President's Corner

Omega Systems Revamps

Don Gall, president and C.E.O., Omega Legal Systems.

In the past, Omega served mid-sized law firms. Now, its enterprise version targets mid-sized, large or complex firms, and the professional edition is streamlined and preconfigured for smaller organizations.

Like other vendors, Omega says it is reaching beyond the legal market, and has added features to make the software more valuable for all professional services firms. They include SQL tools, report scheduling, contact management, imaging and more.

Reader Response no. 295.

Case Management

Enterprise Adds Reporting Tools

LEGAL Files Software Inc. has added a new Enterprise service to its namesake case management software. The new option allows users to share a single database across multiple departments, offices, locations and organizations, it says. The software also helps legal professionals create reports using data from those locations, improving the ability to track case activity, says the Springfield, Mass., company.

Legal Files develops case and office management software products for practice management, litigation support, document assembly and groupware. It serves law firms, corporate legal departments, insurance companies, universities and others.

Reader Response no. 294.

Online Services

TechnoLawyer Listserv Upgrades

PEERVIEWS Inc., of New York City, has announced the relaunch of The TechnoLawyer Community.

The upgraded service now uses PECS 1.0, a proprietary software that is used to package the listserv discussion content into 12 e-mail newsletters, says president Neil Squillante.

To sign up, lawyers enter their name and e-mail address at the site, technolawyer.com. The software then creates a personalized Web page, where users can choose which free newsletters to receive, he says.

Reader Response no. 296.

Speech Recognition

IBM Introduces WebSphere Server

IBM has introduced new speech recognition technology that allows organizations to install firm-wide dictation and transcription services.

Based on IBM's ViaVoice technology, the new IBM WebSphere Voice Server for Transcription can be customized for specific industries, says the Somers, N.Y., company. With a primary vocabulary of more than 160,000 words, WebSphere is designed for multiple users, whether a small law firm or large corporation, says Big Blue.

Specific vocabularies are offered for the legal and medical professions, and administrators can use "The Topic Factory," a built-in tool for adding additional specialty vocabularies. For example, Berlin-based DictaNet has built a German and English language version for lawyers, says IBM.

Users can dictate via telephones, USB microphones, and mobile digital recorders, it says.

Reader Response no. 297.

Networking & Storage

Automatic Backup for Notebooks

CMS Peripherals Inc.'s new portable Automatic Backup Systems Plus now supports Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh computers and OS X, as well as Microsoft Corp. operating systems, including XP. Desktop and laptop editions are available, with external storage and backup ranging from 10 to 100 GB, says the Costa Mesa, Calif. company.

Reader Response no. 298.