Video conferencing or virtual meetings are accelerating in demand given COVID-19/Coronavirus. The Shelter at Home Orders requires more and more professionals to work from home. Attorneys are within this bandwidth.

While many attorneys are used to taking their laptops home for some light work, many are not prepared to be 100% teleworking. One of the tools being utilized by both lawyers and the government is video conferencing. Here is a straightforward device to help make you appear a little bit better to the viewer - Lume Cube.

I came across this device last week. Lume Cube (specs) is roughly under a two-by-two inch device that suction cups behind your computer monitor, laptop, tablet or smart-phone device. It helps highlight the video-caster's face. It comes with two light diffusers - warming and softening. It has an internal, non-replaceable Lit-Ion Polymer battery that lasts "Run Time: 2.5+ Hours @ 50% Brightness (30-45min @ 100%)". It is not bad for a $49.95 device (as of this posting down from $79.95) - see the before and after pics below.

The difference is subtle but significant. To control the light settings, there is a downloadable app that allows you to control the light remotely through Bluetooth. You can control the brightness, reduce red-eye, and utilize four different modes (Flash, Constant, Strobe 1, and Strobe 2). Its simple, straightforward, and perfect for the newbie!

Sure, there are other lighting options out there. My only complaint with the Lume Cube is the enclosed Micro USB-A wire is a little short: As I am mostly using this on my iMac and it is short on USB-C inputs, I can't easily use an extra USB-C Hub to power the Lume Cube other than my iMac (unless I have an extra Micro USB-A wire with enough length). But for a starting point at $50, this overall package is not a bad place to begin with for your teleconference lighting needs.

Two Thumbs Up! 👍👍

Happy Shelter-In-Place Lawyering!

The legal profession is one that can weather through this COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. We can easily more our place of work from a traditional office setting to a home office with little interruption. But with that transition (especially those not used to working from home), we need to be a bit wearier that our client information is secure. Curious kids, unassuming family members, and those with more nefarious intent can accidentally or deliberately create a security breach, access your client's data files, and cause some bar complaints down the road.

Password protect your home office computer!

Mitigate this with some simple actions: Password protect your computer!

For Mac Users, go to your Apple icon on the top right, select "Security and Privacy," then under the "General" set login password. Power tip: Use the "Require Password" after x minutes when the computer goes to sleep mode or your screen saver begins. This way, you can ensure security should you walk away for a few minutes and forget to log off or shut down the machine. Super Power tip: On the same General" tap, you can use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac (and specific applications)!
For Windows Users, there are at least two easy ways you can set a password for a user account.

Enter your "Control Panel", under "User Accounts and Family Safety" choose "Change Account Type," under "Manage Accounts" select the "User Account" you want to change, click on "Create a Password", enter your password (look for a future post about creating and securing your passwords), renter your password, elect whether your password is case sensitive, and click "Change" password; or
On your keyboard, Press Windows+I, select "User and accounts", select sign-in options, under "Password" (look for a future post about creating and securing your passwords) select "Add", create a new password, provide a "New password", reenter the password, provide a password hint (if so desired), click next then click finish.

Working from home may be a new challenge for some of us; let’s remember to be smart about it when we do!

Blog

New to Video Conferencing? Let there be light! (COVID-19/Coronavirus Edition)

Home Office Security Tip #1 (COVID-19/Coronavirus edition)

The Tech Savvy Lawyer