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Visit Our Blog
|  The Affinity Consulting Group Law Office Technology Blog has up-to-date information on hardware, software, and tips for using technology in your practice. Click on the icon above to visit now.
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Greetings!
School is out nearly everywhere in the country and summer travel season is upon us. Hardworking lawyers and law firm staff often plan family vacation travel for July and the first half of August before school resumes.
The challenge for vacationers, especially those in solo or small firm practices, is how to get away to enjoy family and friends while staying in touch with the office just enough to meet client needs and handle firm management responsibilities. There are many new and several older, but improved, technologies to help you do this. In this month's newsletter, we will cover some of those technologies and let you know how they can let you break free from the office while meeting your office responsibilities.
We continue to refine our new Affinity Consulting Group web site. For example, you will now find a link to our email newsletter archive at the bottom right of home page. Also on the home page is a link to our Affinity University (AU) class schedule for July. We are offering 30 classes this month on practice management software, time/billing/accounting, document management, Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel, and speech recognition. We also offer a special local bar association program for FREE AU classes for members. See the notice at the end of the AU schedule below.
This month's newsletter continues our popular series of Microsoft Word tips, the Green Corner column, and the Current Versions list.
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 Feature Review - Access Your Documents From Anywhere with the Worldox iPad App
Like many of you, Affinity Partner Paul J. Unger, Esq., has an iPad. Paul is always on the lookout for ways the iPad can help him work more efficiently, especially when he is away from the office.
This month, Paul writes about the groundbreaking Worldox iPad App. For the past six months, Paul has used it to help manage his documents and move closer to the goal of a paperless office. If you have Worldox and an iPad, or are thinking about purchasing either of them, you should read Paul's review.
Read this month's Feature Review by Paul J. Unger, Esq.Learn more about using Worldox GX2 by signing-up for our Affinity University Worldox GX2 Advanced class. |
 Affinity University - 30 Classes in July
Affinity University is the go-to resource for online training on the legal software you and your team use every day. Focusing specifically on real world tips and tricks, our certified experts provide training on popular Practice Management, Time/Billing/Accounting, Document Management, Productivity Software and even Microsoft Office.
This month we offer 30 AU classes, the most we have ever scheduled in a single month. Our goal is to provide you with convenient and affordable web-based training on the software you use most. Special Notice to Local Bar Leaders and Members: Would you like Free training in July for your members? If so, contact us to learn more about our local bar program. Send an email to training@affinityconsulting.com. |
 Summer Travel with Your Technology - Getting Ready to Hit the Road
The year is halfway over and you have not yet been on a vacation. Well now is the time. School is out and summer travel season is well underway. But law practice being what it is, you need to stay in touch with the office to manage client emergencies or handle firm administrative tasks. Modern portable technology makes that not only possible, but surprising easy - if you plan ahead. This month we give you a series of tips for traveling with your technology. Read the Traveling with Technology article. |
 Have a New iPad, or Thinking About Buying One? - A Few Tips to Get Started |
 Events in July |
Microsoft Word Tip of the Month - Keep Text and Paragraphs Together 
Depending on the type of document you are drafting, you may not want text or paragraphs separated by a page break. In other words, you want to glue the text together so it always appears on the same page. If you have a paragraph heading at the bottom of one page and the paragraph, it should be attached to at the top of the next page. This month we show you how to keep text or paragraphs together on the same page. Read the Microsoft Word Tip of the Month. Learn even more Word tips by registering to attend our Affinity University Word 2010 Basics on-line class. |
 Amicus Premium Billing Coming Soon
Keep your eyes open for Gavel & Gown Software's newest product, Amicus Premium Billing. This new and innovative approach to law firm billing combines legal billing with front-office practice management in a single solution. Coming soon! |
 Dragon Upgrade Discount to v11.5 Nuance, the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software, is offering discount upgrades to its latest version, v11.5, until September 30, 2011. If you have Dragon 9 or 10 Legal, you can upgrade to 11.5 Legal for $199.99, a $100 savings. If you have Dragon 9 or 10 Professional, you can upgrade to 11.5 Professional also for $199.99, again a $100 savings. If you already have v11, the downloadable upgrade to v11.5 is free of charge and should be available later this month.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 has improved correction features and better speed and accuracy. It also features the new Dragon Remote Microphone capability that, depending on your office or home wireless network configuration, lets you use your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad running iOS 4.2 or later as a wireless dictation microphone.
Learn advance Dragon features by signing up for our Dragon NaturallySpeaking Advanced Affinity University class.
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 Affinity Offers Managed IT Services
In addition to our expert consulting services in the area of law office software, Affinity Consulting Group offers a fu ll range of Managed IT services. Small and medium-sized law firms can rarely afford a full-time IT staff. Let Affinity serve as your IT staff - we can manage your technology resources for you and correct any problems, often before you know anything is wrong.
For information on the many IT services we can offer your firm, contact your Affinity Consulting Group office.
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 Green Corner - Reduce Your Energy Footprint With Portable Devices
We have long known that notebook computers use less energy that desktop computers. With advances in notebook technology, nearly anything that could be done on a desktop computer can now be done using a notebook. Shifting your computing tasks to a notebook computer will save energy.
Even more energy can be saved by shifting some of those same tasks to slate computers such as the iPad or an Android tablet. These devices can handle tasks like email, web browsing, and reading documents well enough to make them viable alternatives. Shifting to a portable device for these tasks at least part of the day will also give you an excuse to get out from behind your desk, stretch your legs, and maybe get some fresh air by working outside if the weather cooperates. Even moving to a spare office or conference room with your iPad or Android tablet for a brief change of scenery can be refreshing.
When you consider these benefits along with the energy savings, buying an iPad or Android tablet looks even more attractive. |
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 Current Versions of Law Office Software
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