While computer newbies may find the categorized Control Panel helpful for navigating the ever more complex configuration and appearance settings for Windows, more tech-inclined individuals may prefer the old version of Control Panel which displayed all items at once.
Getting to the old or “classic” view of Control Panel is easy. In Windows XP or Vista, open the Control Panel and select Switch to Classic View. In Windows 7, click the View by drop-down menu in the upper-right corner and select your preferred display setting.
Am noticing there are a lot more options than there used to be……

Garry Wise:  On the weekend, I had the notion that it might be interesting if David and I devoted a post or two to answering some recurring  law practice management questions we typically encounter.

My co-author, Dave Bilinsky, of course, is SlawTips’ resident guru on law practice resources. As a practice advisor and lawyer for the Law Society of British Columbia, he brings (among other elements in his broad perspective) a regulator’s vantage point to all things practice management.  I come at these questions from a different place, as a practitioner and veteran of the legal trenches, having focused …

Today’s Tip is a caution about searching for federal bill numbers.  Be careful that you understand what you are looking for.

I was asked to look for “Bill C-23”. I quickly used my bookmark for LEGISinfo, the Parialment of Canada’s research tool for finding information on legislation before Parliament, both current and historical (back to April 2006), to search by bill number for  C-23.

The FAQ page reviews how bills are numbered, but it does not tell you about bills like C-23A.

My “blink” told me that there was a 2010 Bill that dealt with …

Most of time you want automatic sync to run when you plug your iPad, iPod or iPhone into your computer. Indeed, this is the default setting in iTunes for all three devices.
However, sometimes you just don’t want to sync your iPad, iPod or iPhone when you connect it to your computer. Here is a simple trick to prevent aauto-sync from running on a one-off basis: With iTunes open, hold down Shift+Control on a PC or Command+Option on a Mac while plugging your device in. Doing this will make iTunes skip the automatic sync just once.
And note as well, …

Sounds basic but many solo and small firms do not have one.  You need one to act as a reference for both management and employees alike.  It can be your shield against discrimination, harassment and other claims.  It can save time by having answers to common questions on routine employment matters and issues and employee concerns in such areas as vacation and sick-leave policies, unpaid leave, holidays, work hours and other such details.  It can also contain forms (evaluation forms), descriptions (jobs, tasks and expectations) and procedures (fire, disaster, privacy etc).

Most office manuals today also address emerging issues …

Today’s Tip is about looking outside your borders for trends. You decide where your borders are – your department, your organization, your city, perhaps your country.

A tweet by Darin Thompson inspired this post:

@darin_thompson: It’s on! #ODR to become a part of the legal landscape in the European Union
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-192_en.htm?locale=en

I believe that Online Dispute Resolution and Alternative Dispute Resolution are trends to watch. What trends are you watching?…

You can retweet something in an instant with just a few taps or clicks. Tap, tap and zoom – the RT goes to all your followers. You get a good feeling when you retweet something that your followers will enjoy or find really helpful.

But, what if the link in the retweet doesn’t exactly say what the tweet suggests it does? Or, what if the contents of the link make statements that you just don’t agree with? Or, what if the tweet suggests the link contains something really good, but it really is a few hollow statements making a weak …

Moving beyond Cooperation

Collaboration has many benefits. There are a few pitfalls and difficulties to avoid.  But with solid leadership, a law firm can overcome the potential difficulties and achieve real results by adopting a collaborative model.

According to Morten T. Hansen, author of “Collaboration – How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity and Reap Big Results“, the goal of collaboration is not collaboration but greater results.  Greater results is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you are able to successfully adapt your firm to the new model.

(GJW:  With better result…

I have mentioned in the past that calling a friend can be a fast path to a research answer.  It can also be a quick path to resolution of a technical problem. With email and web forms being the new normal for business communication, it may simply be that a phone call or well thought out voicemail message is different enough to be ‘noticed’.

As an example, we have been having technical problems with a website database recently.  The form to report technical difficulty used several times garnered zero response.  A voice mail message to the organization did set a …

Keeping your hands on the keyboard is always faster than reaching to the mouse for a few clicks. Here are some handy keyboard shortcuts for basic navigation in Microsoft Outlook:

• Switch to Mail: CTRL+1
• Switch to Calendar: CTRL+2
• Switch to Contacts: CTRL+3
• Switch to Tasks: CTRL+4
• Switch to Notes: CTRL+5
• Switch to Folder List in Navigation Pane: CTRL+6
• Switch to Shortcuts: CTRL+7
• Next item (with item open): CTRL+COMMA
• Previous item (with item open): CTRL+PERIOD
• Switch between the Folder List and the main Outlook window: F6 or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
• Move among the Outlook window, the Navigation Pane, and the Reading Pane: TAB