The Connected Lawyer

Leveraging Technology to Practice Law More Effectively

Category Archives: Hardware

Comcast Continues to Confuse Me

I recently wrote about how we had switched our home phone to Comcast Digital Voice, we didn’t like the service and we were switching back to Vonage. Switching back is a fairly simple process, we simply contact Vonage and have them start the process to port the number back to Vonage.

While this is going on, we are getting inundated with communications from Comcast telling us that we have to have a digital converter box for every television in our house or we will be unable to watch certain channels. Despite the number of communications, I have yet to find anything that actually explains what change Comcast is making and why it requires me to have digital converter boxes. It’s not a huge deal because they will provide them to me at no additional charge. (I will note that, once I hook up the converter box, my HD TV will no longer be able to pull the HD feeds from the local stations that it currently pulls off the cable connection. Make of that what you will).

Anyway, I call Comcast and order the additional converter boxes that I need. A few days later I receive a call from Comcast. The caller tells me that because I have placed an order to port my telephone number to a different service, they cannot place an order on my account to deliver the additional cable equipment to me. Instead, once my number is ported, I should call back and order the equipment again. WTF?

Unfortunately, I missed the call, so all I have is a message. Thus, I could not ask the person to explain this. Does anyone have any conceivable explanation for how this can be? It makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

My number was ported on Monday. I called that afternoon and ordered the equipment again. However, I am still confused.

First Thing: Reboot

I was going to go into a long involved story about what happened to me this morning. However, I decided that this is much more simple. If you are having a problem with your computer. Do not contact your IT person about the problem until you have at least rebooted the computer once. Why? Because that is the first thing I (and everyone else I know) is going to have you do.

Reboot. If you still have the problem after rebooting, then contact someone.

Ted Kennedy & FedEx

I noticed that yesterday, while I was complaining about the Comcast installer stealing my cable modem, Adrian at The Nutmeg Lawyer was fondly remembering his encounters with Ted Kennedy. I laughed out loud when I read about Adrian calling Ted Kennedy “Baby.” If you have not read his post, you have to go here and read it.

On a completely unrelated note, I also enjoyed Ken Adams’ post in which he has decided to refer to companies such as FedEx as “nationally recognized express transportation compan[ies]” in future contracts.

Vonage v. Comcast Voice: There is No Contest

We have had Vonage for our home telephone service since November 29, 2003. From then until now, I have loved it.The service has been consistently good, I have never had any problems, and the features are great. Our two favorite features were the silmuring feature, which allows any call to the house to also ring my wife’s cell phone, and the voicemail feature, which automatically emails a wav file of any received voicemail to us.

Recently, in an effort to reduce costs, we opted to switch our phone service to Comcast Digital Voice, as part of their Triple Play bundle. For some reason, I was expecting similar service. I was wrong.

First, although Comcast offers call forwarding, it does not offer simulring. Inquiries with Comcast have revealed that they have no intention of offering simulring in the foreseeable future. Fine, I knew this going in, I just didn’t expect the call forwarding to be as difficult to remember to do as it has become. This has made us realize how simple and easy to use simulring has been. If this were the only problem, however, we would probably stick it out with Comcast.

However, the voicemail system is awful. First, when we receive a voicemail,  we  get a voicemail from Comcast telling us that we have received a voicemail. Unlike with Vonage, we do not get an audio copy of the voicemail. We just get a notification that we have a voicemail. We actually have to go to Comcast’s website to listen to the voicemail. This is a problem for two reasons.

First, getting an email with the voicemail attachment is quite convenient when we are away from the house. We can retrieve the voicemail in our email and listen to it with our smartphone, all with just a couple of clicks. With Comcast, however, we have to go from the email, to Comcast’s website to access the voicemail. This is a convoluted process and there is no reason for it. Second, the link in the Comcast email that is supposed to take us to the voicemail, never does. After we click on the link, we always have to end up manually signing into Comcast’s webpage to find and access the voicemail.

That brings me to the next complaint that I have. The webpage is terrible to try to navigate. When I first set up the service I had to go to multiple pages to set my preferences for my account. There is no easy way to get around and the titles for the various sections don’t really relate to what is going on in that section of the webpage. The one thing Comcast has done with their webpage is ensure that I truly appreciate the simplicity and easy navigation offered by Vonage’s webpage.

If all of this were not bad enough, I suffered a final indignity at the hands of Comcast. When Comcast came and installed our service and one of their cable modems (we have to use a Comcast modem because it also has the telephone ports on it), the installer stole my cable modem. He didn’t even ask if the modem was mine or if I was renting one from Comcast. He just walked off with my cable modem. I am still flabbergasted by this.

In sum, we switched our home phone service to Comcast for less than a month. Despite the savings, we are in the process of switching that service back to Vonage. I know that not everyone is thrilled with Vonage, so your mileage may vary. For me and my house, however, there is no contest.

Yes! A New Convert

When I find someone else who has converted to a multiple monitor set up, I feel a completely irrational rush of happiness. No, there is no rational explanation for this. However, multiple monitors provide such an efficiency boost that I think everyone should use them.

Recently, The Greatest American Lawyer has started drinking the Kool Aid. As Enrico explains:

I’m quite ashamed to say that, for all of my talk about being a high-tech law firm, I am only now setting up two monitors for my laptop computer at work.  There is no doubt, no controversy and no contrary argument to the simple fact that two monitors are better than one.Two monitors all you to eliminate the amount of scrolling and window switching and allows you to mix and match your browsers as well as help organize your desktop and increase productivity.

He even provides some links to articles from PC World, CNN Money and others that extol the virtues of using multiple monitors.

Isn’t it time for you to upgrade to multiple monitors? Come on, all of the cool kids are doing it.

Just because I happened to have my camera with me, below is a picture of my multiple monitor set up.

multimonitors

A Primer on Netbooks

One piece of computer equipment that people have been talking about a lot lately are netbooks. These are ultra-portable laptop computers that combine the power of a laptop with ultra convenient portability. Many people have questions regarding what netbooks are and how they differ from laptops. Ross Kodner has posted an overview of netbooks that provides a short primer on what they are and what the differing options are. For example, Ross explains:

  • Netbooks ARE laptops! They can do everything any laptop can do BECAUSE THEY ARE LAPTOPS!
  • Netbooks are just a category, like ultralights, powerlights, gaming laptops, business laptops, desktop replacements, etc. etc.
  • Netbooks have to be viewed individually to look at the specs involved, just as with any new system being considered – while there are certain very common specs, others can vary such as storage situation, operating system, and screen size
  • A very common “standard” specification for many currently available netbooks, regardless of vendor is 10″ diagonal (actually either 10.1″ or 10.2″ if you want to be precise) display, 1 Gb RAM standard (usually upgrade to 2 Gb by replacing the single standard DIMM – often for around $25 from suppliers like crucial.com), Windows XP Home, 160 Gb drive (although 250 Gb drives are just starting to appear), Intel Atom N270 single-core processor, Intel graphics chipset, 6 cell battery good for anywhere from 3-10 hours depending on model/vendor, and about 2.5 to 3.5 lbs. Also no optical drives included (CD/DVD) so plan on $35-$85 for an external slimline USB CD or DVD burner (mine is a DVD burner I bought new on eBay last Fall for $55 shipped) so you can load disc-based software.

Check out Ross’s post for all of the details that he provides. If you are considering buying a netbook, Ross’s post is a great place to start your research.

Using a ScanSnap to Go Paperless

Anyone familiar with my blog knows that I am a big proponent of storing every document in every file electronically. When I talk about this, one question that many people ask is what kind of scanner to get. One of the most popular scanners is the Fujitsu ScanSnap. This scanner is reasonably priced, works well, and is easy to operate. Three qualities that I am sure have helped its popularity.

Knowing the right hardware to use, however, is only part of the battle. You also have to know how to integrate that hardware into your workflow. Recently Rick Borstein posted a tutotial on how to best integrate a ScanSnap with Adobe Acrobat.

As with many of Rick’s posts, he takes you step-by-step (including handy pictures) through how to best set the scanner up to use it with Adobe Acrobat. If you are considering adding a ScanSnap to your desktop, you definately want to check out Rick’s post.

Another Convert to Multiple Monitors

I think that the single best thing you can do to improve your productivity is to add a second monitor to your desk. I was happy to see that someone else has jumped on this bandwagon. Michael Morse recently explained:

I can tell you that out of all the new technology that I have introduced in my office in the past few years, the second monitor has made the biggest splash.  I tried it first, and then I got 2 more for a couple of my secretaries.   After a few days I pretended that I was going to take it away from them and they freaked out!

I could not agree with Michael more. If you have never tried dual monitors, check them out immediately. You will be amazed at the improvement in your efficiency.

ScanSnap Tips & Tricks

For many years, most people I know in the legal technology field have been suggesting the Fujitsu ScanSnap as a great scanner at a reasonable price. I too do not hesitate to recommend the ScanSnap to anyone who is looking for a scanner.

If you are someone who uses a ScanSnap, you should check out the ScanSnap Tips & Tricks forum. The site has several tips to help you use your ScanSnap more efficiently.

Hat tip to Ernie at PDF for Lawyers for pointing this site out.