North Carolina Trial Law Blog

This is being typed on my Treo 650 phone:

I'm trying out a new feature my hosting service, TypePad, is offering: mobile blogging.

By using my Treo 650 smart phone, I can post directly to my blog over the cell phone's Internet connection.

I took the above photo of my desk top screen with my phone and then simply clicked on the blog icon on the Treo.

Since this Blog is mostly legal issues, I don't think I'll be posting much from my phone, but it will be something to do while I'm sitting in airports or waiting for calendar call.

Aside from the carpal tunnel one gets from the tiny key pad, the interface works well (we'll see if this makes it through the cell towers to the actual Internet). I'm hitting send on the phone at 5:28.

-Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

_____________

This is being typed on my desktop computer:

Update,5:29 pm:  It worked!  Transmission (uploading) only took about 20 seconds and I watched in amazement as the new post magically appeared on my computer monitor.  Of course, now I'm going to have to go back and clean up the typos that I always get on my little phone keyboard, but this is a very cool feature.  I'm sure that people that have Blogs that are "culture" oriented may have more reason to post "instant" photos and blog entries, but I can think of a few uses for the lawyer on the go.

• Mobile Storage:  Because TypePad allows me to set up multiple blogs, I have one that is password protected that I use mostly as a way to "store" things that I might need to get to from a remote location.  For example, I keep legal forms stored there that I might access from another computer if for somereason i can't get into my own system.   Also, fueled by a healthy case of computer storage paranoia, I keep these documents stored "off-site" in the servers of Typepad.  Thus, if the proverbial meteorite falls on my office and incinerates all of my computer and storage equipment, I'll still be able to get access to the files that I have stored on TypePad (right before the giant dust cloud obliterates the sun and we enter into a new Ice Age).  I could use the mobile blogging software to "instantly" store photographs I take while on the road, so that if just a small meteor hits my smart phone, my photos are safely tucked away at TypePad's facility.
• The mobile blog entry would also enable me to easily share information over my "secure" blog with my office while I'm on the road.  Same idea as above, but with added users able to access the information.
• On the off chance that I stumble across something truly earth shattering, I can "instantly" post it to the public blog, NCTrialLawBlog so all of you can be the first to see what I've discovered.  Given that I don't seem to get myself in too many strange places, the chances of this happening are low, but you never know.  Maybe I'll catch one of my three least favorite insurance companies trying to give out $500 "final settlement" checks at the scene of an accident while the injured drivers are still stuck in the burning wreckage.

My only complaint about the software is that I cant put "tags" on the posts from the cell phone.  TypPad even says that the phone software is not supposed to "replace" the desk top.  I know that's a minor thing, and posting to a web site from a phone is a minor miracle in itself, but hey, you don't get what you want unless you ask for it, right?

Anyone else using this for something useful in their life or law office (notice that the two are distinct entities?)

-Chris Nichols