bruceb news

or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Google Chrome

I am conservative about installing software. I don’t want programs on my computers unless I intend to use them. The first thing I do with a new computer is remove unnecessary utilities and cruddy photo programs and the like installed by the computer manufacturers. I don’t install trial versions of programs until I’ve spent time learning about the programs and deciding if I’m genuinely interested. When I stop using a program, I uninstall it. I use a lot of programs but I have very few programs on my office computer that I don’t use regularly. […] continued

If I’d thought about it, I would have realized that Google Translate had to exist. It does exactly what you’d expect from an online translator: type in a phrase and it can be translated into another language; type in a web address and it will present the entire page translated into another language. Try it! It’s fun to see your favorite web site in Turkish or Lithuanian.

Google has been updating it frequently with additional languages until now it’s possible to go back and forth between dozens of languages, including a couple of Chinese variations, Japanese and other Asian languages, Hindi, and some Middle Eastern languages. […] continued

Previously:
The Sad State Of Law Office Software

I’m going to work up to specific products, but let’s start with the concept of storing valuable, confidential data in the cloud, on servers run by some big company.

As a lawyer in a small firm, think of the scariest example you can imagine – say, your highly sensitive letter to a client outlining the risks in your litigation strategy, or notes on the phone conversation with a client where she confessed to killing Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick. Save the file as a Word document on the server in the file room. […] continued

Wayne Small, an Australian SBS consultant, took a look at Google’s license agreement recently and wrote up a nice reminder that big companies do not make any pretense of playing nicely with your information.

Google Terms of Service cover all of Google’s services, including Gmail. There are some provisions that shouldn’t be surprising – for example, that Google can turn services off without warning or notice, with no consequences.

You probably already know that Google runs through the text of email messages to decide what advertisements will be presented, but it’s interesting to find out that Google has reserved the right to filter, modify, or remove anything you receive by email. […] continued

Microsoft has introduced Office Web Apps, free online versions of Office programs that can be used entirely inside a web browser. Visit http://office.live.com to take a look at technology that will change our world.

That sounds breathless and exciting, right? It’s not hyperbole. You are living through a long-term shift away from dependence on individual computers and toward shared resources that live online and can be accessed from any of our devices, big and small.

The problem is that this first incarnation of Office Web Apps is pretty weak. You have to squint to see the future from here. […] continued

Previously:
Sync Files With Dropbox
Dropbox for iPad, Android

Almost everyone should take a look at Dropbox, the service that syncs folders and files among your computers and mobile devices. If you have more than one computer (home/office/notebook) and you haven’t started using it yet, then go read about it and get started! I’m going to highlight a security issue but that shouldn’t discourage you from using it for all the things it does so well – just keep an eye on all of your tools with security and privacy in mind.

Dropbox has released apps that allow iPhones, iPads and Android devices to connect to your Dropbox folders and display the files and folders you have stored there. […] continued

I want you to take a look at a demo of Google Docs. It’s a fast way to be introduced to the concept of editing and storing documents online.

When I look in my crystal ball, my prediction has changed from last year. It now looks likely that small businesses and small law firms will not be storing any significant quantities of documents online in the near future. You’ll be using online files as a convenience, not as your primary file storage. I had hoped to be saying something different but Microsoft has dropped the ball badly, a story I’ll tell you sometime soon. […] continued

It’s rare now to find traditional POP3 email accounts, where messages are downloaded to a single computer and are only accessible at that computer. We move between different computers freely (home/work/laptop/netbook) and want our mail to be available on all of them. We are buying smartphones in staggering numbers and getting our email on the phone is a big part of the reason.

Seeing our mailbox from multiple computers and devices can be done clumsily with a POP3 account but it’s far easier with Gmail, Hotmail, or an Exchange mailbox. If you are using an email address is given out by your ISP (@sonic.net, @comcast.net, @attglobal.net), you might want to consider getting the flexibility that will come with a new email address. […] continued

While we’re talking about smartphones, I should mention another way that your phone can use its knowledge of your location to do something interesting.

Google added an unassuming link named “Near Me Now” on the Google search page on iPhones and Android phones. Click it and you’ll get a short list of categories – Restaurants, ATMS and banks, Shopping, Lodging, and more. Clicking on one will bring up a list of results based on where you are standing at that moment. I just pulled up a list of all the restaurants near my house in two clicks, with addresses, phone numbers, reviews, and links to display a map or street view (and get turn-by-turn directions if I started driving). […] continued

As I said last month, each of you might find one or two apps for a smartphone that get you all excited – the apps that you show people to demonstrate how cool your new phone is.

I found mine. Google Goggles amazes me. If you’ve got an Android phone, you’ve got to check this out. It’s a free download from the Android Marketplace. (There have been vague hints that it will eventually be ported to iPhones and other platforms but don’t hold your breath for that.)

Google Goggles lets you use pictures taken with your phone to search the web. […] continued