LegalTech Chicago 2003
Collected by David Whelan, Ross Kodner and Wells Anderson – Presenters

Some of these programs may become your favorites. Others you may just not like at all. We hope you will have good experiences with the ones you try.

Disclaimer: The presenters, LegalTech and American Lawyer Media do not endorse any particular program. We are not responsible for your experience with them. Be sure to backup your PC regularly and especially before installing new software.

1.      Google Toolbar  http://toolbar.google.com
        My Internet searching is faster than ever thanks to this toolbar.  It kills pop-up windows; allows me to jump to where the words in my search query appear in the document; and enables me to auto-fill forms.

2.      Avantgo Newsreader      http://www.avantgo.com (requires PDA)
        Nevermind bumping elbows with other "L" riders!  I can read the BBC, NY Times, IT Canada, Wired, Salon, and many other news and information resources.  Going on a trip?  Save your Mapquest.com driving directions to your Avantgo account and take them with you.

3.      Acrobat PDF Reader for PDA
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html for all PDAs
Adobe Reader 3.05 for just Palm OS PDAs
        Any PDF on your computer can now go with you.

4.      Opera Web Browser       http://www.opera.com
        Although you cannot avoid the Microsoft browsers, since so many sites are designed with them in mind, when I need to surf quickly, I use the latest version of the ad-supported Opera browser.  Pages load quickly and there are nice hooks to the search engines.

5.      Eudora Web Suite
http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite/download/
        Eudora, famed e-mail program, is available for Palm OS PDAs, and comes with a Web browser that will synchronize with Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

6.      Stuffit Expander        http://www.stuffit.com/win/expander/index.html
        Easy, free extractor of Windows compressed zip files as well as Macintosh Binhex files.  Sure, I could use Winzip, but I only need an extractor.

7.      Microsoft Security Baseline Analyzer
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.asp

        Want to know how vulnerable your Windows computers are?  Download and run this utility - and run it on a regular basis - to see how well secured your systems are.

8.      Outlook Preview http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/8392/
        Microsoft's latest Outlook releases constantly improve the interface, but I really like to be able to see my e-mail folders, my inbox, and the text of a message, all in the same window.  This free plug-in to Outlook 2000/2002 and Outlook 97.

9.      HP Web Jetadmin (link to webpage for HP Web Jetadmin)

        When you are in an office that uses HP Jetdirect networking for your printers, you can both monitor and administer your printer remotely, from a Web page.  Want to see if the toner is low, if the printer's jammed?  What if you want to reset the printer?  This tool can let you manage all of the printers in an organization effectively.  Or you can just sneak a peek to see if your printer is doing what it is supposed to!

10.     Pretty Good Privacy Freeware http://www.pgp.com/products/freeware.html
        If you are like most lawyers in the US, you are sending client material that is confidential via e-mail.  PGP can enable you to encrypt - and your client to decrypt - confidential information that you want to share.

11. MetaData Assistant http://www.payneconsulting.com
Clean hidden data out of your Word documents before sending them.

12. MailWasher http://www.mailwasher.net
Delete Spam before fetching your Email. This powerful program compares Email sources against 3 Spam servers and flags suspected Email for deletion. It works with both POP3 and IMAP Email servers and side-by-side with any Email software.

13. AboutTime http://www.arachnoid.com/abouttime/ – No Cost “Careware”
Synchronize your computer’s clock with timeservers on the Internet

14. AimKeys http://www.aimsoft.com
This macro program expands abbreviations of your choosing into words, phrases, paragraphs, whatever. With many options, AimKeys can automate almost any task.

15. TextPad http://www.textpad.com
This is Notepad on steroids. A very fast text editor great for taking quick notes or heavy-duty text editing tasks.

16. WinZip http://www.winzip.com
Want to throw a bunch of files onto a CD or attach them to an Email? WinZip is great for zipping them all into one file that you and others can easily expand back to the original collection of single files. You can encrypt the files with a password, a smart option when sending files across the Internet.