August 2015 Archives

https://www.meetingburner.com/

For readers looking for a free online platform for small meetings and webinars, MeetingBurner is a good choice. The free service can host up to ten participants, and includes screen sharing, group chat, audio and video conferencing, and some mobile tools. This can be especially helpful for small organizations with a limited budget, since few web conferencing providers offer free plans. However, to access more of MeetingBurner's advanced features (such as the ability to host up to 50 or 250 attendees and recording options), users must pay a monthly fee. In a nutshell, this basic service is one of the few free web conferencing services available and it is perfect for small business owners or non-profits on a budget. [CNH]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2015. https://www.scout.wisc.edu

Beloit College Releases the Mindset List for This Year's Entering Class of First-Year College Students, The Class of 2019

Beloit, Wis. --  Members of the entering college class of 2019 were mostly born in 1997 and have never licked a postage stamp, have assumed that  Wi-Fi is an entitlement, and have no first-hand experience of Princess Diana's charismatic celebrity.

Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. For this year's entering class there has always been Google; Email, informal to previous Millennials, has emerged as "the new formal" for them, while texting and other social media serve as the wild and wooly mode of exchange. Teachers have had to work overtime encouraging them to move beyond the Web and consult sources in books and journals. And Poland has always been a member of NATO, suggesting that Mr. Putin's heartburn about Western expansion is at least as old as the new college kids are.

"The Class of 2019 will enter college with high technology an increasing factor in how and even what they learn," said Charles Westerberg, Director of the Liberal Arts in Practice Center and Brannon-Ballard Professor of Sociology at Beloit College. "They will encounter difficult discussions about privilege, race, and sexual assault on campus. They may think of the 'last century' as the twentieth, not the nineteenth, so they will need ever wider perspectives about the burgeoning mass of information that will be heading their way. And they will need a keen ability to decipher what is the same and what has changed with respect to many of these issues."

In fairness to the members of the entering class, this year's Mindset List also includes an addendum of terms that faculty need to understand if they are going to communicate effectively.

The Beloit College Mindset List, which this year is as old as the entering students themselves, is created by Ron Nief, Emeritus Director of Public Affairs; Tom McBride, Emeritus Professor of English; and Charles Westerberg. Additional items on the list as well as commentaries and guides are found at www.beloit.edu/mindset and www.themindsetlist.com. Regular updates and discussions are on Facebook and Twitter.

As you have perhaps already seen, the General Practice Section listserve will be transitioning to an online Community within the next few weeks. We are notifying listserve members prior to the rest of the Section in order to allow you time to familiarize yourself with the platform before switching over.

Please note that the Community can be accessed via email, similarly to how the current listserve functions, but there are also additional features available to you-- including a member directory, and a library which can contain a repository of useful documents and forms as they are shared by members.

Below is more complete information, which should answer your questions; but should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Brandon Vogel (bvogel@nysba.org / ph: 518-487-5535).

Best regards,

Stephanie Bugos

New York State Bar Association

sbugos@nysba.org / ph: (518) 487-5524

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We are pleased to announce NYSBA's new private online professional community for the General Practice Section. We will launch the community on September 16, 2015. Shortly after that time, the listserve will cease and be archived on the Community for 30 days.

While the communications functionality will be similar to a listserve, there is a new look and a new address to use on September 16 and going forward.

In addition to offering an online discussion feature, the new Communities offer the Resource Library, an unlimited repository of information. Any member of the committee may add information to the library and any member may access information in the library. Posting requires no special expertise or training. In fact, you can post to the library by attaching a file to a discussion post just like you do for email. The library can accept all file types (PDFs, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, audio files, videos and even links). We will add documentation to the library as we receive it to create a central repository of all documents.

With regards to privacy, communities allow users to control their personal privacy settings at all times and at every line of their profile. No commercial search engines are allowed to index information from NYSBA Communities and internal search results are only available to those logged in as members of a specific Community.

Communities offer several options for receiving communications. They are:

·         Real Time: Members will receive messages from the group as they are posted. These are formatted HTML messages. Real Time subscribers may interact with the community entirely through email if they wish. When replying to a message, Real Time subscribers may reply to the discussion through their email (Outlook, Gmail, etc.) or they may reply to either the sender or the discussion using the embedded links on the bottom of every message. 

·         Daily Digest: Members will receive one email per day from the Community when messages have been posted. The Digest compiles numerous messages into a string and users can respond to various threads using the embedded links in the Digest. Members can also interact through email alone if they choose.

·         Plain Text: Members who prefer a plain text display (the classic listserve format with mime code) may select the Plain text format. Member subscribers will receive messages as they are posted and may participate through email only. 

·         No Email: Members who participate through the web site or the Communities mobile app may select No Email. The NYSBA Communities mobile app is available for free download from the App Store or the Google Play Store. (Search for NYSBA in either store.) Members opting to use the app have full access to all features of Communities. You should log-in to the website first before downloading the app.

Members will be auto-subscribed to the Daily Digest option on September 16. If you haven't used the NYSBA Communities before, you may need to accept the Terms and Conditions. If you wish to receive messages in Real Time, please log into the community on or after September 16^th to set your preferences. If you would like to use the Community primarily via email, in the classic listserve format, we recommend setting your preference to Plain Text. 

We encourage you to visit the Community and set up your profile at this time. For instructions on logging in, please visit www.nysba.org/communitieslogin. From "My Groups" listed under the Groups menu, select "Communities to which I belong or can join," and select "Join" or "Enter" next to General Practice Section. You are welcome to post messages in the community at any time; though please note that only those members who have actively subscribed to the Community will see your posts prior to September 16.

The current listserve address will be available through September 15. After that point, please use the following address in place of generalpractice@lists.nysba.org if you wish to participate in the Community via email: nysba_generalpracticesectionne@ConnectedCommunity.org

We look forward to seeing you in the GP Section Community! If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact Brandon Vogel, NYSBA's Social Media & Web Content Manager, at bvogel@nysba.org.

FAQs about NYSBA Communities:

1.    How do I log in for the first time?

Go to http://communities.nysba.org. In the top right corner, you will see a button that says Sign In (have your NYSBA username and password ready). The Communities link is also accessible at the top of www.nysba.org.

Once signed in, you will see a drop down menu in the top right corner. Click Profile and go to My Account. Under My Account, choose Email Preferences. Scroll to Community Emails and hit Configure Your Subscriptions.

Here, you can choose your email settings of Real Time, Daily Digest, Plain Text or No Email (further explained in Question 3).

2.  Do I have to log-in every time?

You only need to log-in if you want to upload a library file or post a blog entry or event. You can start a discussion/post a new message through email and you can respond to all discussion threads from your email, either to the entire community or just the sender.

3. What are my choices for how I receive or view messages?

·         Real Time: you will receive messages live as you would from a listserve in a more dynamic version.

·         Daily Digest: you will receive one clean email per community with a list of the discussion threads from each day; it is mailed after 2:00 a.m. This is the default setting for most communities.

·         Plain Text: If you prefer the original listserve method of sending/receiving email

·         No email:  If you use the app, you can receive notifications in place of email.

4.  How do I set up a separate Inbox in Outlook or other standard email formats?

In Outlook, right-click on your Inbox and hit New Folder. You can create a rule that automatically moves all Community emails to this new folder.

5.  Will I need to set up a signature block or enter my name and other information each time I post a message?

No, your contact information as it appears on your NYSBA privacy setting will automatically appear.  You may also modify this information or pull in a LinkedIn profile (recommended). 

6. Can I also access the Community from my smart phone?

Yes, simply go to the App or Google Play Store, search for NYSBA Communities, load the App and then and select your Community.  (Entries will appear on your phone in order of posting rather than as a thread.) The app is highly recommended.

Best regards,

Stephanie A. Bugos  Section Liaison

New York State Bar Association

One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207

direct/fax: 518.487.5524 |  main: 518.463.3200 | email: sbugos@nysba.org | www.nysba.org

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Visit www.nysba.org/socialmedia for a list of the New York State Bar Association's social media sites.

NOTE: A group asked me to give them some comments on whether to upgrade to Windows 10 now or later. I did some research and and provided them a short paper with some links included. Word got out and I have already been asked to email that paper a few times so I am posting it here. The links were visible to allow someone to still have them if it was printed on paper. I am leaving that "as is." Disclaimer: No, I have not done this yet myself, but hope to soon.

The ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center has surveyed practicing attorneys about their technology choices for more than a decade.

The Center's annual Legal Technology Survey Report is recognized as the source for information regarding the use of technology by attorneys in private practice.

In 2015, the findings of the survey will be presented in six volumes: Technology Basics & Security, Law Office Technology, Litigation & Courtroom Technology, Web & Communication Technology, Online Research, and Mobile Lawyers.

All volumes of the 2015 Legal Technology Survey Report are now available:

• Vol. 1: Technology Basics & Security
• Vol. 2: Law Office Technology
• Vol. 3: Litigation and Courtroom Technology
• Vol. 4: Web and Communication Technology
• Vol. 5: Online Research
• Vol. 6: Mobile Lawyers
  
  
• Combined Volumes 1-6 (coming soon)
• Executive Summary (coming soon)
• NOTE: About 60% of all attorneys use an iPhone and about 40% of all attorneys use an iPad.
• All 2015 survey reports are published electronically in PDF Format.
• EDITOR'S NOTE:  At $350.00 a volume, the set is a bit pricey for most readers; but you may know reference libraries which subscribe to this annual set.  You will also want to be alert to the release of the Executive Summary.

The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the suspension of Knoxville lawyer Yarboro Sallee, who was accused of billing her clients hourly fees of more than $140,000 for less than three months of work and insisting that they pay a contingency fee as well. The Legal Profession Blog, the Chattanoogan and the Knoxville News Sentinel have stories. The July 23 opinion is here (PDF).

With the free Color Alive app, kids can use a compatible device to bring characters to life in their own surroundings. The Color Alive app breathes life into the mythical creatures with movement and sound. Each action coloring page character has its own unique animation within the app that kids can activate by tapping on their phones or tablets. When children are done coloring the 16 included pages, they can print additional action coloring pages from the app.

Color Alive app is compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows devices. It is available on the App Store, Google play, and the Windows Store. For specific device compatibility, visit Crayola.com/AppCheck.

***

How often do technologies which may be disruptive start as "toys" or entertainment?

I think the possibility exists for low cost 3-D demos (in court or elsewhere).  Click here for details and demo videos.

http://www.webbyawards.com/winners/2015/

The Internet is big. Really big. In fact, as of the time of this writing, there are over 900 million websites to navigate on the World Wide Web. So how do you choose the best, the most innovative, the most useful, the most beautiful? Every year, the Webby Awards does just that. Readers will find much to explore on the Webby Awards' website. The site can be scouted by category, including Special Achievement, Websites, Online Film & Video, Advertising & Media, Mobile Sites & Apps, and Social. Within each category, awards are meted out by subcategory. For instance, within Websites, there are awards for Art, Best use of Photography, Best User Experience, and many others. For a trip down memory lane, the site can also be searched by year, all the way back to 1997. While not all winners of the Webby Awards are equally academic, there are plenty of interesting and educational website recommendations for Scout Readers on the site.[CNH]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2015. https://www.scout.wisc.edu

NEW YORK -- Verizon, the nation's largest wireless provider, will stop offering phones at discounted prices when customers sign two-year service contracts.

The move was made in the name of simplification, but it could result in some customers paying more.

All wireless carriers have been trying to wean customers off subsidies, in which a $649 iPhone 6 goes for $200 with a two-year contract. Instead, carriers have been encouraging people to buy phones outright by paying the full retail price in monthly installments. A few carriers, namely Sprint, also offer leasing options for a lower monthly fee, but the customer doesn't get to keep and resell the phone without additional payments. Verizon is the second national carrier, after T-Mobile, to end subsidies entirely for new customers.

Existing customers will be able to keep current plans. Verizon says there will be restrictions, but it didn't elaborate. For instance, it wasn't immediately clear whether customers keeping the current plan will still qualify for subsidized phones.

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For much more information about new plan costs, read entire article here.

The Bar Association has put together a task force to study possible changes to NY's POA statute.  Joe Desalvo and I are on the task force. I would be interested in any comments on or issues you have had using the NY short form POA in real estate transactions.  Please respond to me directly at jerry@ggalaw.com with your comments.

Thanks, 

Gerard G. Antetomaso
Gerard G. Antetomaso P.C.
1674 Empire Blvd.
Suite 200
Webster, NY 14580
(585) 787-7000
jerry@ggalaw.com

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Amy Jasiewicz
New York State Bar Association
Niskayuna NY
(518) 463-3200
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