-repudiability, and (2) acceptance by the receiving party.  In other words, the point of signing a document is so the recipient knows it’s from you, and that you can’t deny it’s from you (i.e. you can’t repudiate authorship of the document).  Digital signatures are far superior to regular signatures in this arena.  Where they fail miserably is in the ‘acceptance’ part.
    Because digital signatures are not familiar to most people they freak out if they see a bunch of numbers where they’re used to seeing indecipherable human scrawl.  So, how to remedy this problem?
    The quick and dirty fix is to do what I outline in that blurb I mentioned a few sentences ago. Just create a stamp and slap that on the document you want to ‘sign.’  It won’t be secure like a real digital signature (and if you want to repudiate it you can say your secretary exceeded her authority and stamped it without your knowledge).  But, let’s say you’re a fair-minded, by-the-rules kind of guy (or gal).  Is there another option?
    Turns out there is (although this wasn’t covered in the Adobe webinar; I had to find it myself using a snorkle).

    Check out Ernie’s entire post to see a simple way of incorporating both a normal looking signature and a digital signature in your electronic documents.

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    Scientists Using Google Earth

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    This is one of the coolest stories I have seen.

    However, while scrolling around on Google Earth, an internet map that allows the viewer to look at satellite images of anywhere on the globe, scientists discovered an unexpected patch of green.

    A British-led expedition was sent to see what was on the ground and found 7,000 hectares of forest, rich in biodiversity, known as Mount Mabu.

    In just three weeks, scientists led by a team from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew found hundreds of different plant species, birds, butterflies, monkeys and a new species of giant snake.

    The samples which the team took are now back in Britain for analysis.

    So far three new butterflies and one new species of snake have been discovered but it is believed there are at least two more new species of plants and perhaps more new insects to discover.

    Julian Bayliss, a scientist for Kew based in the region, discovered Mount Mabu while searching on Google Earth for a possible conservation project. He was looking at areas of land 5,400ft (1,600m) above sea level where more rainfall means there is likely to be forest.

    To his surprise he found the patches of green that denote wooded areas, in places that had not previously been explored. After taking a closer look on more detailed satellite maps, he went to have a look.

    I just love the fact that scientists can sit in the labs and search the globe for unexplored areas using Google Earth. The really cool thing about this is that, given that the scientist is using Google Earth, that means that anyone else can do the same thing. This exploration is not limited to the few people who can afford expensive equipment. Instead, it is available to everyone with access to the Internet.

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    Book Review: Chronological Study Bible

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    This is another book I received through Thomas Nelson’s Blogger Book Review Program. I was very excited to see it on the list when I signed in. I have long wanted a Chronological Study Bible and this seemed like the perfect fit.

    When I was in college, my Con Law professor told us to always remember historical context when reading supreme court decisions. Since then, I have never failed to take that advice. Since then, I have come to believe that placing events in historical context is quite valuable for understanding them and the point that is being made.

    The Chronological Study Bible helps put those historical contexts in perspective by arranging the Bible (to the extent possible) in chronological order. This means that books are not necessarily kept together, but instead that portions are arranged with portions from other books. Similarly, a book such as Jeremiah has been reordered to be chronological rather than its current arrangement.

    This book comes with some excellent explanatory notes that explain the choices made by the arrangers. I am sure that Biblical scholars can endlessly debate how to chronologically arrange certain elements of the Bible. However, the notes explain the different options available for placement and why one option was chose over the others.

    In addition, the Bible also contains large numbers of sidebars that detail information about topics such as agriculture, architecture, culture, society, daily life & customs, family, and politics. Also included are some great photographs of relevant locations, timelines that help put historical events in context, and a variety of maps to place things in a geographical context.

    The book is beautiful, with full color pictures and illustrations throughout. Additionally, color is used to make the pages attractive and easy to read. Most importantly, however, the tops corners of the pages are color coded to allow easy access to each of the nine epochs into which the book is divided.

    This book is well put together and would be an invaluable aid to anyone in their Biblical studies. I found the information included in the various sidebars to be quite informative and believe that they do an excellent job of providing additional information to help place the various passages in a greater context of the time period involved.

    The only quibble that I have with the book is that the scripture index is found only in the back of the book. Every Bible I have ever seen includes a table of contents at the front that tells you where to find the various books of the Bible. I understand that this Bible is quite different in that it is chronological. However, I think it would be nice to have the index that was at the back, also included at the front.

    If it matters to you, the translation used is the New King James.

    On the whole, however, if have any interest in Biblical studies at all, I would highly recommend this book to you.

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    Virtual Fax Services

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    Recently someone asked me about virtual fax services. I have written before about virtual faxes and why I would not go back to a regular fax machine. However, I have not talked about the different options available. In spending just a little time poking around the Internet today, I found several different services that are available. Below, I discuss the ones that I discovered. If anyone else has experience with any other services, I would be interested in hearing about them. As a point of reference, I think that it is essential that you can receive your faxes as PDFs rather than some proprietary fax format. All of the services listed below allow you to receive your faxes as PDFs.

    • Venali. This is the service I use. Overall I have been pleased with the service. Although I would like to see better integration with MS Office 2007. Also, I have found that their tech support people often do not understand or cannot answer my questions on the first try. It looks like for $9.95 a month you can get 100 inbound pages and 100 outbound pages. For $19.95, you can get 300 inbound pages and 200 outbound pages. Additional pages are $0.05 per page inbound and $0.08 per page outbound (the per page rate is one cent lower on the $19.95 a month plan).
    • MaxEmail. I have not used MaxEmail, but I have heard good things about it from others. The cheapest plan that allows you to have a local number is $9.95 a month (discounts are available for quarterly or yearly payments). This plan includes 250 inbound pages and 100 outbound pages. Additional inbound pages are $0.05 a page. Additional outbound pages are $0.05 per 30 seconds of transmission time.
    • MyFax. I don’t know anyone who has used MyFax. However, looking at the list of available features, this is a service I might be tempted to check out if I were signing up for a new service. With the $10 a month plan, you recieve 200 pages and send 100. For $20 a month, you can receive 200 pages and send 200 pages. Additional pages are $0.10 a page.
    • GreenFax. I had never heard of this service before today. However, it seems like a reasonable service. For $12.95 per month, you get 250 inbound pages and 100 outbound pages. Additional inbound pages are $0.03 per page. Additional outbound pages are $0.07 for the first page of a fax and $0.05 for each additional page. GreenFax also has a send-only pay-as-you-go plan that has no monthly service fee and charges $0.07 for the first page of a fax and $0.05 for each additional page of any fax you send.
    • Packetel. Packetel has a great deal, especially if you will be receiving a large number of faxes. For $3.95 per month, you can recieve an unlimited number of faxes. Local numbers are available for many, but not all areas.
    • Faxaway. This is another economical solution. You can set up an account to receive faxes for $1 per month. Sending faxes is $0.10 per minute of transmission. The thing I don’t like about this service is that you are limited to a Seattle area code.
    • eFax. eFax has been around for a long time and claims to be the world’s #1 internet fax service. I have never liked eFax because their faxes are sent in a propriety format rather than as a PDF. The service now allows you to convert them to PDF, however I don’t think you should have to go through an additional step to do this. Additionally, their pricing seems less competitive than the other services. For $16.95 a month you get 130 inbound pages and 30 outbound pages. Additional pages are $0.15 per page inbound and $0.10 per page outbound. For $19.95 a month, you get 200 inbound pages and no outbound pages. Additional inbound pages and all outbound pages are $0.10 per page. Update: As indicated in the comment below, eFax does allow you to receive your faxes in PDF format.

    If you are looking for a full-featured single fax solution, I think any of the solutions offered by Venali, MaxEmail, MyFax, or GreenFax would be just fine. If cost is a big concern, or if you receive a lot of faxes and don’t send many, you might consider a mixed solution in which you receive your faxes through Packetel and then send your faxes through GreenFax’s pay-as-you-go plan.

    Given the low cost of Packetel’s plan, and the limitations of Faxaway’s, I would likely avoid Faxaway. Simiarly, I would be inclined to avoid eFax because of their reliance on their proprietary software as well as the fact that the other services are more attractively priced.

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    A Great Offer from Log Me In

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    I am a big fan of Log Me In. I use it to access my home computer remotely. In fact, my ancient monitor on my home desktop (which I use mostly as a server type machine) recently died and I have just been using Log Me In to control it rather than replacing the monitor right now. Because I use Log Me In, I receive emails from them periodically, The last one I received, I thought it was great marketing.

    The email started by emphasizing that you can use Log Me In to access your computer while you are traveling, it then went right for those of use who serve as tech support for our friends and family:

    If you’re spending time with your parents during the holidays, be sure to install LogMeIn Pro on their PCs so you can help them out remotely next time they call with a computer problem.

    I thought that this was a great point. In fact, I have recently installed Log Me In on a couple of computers that I support and it works great to to fix simple problems from my home or office.

    If you have never tried Log Me In, give it a whirl. Also, during the holidays, they are selling Log Me In Pro at a 50% discount ($34.95 per year).

    I know that GoToMyPC is the popular remote access solution. I have heard many stories about how much people like GoToMyPC. I prefer LogMeIn because it works well for me and it is less expensive than GoToMyPC. Additonally, Log Me In offers a free solution that allows you to remotely control your computer. Log Me In Pro includes more features and I use it for my main computer. However, it is great to be able to install the free version and gain remote access to a computer that you need to work on.

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    Laptop Bags

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    According to statistics released earlier this year, travelers lose more than 600,000 laptops a year at the largest and medium sized airports in the country. At the 36 largest airports, more than 10,000 laptops are last a per week.

    This means that you need to pay close attention to your laptop when traveling through the airport and especially when going through security. One of the (many) things I hate about going through airport security is the fact that they make you take your laptop out of its case. I think that this just makes it easier for someone else to snatach your laptop.

    A solution to this problem is to fly with with a checkpoint friendly laptop bag. If you travel a lot, you might want to look at this list of checkpoint friendly laptop bags. Anything you can do to make your trip through the airport faster and more secure is something you might want to consider.