Dennis Kennedy

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June 30, 2003

Measuring Web Marketing Efforts

Glenn Garnes sings the praises of Marketleap.com's useful set of tools for measuring the success of your web marketing effort - including ways to check key word response, search engine saturation and the all-important link popularity. The tools are free and they can help you take a solid first step toward actually quantifying results and measuring return on investment for your web page marketing efforts.

Fascinating and useful information - thanks to the 4,200 of you linking back to my site. With just 800 more links, I move into the next category.

Posted by dmk at 10:15 PM

June 26, 2003

Some Good Horsesense about Search Engine Optimization

Plasticbag.org has a very good posting, enhanced by comments, on the "art" of search engine placement and optimization. It's a great short primer for those interested in bettering the place of their pages, but better still for those who want to be sure that the best content places highly in search results. I recommend it highly.

In an Internet Roundtable column on the same topic, Jerry Lawson, Brenda Howard and I made many similar points. Search engine optimization remains an important topic, and no doubt soon we will have to begin to think more systematically about blog search engine placement.

Posted by dmk at 06:19 PM

June 25, 2003

List of Bests

I found myself yesterday wandering around a Barnes & Noble with a $25 gift card literally unable to find anything that I wanted to read enough to pay for. Obviously, I either hadn't done my preparation for the trip to the store or my fascination with Bookcloseouts.com has reached a new level.

That reminded of a site I had noticed a while back called List of Bests, which keeps in one handy place a variety of "Best of" lists for books, movies and music. Nice site, handy resource and a little food for thought.

Posted by dmk at 11:16 PM

June 24, 2003

The Rapidly Changing Internet Experience

My experience of the Internet has dramatically changed over the last few months because of news aggregators. I suspect that many others are experiencing a similar sense of movement.

Two quotes I noticed today capture my feelings well.

The first is from Jim McGee, who says:

"Sites that provide no RSS feed essentially don't exist for me."

He adds: "95% of my online information comes to me by way of my aggregator." While I've not reached that kind of percentage yet, it's amazing how dramatically the time I spend actually going out and looking for things (other than newsfeeds) on the Internet has been reduced.

The second quote is from Matt Mower's Curiouser and Curiouser blog, where Matt says:

"Could somebody please tell me, given that we are half way to 2004 in the 21st goddamn century, why I cannot print a web page without losing 50% of all the words on the right hand edge of the page. And it's not just IE, Firebird is just as bad!"

Matt also commented that Jim's quote I mentioned was "spot on" and I have to say that Matt's quote is also spot on in my book.

To me, the best software is the software that stays out of your way and let's you work the way you want to work. When simple things like printing out a page do not work in the default settings (and it happened to me again today), something needs to be fixed.

If the Internet routes around barriers, the dominant role of the browser as an information gathering tool on the Internet may diminish faster than anyone thought possible.

Posted by dmk at 11:58 PM

June 23, 2003

2003 TechnoLawyer @ Awards Announced

TechnoLawyer.com has long been one of the most important and useful resources on legal technology. (If you are not a member and you read my blog, you should be thinking about becoming a TechnoLawyer member.)

TechnoLawyer.com has an annual tradition of presenting awards, most of them based on votes from the TechnoLawyer subscribers, for the best legal software by category, et al. These awards will give you a good sense for what products are "hot" and well-regarded for use by lawyers and law firms.

Well, this year's awards are out and Neil Squillante, the driving force behind TechnoLawyer, has allowed me to reprint the press release that lists all of the awards. And I've done so below.

You'll notice that I won two individual awards this year - the Contributor of the Year and the Syndicated Contributor of the Year - and the Syndicated Contributor of the Year Award will be named after me starting next year. That's a huge honor for me and something I'm proud of, because I've been involved with TechnoLawyer for many years, and I've always worked hard to bring good, usable information about technology to the legal profession and have been constantly encouraged by how well my efforts and articles have been received. I've learned that it's important to get a pat on the back and some recognition every now and then, and I thank the TechnoLawyer Community for selecting me for these awards.

********

PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS (HYPERLINKS NOT ACTIVATED)

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2003 TECHNOLAWYER @ AWARDS: GLITZ, GLAMOUR, AND LEGAL TECHNOLOGY

New York, New York -- June 23, 2003.

For Immediate Release.

The 2003 TechnoLawyer @ Awards has concluded, marking the sixth consecutive year of this exciting event. True to form, this year's TechnoLawyer @ Awards provided more drama and excitement than a John Grisham novel -- right down to its unpredictable, nail-biting finish.

The TechnoLawyer @ Awards encompasses 24 different awards, 23 of which are chosen by TechnoLawyer subscribers, now more than 9,300 strong. These lawyers and legal IT managers buy technology for tens of thousands of law firms, which makes them especially qualified to choose their favorite products, services, and luminaries in the legal technology market.

"The people have spoken, and these people know their stuff." said Neil J. Squillante, Manager of TechnoLawyer and President of PeerViews Inc., its parent company. "When TechnoLawyer subscribers speak, legal vendors listen," he added.

Those who wish to join TechnoLawyer can do so at: http://www.technolawyer.com

THREE LEGAL VENDORS WIN BIG; SEVERAL OTHERS ALSO RECEIVE MULTIPLE HONORS

Three legal vendors -- CaseSoft, Data.Txt, and LexisNexis -- snapped up 15 of the 24 @ Awards.

CaseSoft won two of the litigation-oriented @ Awards -- Favorite Litigation Support Solution and Favorite Trial Presentation Solution. Its flagship product, CaseMap, also won the @ Award for Favorite New Legal Product of 2002 for version 4. For the third time, CaseSoft won Favorite TechnoReleases, TechnoLawyer's equivalent of the Clio award for outstanding advertising. In addition to its five @ Awards, CaseSoft also won Finalist honors in two categories.

Data.Txt, the company behind Time Matters, picked up its sixth @ Award for Favorite Case/Practice Management
Solution. It also won the @ Award for Favorite Document Management Solution for the first time ever, signifying how robust case management software has become this century. In all, Data.Txt won six @ Awards, and was also a Finalist for Favorite New Legal Product of 2002.

LexisNexis won the @ Award for Favorite Legal Research Tool for the second consecutive year. Its HotDocs software won the @ Award for Favorite Document Assembly/Automation Solution for the sixth consecutive year. Rounding out its other @ Awards, lexisONE picked up Favorite Legal Web Site, and LexisNexis Automated Forms won the nod for Favorite Legal Forms Solution.

A number of other companies also racked up multiple honors. For example, Thomson-West won the @ Award for Favorite Online CLE Provider, and was also a Finalist in four categories. RealLegal walked away with two @ Awards, and Finalist honors in four categories. Summation Legal Technologies won the first-ever @ Award for Favorite Electronic Discovery Solution, and was also a Finalist in five categories. Gavel & Gown Software, maker of Amicus Attorney and Amicus Assembly, was a Finalist in six categories. Software Technology, which sells PracticeMaster and TABS III, received Finalist honors in three categories.

SOME OLD AND NEW FACES AMONG THE WINNING INDIVIDUALS

Not surprisingly, the individual with more @ Awards than anyone else, won two more this year. Dennis Kennedy, an intellectual property and corporate lawyer and legal technology expert in St. Louis, won the @ Award for Syndicated Contributor of the Year for the third consecutive year, and the @ Award for Favorite TechnoLawyer Contributor.

Dennis has won the @ Award for Syndicated Contributor of the Year for the last time. Beginning in 2004, TechnoLawyer will name this statistically determined @ Award after Dennis, a fitting tribute to TechnoLawyer's most widely-syndicated author.

Turning from an old face to a new one, Carol Schlein, the founder of Law Office Systems in New Jersey, won the @ Award for Legal Technology Consultant of the Year, a lifetime achievement award. For the first time, TechnoLawyer subscribers voted for the winner of this @ Award rather than just nominating their favorite consultants. Acknowledging this widespread support, Carol said, "It is truly a great honor to be recognized by the members of Technolawyer."

Four other individuals received Finalist honors in this
year's @ Awards. Ross Kodner and William Kellerman were Finalists for Favorite TechnoLawyer Contributor, and Arthur Smith and Robert Fleming were Finalists for Syndicated Contributor of the Year.

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS & FINALISTS

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the 2003 TechnoLawyer @ Awards!

1. FAVORITE TECHNOLAWYER CONTRIBUTOR

WINNER
Dennis M. Kennedy -- http://www.denniskennedy.com

FINALISTS
Ross L. Kodner -- http://www.microlaw.com
William Kellerman -- http://www.summation.com

2. LEGAL TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR

WINNER
Carol Schlein, Law Office Systems Inc. -- mailto:carol@losinc.com -- http://www.losinc.com

FINALISTS
There are no finalists for this @ Award.

3. FAVORITE ACCOUNTING SOLUTION

WINNER
QuickBooks -- http://www.quickbooks.com

FINALISTS
Omega Legal -- http://www.omegalegal.com
TABS III -- http://www.stilegal.com

4. FAVORITE CASE/PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

WINNER
Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Attorney -- http://www.amicusattorney.com
RealLegal Practice Manager -- http://www.reallegal.com

5. FAVORITE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

WINNER
Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Attorney -- http://www.amicusattorney.com
Omega Legal -- http://www.omegalegal.com

6. FAVORITE DOCUMENT ASSEMBLY/AUTOMATION SOLUTION

WINNER
HotDocs/HotDocs Pro -- http://www.hotdocs.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Assembly -- http://www.amicusattorney.com
PracticeMaster -- http://www.stilegal.com

7. FAVORITE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

WINNER Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Attorney -- http://www.amicusattorney.com
WORLDOX -- http://www.worldox.com

8. FAVORITE ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SOLUTION

WINNER
Summation Blaze/iBlaze -- http://www.summation.com

FINALISTS
DocuLex Discovery Cracker -- http://www.doculex.com
Ringtail CaseBook -- http://www.ringtailsolutions.com

9. FAVORITE LEGAL FORMS SOLUTION

WINNER LexisNexis Automated Forms --
http://www.lexisnexis.com

FINALISTS
ProLaw WestWorks Libraries --
http://www.prolaw.com/westworks/
West Group Form Bank -- http://west.thomson.com

10. FAVORITE LEGAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

WINNER
Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Attorney -- http://www.amicusattorney.com CaseMap/TimeMap -- http://www.casesoft.com

11. FAVORITE LEGAL RESEARCH TOOL

WINNER
LexisNexis -- http://www.lexisnexis.com

FINALISTS
RealLegal Exemplaris -- http://www.reallegal.com
Westlaw -- http://www.westlaw.com

12. FAVORITE LITIGATION ASP

WINNER
RealLegal iBinder -- http://www.reallegal.com

FINALISTS
CaseVault -- http://www.casevault.com
Ringtail CaseBook -- http://www.ringtailsolutions.com

13. FAVORITE LITIGATION SUPPORT SOLUTION

WINNER
CaseMap/TimeMap -- http://www.casesoft.com

FINALISTS
RealLegal Binder/iBinder -- http://www.reallegal.com
Summation Blaze/iBlaze -- http://www.summation.com

14. FAVORITE ONLINE CLE PROVIDER

WINNER
West LegalEdcenter -- http://westlegaledcenter.com

FINALISTS
Cognistar -- http://www.cognistar.com
Law.com -- http://www.law.com

15. FAVORITE TIME-BILLING SOLUTION

WINNER
Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Omega Legal -- http://www.omegalegal.com
Timeslips -- http://www.timeslips.com

16. FAVORITE TRANSCRIPT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

WINNER
RealLegal Binder/iBinder -- http://www.reallegal.com

FINALISTS
LiveNote/VideoNote -- http://www.livenote.com
Summation Blaze/iBlaze -- http://www.summation.com

17. FAVORITE TRIAL PRESENTATION SOLUTION

WINNER
TimeMap -- http://www.casesoft.com

FINALISTS
Sanction -- http://www.verdictsystems.com
TrialDirector -- http://www.indatacorp.com

18. FAVORITE TECHNORELEASES

WINNER
CaseSoft -- http://www.casesoft.com

FINALISTS
Software Technology, Inc. -- http://www.stilegal.com
Summation Legal Technologies -- http://www.summation.com

19. FAVORITE PRACTICE AREA SOLUTION

WINNER
CaseMap/TimeMap -- http://www.casesoft.com

FINALISTS
Summation Blaze/iBlaze -- http://www.summation.com
Time Matters Estates and Elder Law -- http://www.premiersoftware.com

20. FAVORITE PRINT LEGAL TECHNOLOGY PUBLICATION

WINNER
Law Office Computing -- http://www.lawofficecomputing.com

FINALISTS
Law Practice Management --
http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine
Law Technology News -- http://www.lawtechnologynews.com

21. FAVORITE LEGAL-SPECIFIC TECH SUPPORT

WINNER
Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com

FINALISTS
Amicus Attorney -- http://www.amicusattorney.com
CaseSoft -- http://www.casesoft.com

22. FAVORITE LEGAL WEB SITE

WINNER
lexisONE -- http://www.lexisone.com

FINALISTS
FindLaw -- http://www.findlaw.com
Law.com -- http://www.law.com

23. FAVORITE NEW LEGAL PRODUCT OF 2002

WINNER
CaseMap 4.0 -- http://www.casesoft.com

FINALISTS
RealLegal Publisher -- http://www.reallegal.com
Toshiba Magnia SG20 Server with Time Matters -- http://www.timematters.com/products/toshiba/sg20

24. SYNDICATED CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

WINNER
Dennis M. Kennedy -- http://www.denniskennedy.com

FINALISTS
Arthur Smith -- http://www.husch.com
Robert Fleming -- http://www.elder-law.com/

PRESS CONTACT

Jennifer B. Katz
TechnoLawyer/PeerViews Inc.
T: (917) 320-6572
F: (646) 349-9664
E: technolawyer@peerviews.com
W: http://www.technolawyer.com

ABOUT TECHNOLAWYER
TechnoLawyer is a popular legal technology and practice management resource that consists of a network of free, critically-acclaimed e-mail newsletters, and a searchable Web-based repository of all TechnoLawyer content since January 1997. To join, search, or learn more about TechnoLawyer, visit the following Web site: http://www.technolawyer.com

Posted by dmk at 10:28 PM

Useful Sarbanes Oxley Resources

Companies are increasingly finding that the implications of dealing with the corporate accountability requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act are larger and thornier than they ever expected. I thought I'd pass along some links to resources that I've found recently that are good starting points for dealing with Sarbanes Oxley Act issues, especially from the IT point of view. Five Things IT Needs To Know About Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance (CIO.com); Sarbanes-Oxley: Tech to the Rescue? (CFO.com); Sarbanes Action Plan (Computerworld); Surviving Sarbanes-Oxley (Optimize Magazine); Making Sarbanes-Oxley Pay: Achieve an ROI from Regulatory Compliance (IntelligentBPM.com); and Sarbanes-Oxley Information Center (PriceWaterhouseCoopers/CFODirect.com).

A good summary of the current state of affairs is found in the Computerworld article:

"'There's a tremendous amount of confusion'" about what IT should be doing to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, says John Hagerty, an analyst at AMR Research Inc. in Boston. A recent AMR poll of 60 companies found that while 85% are anticipating changes in system and application infrastructures, an equally whopping 80% are unsure of what the changes will be."

Posted by dmk at 10:24 PM

Recent Microsoft Security Problem Affects You Even If You Don't Use IE

One more simple solution to Microsoft Internet Explorer security problems has bitten the dust. Forget about just using Mozilla, Netscape, Opera or another browser. Just the mere fact that you have IE installed, whether or not you use it, leaves you vulnerable.

The money quote from What You Should Know About Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-020 is "This vulnerability affects computers that have Microsoft Internet Explorer installed. (You do not have to be using Internet Explorer as your Web browser to be affected by this issue.)"

The potential issue: "A number of security issues have been identified in Microsoft® Internet Explorer that could enable an attacker to compromise your Microsoft Windows®-based systems and then take a variety of actions. For example, an attacker could run programs on a computer used to view the attacker's Web site."

Mindboggling.

Posted by dmk at 10:21 PM

June 20, 2003

Practical IT Portfolio Management

I've been interested in the idea of portfolio management since at least as far back as my earlier days as an estate planning lawyer when I helped draft the Missouri Prudent Investor Act, which is based on ideas of portfolio management.

I checked and noticed that I first wrote about applying portfolio management techniques to legal technology in 1998 and spoke on the topic at the ABA TechShow in 2002.

So, it's been one of my favorite topics. Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed a good number of mentions of IT portfolio management lately. CIO Magazine's Portfolio Management: How to Do It Right is one example and a very nice primer on this important topic, with good examples and practical tips.

Since most law firms seem to take nothing more than a seat-of-the-pants approach to technology planning, portfolio management should be an attractive planning approach for those firms, but, more importantly, a great way for innovative law firms to extend their technology and business lead over the rest of the pack.

Posted by dmk at 10:25 AM

Intel: Beyond Centrino

I've been using my new Sony Vaio laptop with the Intel Centrino chip and loving it. This ZDNet story suggests that Centrino may be just the tip of the iceberg in Intel's wireless efforts.

Posted by dmk at 10:13 AM

June 18, 2003

PCs Really Do Become Doorstops

CFO.com's article, Out with the Old, Somehow not only confirms the cold reality of the drop-to-zero resale value of PCs, but also illustrates the growing environmental issues involved in throwing away PCs.

Posted by dmk at 10:13 PM

June 17, 2003

The Virtual Chase: RSS News Feeds for Law

For many years, The Virtual Chase has been one of the premier legal research web sites. One key part of its value is well-chosen, well-annotated links - quite a rarity these days. Genie Tyburski's daily newsletter about updates to the site is also a great resource.

It should be no surprise that The Virtual Chase's new RSS News Feeds for Law follows in the great tradition of the site, making it immediately a premier resource on law blogs, or blawgs. Each directory listing includes a link and a helpful annotation about the blog, including a description of what is typically contained in the feed.

Posted by dmk at 11:10 PM

Recomendo

I've long been a fan of the Whole Earth Catalog, the CoEvolution Quarterly and the Whole Earth Review, especially during the Kevin Kelly period. I like the idea that there are some really great tools out there and that it is important to have a way to find them in one place.

I was delighted to learn that Kevin Kelly is capturing the idea of "cool tools" again in a section of his web site known as Recomendo, with a feed.

Posted by dmk at 10:53 PM

June 16, 2003

Missouri Enacts UETA

Possibly influenced by the article Chip Fendell and I wrote called "Electronic Signatures In Missouri: Moving To UETA Or Staying With E-SIGN," published at the end of last year in the St. Louis Bar Journal, Missouri has just joined the vast majority of states that have enacted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. The ever-excellent BeSpacific.com blog points to a set of PowerPoint slides on UETA and UCITA (the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) and their role in electronic commerce from Professor Patricia Brumfield Fry, who played an instrumental role in the UETA drafting process.

The slides are a good intro to the laws. I also like our article for basic UETA coverage, but I may be biased on that topic. I'll note that Chip and I's July 2001 article on UETA seems to show that we were too far out ahead of the curve, but by stubbornly refusing to drop the topic, we managed to get another publication with a better article and better results - well, at least the article was closer to the actual passage of the act than the first one was.

Posted by dmk at 10:40 PM

June 12, 2003

Solosez.net Debuts

Bob Ambrogi breaks the story of the new SOLOSEZ.net web site, which collects many useful ABA materials for solo and small firm lawyers.

Posted by dmk at 09:51 AM

Big Firm to Solo - Expect to See Much More

MyShingle.com, among others, has recently highlighted the article, "Solo Attorneys Like Their Decision," which tells the stories of three Washington, DC lawyers who have left big firms.

What this story does not highlight is the growing role that technology, technology costs and, more specifically, technology leasing (both hardware and software) play in the decision process. And I speak from experience. Leasing, in particular, drastically cuts the initial out-of-pocket capital costs of starting a solo practice. The barrier to entry (or, more accurately, the barrier of exit from the "safety" of a big firm) is greatly reduced and the solo option becomes much more financially attractive.

The big firm to solo trend is already on my short list for my 2004 legal tech trends article and I'm planning to write about the technology side of the equation in more detail in an upcoming article. (By the way, if your publication might be interested in such an article, let me know.)

In the meantime, watch for the few drops you may be hearing about this type of lawyer movement turn into a steady stream over the next couple of years.

Posted by dmk at 09:34 AM

June 11, 2003

Power Outage

A big storm that passed through St. Louis knocked out our power for almost a whole day. I had the sense that I was dependent on electricity, but the message came home last night and this morning. Fortunately, our favorite pizza place was not affected last night.

Posted by dmk at 09:27 PM

June 06, 2003

Law Practice Today Gets RSS Feed

As many of you know, I'm a co-editor of the ABA Law Practice Management Section's new webzine called Law Practice Today. The webzine covers the four core areas of law practice management: management, marketing, technology and finance. New articles appear on a more or less weekly basis. The multi-talented Fred Faulkner at ABA LPM has just added an RSS feed for the webzine at http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/lptrss.xml. Check it out and add it to your newsreader list.

I'm also lead editor for the marketing section of the webzine - please email me if you are an author with either an existing article or new article on a legal marketing topic, and we'll see if we can get you published in the webzine.

Posted by dmk at 09:41 AM

June 04, 2003

I Complain and Microsoft Listens, Vows to Take Action

I complained a few days ago in this very blog about Microsoft and the bazillion large and unwieldy updates and patches I've had to install lately on various computers. Today, I see the following story. Just good timing by me or another illustration of the power of blogs? I'll let you decide.

Quote:

FROM: NETFLASH: BREAKING NEWS FROM NETWORK WORLD FUSION

By Jeff Caruso

"Patch management is broken," Microsoft's Scott Charney said at
the company's Tech Ed event yesterday. He could have said "patch
management needs to be patched" - but while that would have been
mildly clever it would also have vastly understated the problem
Microsoft faces. Software patches have been flowing out of
Redmond like a river the last couple of years, and Microsoft
currently has eight different patching tools. Here's what the
company plans to do about it. See "Microsoft Vows to Clean up its Patch Management Mess."

Posted by dmk at 08:20 PM

ActiveWords Again - It's Not Just Me

I noticed a very positive review of ActiveWords today in the USA Today. My experiments with the program are winning me over. I miss ActiveWords when I switch to a computer that doesn't have it installed. It's interesting to see the benefits that you really feel from a program that allows you to do common tasks just a little more easily.

Posted by dmk at 08:15 PM

PatentWork.com

Speaking of friends of mine starting new things. My buddy, Dan Klotzer, is a super-smart physicist and a patent agent. He has his own patent agent business and launched his web page today. One of the things I like about Dan is his desire to put technology to work for the benefit of disabled people, including with inventions of his own.

Posted by dmk at 08:13 PM

George Socha, Electronic Discovery Guru, Opens Own Consulting Firm

George Socha is a well-known litigator and legal tech expert in Minneapolis who has given the best presentations on electronic discovery I've seen. He's also the person I've sent people to with practical electronic discovery questions over the last few years. He let me know a while back that, like me, he was about to start a solo career.

Well, that's now officially happened. Check out http://www.sochaconsulting.com/ for more details. George is one of those good guys who is also extremely knowledgeable. If you are a lawyer who is still winging it on electronic discovery issues, or if you are a client with a lawyer who isn't up to speed on electronic discovery and computer issues, you might want to touch base with George.

Posted by dmk at 08:10 PM

Jeff Beard on Palm / Handspring Merger Announcement

Jeff Beard, National Practice Group Technology Liaison at Quarles & Brady and one of my "go-to people" on almost any legal technology issue, had a great analysis on the Palm / Handspring merger announcement and its implications. Take it away, Jeff:

"Palm to Acquire Handspring

Yes, after all the rumors and denials, it finally happened. See http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=5479. The new company will be renamed later this year. Just as long as it isn't Palm Springs -- I believe that one's already taken. ;^)

This is actually very good news, IMHO.

During one of my Techshow presentations in April, when asked about the Treos, I expressed concerns over Handspring's long term viability as a separate entity. I said within 12-18 months they would either be in bankruptcy or acquired at fire sale prices. The reason for this was their cash burn -- they were losing $15-$20 mil per quarter, and only had $50 mil left in cash reserves (that's after a huge restructuring charge wiped out half their reserves). Doesn't take a math whiz to see they only had a few quarters left. Frankly, despite their continuing innovation, Handspring was just too small. They didn't have the resources to weather the storm, nor to make the huge push required to market the Treos sufficiently.

But this move strengthens both Palm and Handspring to compete against Sony and PocketPCs. Over the past 6 months, Palm finally released organizers that made me sit up and take notice, especially the latest two Palm OS 5 models (Zire 71 and "C", the latter with WiFi built-in). Before that, they just weren't innovating at all, just marginal improvements, big yawn. Everyone kept asking when Palm would release a smartphone. Their first offering, the Tungsten "W", didn't cut it by any means as a cell phone replacement.

Meanwhile, Handspring had been winning kudos all over with the Treos, especially the Treo 300 via Sprint's new and faster network, while phasing out their organizer line (Visors). So now their lines are sufficiently distinctive that they won't be competing against each other directly. And this is most likely the death knell for the Visor line. If Palm is smart, they'll axe the aging Visors and further develop the Treos to add Palm OS 5 and 6 support, and make them flash upgradable (currently all Treos run Palm OS 3.5, aren't upgradable, nor do they have a memory card slot). And the Treo finally gives Palm an entré into the enterprise market, but only if they approach it right. Both companies have fumbled the ball repeatedly in that market.

This is probably the best timing possible both financially and technically. I'm just glad that the Treos found a home. We had been considering them as part of our firm's mobile tech solutions, but Handspring's continuing financial deterioration caused justifiable concern about buying into a dead end. While the acquisition is no guarantee, I'm thinking it should extend the combo device line another year or two, perhaps more if we're lucky."

Posted by dmk at 08:07 PM

June 02, 2003

Practical Technology Contract Review News, Issue #2

Issue #2 of my free email newsletter, Practical Technology Contract Review News, is now available. The newsletter covers practical matters relating to technology contracts and software licenses and includes my checklists, resources and other helpful tips. In this issue, I address the seemingly mundane, but critically important when a dispute arises, issue of how to review and negotiate definitions and what to ask for in the definition sections of your contracts.

Posted by dmk at 05:03 PM