CBA Record January-February 2022

LPMT BITS & BYTES BY ANNE HAAG What Santa Didn’t Bring: 8 Tech Ideas for the New Year

but these internal improvements might even take you further. The Pro model basically amplifies all of these elements. 7. Apple 14-Inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro: MacBook Pros have been suffering for the past few years from a series of bad “improvements.” The made the keys shorter, added the touch bar, and took away ports (minus a few USB-C ports) – nothing anyone really wanted. This iteration of the MacBook Pro is said to be a step in the right direction. The M1 chip makes it incredibly fast, and it has an amazing display. Apple wisely brought back ports, and the new device includes HDMI, SD card, and MagSafe charging ports. It’s great to see a return to practicality. If you’ve been waiting to upgrade, now’s the time. 8. A Calm App Subscription: The Calm app is a meditation app with over a mil- lion downloads and 1.5 million 5-star reviews that has gained popularity with the legal community. It’s the number 1 app for sleep and meditation. There is a limited free version of the app, and a 7-day free trial of their Premium ver- sion. Try it out and see if you like it. A Premium subscription will cost you $70 a year, which is a pretty small price to pay if meditation boosts your mental health. Looking for more tips and tricks to make your law office efficient in the new year?Watch the on-demand video “Practice Management &Tech Tools, Tips, Gadgets & App” at learn.chicagobar.org (1 IL PR- MCLE credit).

M aybe he forgot, or maybe your wish list items were caught up in supply chain shortages. Whatever the reason, if you didn’t get what you wanted for the holidays this year, here are a few technology-related ideas for treating yourself post-holiday season. It also works for those who didn’t know what they wanted. So read on, even if you feel completely sated! (Note: no promotional consideration was given for reviewing these items.) 1. The Hatch Restore Sunrise alarm clock: This alarm clock is also a sound machine, allowing you to fall asleep to peaceful sounds or white noise. A light gradually brightens in place of an alarm, so you can wake up in a way that mimics a more primal way of awakening. It also includes a meditation app so you can wind-down mindfully. 2. Apple AirTags: These are little track- ing devices to place on items you often lose (like your keys or wallet), or even on your pet. You can attach them to the item or your pet’s collar, and you can always see where it is. All com- munications with Find My Network are anonymous and are encrypted for privacy. Location data and history are never stored on the AirTag. 3. Yibico FIDO Security Key NFC: Mul- tiple factor authentication is now the login authentication security standard. Getting a code texted to your phone is the most common way of doing this, but Anne Haag is the CBA’s Law Practice Management Advisor, a certified crisis intervention counselor, and a volunteer withResilience as a trauma- informed ER advocate for sexual assault survivors.

it has now also become the least secure method of multiple factor authentica- tion. The most secure way is to use a hardware token such as the Yubico Key. You plug it in to your USB drive, and your device will ask you to tap it to authenticate. Easy AND secure. Note: if you use LastPass, buy the YibiKey 5 instead. 4. Logitech C920X HD Pro Webcam: I recently upgraded to a Mac desktop, and I am amazed by the improvement in the webcam. I now run Zoom exclusively on that computer. Compared to my Mac- Book Air it’s a big jump in improvement, but my Dell laptop doesn’t even begin to compete with it. Webcams on laptops or older devices just aren’t that great. You don’t have to go all-in and invest in a new desktop though – instead, just upgrade to a standalone webcam like this Logitech model. 5. An Away Suitcase: Now that travel is returning to our lives, it’s time to upgrade to a better suitcase that will make your life easier in the airport. Away makes fantastic suitcases that are guaranteed for life. They all have hard shells and 360-degree spinner wheels. The carry-on has a charging device that allows you to keep your devices charged while you wait at the gate. The larger bags don’t have the charger, but they’re an attractive and easy-to-use alternative to your old bag. 6. Apple iPhone 13: The changes made in the new iteration of the iPhone are mostly internal, but they still pack a punch. The new chip is faster, and the cameras have been improved. Battery life has been improved, and it has 5G capa- bilities. The improvements aren’t flashy,

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