QuickLinks for 31-Mar-2008

A couple great resources on the use of /S/ Signatures:

• USPTO PDF Explaining Good, Bad and Ugly /S/ Signature Examples

• Patent Attorney Joy L. Bryant on "The S-Signature"

TSheets.com Online Timesheet Software — A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application that turns any computer or mobile device in to a timeclock. Integrates with QuickBooks.  Perfect way for a small law firm to have your staff "punch in, punch out."

Related Posts:

• S-Signatures (/John Doe/) and the USPTO
• First Round of Accelerated Examination Applications…100% denied?
• IP Docketing Software

QuickLinks for 27-Mar-2008

A Whole Lotta Nothing – ReCAPTCHA’s quality is going down?

• Matt Haughey (MetaFilter, PVRBlog) questioning MetaFilter’s use of reCAPTCHA due to impossible to read challenge words.

See also:  InventBlog - Public Pair/reCaptcha’s unintended consequences.

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks for 23-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks 26-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks for 21-Feb-2008

QuickLinks — Rethinking the Practice of Law

The Monster Blog: Workdays Should Be Based on Results — Not Input

• Makes me think…is "Results-Only Work Environment" something a law firm could use? To me, ROWE would be telling an associate, I don’t care what hours you are in the office, how many days a week, whether you work from home, etc…as long as you obtain the results.
  

Question your work - (37signals)

• When was the last time your law firm questioned its work? Why you do what you do? Whether the steps you internally take add value? Whether they are worth it. This excellent article on the 37signals blog poses those questions.
  

Fire the workaholics - (37signals)

• Say what? Fire the workaholics?  For firms that stress having a life outside of the office…maybe you need to remember to fire the workaholics.  Maybe not? 
  

Workplace Experiments - (37signals)

• Thoughts from 37 Signals on some "workplace experiments" they have been running, from having shorter work weeks, to encouraging employees to find their passion. Over time, law firms have changed to better suit the partners/associates that work therein (what percent of lawyers wear three piece suits every day of the week now vs. 50 years ago?)…are "experiments" like these going to be more common in law?

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks 26-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks for 31-Mar-2008
• QuickLinks for 29-Feb-2008

What is up with all of these “QuickLink” posts?

Some of you have probably been wondering about the “QuickLink” posts I’ve made recently…

This blog has really been a way for me to share with my readers (peers) links to stories and information I found interesting and useful in my practice/life. I suppose it works…people are still reading it. If you are only interested in serious, scholarly analysis of patent issues…there are patent blogs that do it much better than I do.

My “Tech Tip” posts (category: “tech tip”) have always been popular (as far as I could see), so, to wit, I decided to make an effort to do a little better job of sharing the “tech tips” I come across. I’m currently using the Diigolet button (diigo.com) in my browser to quickly tag pages for later inclusion in a “QuickLink” post [hat tip Tac Anderson].

Feedback is always appreciated…

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks — Rethinking the Practice of Law
• QuickLinks for 29-Feb-2008

QuickLinks for 6-Mar-2008

LifeHacker: Create Your Own Cross-Platform Backup Server

• Walks you through how to take an old computer you don’t need and using open source software create a “box” that automatically backs up computers on your network for you.

Steve’s Tech Guide — The Ultimate Windows XP Optimization Tweak Guide

• Twenty different tweaks and optimizations to make your XP computer run faster, jump higher.
  

Google Calendar Sync: Getting Started

• New task bar program from Google that automatically syncs your Outlook calendar with your Google Calendar. Now I my wife can look at my shared (with her) Google calendar and see when I’m unavailable.

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks for 31-Mar-2008
• QuickLinks for 21-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks — Rethinking the Practice of Law

QuickLinks for 29-Feb-2008

MAKE: Blog: Public domain donor

• Funny concept…intellectual property meets organ donor cards.
  

Adventures in $40 eyeglasses | 43 Folders

• While patent outsourcing is a joke (IMO), outsourcing things like having eye glasses made is a hot topic on the Internet right now. $40 eyeglasses, thousands of frames to select from? Definitely worth trying.
  

Glassy Eyes Blog

• Blog covering the dark side of the eyeglass industry, explaining how to order glasses online, whether you should get "anti-reflective coating," what scams are out there, etc.
  

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks for 31-Mar-2008
• QuickLinks — Rethinking the Practice of Law
• QuickLinks 26-Feb-2008

QuickLinks 26-Feb-2008

Intellectual Property Today: 5 Reasons You Should No Longer Bother Getting U.S. Patents

Ending the Paper Chase | ABA Journal - Law News Now — article on law firms having smaller eco-footprints

ABA: Going Green at Work by Kibert–baby steps lawyers can take to be a greener law firm

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks — Rethinking the Practice of Law
• QuickLinks for 21-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks for 29-Feb-2008

QuickLinks for 23-Feb-2008

IP Newsflash Relaunch

• Rolf Claessen has relaunched IP Newsflash with a brand new design and new features, including a free class monitor for EP publications.

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks for 21-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks for 29-Feb-2008
• QuickLinks for 27-Mar-2008

QuickLinks for 21-Feb-2008

Boosting teamwork with wikis

• It’s not just for online encyclopedias: smart business owners (including law firms) use the new wiki software to encourage collaboration and save money.

Adam Wright. - How Outlook keeps me organized

• How to use Outlook filters and flags to automate your inbox.

Related Posts:

• QuickLinks for 6-Mar-2008
• QuickLinks for 31-Mar-2008
• QuickLinks 26-Feb-2008