LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard

Put IE6 & 7 on Steroids with Free IE7Pro Add-in

I've always liked the extra browser features found in Opera, Maxthon, and Firefox. Yet many people, particularly business users, still use IE as their primary browser. While IE7 adds more features over IE6 and has improved somewhat in security (although ActiveX remains a concern), it's still lacking in power user features.

Enter IE7Pro, a free program that adds mouse gestures, better tab management, ad and flash ad blocking, crash recovery, accidental tab closure recovery, tab history, and a lot more to both IE6 and IE7.

Mouse gestures are a particular favorite of mine, as it lets me just right-click and glide my mouse either left or right to instantly go back or forward. Other gestures can be used for refreshing a page, switching between tabs, and more. Searching for particular words on a long web page? IE7Pro's inline search works much like CTRL-F, but it also allows you to highlight all hits in yellow highlighter for easy skimming.

Another of IE7Pro's cool features is taking a screenshot of an entire web page, instantly from top to bottom -- without having to scroll. Perfect for preserving a snapshot in time. Accidentally closed the wrong tab? No problem, as IE7Pro keeps track of your tab history of previously visited sites and also has a dedicated feature for reopening the last closed tab for quick access.

Ever visit a web site with flash ads? Especially ones that love to play video ads with blaring music or announcers that make everyone in the vicinity jump and wonder what you're up to? No problem -- IE7Pro simply blocks them and displays "Flash Blocked" in a light-colored box where the ad should be. Upon mousing over the blocked ad, it displays "Click to restore flash". Just click, and that particular flash ad or animation appears.

All this in a small package too. IE7Pro is a tiny download at 1.3 MB. Sure, the other browsers have had these features for some time, but if you want to bring IE into the present and get more out of it, IE7Pro is worth a test drive.

Speech Recognition Comeback Via Cell Phones?

Speech recognition has been around for a long time, but hasn't enjoyed much traction. Products like Dragon Naturally Speaking were useful if one was prepared to spend the requisite time training and correcting it. Another problem was transferring around the large speech files between computers as it was speaker-dependent.

New services are popping out of the Web 2.0 world, making it much easier for people to use their phones to communicate with others in a variety of ways. You could probably call some of these services "Phone 2.0".

For instance, Jott provides a service whereby you can leave a short voice message and have it sent to others (or yourself) as text messages or e-mails. Or, it can send along the voice message. Jott uses a combination of speech recognition technology and human transcribers to convert your voice messages into text.

Of course, this may raise privacy and confidentiality concerns for some. For Jott to work, you need to add the recipients' contact information into Jott's site so it can send your messages to them. Jott is perfect for those times when you need to tell several people, "I'm running late," or "The meeting was changed to ten." Since you can set up groups, it beats having to call each person individually or have one tell all the rest.

While Jott says they "hide personal info from the people doing transcription", there's at least a temporary record being made, so it's best to be prudent with messages going through an intermediary. Also, the one-year-old Jott doesn't seem to have much of a business model yet, so what's going to happen to all of that personal and contact information we enter? Jott does have a posted privacy policy, but doubts may linger.

For more, see "Jott Networks Bridges Voice, Text Worlds" at Law.com.

As the article mentions, Microsoft recently completed the acquisition of one of my favorite phone services, Tellme Networks. Simply call 1-800-555-TELL (8355), and speak keywords like "weather", "traffic", or even "blackjack" to play a game with a very convincing and humorous Sean Connery impersonation. Additional voice prompts are given and it recognizes your vocal responses. Granted, sometimes I've had to repeat myself, particularly in noisy locations, but it works and it's free.

Cell phones are also becoming a focal point for other technologies. Location-based services such as GPS-like navigation and social networking "friend locators" are catching on. So expect to see even further convergence of messaging and location-based services from cellular and third-party providers. In other words, watch for even more services to connect the Jotts.

Collaboration Thoughts: Google "Presently", Parallel Processing, Simplification and Savvy Execution

Google is rounding out their web office apps with a PowerPoint clone. Mike Arrington at TechCrunch blogged on the announcement yesterday at the Web 2.0 expo. As a word play on Writely, Google's collaborative word processor, Google fans are now eager awaiting "Presently".

Although it's still early, I tend to agree with Google CEO Eric Schmidt's comment that it isn't a threat to Microsoft -- yet. With Office 2007's release and obvious refinements (particularly the ribbon bar), enterprise and legal markets are already sitting up, taking notice, and planning their upgrades. However, in this Web 2.0 era of business at the speed of broadband, waiting for revisions to roundtrip through multiple people is becoming more and more burdensome and costly. Think serial processing vs. parallel processing. Core Single vs. Core Duo.

Would I trust Google's web tools with confidential or sensitive data? [Update: No. A major concern I do not see going away any time soon is how easily a third party will give up records under subpoena, or threat thereof, when there may be defenses or other protections available to the data owner. There may also be security concerns]. But there have been times when I've been collaborating with one or more CLE presenters when it would have been incredibly helpful to work on the same presentation file concurrently.

I also like Workshare's Professional Suite's "Manage Changes" feature, particularly for Word documents. It goes Track Changes a few times better as it allows you to import and manage revisions from multiple reviewers within the same document, enabling a more flexible review and revision process.

Collaborative technology can definitely help, but it's not a panacea by itself. It doesn't eliminate the need of those involved in the process to understand and identify more efficient ways of conducting business.

I recently re-read the Corporate Counsel article, "Seven Sigma: GE lawyers take a low-tech road to come up with a high-tech way to draft contracts quickly" (I believe it was the Jan. 2007 issue, no web link available). It describes how GE's law department -- using only sticky notes -- tore apart and simplified the process for drafting contracts, cutting their document length, complexity, and execution time dramatically. Then they implemented the technology to facilitate it. If they would have tried to automate their existing voluminous contract forms around the old process, I seriously doubt the gains would have been anywhere near as rewarding.

Web 2.0 has been getting a lot of hype, along with criticism for over-hype. Some of it is probably deserved, but businesses and their lawyers would do well to give it a spin. Before the ride is over, it'll likely get people thinking and moving in a new direction.

First Legal Tech Mashup?

For some time, I've been wondering when (not if) the legal software market would jump in and find value with mashups (i.e., combining two separate services to provide a unique new service) and other Web 2.0 technology applications. See ProgrammableWeb for a long list of mashups.

So I was immediately interested upon seeing a link to this in my inbox:

Mashups to Re-Map the Legal Tech Market?
By John K. Waters
Special to Law.com
October 10, 2006

Synaptec's LawBase case management package "has integrated the 10.5.5 version of its flagship product with Google Maps. That integration brings an emblematic Web 2.0 buzzword to a market that has yet to feel much of an impact from the new Web-as-a-development-platform IT paradigm. (Emphasis on "yet.")"

In this vertical market of "let's do what everyone else is doing", it usually takes one or more innovators to test the waters before others jump in. Let's hope this is the beginning of yet another such cycle. Via posts like this, first movers like Synaptec are getting a good PR buzz for their efforts.

Looking further ahead, I find the potential ability to track and map claims, incidents, suits, IP seizures, facilities, or other items by geographic location to have compelling value. Personally, I'd want to know what Google and other services do with the geographic data being parsed through their systems, although one could likely sanitize it somewhat. Regardless, there's a lot of untapped value in them thar maps! For example, just take a look at Zillow.com if you're house-hunting or looking to sell.

It's easy to see why in-house counsel would find mapping technology useful as well, both in managing claims and cases, and not to mention outside counsel and related costs.

Google Spreadsheets

Some light blog reading turns up Google Spreadsheets as well. It allows you to upload and download spreadsheets in Excel .XLS or .CSV (comma separated value) file formats. Again, the defining feature is the real-time concurrent collaboration. Multiple people can edit and view at the same time.

Now with word processing, I can see where simultaneous edits makes sense -- for instance, a group of authors working on the same article. With spreadsheets, though, a group would need to be more careful not to disrupt dependent formulas and cell logic. In this instance, it may make more sense to agree as to who will develop the calculations, and then allow others to enter or modify the data as needed.

In any event, it's a nice addition to the Google family, with the caveat to use good judgment with sensitive data.

Writely is Back

Just noticed that Writely is now accepting new registrations -- finally. As I posted previously, it was temporarily closed to new sign-ups after Google acquired it months ago. Writely is a free web-based collaborative word processor. You may want to read their terms of service along the way, and I wouldn't store sensitive information in such a service. Be that as it may, it's a useful evolutionary step to augment word processing with online collaboration. To learn more about Writely, visit the Writely Help Center.

In other news, Google will be releasing a premium version of its collaboration services later this year. This week, Google released Google Apps for Your Domain, a group of free, hosted communication and collaboration tools such as email, instant messaging and Web authoring tools.

As the linked article above describes, Google is going to have an uphill road in convincing conventional enterprise IT management that they are a serious enterprise player. I see their services having more immediate appeal to small to mid-sized companies. Google needs to demonstrate how their services will enable an organization's business drivers and strategies, with sufficient security and support, to such an extent that companies will want to displace current technology and vendors for it. Cost savings alone may not be enough, although it's effective at times.

It wouldn't surprise me if some form of Writely will be included in one of those offerings, perhaps geared with better focus on security and protection of confidential data. Google's strategy appears aimed at attacking Microsoft and other large technology providers at their soft underbelly -- the SMB market, where pricing and IT support costs are more sensitive. Not a bad first step for a company perceived as mainly a consumer web service provider.

Either way, the Web 2.0 juggernaut continues to move forward with Google among those leading the charge.

Refreshing Internet Explorer

While alternative browsers are all the rage, the practical reality is that many organizations use Internet Explorer as their main browser. One reason is wider compatibility with the plethora of web sites and their embedded multimedia. However, have you ever noticed that sometimes a particular web site just won't load or update properly, and doing a Refresh (F5 or Refresh button) just doesn't help?

You see, contrary to its plain meaning, the standard Refresh feature may not actually refresh content by pulling it down from the web site. Instead, it checks the temporary copy of the web site it just downloaded to your hard drive (the local "cache"). Sometimes the cache gets messed up ("corrupted"), and IE dutifully keeps trying to load that messed up copy. Also, most offices have a proxy server to allow shared Internet access to its users, which may also have a stored copy of the web page.

In some cases, it helps to delete your local browser cache on your hard drive, which takes six mouse clicks (Tools, Internet Options, Delete Files, Delete all offline content, OK, OK). Not difficult, but somewhat annoying. Another option is to force IE to do a full refresh by grabbing a fresh copy of the web site:

Simply press CTRL-F5 or hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the Refresh button in IE's toolbar.

In my experience, most people simply don't know about this second refresh feature. It's in the IE online help, but who reads that anymore? (Okay, I do.) Those who update web site content should also find this very helpful. There's been a number of times when I've updated LawTech Guru, pressed F5 to refresh, and nothing happened. CTRL-F5 did the trick. Quite refreshing.

Wisconsin Lawyer: Finding and Using RSS Feeds

A lot of legal professionals read blogs. However, except for the tech-savvy, many still don't know how to use RSS feeds and readers to make this task easier and more productive. So if you're relatively new to RSS feeds or would like to pick up more web resources for finding legal content in RSS subscription form, read on. Bonnie Shucha just published a good RSS primer in this month's Wisconsin Lawyer. She's the head of reference at the U.W. Law Library, Madison, and past president of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin.

Bonnie does a nice job of explaining RSS and how to use it in plain language, its pros and cons, and more. Some of the legal feeds mentioned have a Wisconsin flavor given its readership, but several others covered will have broader appeal. For instance, while many use Technorati to search the blogosphere, Bonnie tells us how to use Yahoo!'s Advanced Search for limiting its results to RSS feeds, very nice.

I found the link to Newspapers with RSS Feeds a worthwhile visit (courtesy of The Media Drop, but note there's an updated list). Also noteworthy is her mention of Current Law Journal Content from Washington & Lee Law School Library, which searches a whopping 1,236 law reviews and journals and has some RSS feed capabilities. Check out Bonnie's other links to make your search for online legal content a bit easier and fruitful. The WisBar site also republishes prior Technology articles from the bar magazine.

If information is power, then savvy use of RSS feeds is a must-have to tame the information overload beast.

I'd Like Some Gravy With My Mashup, Please

"Web 2.0" and "Software as a Service" (or SaaS) have been bandied about as the latest buzzwords. Try to get anyone to define them, and you hear a lot of generalities. However, "Mashups" tend to be a bit more tangible, especially when you throw in some examples.

Simply put, a mashup is "a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new service." (from Wikipedia) I'll try using a prior post as an example: Mobiledia offers a free service, the Cell Phone Tower Search.

Just type in the city and state, and up pops a Google map populated with the cell tower locations. How'd they do that? Well, the cell towers are registered with the FCC. They took that information and compiled it into a searchable database. Then, by presenting that information within Google Maps, they provided a simple but very effective graphical interface to display towers within the area. So, they mashed up the FCC information with Google Maps, and provided a completely new service from the pairing.

Mapping mashups are all the rage, simply because they transform data into a visual aid, which is often localized. That makes it a more meaningful, and ultimately more useful, service. Like the above example, it transforms raw, flat data into interactive information. Here's another example: After you've ordered something online, have you ever clicked on the link to track your package and had the information passed from UPS or Fedex? If I'm that interested in seeing where my package is, I'd much rather see its progress charted on a map rather than reading a boring text list of destinations.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of legal issues arising out of some mashups. For instance, is the data or a service truly open for anyone to mash it up with another service? Some may be limited by their Terms of Service.

With XML and RSS feeds, various Google API's, and more at developers' disposal, expect to see many more mashups. Mashups enable and add value to Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings. The possibilities for data mining, real-time monitoring, and especially correlation and new combinations of information, news sources, and other data is only limited by our imaginations. If this is starting to sound like real-time business intelligence to you, then you're getting it. That's the gravy for both the developers and the consumers. I believe many mashups at the consumer level will likely be free and driven by third party revenues or investments, but some may be compelling enough to warrant a subscription fee. At the corporate level, mashups are already being blended into hosted SaaS offerings and new code exchanged within open developer communities.

SaaS is still somewhat controversial, but due to mashups and other improvements, it's starting to gain some serious traction. Let's put it this way -- anything that offers more functionality and flexibility at a lower TCO compels serious consideration. The mind shift has already begun. We used to buy mostly software and products, but are increasingly buying services. Web companies such as Google and Yahoo! are giving companies like Microsoft some serious competition. Just take a look at Google's (or Yahoo!'s) beta offerings. Why would a search engine acquire Blogger and most recently, Writely, a web-based collaborative word processor? Adding online collaboration to a piece of conventional software is arguably another mashup.

Given the dynamic nature of mashups, it's difficult to make any clear prognostications. I think the best mashups will be the ones most transparent to the users (think Amazon.com). But one thing seems certain -- it's going to be an interesting ride, and businesses and consumers alike will see some interesting new online services.

Ambrogi on Podcast Search Engines

Have you ever been lured in by a seemingly interesting podcast, only to learn that it was dryer than the Mohave Desert at high noon? If so, check out the Feb. 2006 issue of Law Technology News for Bob Ambrogi's take on the latest podcast search engines (free registration required). Some of these technologies are evolving more quickly than others, or at least in different directions. I remember when Podscope was getting all the ooh's and aah's. But our ever-surfing Bob has hit on Podzinger, which offers some value-added features such as speech recognition to transcribe the entire contents of podcasts. To hear Bob explain it:

"Podzinger is impressive for its features. Search results include text highlights of the portions of the audio that match your search. Click on any word in the highlighted text, and the podcast begins to play at the point where you clicked. To the left of the results is a control panel that lets you play the entire podcast or move backward or forward through the audio. The control panel also lets you download the entire podcast, subscribe to its RSS feed, or subscribe via iTunes or Yahoo!"

While nothing is perfect, these search tools just keep getting better in helping us improve our own podcast signal-to-noise ratio. Given the complexities of trying to recognize everyone's speech patterns, it's still pretty impressive.

Web 2.0: What's All the Buzz About?

When I first heard the phrase, "Web 2.0", the first thing that entered my mind was, "Wow, how are they going to upgrade the Internet?" ;^) All kidding aside, it's already happening. I see it as mostly an evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) progression.

You can already see it in how search engines and various online resources have expanded, morphed, and matured. What really brought it alive for me was Tim O'Reilly's recent article, "What is Web 2.0". I'm a visual person, and his article presents a table of excellent examples:

Think about these for a moment, and think where your interaction and use of the Web has changed over the past five years. From this, it's easier to make sense of the visual Web 2.0 Meme Map, which expands on these examples.

For me, Web 2.0's context has crystallized into concepts such as:

• Blogs as participation and networking, not publishing (although blogging is still a form of publishing in the strictest sense)


• Consumer focus through syndication -- not keeping them captive via "stickiness" tricks and strategies


• Harnessing the power of collective intelligence, and radical trust as the foundation of collaboration (think wikis)


• The return of "Have it your way" for customer self-service and self-manipulation of data in a more convenient and meaningful way


• Tagging, not taxonomy (although I think this can be somewhat difficult to grasp at first)

It's not a short article, but it does a pretty good job of putting a face, via examples, of what Web 2.0 is, and perhaps just as importantly, what it isn't.

Savvy Tips on Snatching an Expiring Domain

Do you want a specific domain name that's already in use, but not sure how to make it happen? Mike Davidson, a former Walt Disney Media Manager, offers a number of great tips about snatching up an expiring domain name.

First, he explains the different stages of a domain's expiration cycle (during which the current owner can still retain or redeem it). But then it gets really interesting as he describes several services and their various tactics that leave the customer wondering "Who's really bidding?".

All in all, an exceptional first-hand look into the seamier side of domain name drop-catching. [Via Lifehacker]

Opera Browser: Now Free & Why You Should Care

The Opera 8.5 web browser just became free, offered without the ads. As Opera's site is fairly scarce on details, BetaNews and CNet provide a few more tidbits as to why Opera is now offered without ads, licensing fees, or registration. (Premium support is still available at $29 per year.)

Interestingly, the timing could be fortuitous, given this CNet article published two days ago: "Symantec: Mozilla browsers more vulnerable than IE". (Yes, that's not a misprint.)

According to CNet's summary of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, "25 vendor-confirmed vulnerabilities were disclosed for the Mozilla browsers during the first half of 2005, 'the most of any browser studied,' the report's authors stated. Eighteen of these flaws were classified as high severity. 'During the same period, 13 vendor-confirmed vulnerabilities were disclosed for IE, eight of which were high severity,' the report noted." [...] "There is one caveat: Symantec counts only those security flaws that have been confirmed by the vendor."

With this said, Symantec adds that only IE has experienced "widespread exploitation" so far, but "expects this to change as alternative browsers become increasingly widely deployed." In other words, IE is just more squarely within hackers' sights -- at the moment.

The article goes on to cover the Secunia statistics for the browsers. Secunia is a well-known security monitoring company that tracks security issues of various applications. Just to provide a more apples-to-apples comparison between IE, Mozilla, and Opera, I looked up the latest version of each browser to see how many Secunia "advisories" (i.e., security risks, exploits, etc.) were reported for each. As of today, Opera indeed appears to fare the best among the three, and Mozilla doesn't look so bad with just a few outstanding issues (although "none" would be better):

Total Secunia Advisories (I believe these are cumulative):

However, given that Opera is on version 8.5 and was more commercially developed compared to Mozilla's open source efforts, one could make a very good argument that it's more mature and has more built-in features. Mozilla requires many third-party plug-ins to achieve its functionality. One area I've always thought Opera was a leader was its mouse gestures for quick navigation -- a great feature that once you master, you don't want to use a browser without. And, as a market trailer, it's far less likely that hackers would find any meaningful return in their efforts to exploit it. That could change now that it's free, as there's a lot to like.

Is it too late for Opera to compete in the browser wars? Hard to say. Fairly recent surveys show people are much more aware of security issues relating to Internet use (adware, spyware, browsers, spam, phishing, etc.). People like choices. People like free choices even more, especially if it's a good product and the pain to change over from a competitor is fairly low. I do think that by now, most people have "settled in" with their browser of choice, and don't want to migrate their bookmarks/favorites yet again. However, there are many who always want to try the latest and greatest, and I have no doubt they are already downloading Opera, willing to give it a whirl.

After Microsoft has dominated the browser scene for so long (amazing considering its lack of releases to keep pace), it's nice to see the pendulum swinging back the other way.

Google Blog Search Beta Released

In the ever-expanding Google universe, they've just released the Google Blog Search Beta. Not surprising, given Google's general affinity for blogs in its regular search engine, and naturally they own Blogger, so what better way to boost both technologies?

While some speculate it will give services like Technorati a run for the money, I see it a bit differently. Yes, all of these services perform a search function, but some do a better job of tracking the pinging or links between them, which could be translated as discussion threads. Now remember, this is a beta, so Google could certainly add more features as they go.

There are a few different ways you can get to Google's Blog Search:

• blogsearch.google.com (Google-style interface)
• search.blogger.com (Blogger-style interface)
• The Blogger Dashboard
• The Navbar on any Blog*Spot blog

More help and info is available at the Google Blog Search Help page, which is a list of FAQ's.

Cell Phone Tower Search via Google Maps

Google's interactive mapping technology has some useful applications. For instance, have you ever wished you were closer to a cell tower, or simply knew which way to point your cell phone or CrackBerry to get a better signal? For the answer, try Mobiledia's Cell Phone Tower Search.

Just type in the city and state, and up pops a Google map populated with the cell tower locations. How'd they do that? The cell towers are registered with the FCC. They took the information and compiled it into a searchable database. By presenting that information in Google Maps, they provided a simple but very effective graphical interface to display towers within the area.

Very cool, and definitely more useful than Google Moon's use of Google Maps (but you really need to zoom all the way into Google Moon for the best experience).

More on Microsoft's RSS Strategy

Microsoft Watch has more on MS' big plans for RSS. The post includes a link to an MSDN Channel 9 video of Microsoft's RSS team.

The more interesting parts are in the latter half of the very informal video. From Channel 9, there are three demos in the video at the indicated time positions in the video:

Demo One, at about 23:19. RSS in IE 7 and synchronization with other aggregators (like RSS Bandit)
Demo Two, at about 34:00. Enclosures, calendar integration.
Demo Three, at about 49:50. Amazon integration.

Microsoft to Incorporate RSS in Longhorn

Microsoft just announced that RSS will be incorporated into the forthcoming Longhorn (the next version of Windows) as a core technology. This has the potential of being really big, and I'll tell you why.

Right now, each RSS application (e.g., FeedDemon, NewsGator, etc.) has to maintain its own set of RSS feed addresses and XML data downloaded from your subscribed sites. The problems are many: Duplication of storage and data, no synchronization resulting in time-consuming import/exports of OPML files (or none at all), outdated RSS links in your lesser-used RSS readers, etc. Sure, you could use a web-based service such as Bloglines for central access, but I've never been satisfied with their watered-down features compared to FeedDemon. That's a key difference between fat and thin clients.

The OPML format makes transferring the RSS feed lists and groups easier between RSS apps and PCs, but what about the downloaded content itself? What if you like to maintain a year's worth of feeds (or more) for searching or creating watchlists within your RSS reader (Go FeedDemon!)? You likely can't merge the different data sets.

By now you have a pretty good idea of the issues with using multiple RSS readers and computing platforms (Windows, Web, etc.).

Now let's talk about the OS: Remember those fond DOS days when each application needed its own modem, printer, and display drivers installed, configured, and tweaked? Centralizing those shared services into the OS usually made it a lot easier and cost-effective on both the application developers and the end users. Developers didn't have to write additional code for all these items, so they could either focus on coding additional features, or simply getting their application to market more quickly.

Fast-forwarding to RSS as a core piece of the OS: If Microsoft succeeds, RSS feeds and data could be stored as shared resources. Updated Longhorn-aware versions of your favorite RSS readers can access the shared info. So, for example, if you love using both FeedDemon for its watchlists but also SharpReader for its blog discussion threading, you can have your cake and eat it too (assuming the app developers support Longhorn).

Let's kick it up notch: Think of all the cool things we do on our PCs -- the integration of e-mail, web browsing, and RSS feeds (NewsGator is a good example at their intersection). How about music and video playlists and streaming? Movie listings? TV listings? Driving directions? These could all very well be RSS-driven. Driven where? Right into any number of RSS-aware applications: Browsers, e-mail, office suites, multimedia players, games, you name it. The entertainment and media center applications and extensions are particularly well suited to being RSS-enabled. Microsoft's RSS team surely already knows this. Microsoft also has a good track record of waiting until a technology begins to mature and then swarms it (think browsers, e-mail, office suites, and portals -- all of which could benefit from being RSS-aware).

With this said, all of this RSS "goodness" within Microsoft's control raises valid concerns:

• Microsoft making proprietary changes to the RSS standards:

Remember those IE extensions to HTML tags, which only worked in the IE browser? Discussions are already underway by Microsoft to extend RSS to handle lists (e.g., music playlists, NY Times Bestseller list, SharePoint document lists -- aha!). However, there is a mitigating factor mentioned in the PC World Techlog: "Microsoft will make these extensions available through a Creative Commons license, which means that other developers can incorporate them into their services and software products."

Keep in mind, though, that this still gives Microsoft an edge to begin subtle RSS morphing into their own image. The CC license, while laudable, also helps MS avoid some of the backlash and speeds adoption. Very savvy. Even Dave Winer sounds optimistic with the way MS is approaching RSS extension and new format development -- quite a turnaround from his previous battle over RSS vs. Atom.

• Effect on the market:

Anyone who integrates with a key piece of Microsoft code is in danger of being displaced by a watered-down Microsoft replacement or MS acquiring them outright. Remember Stacker (disk compression) and certain Quarterdeck utilities (memory management)? More recently, consider the nifty Lookout add-in for Outlook (Microsoft actually acquired Lookout, but you get the idea).

Now consider NewsGator's tight integration with Outlook. I'd be a little nervous if I were them, as IE and Outlook are two critical intersection points for RSS feeds. I'd bet NewsGator saw the writing on the wall over the last year or two and decided to diversify by offering addition services and integrations.

I don't view this as a panacea to some of the other issues (syncing RSS feeds and/or content between PC's, for example). However, it doesn't take much imagination to see how RSS' capabilities can be extended and exploited with a little help from the OS as a common enabling platform. Definitely worth staying tuned.

Free Anti-Phishing Browser Bar, Online Tech Help & GoogleX

PC World's "30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet" contains a wide range of sites, resources, and programs that you may not have come across yet. My take on three I liked:

SpoofStick: Beat the Phishers by Revealing Spoofed Web Sites
Spoofed web sites look just like the real McCoy, right down to displaying a seemingly authentic web site domain in your browser (e.g., ebay.com). Phishers trick you (usually by e-mail) to go to a spoofed site to provide confidential information for the phisher's nefarious purposes. Help has arrived: CoreStreet offers a free download, the SpoofStick applet. It adds a toolbar for both IE 6.x and Firefox 1.x, which displays the actual domain of the site, not the spoofed address -- a nice visual indicator to fight phishing. Per the CoreStreet site, "SpoofStick contains no adware, spyware, nagware or other unhealthy additives." [Note: I haven't tried or examined this software, so as always, downloader beware.]

Free Online Tech Help
If you're having a bad tech day, perhaps the Tech Support Guy can help. It's basically a group of forums categorized by type of application or OS, and manned by volunteers. You can search them to see if someone has already solved the problem, or ask a new question. If you can't get a straight answer from the vendor's tech support, here's another resource to try. (Did I mention it's free? ;^)

Google + OS X = GoogleX
If you haven't tried Google's other online services, you're really missing out on some cool and useful stuff. Apparently, a Google researcher designed GoogleX, a version of the Google web site with a cool toolbar for Mac OS X fans. The twelve icons get you into Froogle, Google Maps, Gmail, Labs, Local, etc. Per PC World, "Originally designed by a Google researcher, the toolbar disappeared shortly after being posted on the Google Labs site (most likely due to objections by Apple), but not before some plucky Netizens saved a copy for your use." [No advice or recommendation whatsoever being given here on its use or legal status, so the decision is completely yours.]

LawTech Guru Honored in ABA TECHSHOW "60 Sites"

I'm incredibly honored that LawTech Guru was included in the "60 Sites in 60 Minutes" links which were recently published on the ABA TECHSHOW 2005 site. Web veterans Jim Calloway, Robert Ambrogi, and Jeff Flax listed a cornucopia of cool and interesting sites in the popular TECHSHOW highlight. Thanks guys.

Be sure to check out the other sites listed -- no matter how long you've been on the Web, you'll likely find something worth the visit.

Get Your Google Page Rank

If you have a blog or web site, and you're curious to know your Google Page Rank, try these two sites:

GoogleRankings.com
Google PageRank Calculator

Both sites are helpful in different ways, and neither seems to be affiliated with Google. While the latter is good for returning a general GPR, I like GoogleRankings.com because it returns the Page Rank relative to various keywords. So you can run a number of queries to determine where your site is doing well, and where it might need a boost.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Google algorithm expert, so take from this what you will, as this is merely my general understanding of how this stuff works. Google's inner workings are constantly being tweaked.

Basically, Google's algorithm assigns each web site a Page Rank from 0-10, with 10 being best. In reading some of the search engine watch sites, exactly how Google arrives at the score seems to be a moving target. I wouldn't be surprised if this scale wasn't linear, as I suspect it's much more difficult to move from a "9" to a "10" than it is to move from a "1" to a "2".

After all, per the Google PankRank Calculator site, the 10's are the massively popular sites like Google and Yahoo!. Even usatoday.com ranks a "9", while nytimes.com and cnn.com only rank an "8". So I'm pretty darn satisfied with a "6". Some of the most popular blawgs seem to rank between 5 and 7 (although I only ran the query for a half dozen of them, so it's not statistically significant). Precious few got a 7, such as Bag and Baggage. Most of the well-known blawgs are at 5 or 6.

Some general rules of thumb seem to play out with Google SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for earning a higher Page Rank: Sites that update content regularly, and that are more heavily linked to (inbound links) from other sites generally receive a higher Page Rank.

So why are Google Page Ranks relevant? The raw score doesn't mean much by itself. When combined with a Google keyword or phrase search, in context, that's when the page rank makes a difference. For example, LawTech Guru is the number one result returned when searching for Jeff Beard or lawtech, but is nowhere in the top 1,000 results for the word "tomato" -- probably because I've never used "tomato" in a post before today. Now, the interesting thing will be to see if and how that tomato page rank changes within a week, since I've now changed the status quo by this post. (In scientific terms, I've changed the environment by the act of studying it.)

So Page Rank scores, by themselves, probably won't get you new business. But what they may get you, in the right context, is increased visibility in Google search results. But which results? Some of my highest rankings are from posts that have nothing to do with legal technology, at least not directly. I suspect those got there by others linking to them.

What's important to take away from this is that if you want your blog or web site to be found for various keyword or phrase searches, it's helpful to know where you're starting from, and which words you need to add to your content on a regular basis. To get a bigger boost, you'll want those pages to be linked to by other high-ranking sites, as that will help to elevate your ranking, and potentially, your online visibility. I can tell you firsthand that while I don't sell anything here, not even services, professional visibility is quite valuable.

Now with that said, don't get caught in the trap that you must be found on Google or other major search engines to be found online. Yes, it's very important, but it's not the whole enchilada. Again, I'll use this blog as an example. According to GoogleRankings.com, this site currently ranks as 29 to the keyword search for "legal technology" using lawtechguru.com as the URL pattern. That gets knocked down to 49 when using www.lawtechguru.com as the URL pattern. Which means that I'm not on the first two pages of Google results for legal technology. But you know what? Thanks to the collegiality of my fellow blawgers, I'm linked on many of their blogrolls and vice versa. Which means that when they get found via search engines and their sites are read, some of those readers will invariably stumble onto my blog -- it's how the blogosphere works.

So, when the dust and smoke clears, while Google Page Ranks are important to understand and leverage, they are only one piece of the overall solution for online marketing and visibility. Rather than an end, they are an important means to achieving an overall plan.

Localized Services: No Matter Where You Go, There You Are

Here's an interesting web trend: Over the past few years, "localized" web services have grown considerably. Consider Topix.net (local news by zip code), Google's Local Beta search, Cairo (local shopping deals), and others. Over the past ten years, the Internet was a bit like satellite TV in its infancy: Lots of channels but very few local ones. Now that many pieces are in place, more service providers are tapping into their potential.

I expect the localized service market to expand substantially over the next few years. While making this prediction is easy, picking the winners is anything but simple. Some, like Topix, make instant sense and should do well. Likewise, savvy real estate brokers have tapped into its power by providing online listings. It's not so clear for others trying to fill various niches.

For instance, Dodgeball really gets localized. Think of it as Friendster for your cell phone via text messaging. It lets others know where you are, or vice versa. Sounds great for socializing, but the "Crush" feature could end up a little creepy. (It's definitely a new slant on "I was just in the neighborhood.") And I thought CrackBerry dating was fraught with some interesting social implications.

It's a brave new world -- with all new localized services. Some of them will undoubtedly be ultra-trendy. However, I also expect to see even more localized marketing and networking services online for professional service verticals.

Web Tools O' Plenty

Test your Web savvy by reading PC World's "The New Web Challengers". The feature article covers a wide variety of web browsers and other web-based programs, sites, and services. See how many you're currently using or have heard something about:

• Alternative web browsers
• New search engines
• News and other fresh info
• Alternative online shopping sites
• Online business tools
• Little-known travel and mobile sites
• Universal IM (Instant Messaging)
• RSS, Blogging, and Wikis

Two Great Guides to Firefox Extensions

The Firefox browser, while all the rage, lacks some functionality out of the box. The magic is in the plugins. So if it's left you wanting more, check out PC Magazine's Top 15 Firefox Extensions. Still not enough? Head on over to Flexbeta's guide to Firefox extensions, where nearly 30 are covered. There's something for everyone.

Some of the Best Software You Never Tried (Part 1)

I like free, useful software. (Who doesn't?) I thought I'd share some of the ones I've used that may be off the beaten track for some folks, but well worth a look. Rather than try to cram them all into one post, I'll feature them one at a time. First up:

Maxthon (formerly MyIE2):

Pure and simple, Maxthon is a power browser's browser. One might say I live on the web, and Maxthon has more features than I'll ever need -- so that's saying something. It has the most refined and featured tabbing system of any free browser I've seen. I can drag tabs around, control their width, have multiple tab rows, or just one long one using left/right scroll buttons. Maxthon pops open new tabs faster than IE opens new windows. When searching with Google, I can leave the results window open in the first tab, and launch the linked sites in other tabs without losing Google's page. With tabs, there's no more clutter on the Windows taskbar from multiple open IE windows. It have it set to minimize to the system tray to stay out of sight until I need it.

I really like its robust and customizable built-in ActiveX filter, pop-up blocker, and ad-blocker, which even blocks floating ads. My web surfing is more enjoyable and a bit faster since I don't have to wait for ads to load or close extra pop-ups. I can save multiple open sites as a "Group" -- perfect for saving research sessions with related open pages. It automatically reloads missing pictures -- no more little red x's or missing picture icons unless there's a broken link in the page.

Mouse gestures for navigation are incredible. It's like tabbed browsing -- once you've used them, you'll never want to go back. Maxthon's Alias feature gives me ActiveWords-like functionality by assigning memorable aliases to URLs. For example, I simply type "g" and press Enter to go to http://www.google.com, or "wrt" to bring up my Linksys wireless router's config page. It also sports a built-in search bar (customizable for virtually any search engine of choice) and an auto-highlighter for search terms.

It's skinnable, and it's self-cleaning: When closing Maxthon, I have it set to automatically clear its undo list, address list, history, search bar history, cache, cookies, and form data. About the only thing it doesn't clean is the notorious index.dat files, which are kept open by the Windows operating system. (I have another program for doing this, but that's an upcoming post.) It also sports an Undo feature with a site history for the current session. If you accidentally close a tab, Undo lets you choose which closed web site to reopen. This has come in handy more times than I can remember.

As you may have surmised, it takes a little while to get accustomed to and master all of this functionality, but it's well worth the effort. Now that I have, I'm so much more efficient and productive in accessing and organizing online information.

Yes, Maxthon is based upon IE, let's get that out of the way. However, its developers have thoughtfully closed some of the security holes, and Maxthon is pretty stable for a browser. Maxthon also uses very few system resources compared to IE. No browser is 100% secure, not even Firefox, and I haven't seen adware, spyware, or viruses on my systems in a very, very long time (and I scan regularly with multiple programs). I don't believe I've been lucky in this regard: I've also set up IE and Maxthon to be selective (e.g., blocking or prompting for active content) and it definitely helps to know what not to click on while surfing.

Because it's IE-based, Maxthon works directly with my saved IE Favorites, so I only have one list of bookmarks to deal with. Because it's IE-based, I don't have to install all-new plugins to work with standard web apps like QuickTime, Shockwave Flash, Acrobat Reader, and the like. Maxthon can handle sites designed for IE, so I don't have to swap between a non-IE and IE browser. The last time I checked, Maxthon does not support the newest version of the Google Toolbar (although a prior version still works). This might be a downside for others, but not for me. Maxthon provides very similar, if not better, functionality. Maxthon also supports over 400+ Maxthon plugins as well as many IE plugins.

I've tried IE, Netscape, Firefox, and Mozilla, and Maxthon just fits the way I like to power browse. Firefox, while lean, fast, and arguably more secure, is still too primitive for my taste and needs, and it's a hassle to manage different plugins and bookmark lists. Maxthon is fairly fast and stable, and its numerous features are polished and highly customizable. It's also actively developed, with frequent version updates. Rarely have I ever been this pleased with any piece of software, free or otherwise. Maxthon just lets me surf my way. Not surprisingly, that's also Maxthon's tagline: "The way we surf the world."

Yahoo! Acquires Bloomba

Bloomba, an e-mail program that offered impressive search features and speed, was just acquired by Yahoo!. Per the Bloomba announcement:

Why did Yahoo! acquire Stata Labs?
This acquisition will provide Yahoo! with exceptional technological expertise and strategic assets.

What does Yahoo! plan to do with the technology as a result of the acquisition?
At this time we do not have any announcements about the ongoing plans for the technology or the specifics of the transaction.

I just purchased Bloomba or SAproxy Pro. Can I get a refund?
Customers who purchased Bloomba or SAproxy Pro within the last thirty days are eligible for a full refund. To receive a refund please email support@statalabs.com by November 21, 2004.

[...]

Will there be upgrades available for Bloomba or SAproxy Pro?
At this time, there are no plans to offer upgrades for Bloomba or SAproxy Pro.

[...]

Will Yahoo! sell Bloomba or SAproxy Pro?
At this time there are no plans for Yahoo! to sell Bloomba or SAproxy Pro.

Where can I purchase Bloomba or SAproxy Pro?
Bloomba and SAproxy Pro are no longer available for purchase.

Can resellers continue to sell Bloomba or SAproxy Pro?
Stata Labs products are no longer available for sale through resellers.

Stupid Browser Tricks

Okay, so they're not stupid -- but it got your attention, didn't it? It's October, so it's a good time to do more Trick or Treating. Here are some very simple web browser tricks I've found both helpful and time-saving over my years online:

1) Autocomplete your ".com" URL:

Instead of manually typing a full web site address such as http://www.lawtechguru.com, try this instead:

- Type lawtechguru
- Press CTRL-Enter.

In IE and Firefox, the web browser will automatically type the http://www. prefix and the .com suffix for you and take you to the site. This saves you 15 keystrokes for each web site address you type. Over time, it all adds up. It only works for .com domains, although some browsers will let you use other key combinations for ".net", ".org", etc. It's also a good reason to choose a domain name ending in ".com" when you set up a new web site.

Note: For CTRL-Enter to work in IE, the Autocomplete feature must be enabled in your browser settings. Do this by clicking Tools menu, Internet Options, Content tab, Autocomplete... button, and making sure the Web Addresses option is checked.

2) Quick, go the Address field in one easy step:

Without tabbing or lifting your hand to use the mouse:

- Press Alt-D. That's it. In IE, Mozilla, and Firefox, it will jump your cursor back up to the Address field and select all text.
- Whatever new text you type will replace the old text (and don't forget to use CTRL-Enter for ".com" addresses!).

3) Print a table or grid with all of its color shading in IE:

Ever print a web comparison table only to find it difficult to read? That's because the shading is in the background. Here's how to tell IE to print the background colors:

- In IE, click on Tools, Internet Options, and the dialog will appear.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Scroll down about 2/3 until you see the Printing section.
- Check the only option: Print background colors and images.
- Click OK.

Now go ahead and print your web table, and odds are that the table shading will print properly. (It all depends on how they were formatted, but this usually works for me.) Afterward, don't forget to go back and turn off this print option. Otherwise, other web pages with colored backgrounds will probably print with dark backgrounds, making the text difficult to read.

4) See more in fullscreen mode:

Don't have a nice, large 21-inch monitor? Temporarily get rid of all of your toolbars, status bars, etc., save for one bar at the top:

- Press F11, or
- Click on the Full Screen button on the standard button bar, or
- Click on View, Full Screen.

It's a toggle, so you can easily change it back by repeating the process or clicking on the Restore button in the top right corner. These methods work in many browsers.

5) Open Links in a New Window:

- In any open browser window: Shift-click on the hyperlink (hold down the Shift key when clicking). This tells the browser to open the link in a new browser window.
- Alternate method: Press CTRL-N to open a copy of the current web page in a new window. Then click on the link. Your original window is untouched and still present onscreen.

This is very handy when you want to keep your original browser window open for reference (e.g., your Google search results). In geek circles, this is also known as "spawning" a new browser window. It also works in a number of browsers that support tabbed browsing.

6) Mozilla Easter Egg:

Here's a bonus Treat after all the Tricks above. It's an oldie but a goodie, and it works in many Mozilla flavors (Mozilla, Firebird, Firefox, etc.):

- Go to the address bar (remember Tip #2?) and type this without any spaces: about:mozilla
- Press Enter or click on the Go button.

If you have both Mozilla and Firefox installed, try it in both as you'll get noticeably different results.

A Rebuttal to Malware & IE

Forever, it seems, I've been reading the many posts and articles complaining about spyware, malware, and IE security issues. I acknowledge they exist, and I've done my fair share of removing adware, spyware and the like. The funny thing is, I've been using a powerful IE-based browser (MyIE2, n/k/a Maxthon) as my main browser for over a year, and pure IE before that, and can't recall having a browser-related spyware nor a drive-by downloading incident. I generally keep up on IE patches, and I've scanned my PCs many times with Norton Antivirus, Ad-Aware, Spybot, etc. I've also used my share of Netscape, Mozilla, and Firefox too, so I'm definitely not a Microsoft groupie. In my personal user experience, I've only encountered malware when I've installed a supposedly free program that had others bundled in as a means to defray their costs. We've all seen plenty of those -- some will tell or prompt you during installation while others just creep in unannounced. There's no excuse for the silent parasites -- we should at least be presented with the choice. But for the others, we've made a conscious decision to download and install them.

What prompted this post was Jerry Lawson's post about Ernie's Svenson's post about a Slashdot post (welcome to the link-crazy blogosphere), all of which recommend dumping IE ASAP due to the security and drive-by downloading problems.

Mind you, I'm not disagreeing with that, as I've said it myself from time to time. But since my IE settings and overall experience seem to differ greatly from the general public, I've concluded this wasn't simply a mere coincidence. I believe this greatly reduces the chance for malware getting into my system, coupled with savvy user-level decisions. I should also mention I use pure IE from time to time, when I want to ensure the maximum compatibility browsing to or downloading from active content-rich sites. Otherwise, I pretty much use MyIE2 with occasional use of Firefox when faster rendering speed is desired. I also like Firefox's fast way to disable Java and Javascripting from two simple checkboxes within the same settings dialog.

While MyIE2 features advanced content blocking (i.e., blocking inline ads, flash animations, popups, etc.) that only gets me so far in my malware defense. By far and large, I firmly believe most people have problems with spyware and malware just because they don't know any better (i.e., lack of savvy user education and not optimally configuring IE). By default, IE is left quite open for drive-by downloads, but that doesn't mean it can't be made to deflect them. Even when I use plain IE without any ad-blocking, I still have it set to block or prompt for most active content. As mentioned, I also use antivirus and anti-spyware programs, which also help.

I've found that changing the settings in IE's Security / Internet Zone / Custom Level to be quite effective against unwanted malware. I've disabled some features (especially on those "not marked safe"), set some to "high safety" and set most of the remainder to prompt me, particularly regarding ActiveX and scripting content. This allows me to decide if/when active content should run to access desired content (e.g., Microsoft's various support/update sites, launching the PDF reader when clicking on a PDF file, loading a desired flash animation etc.), versus blocking the potentially harmful active web content. This solution presents me with many pop-up dialog prompts, but after a little while they didn't bother me because I get to choose what happens next: I'm not a victim of an unfortunate browsing accident.

Knock on wood, as I know this doesn't close all of IE's holes, but I've yet to encounter a drive-by malware downloading. Why? I believe it's because my IE and IE-based browsers either ignore or prompt me for what to do when it encounters most active content. I've run a number of updated anti-spyware scans on my PCs and they come up clean each time. Of course, the distinguishing variable is knowing how to answer those browser prompts. If I'm downloading a PDF or Flash animation I want to see, then I allow it to run. If I don't know what's prompting me, I click on "No", and then see if the web page will load properly. If it does, great. If it doesn't, then I need to decide if the desired content is worth the risk of allowing the active content to load. So far, so good.

Obviously, there's a trust and/or judgment factor involved as well. Most large corporate sites are not going to want to risk alienating their market by inflicting malware. For those that have, they've usually learned a painful lesson in customer relations and the power of the Web to replicate such information very quickly and LOUDLY. If I'm visiting a new or strange site, then I err on the side of caution. I don't need more smileys for my e-mail or IM program, and I know I'm not going to win anything by clicking on a moving ad (regardless of how satisfying it may be to virtually smack that annoying purple monkey!) or answering that "Friends" trivia question for which anyone over three knows the answer.

We all know IE has a lot of security holes, no argument there. But my individual experience leads me to conclude that specifically regarding browser-delivered malware (adware, spyware, viruses, trojans, etc.), the choices made at the computer operator level (hey, that's us!) are by far the largest contributor to allowing harmful content into our systems in the first place. This stuff generally doesn't get there by itself. Someone had to make the decision to visit a particular site (whether via Google, directly, or from some other link), using a web browser configured in a specific way. Even alternative web browsers have security issues. It all comes down to where you surf on the web, what you're using to get there, and what choices you're making in how you access the online data once you've arrived. Even choosing which free programs to download and install requires judgment. For help, check out sites like SpywareInfo and Spyware-Guide.com before you download a new program. They provide helpful information and maintain lists of spyware- and malware-ridden programs.

This isn't begging the entire Microsoft security issue, and Microsoft clearly needs to address it. But unless or until that happens, it's up to us to either educate ourselves to address it, or hire someone else who's savvy enough to take care of it and educate us on an informed way to do it. In other words, good ol' personal accountability. As Smokey said: "Only you can prevent forest fires." This doesn't excuse the malware developers in the least, nor Microsoft, but a good many incidents are avoidable with an appropriate approach.

So instead of throwing the IE baby out with the bath water to clean house, I'd rather come up with a better way to keep the baby clean. I've written here previously about how I've all but dumped IE as my main browser, and that's true. My main motivation was to find a better browser for power user features while maintaining a common set of bookmarks. As my main replacement browser is based upon the underlying IE engine and its flaws, I tasked myself to find a way to get all the benefits I was looking for while securing it as much as possible. So far, I like the result. It's not perfect (what is?), but it works for me.

I was quite tempted to conclude this with the typical, "Your mileage may vary" -- but then shouldn't we ask the critical question: Why?