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Current Versions of Law Office Software
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Make sure you stay current by checking out the Current Versions list on our web site.
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"Presentation Matters" - Reinventing the PowerPoint Presentation
- Josh Hoeppner, Affinity Graphic Designer & Trial Technology Consultant
 In the world we live in today, everything is about visual stimulation. While you're driving home tonight see how many visual communications you see in the form of business signs, billboards (now digital moving pictures even...), bumper stickers, etc. Heck, look at the inside of your car; GPS, rear view cameras, Sirius Radio, and even internet capabilities in some.
The world is driven by visual stimulation, and with all of the available technology, you're probably still showing boring PowerPoint presentations that include far too much text and a half dozen or more bullet points per slide. Don't do it! As the billboard photo above suggests, you only have a few seconds to capture (or lose) the attention of your audience.
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Affinity University - Check Out Our On-Demand Courses
There will be no live AU courses this month. The April live course hiatus will give you an opportunity to catch up with our on-demand course selection. For example, you will find course on Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel as well as Adobe Acrobat. Also available are courses on leading law office applications such as PracticeMaster, Tabs3, PCLaw, and Amicus Attorney. If you need help with your new iPad or ScanScap scanner, there is also a course for that. Try one of our AU on-demand courses and learn on your schedule.
Special Notice to Local Bar Leaders and Members: Contact us to learn more about our local bar discount program. Send an email to training@affinityconsulting.com. |
 Don't Be an April Fool and Miss TECHSHOW 2103!
The annual ABA TECHSHOW takes place this week in Chicago. On-site registration will remain open throughout TECHSHOW 2013 from 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, until 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 6. There will be keynote and plenary presentations along with tracks for Solo/Small Firm Lawyers, Tablet/Smartphone Users, Paperless Office, Cloud Computing/Collaboration, Social Media, and many others. Don't be an April Fool and miss the best Conference and EXPO for bringing lawyers and technology together. |
 Upcoming Events & Speaking Engagements
April 3-6 - ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago, IL, Britt Lorish, Steven J. Best, Esq., Debbie Foster, Barron K. Henley, Esq., and Paul J. Unger, Esq.
April 9 - Dollars and Sense: A Practical Approach to Billing and Accounting, Columbus, OH, Alex Macdonald, Esq. April 12 - 26th Annual Northwest Bankruptcy Institute, Vancouver, WA, Barron K. Henley, Esq. April 15 - Document This! Creating, Managing & Negotiating Documents Electronically, Philadelphia, PA (with Simulcasts to Many Additional Locations), Barron K. Henley, Esq.
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MacCorner - Tools for Making Mac Presentations Stand Out
- Jeffrey Schoenberger, Mac Specialist/Consultant, Columbus Office 
We've all sat through deathly PowerPoint presentations. Several times I've sat in a darkened room thinking, "If he's just going to read his slides, I could do that at home in my pajamas." I expect that you've felt the same at times. The truth is that very few people use PowerPoint or Keynote as they were intended. Slides and other presentation aides should amplify your words, not merely repeat them.
This month's MacCorner will complement Josh Hoeppner's feature article on designing stimulating and persuasive PowerPoint presentations, but with a focus on tools for the Mac.
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Showing PowerPoint Presentations on the iPad
- Paul J. Unger, Esq., Affinity Partner
 The iPad is more than just a mobile communication and productivity device. It has uses in courtrooms, classrooms, and auditoriums. Educators from elementary school to law school use the iPad to present meaningful content to students. Litigators are increasingly using the iPad as their primary method of making presentations to judges and juries.
Presenting a PowerPoint from your iPad can result in a more natural and interactive presentation, allowing you walk around, switch between applications, write notes or do white-boarding, and go back to your core presentation.
This article will complement the feature article by Josh Hoeppner and the MacCorner by Jeff Schoenberger by allowing you to take what you learned about effective presentations in those articles and apply it to presentations delivered from your iPad.
Read the complete Showing PowerPoint Presentations on the iPad here. |
 MS Word 2010 Tip of the Month - Import Word Document into PowerPoint
In keeping with this month's "Presentation Matters" theme, let's look at how you can import a Microsoft Word document into a PowerPoint presentation. This can be done without any additional software, just the Microsoft Office suite you already have. It won't yield perfect results, but it may save you from having to retype text from scratch into a blank PowerPoint presentation.
First, open PowerPoint. On the Home Ribbon in PowerPoint, select New Slide. Then choose Slides from Outline. In the Insert Outline dialog box that appears next, browse to the location of the Word document you want to import and select it. This will import the text of your Word Document into the PowerPoint Presentation.
There will be some cleanup formatting to do. How much depends on how your Word document was configured. Documents in outline format will do fare best. You can now add images, animations, and other features to complete your presentation. |
 Text to Speech - A Busy Lawyer's Friend - Scott Bassett, Esq., Senior Editor, Affinity Publications
As a lawyer in solo practice, I wish I had the power to add hours to the day. There is rarely enough time to do everything I need to do - or would like to do. In order to get everything done, I have to be at my computer or on the phone much of the time. If only there was a way to combine being outside with reviewing the documents, transcripts, and briefs I need to read for my solo practice.
Fortunately, there is a way. It is called text to speech (TTS) technology.
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 Affinity Wins Top Awards from Gavel & Gown, Makers of Amicus Attorney
At the annual Amicus Attorney Certified Consultant's Conference held in Toronto in mid-March, Gavel & Gown, the makers of Amicus Attorney, presented two prestigious awards to Affinity Consulting Group. Affinity received the Presidents Club Award as one of the top 10 companies in Amicus Attorney software sales. Then, with its place in the top 10 firmly established, Affinity won the Top Contributor Award for being the number one company in Amicus Attorney sales during 2012. |
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Affinity and the ALA
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News Updates
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Affinity University Live Webinars Qualify for ALA CLM Credit 
Whether you are in the process of applying or re-certifying to become a Certified Legal Manager (CLM), Affinity University Live Webinars are a great way to get relevant training on the software you use every day. And the best part is - you get CLM credit. New Applicants may use any Live Webinar toward their Information Technology education requirement, and CLMs going through recertification can use any Live Webinar toward their Operations Management education requirement. And remember, ALA members receive a 25% discount on all AU courses. Contact Jennifer M. Ramovs, Esq., our Director of Education, to find out how. |
 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. |
Green Corner - What is Electrical Efficiency? 
According to a report published in the MIT Technology Review, computing is not just getting faster and cheaper, it is becoming more energy efficient.
Computing energy use is stated in terms of electrical efficiency. Electrical efficiency measures the number of computations that can be completed per kilowatt-hour of electricity used. The power needed to perform a fixed number of calculations falls by half every 1.5 years. What this means is that if a MacBook Air (or Windows Ultrabook) had the same electrical efficiency as a computer from 1991, its fully-charged battery would last only 2.5 seconds. In a very real sense, the existence of portable computing devices depends on advances in electrical efficiency.
This progression toward greater electrical efficiency will lead to smaller and more powerful portable computing devices that will, according to the report, "enable us to control industrial processes with more precision, to assess the results of our actions quickly and effectively, and to rapidly reinvent our institutions and business models to reflect new realities." We already see part of this "new reality" in the many portable electronic devices available for mobile lawyers, some of which have battery life exceeding a full work day. |
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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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