To be sure, if you’re a “speller of big words” (as my friend calls a good, critical thinker) you know the infamous “kill all the lawyers” line from Henry VI suggests that such a move will rid them of those who have an ability to find redress for grievances.  Some even refer to attorneys as  “guardians of independent thinking”.

Consider, however, the reporter.  (Does a tree really fall in the woods if it isn’t reported?)  One need not look far to recall a reporter who finds the right opening, really probes, digs into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory, publishes her finding, and kaboom!  It’s viral.  If you read, you know how an important, well-reported story can sweep the earth, alter inertia, and move people so much more effectively than the best-crafted injunction, brought by capable counsel.

Even now, they’re gathered in Hungary at Global Voices Summit 08.  You know how to google; try “gvsummit08″.  They’re discussing fighting censorship around the globe.  They’re blogging.  They’re tweeting.  IM’s, emails, qik video…they know their effort — the mere fact that they are convening — is important.  They’re so right.

Sure, I want able counsel in my corner (or gone if I’m a conspiring malefactor).  But if I’m gonna scheme the citizenry, sneak one past “the people”, the first thing we do, let’s kill all the reporters.  Indeed.

Don’t stop here.  Google blogs for gvsummit08.  You have no excuse: click here.  Or here (for tweets).

Voice-to-text service Jott has up and reversed their game a bit with their latest service offering—having custom-picked feeds read back to you, over your phone connection. If you’re already a Jott member, you should see a feed notice when you log in starting today, where you can choose highlighted feeds (including Lifehacker) or give Jott your custom feeds. Call into Jott, say “Jott feeds” when asked “Who do you want to Jott?” and you’re on your way. …

It’s Jott, and it’s nifty. What kind of use might you make of it?

Recall Jeff Goldblum as Ian in Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so pre-occupied with whether or not they could they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I’m not suggesting we should not practice online, but I do know folks (especially folks like me who love to discover “look what this software can do”) who get so caught up in making it work, watching it work, and telling how it works that we forget to talk about why we’re doing it. I would invite some folks who have their “boots on the ground” in the cutting edge of online law practice to tell/remind the rest of us of the many benefits and opportunities this venue makes possible.

Enter Grant Griffiths and Stephanie Kimbro. Grant has developed an exceptional expertise and following in the legal blogging world. (If you’re here you likely already know this, but…) He is Home Office Lawyer, Home Office Warrior and G2WebMedia, among other things. Stephanie is a North Carolina attorney and catalyst who provides legal services online via Kimbro Legal Services. Stephanie has worked with G2 to develop the website and blog at VLOtech (virtual law office technology) “with the purpose of providing a secure, software as a service, web-based product that connects solo and small firm law practices with the online consumer.”

With the combination of their unique expertise, who better to answer the question, “why so great?” Perhaps you can already imagine some of the benefits to attorney and/or client, but if these two do not delight you with at least one new nugget, I will be very surprised.

So Grant, Stephanie, do tell.

makes your comments more interactive for readers and easier to manage for you — all while connecting your community with other blogs.

We shall see.  Have you tried it elsewhere?  on your own blog?  Leave a comment regarding experience you’ve had with the Disqus comment system before, or how you like the mechanics or look of Disqus as used here.

Link: Abilene Christian University. It is no secret the Kansas Business Attorney has been skeptical of the iPhone. The rest of the story. While the AT&T 8525 has certainly filled the bill for mobile connectedness, there is a quiet concession to be made. Fewer keystrokes may have value. Some may have had a tendency (due to an old stereotype that Apple products are merely “more expensive and prettier”) to bash the iPhone in favor of the Windows Mobile (first 5, now 6) platform. True, it still seems the Windows Mobile can ultimately do more (and it already meshes well with Outlook), but for what it will do (and yes, that list is growing and many are eager to be its primary grower) the iPhone will do it faster than than a WinMo device.

Remarkable Concept: ACU Connected: Convergence and the 21st-Century Classroom. In its brief discourse (“Implications for the Emerging Classroom”) on the “flexibility, creativity, and community manifest in Web 2.0″ ACU suggest today’s students are

“born multitaskers for whom convergence is second nature.

Rather than fighting against a change that’s old news for our students, and rather than passively waiting for the development of new pedagogical models, we think it’s important to embrace and nurture the trends demonstrated by the 21st-century classroom and Web 2.0. We believe that the best way to fulfill these goals is to encourage communication and convergence. We see the new generation of converged mobile devices like the iPhone or Blackberry as devices uniquely suited to this purpose, offering multiple communication technologies – phone, voicemail, email, multi-session chat – while also bringing together an unprecedented level of media and information access – audio, video, photography, and the web.

At their core, these devices offer compelling support for the strategies of the 21st-century classroom. Further, they offer students, faculty, and staff unprecedented opportunities for building academic and social community, bringing technologies together in a way that encourages participation, creation, and exploration rather than passive consumption. We see them as ideal platforms for developing innovative and integrative applications for higher education.”

What are those terms Jobs always throws around: remarkable … fascinating … groundbreaking. Pick one. Any way you slice, convergence and the classroom — the iPhone on any campus = pretty cool.

Tags: iphone+connected, 8525, abilene+christian+university

As a long-time PDA and smart phone user, I have certain expectations of any mobile device. These expectations revolve around such mundane tasks as synchronizing with my PIM data and allowing me to access the Internet, through the phone’s Internet connection, with my notebook computers. As it turns out, my current smart phone, a Motorola Q used via Verizon’s high-speed EV-DO network, is much more capable than the iPhone in this regard.

But before I get critical, understand this: The technology in the iPhone is of a completely different caliber than anything found in any smart phone currently being sold in the US. Indeed, the iPhone is a technological crossroads joining traditional smart phones (i.e. pre-iPhone smart phones) with the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC), Microsoft’s ultra-mobile computing platform. So we’re talking about a device that is head and shoulders, technologically, above most other portable devices of this size. With technology, of course, comes some complexity. But Apple is good at making things simple, even if it often does so at the expense of functionality.

So let’s take a look at the core technology Apple put in the iPhone, not just to revel in what it is, but rather to discover how it impacts users in the real world.

Tags: iPhone+review, iPhone+vs+8525, iPhone+keypad, iPhone+vs+at&t+8525

Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play

Taipei, Taiwan, June 5, 2007 – Majority of activities conducted on the laptops today are Internet related. Whether it´s checking emails, reading news, communicating with others or simply utilizing online share spaces, Internet usage has become a big part of the daily computing operations – for both work and fun. To accommodate the increasing total Internet computing demands as well as growing number of users, both young and old, ASUS launches the revolutionary Eee PC to provide users with a new mobile Internet experience like never before.

This is a new line of PCs that focuses on providing users with the most comprehensive Internet application based on three Es: Easy to learn, work, play; Excellent Internet experience and Excellent mobile computing experience, and hence the product name of Eee PC.

Easy to Learn, Work and Play
Learn the latest technology without a technical manual! For easy hands-on, the Eee PC offers two modes of intuitive user interface design: the easy mode and the full desktop mode in order to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC is also Windows XP compatible.

Excellent Internet Experience
Built-in WLAN connectivity allows users to stay connected for dynamic Internet usage on the go. With the Eee PC empowers users to share photos without waiting till one gets home; connect face to face with just a few clicks; enjoy online entertainment live; stay on top of emails for high work efficiency and more!

Excellent Mobile Computing Experience
The 7” Eee PC 701 weighs at a featherlight 0.89 kg, with large flash-based storage capacity and built-in webcam for compact mobility with wireless freedom. The special solid-state disc design based on built-in flash-memory gives the Eee PC a great shock-proof advantage over traditional notebook PCs allowing extra flexibility and a worry free mobile computing experience.

EeePC 701 Specification
Display：7″
CPU & Chipset: Intel mobile CPU & chipset
OS: Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
Graphic: Intel UMA
Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
Storage: 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg

Watch their event video here.

Tags: Eee+pc, asus, asustek, new+laptop, laptop

…there can come a point where you have too many points of contact.When you have…

…a cell phone, land line, Skype number, and backup VOIP line for people to talk to you

…and a number of email addresses where people can leave you more detailed messages

…and several IM clients

…plus Twitter

…augmented by online project and team management sites

…and various videoconferencing platforms…

suddenly you’ve transitioned from accessible coworker to frustrating obstacle course.

If your customers and colleagues are spending several hours downloading clients, setting up accounts on various systems, and otherwise initiating specialized ways of reaching you, your technology has become more of a problem than a solution.

So far as I can tell, this is fairly universal advice (perhaps aimed at folks like me; confession — in addition to my “Contact Dan” page, my Skype availability is on my private family blog); so “Thanks” to the folks at Web Worker Daily.