Just Out of Beta

By Tom McNichol

The recession has made law firms and solo attorneys understandably gun-shy about buying new hardware and software to replace their aging systems. Computer makers are adjusting their new product lines accordingly, offering more inexpensive upgrades to existing products. Evolution, not revolution, is the current watchword in computing; we get enough revolution from reading the business pages these days. Here's a roundup of recently released, or soon-to-be-released, hardware and software of interest to lawyers.

Palm Pre
Way back in the olden days of computing?OK, it was only 1996?the first commercially successful personal digital assistant (PDA) hit the market, the Palm Pilot. The first Palms were clunky and underpowered by today's standards, with no infrared port, backlight, or flash memory, and just 512KB of memory. Jeff Hawkins, one of the inventors of the Palm Pilot, was said to have carried a block of wood the size of the rudimentary device in his pocket just to see how it felt. Most of the early PDAs, not surprisingly, had that block-of-wood-in-the-pocket feel to them.

In computing, being first to market is rarely a lasting advantage. Just as Palm benefited from the failed attempts of Apple and Go Corporation to create a handheld computing platform, Palm itself was overtaken by the Black-Berry, introduced in 1999. The BlackBerry has enjoyed a remarkably long run. There are more than 21 million BlackBerry subscribers, and the device has such an addictive quality that many affectionately refer to it as the "CrackBerry." Along with the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry dominates the market for what are now more commonly called smart phones.

Like an old soldier, the Palm hasn't disappeared so much as faded away. But Palm is hoping to turn its fortunes around with the newly released Palm Pre, which aims to beat the BlackBerry and iPhone at their own game. In fact, the Pre looks like a combination of its two major rivals. The $200 Pre features a large touchscreen like the iPhone, along with a full QWERTY keyboard like the BlackBerry. It weighs 4.7 ounces, which is almost the same as the iPhone, and includes an onboard camera, GPS, and application store, just like Apple's device.

But Palm isn't going to attract many users with a device that's just as good as the iPhone; most Apple users would rather stick with the real thing. Where Palm hopes to distinguish itself is with the Pre's new WebOS operating system, which has been several years in the making. The early reviews of WebOS have been quite favorable. It is specifically designed with multitaskers in mind, allowing users to more easily integrate information from disparate sources such as the Web, email, calendars, and text messages. The Pre's operating system is clearly aimed more at the frantic, on-the-go power user who organizes his or her life through the smart phone, rather than someone who just wants a simple-to-use device.

No doubt there's a market for the Pre, but it's hard to see many loyal BlackBerry or iPhone users defecting to a new platform and relatively untested operating system. And the fact that Palm is?for six months?selling the Pre exclusively with Sprint, the third-place phone carrier, doesn't help. At this point in the smart-phone game, being just as good as the BlackBerry or the iPhone may not be good enough. Except for the user whose current smart phone is regularly overwhelmed with too many simultaneous tasks for it to handle, it's probably best to wait to see how many customers and application developers Palm is able to attract before taking the Pre plunge.

The $99 Netbook
Netbooks?small, extremely light and inexpensive notebook computers?are all the rage, and why not? Netbooks are perfect for mobile users who want a cheap, bare-bones machine that combines the portability and basic functionality of a more expensive laptop. The next trend in netbooks promises to be machines sold by cell-phone carriers that cost $100 to $200, or in some cases are given away free. Or what looks like free: AT&T is already test marketing a $99 netbook for customers who commit to a two-year data plan. Verizon Wireless is selling the HP Mini 1151NR, a well-received netbook computer, for $199?quite a savings over the $569 price set by HP through its website. The HP netbook is one of the lightest, most compact machines on the market, just an inch thick and weighing only 2.4 pounds. It's got a full keyboard and touchpad, along with extras not seen in other small machines, such as a webcam, two USB ports, Ethernet, and a memory card reader. How low can the price of netbooks go? Some are speculating that soon some phone carriers will give away netbooks to customers who sign up for a long-term data contract.

But, buyer beware: Just as cell-phone bills can be inflated with hidden charges, texting fees, and other fine-print sleight of hand, so can fees for connected netbooks. In some cases, the cost of 3G access for two years can easily top $1,000. For example, the HP netbook offered through Verizon locks you into spending $59.99 a month for 5GB of data, or $1,440 in data charges over the length of the 24-month contract. Suddenly, that $199 netbook starts to look pretty expensive. If you're considering getting a netbook through a phone carrier, you need to read the fine print in your contract because, after all, another lawyer probably wrote it.

Amicus Attorney 2009
Amicus Attorney software is one practice-management package out there. (Others include TimeMatters, AbacusLaw, and Clio.) One reason for the success of this product is that its makers continue to release upgrades.

Earlier this year, Gavel and Gown Software released its updated product line: Amicus Attorney 2009 Small Firm Edition (for solo and small firms), Amicus Attorney 2009 Premium Edition (for firms of all sizes), and Amicus Accounting 2009 (integrated accounting software for lawyers). Several new features have been added to the latest versions, the most useful of which is the Amicus Dashboard, which lets users create fully customized summary screens that give an instant snapshot of exactly what's going on with a firm's work flow. A handy communications Preview Pane shows you emails, phone calls, and phone messages without making you open the entire file and wait for it to load. With the improved Conflict Check feature you can build a custom conflict analysis by picking which elements of Amicus should be searched, including custom fields, notes, and time entries. And for the first time, a mobile edition of Amicus is available for the BlackBerry. Prices start at $349 for the Small Firm Edition and $699 for the Premium Edition.

Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft has had its share of hits and misses over the years, and Windows Vista may rank as one of its most prominent flops?sort of the Edsel of software packages. From the moment it was released in January 2007, Vista came under heavy fire for its bloated design and buggy operation. Many law firms, scared off by the negative buzz, decided to stick with Windows XP. Microsoft didn't help matters by being slow to admit that there were any problems with Vista, and then only reluctantly addressing users' criticism. By the time the recession hit, the idea of "upgrading" to a more expensive operating system that didn't perform as well as its predecessors seemed sheer madness.

Now, even Microsoft has gotten the message. In October, Microsoft plans to release its latest operating system, Windows 7. Unlike Vista, Windows 7 is intended to be an incremental upgrade, compatible with Vista applications and hardware, and offering improved performance and additional features, such as a home networking system and a redesigned shell with a new taskbar.

Microsoft is offering a beta version of Windows 7 online at www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/. This Release Candidate OS is free, but don't think you can use it indefinitely. It officially "expires" on June 1, 2010, and starting next March 1 your PC running that version of Windows 7 will begin shutting down every two hours. (This may well be the first instance of a Microsoft operating system in which a regular crash is a feature rather than a bug.)

Perhaps the best thing about Windows 7 amounts to a concession on Microsoft's part: The new system is designed to run on low-powered computers. This is especially important to the millions of people who haven't been able to use Vista on cheap, low-powered netbooks such as the Asus Eee PC they now own. (Most of today's netbooks run on either Windows XP or a modified version of the Linux open-source operating system.)

The look and feel of Windows 7 is similar to Vista's, with a few design tweaks. One is the new taskbar at the bottom of the screen, which resembles the Dock that's featured on all of Apple's Macs. Like the Dock, the Windows 7 taskbar shows both active and inactive programs, and you can load your favorites onto the bar?a handy feature if you frequently switch among several applications.

Windows 7 also lets users customize the User Access Control, much reviled in Vista, which regularly posted the annoying "Are you sure you want to do this?" message.

For the most part, Windows 7 isn't so much an update as it is an apology in a shrink-wrapped box, an admission that Vista was a real stinker. Netbook users will probably find Windows 7 worthwhile, as will anyone who finds his or her desktop underpowered when it runs Windows XP. Otherwise, there's not much more that Windows 7 can do?except help add a new wing to Bill Gates's mansion. (But stay tuned: In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google recently announced it's developing a lightweight operating system aimed at netbooks.)

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