Eee PC Battery Test – 7 Hours, 29 Minutes
I was at an all-day seminar last week, sporting my Asus Eee 1000HE netbook. I brought my AC adapter, but I figured it would be a great chance to really test Asus’ claimed 9.5-hour battery.
I started the day at about 8:45am with a fully-charged battery.
When I decided to actually watch the meter, I tweeted that I had 93% left. The battery meter estimated 7:42 hours.
I kept an eye on the battery meter for a while, and I realized the netbook wouldn’t make it all day at full power. At 10:17am, I turned off wifi and bluetooth. I also dimmed my screen to the lowest setting and exited unnecessary programs.
I put the netbook into sleep mode for about 20 minutes while I ate lunch. And I plugged it in for 1 minute, when I got scared that the battery wouldn’t last all day. But I quickly pulled the plug back out and decided to keep the test going.
After lunch, I still had over half my battery left: 53%.
At 2:15pm, I had 2:23 hours left on the meter, 33%.
The conference ended at 4:19pm. At that time, I had 4% left on the meter, an estimated 15 minutes.
To sum it up, the battery lasted 7 hours, 29 minutes (subtracting the 20 minutes in sleep mode at lunch time).
I ran Firefox and Word 2007 all day, but that’s about it. I did power on the wifi during a few breaks to check my email, but it stayed off most of the day.
I don’t think you’ll get 9.5 hours out of this battery, but 7.5 hours is nothing to scoff at. If you can plug in the Eee for a few minutes sometime during the day, I’ll bet you could keep trucking way past 8 hours.
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3 Launchy Tricks – Evernote, Google Voice, RTM
If you want to control your computer from your keyboard, check out Launchy. It’s a free keystroke launcher. Here are three ways to supercharge Launchy.
Evernote
I use Evernote for all my note-taking needs. I constantly need to pull up a note that I’ve previously written. With Launchy and Evernote’s Windows scripting, this is now a piece of cake.
To pull up all of your notes that contain a particular string, you execute a command like this:
C:\Program Files\Evernote\Evernote3\ENscript.exe /showNotes QUERY
We can plug that into Launchy as a Runner command:
Now you can go straight to an Evernote search by typing something like this into Launchy:
en {Tab} QUERY
Fast as lightning!
Google Voice
This one’s a bit more complicated, but it’s cool. When you’re done, you’ll be able to initiate a Google Voice call by using a command like this in Launchy:
gv {Tab} 555.111.2323
That command will tell Google Voice to call your designated phone and then connect you to the phone number you entered. Ready to see how it’s done?
1. Create a Google Voice call script.
I did this in PHP. You can download this awesome class which lets you easily initiate a Google Voice call via PHP.
Put a script on your webserver that uses the Google Voice Dialer class and looks like this (replace the capitalized words with the proper values):
$gv = new GoogleVoice(USERNAME, PASSWORD);
$gv->call(YOUR-PHONE-NUMBER, $_POST['theirNumber']);
2. Now you can create a batch file on your hard drive that calls the PHP script from your web server:
@echo off
cd c:\
cmd /c curl --basic --data "theirNumber=%*" http://www.your-domain.com/your-google-voice-caller.php
Echo Exiting...
3. Prepare Launchy.
You can do this by going to the Launchy preferences, editing the “Catalog,” and adding the directory where the batch file resides. Be sure you also tell Launchy (in the Catalog tab) to look for *.bat files.
4. Call away!
Now you can call people through Google Voice with just a couple key strokes.
Remember the Milk
And to round out our trio, here’s a quick way to add tasks to RTM.
It’s actually from Lifehacker. Just download their handy script, follow the instructions, and you’ll be adding tasks in a flash!
Do you use Launchy? Any cool tips to share?
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My Custom Business Management System
Business have data to manage, documents to produce, and customers to invoice. Law firms are no different.
I run my own traffic defense law firm. It’s a high-volume practice area, which means I have lots of clients at any given time. There are lots of client contracts and invoices going out and coming back from clients.
In April, I wrote that I wanted to integrate my main systems. It’s done now, and this post explains everything.
What I use
I use a number of separate systems. They all do their job very well.
Remember the Milk (to do lists) – API
BatchBook (contact management) – API
FreshBooks (invoicing) – API
EchoSign (electronic signatures) – API
My integrated system
The foundation of my system is BatchBook. It holds the basic client data for each case, such as:
- Name
- Contact info
- Traffic ticket data
- Legal fee info
Using that data, my program does a variety of things. It integrates all the above systems throughout a client’s case. Below are a few examples.
Client contract
Every client signs a contract to hire me. With three clicks, my system produces the default client contract as a PDF and sends it to the client for e-signing via EchoSign. With a couple extra clicks, I can customize the text of the client contract if necessary.
The coolest part of this feature is what else the system does when sending the client contract. It creates a to do list for the client in Remember the Milk (this includes the client’s trial date and other default tasks that I need to do for each case). It also adds the client’s court date to Google Calendar.
Invoice
After the client e-signs the contract, I can send an invoice through FreshBooks in two clicks. This step also updates the client’s task list in Remember the Milk (it marks the client’s contract complete and notes that the invoice has been sent).
Letter to court
When a client has hired me by signing the contract and paying the invoice, I notify the court that I represent them. Three clicks will send the default letter to the court via fax through MyFax. At the same time, the system also emails a copy of the letter to the client and marks this task off in Remember the Milk.
It currently takes a couple extra clicks to save the letter to the client’s digital folder, but I hope to automate that soon.
The benefits
By now, it should be obvious that my integrated system saves time. It takes just a few clicks to process the regular paperwork, emails, and faxes for my law practice.
The system also improves accuracy. As long as the data is properly input into BatchBook, my program will produce accurate contracts, invoices, letters, etc.
Finally, my integrated system has enabled me to utilize a virtual assistant for many of these tasks. My assistant (who I highly recommend) inputs the client data into BatchBook and sends the contracts and invoices. I’m finding more and more ways for her to help with my work, which frees up my time to work directly with clients.
Any questions?
I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about integrating these systems. It takes some programming skill, but it isn’t that hard.
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NameCheap is Cheaper than GoDaddy
Everyone sees GoDaddy’s ads for “$1.99 domains” and thinks they’re the cheapest option.
WRONG!
I’ve been using NameCheap for years, and I’ll show you that it’s cheaper than GoDaddy. Let’s look at several different situations to give each company a fair shake.
All the prices below are the cost per year.
To make this comparison a bit easier, I’m going to focus on .com domains. Prices can differ on other extensions, but most people want a .com anyway.
New domain only
If you’re just looking to register a new domain with no email or web hosting, here’s what you would pay:
| NameCheap | GoDaddy | |
| $9.69 | $10.87 | |
| Includes: | SSL certificate – 1 year free, $9.95 thereafter Private registration – 1 year free, $2.88 thereafter |
just the domain SSL certificate = $29.99 Private registration = $8.99 |
Transfer a domain only
What if you already own a domain and want to transfer it to a new registrar?
| NameCheap | GoDaddy | |
| $7.99 for year 1, $9.69 thereafter | $7.17 for year 1, $10.87 thereafter |
New domain with basic email and hosting
If you’re a small business owner, you probably want a complete package.
| NameCheap | GoDaddy | |
| $49.64 | $59.05 for year 1, $67.75 thereafter | |
| Includes: | 60 email addresses 5GB of web space SSL certificate – 1 year free, $9.95 thereafter Private registration – 1 year free, $2.88 thereafter |
100 email address 10GB of web space SSL certificate = $29.99 Private registration = $8.99 |
In GoDaddy’s defense, their basic web hosting includes a little more space than NameCheap’s basic plan. But I would argue that the average website owner wouldn’t come close to NameCheap’s limit. Why pay for more than you need?
Conclusion
Unless I’m missing something, NameCheap is cheaper than GoDaddy.
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Legal Articles at Article Alley
I was recently asked to write a review of the legal articles section of Article Alley. Here goes!
If you’re not familiar with them, article sites are big warehouses of articles. Most of them cover every topic imaginable, but some sites specialize. Article Alley is a general article site with different categories.
Article sites exist because the internet needs content. People want to write things, and other people want to publish them.
Just about anyone can write something and submit it to an article site. And the author typically gets a couple links in the article footer.
Here’s where the coolness starts: Anyone who wants content for their blog or website can re-publish articles from a site like Article Alley. It’s free content for site owners, and the authors of the articles get their work (and links) spread around the internet.
There are lots of article sites on the internet today, and many of them are junk. But Article Alley has a decent design with a large number of articles available.
The legal section has a lot of articles on lots of different topics. It looks like a good number of them are promotional for lawyers and law firms, but they could still be decent content depending upon your website’s needs.
This is a sponsored post, but these are my honest opinions.
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Give First, Ask Second
You’ve all seen web forms that ask for your information in exchange for a “free report” or “white paper” on a given subject. What if the great report was right there for the taking, and you were only asked for your information after you read it?
There’s an awesome post by Matt Homann over at the [non]billable hour on this exact subject. He found an awesome study that proves people are more likely to give their information to you if you give them something first.
In short, give first, ask second.
How does this apply to your business?
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Ruby Receptionist Rocks – My Virtual Receptionist
I first wrote about Ruby Receptionist in March of this year. I had just signed up for a free trial, and I was excited to begin using my new virtual receptionist for my solo law firm. (Here is my original post about Ruby Receptionist.)
I’ve now been with Ruby for five months. I regularly get questions from people who are looking to try out their service. So here’s an update.
I love Ruby!
In case there’s any doubt, I’m a satisfied Ruby client. They do a great job at handling my calls. They’re an asset to my law practice, and I plan to keep using their service.
If you want to skip this long post and just give Ruby a try, get yourself a 30-day free trial through this form.
What is Ruby?
Ruby is a virtual receptionist. Their awesome team answers your phone from their office in Portland, Oregon. But how does it actually work?
Basically, Ruby answers your incoming calls. You forward your current office number to your own toll-free number that Ruby gives you (you can take that number with you, if you leave Ruby). Ruby will answer the calls however you want. I have them say something like “Thank you for calling Andrew Flusche, Attorney at Law. How may I help you?”
It’s up to you how the call should be handled. For example, you could have Ruby ask the caller if they’re calling about an existing matter or a new matter. Existing clients could be transferred straight to you, and new matters could go to an assistant for intake and appointment scheduling.
When Ruby needs to transfer the caller to you or one of your staff, the caller is politely placed on hold with nice background music. Ruby calls whoever is supposed to get the call and whatever phone you want them to call, and they say something like “Hi, this is
Ruby emails messages to whoever you designate. When someone leaves a voicemail, the voicemail box owner gets an email notification that has a sound file of the voicemail attached. You can listen to the message right there, or you can call in and listen to it the typical way.
Likes
1. Ruby is cost effective. I get lots of phone calls. 161 in July. My Ruby bill was $446.95. That’s not dirt cheap, but it’s very reasonable when you consider what Ruby does for your practice. Before I signed up with Ruby, I was getting several calls each week where the caller didn’t leave a message or anything. I assume most of those were potential clients that I lost (after I eliminated any phone numbers that I had already called me before, etc). Now Ruby is there to answer and provide a human voice to take a message. It’s well worth the cost, in my opinion.
2. Ruby is professional. The receptionists all speak English as their first language. They all work out of the Ruby office in Oregon. I don’t mean to say anything bad about offshore outsourcing, but I don’t think that’s the image most attorneys would want for their firm’s receptionist.
3. Ruby is better than voicemail. When I just used voicemail, callers would have no idea where I was when I wasn’t answering the phone. I can now tell Ruby (via email or phone) that I’ll be in court for the day. Or I can say “I’ll be in a meeting until 2pm.” They’ll hold calls until then and tell callers something like “Andrew is in a meeting right now, can I take a message?” You can update your status whenever you want, however often you want, and you don’t get charged any extra. That’s an awesome feature!
4. Ruby screens calls for me. I gave them three quick intake questions to ask new potential clients: A. What type of matter it is. B. Where the case is pending. C. How they heard about me. The answers to those questions help me triage phone messages and decide if I should answer a call when I’m busy with something else.
Dislikes
1. I wish the voicemail system was better. The voicemail system functions well, but I’d like to see more features in the email notification. The email notification lets you listen to the voicemail, but you can’t delete it from there. So if you listen to a voicemail through the email sound attachment, you’ll still have a new voicemail when you later call into your voicemail box. I wish the email contained a link to delete the voicemail message after I’ve listened to it on the computer.
Honestly, that’s my only dislike. Ruby rocks!
Other questions
Here are some other questions people have asked me about Ruby. I’ll try to update this list as new questions arise.
Are calls transferred smoothly?
Absolutely! I don’t think the callers have a clue that the receptionist isn’t in my office. A few of my friends and local colleagues have mentioned to me that they thought I hired an assistant. I then explain about Ruby.
The only potential issue is who is answering calls in your office. As long as Ruby has clear instructions on who to transfer calls to, it will work just fine. But if your staff isn’t available to answer, obviously Ruby will have no choice but to take a message.
How is the quality of transferred calls?
I’ve never had an issue with the connection quality. I believe Ruby told me once it’s a “trunk to trunk transfer,” but I have no idea what that means. They directly transfer the call from their phone system to whatever line you want. It’s just like the caller called you directly. The quality will be as good as your phone allows.
How do you update Ruby with your status?
Status updates are really simple. You can either call Ruby, give them your name, and tell them the update (”I’ll be in court until 3pm.”, or “I’m leaving for the day.”, etc) Or you just send a quick email to staff@callruby.com with your update. My emails are generally a sentence. Ruby will then temporarily change your call handling. For example, they’ll hold your calls if you’re in a meeting, only put through an important client if you’re busy on a big matter, etc.
Can Ruby work with your calendar?
Not to my knowledge. Ruby can’t really schedule appointments or tell callers that you’re in a meeting by looking at your calendar. They don’t have any access to your calendar. I’m sure this could change in the future, but I don’t believe it’s a current feature.
30-day free trial
If you think Ruby can help your business, give them a try. There’s no reason not to.
You can get a 30-day free trial by signing up through this form.
The free trial really doesn’t cost anything. If you decide to continue with their service, you’ll pay the setup fee at the start of your first paid month. If Ruby doesn’t work out for your business, cancel before the 30 days are up and you owe nothing.
If you do give Ruby a try, please let them know that I sent you!
More questions?
Do you have any questions about using Ruby for your business? Drop a comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.
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Simplicity – Why I Deleted My Plaxo Account
How many social networks are you a member of? Personally, I’m on way too many to count.
Do we really need them all? Probably not.
Here’s a quick simplicity challenge for you: pick one social networking site and delete your account.
I just deleted my Plaxo account (here’s how to delete yours). I chose to delete Plaxo because:
1. I rarely logged in. In fact, I only logged in to accept someone’s connection request.
2. I got fed up with all the connection request emails and emails telling me that the requests were about to expire.
3. The site just wasn’t useful to me. It was adding noise to my life without providing value.
Now you may wonder why I didn’t just disable the emails from Plaxo and let my account sit idle. If I did that, people would still find me on Plaxo and try to connect. I don’t want them to think that I’m ignoring them. And my Plaxo profile would soon become out-of-date. What’s the point in having a stale social networking profile?
There you have it. Simplify your life a little by deleting an account.
Which account are you going to delete?
Photo by gorillaradio
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Amazing Motivation Handbook!
Do you have trouble with motivation? Is it hard to get motivated? What about keeping yourself motivated?
I suck at motivation. I go through spurts where I’m able to get lots done, but then I have dry spells. When I’m not motivated, I just can’t seem to get anything done.
But now I have an awesome tool to light a motivational fire for myself. It’s The Essential Motivation Handbook.
The Essential Motivation Handbook is a new ebook by Leo Babauta and Eric Hamm. If you’re not familiar with either author, you’re in for a treat. They both write awesome blogs about self-development and productivity. Leo’s blog (Zen Habits) is one of the top blogs out there, and he’s now published in print!
This book is full of great articles about how to motivate yourself, stay motivated, break through motivational barriers, and more. The content is truly top-notch.
Leo and Eric suggest that you read the book and then keep it handy to come back to when you need some motivation. After my read, I agree 100%. In fact, I’m going to keep my copy on my netbook. I’ll probably refresh myself with a chapter or two occasionally while I’m waiting in court.
Why are you still reading this post? Go get a copy of The Essential Motivation Handbook and motivate yourself! There’s a 100% money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose.
What’s your favorite motivational tip? Share it in the comments.
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Attorneys and Phones – What’s Your Poison?
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Kat Sanders.
There’s no doubting the fact that almost every lawyer possesses a mobile phone – it is sometimes the lifeline that keeps them connected to their office and their clients when they’re on the go. Most of them are either the proud owners of the sturdy workhorse BlackBerry while some others have been swayed by the allure of the new editions of the iPhone. So would you choose the more sedate BlackBerry or the sleeker iPhone?
Well, it all comes down to a matter of personal choice and your budget, but there are few practical aspects that you need to consider when weighing your options between the two smart phones.
If you’re tech savvy and want loads of functions and applications on your mobile device, go with the iPhone. This device from Apple is packed with just about everything a designer could think of. You need some time though to learn your way around this nifty gadget before you’re able to use it like a seasoned pro. The iPhone combines voice and text capabilities and makes browsing a very pleasant experience. But if you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by the arsenal of ammunition at your disposal, it’s best to just look at and not buy this phone/mobile computer.
If you prefer to use the phone mainly to send email, a BlackBerry is your best bet. It is not complicated to use and the lighter application load makes it faster and more convenient when you’re in a hurry. It’s also easier to use if you are not a technology buff and are only getting one of these smart phones because everyone else is and you don’t want to be left behind.
No matter what the technology, it must be used wisely and with restraint. Some of us are so addicted to technology that we cannot hold back from replying to every email and text message as soon as they arrive or from taking every call that comes through, even when we’re attending meetings or talking to clients and colleagues. The good etiquette line must be drawn somewhere if we are to utilize technology efficiently without tarnishing its value.
This article was written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of court reporter school at her blog Court Reporter Schools. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com.
Editor’s note: I’m still using my trusty Moto Q that runs Windows Mobile. There are lots of smart phone options out there, so it’s always best to do your homework even before visiting a phone store.
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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