Another hot tip from Lifehacker today.  If you spend a lot of time in front of your computer (and who here doesn’t?) you may be able to reduce eyestrain by changing the background color in Adobe Reader.  Simply by changing the Accessibility settings under Preferences you can modify background to one that is less “glaring”.

Modified background color in Adobe Reader

Another reason this may matter to you is that as TJSL moves toward the new building (and entering the 21st century) it will become easier for faculty to deliver content electronically rather than on paper that you then walk to the lab and scan into your computer… Yes, we will be providing “scan to e-mail” functionality at the Island campus.

Lifehacker mentions today a Microsoft Technet article that points out a vulnerability in Internet Explorer that may expose users to malicious code if they press “F1″ when asked to on a dubious Web site.  Read Lifehacker or Technet for more.

Don’t know how long this deal will last, but if you’re quick on your toes you can download a free (legal) copy of NovaPDF Print for your PC.  Being able to print a PDF copy of whatever it is you are working on or wish to share helps to ensure that the documents you create are delivered in a format that works for most everyone.

NovaPDF virtual printer

I’ve been waiting and waiting for this feature to come out frankly.  One thing I loved about my old iPods is that I could store important files on them and have access to them from any computer I plugged into.

iPhone Explorer is almost as good.

iPhone or iPod Touch as data drive

Though it requires that the computer you use run the application to browse your Apple device, the app is free and easy to install.  I’ve not yet played around with it but it looks promising!

See iPhone Explorer for more information.

Internet Explorer 6 may be the most hated browser in the world, at least for Web Developers.  Fortunately, its share of total Web traffic has dropped from 18% to only 10% in the last year.  10% is still a lot of Internet users but when you consider that the browser is 3 versions old and lots of folks are upgrading to Windows 7, we can probably expect to see it drop even more quickly now.

Good thing, too.  Google has announced that Google Sites it will no longer support IE6 as of March 1st, 2010.  For the most part, it sounds as though only a few features will become unavailable and or less intuitive to use.  However, if you’re a TJSL student using Gmail and Google Sites (like where your sample exams are stored), now’s the time to upgrade if you haven’t already.

I’ll admit it: I’m an Apple fan boy.  Do I think everything they do rocks? No (see: Apple TV), but I like how they push the envelope and try to create solutions to problems I didn’t know I had.

Case in point, my iPhone.  I thought it would be cool, I knew it would be handy, but I never envisioned how much it would impact my expectations of what a phone could do.  Touch screen, interactive maps, guitar chords, photo editing, the surf report… oh, and it makes phone calls too. Its not just a phone its a computer in my pocket.

Now comes the unfortunately named iPad.  For a company so concerned with its image it blows my mind they let that be the name but I’ll get over it.  Now the question is, is this a Kindle killer?  Is it my “third device” sandwiched between the usage of my phone and desktop computer?  Maybe.  I mean, hey, it sure looks cool.

I'm just sayin'... A or B?

I know that for law students it may be the end all be all for text book replacement (yet) but I see potential.  If Westlaw would write an iPad app that allowed students to download, read, mark up and save their books it might just put chiropractors out of business…

This was brought to my attention today by Jennifer Cooper, Associate Director of SUMMIT. Fastcase, a Web based legal research portal, has submitted an application to Apple that would allow users full access to state and federal case law for the very reasonable price of FREE.  Not bad…

See the article at law.com for more information as well as insight into what Westlaw and Lexis Nexus are working on.

Thinking about getting a new e-reader like a Kindle or the new ones from Plastic Logic? Check out Gizmodo’s “Ultimate Guide to Ebooks” for a rundown on the plusses and minuses of the main players.

Me, I’m still waiting to see what comes from Apple in the next 30 days…

Much Rumored Apple iSlate

If you want to avoid having to login into Gmail each time you wish to check your mail, you can add your TJSL Gmail account to your favorite mail application, such as Outlook, Mail, Thunderbird or Entourage.
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Tired of checking multiple e-mail accounts and hoping you don’t miss a time sensitive message?  If you have a personal account (and who doesn’t) that you’d like your TJSL e-mail delivered to, you can easily setup forwarding with your TJSL Gmail account.
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