For two and a half years, I practiced law using a laptop and only a laptop. My laptop and I had a wonderful relationship, and I watched her grow older as any proud parent would. Throughout those years she performed her chores without complaint, and helped me with countless tasks. However, as my baby grew up, I began to realize the fragility of our relationship -- I could lose her in an instant by dropping her or not watching her closely enough at an airport. Given my insecurity, I decided that she needed a sibling or two. Last Christmas, I bought a desktop computer, and shortly thereafter, a handheld computer. I feel much happier and secure now for the reasons discussed below.

Only Child
My relationship with my Dell Inspiron laptop (www.dell.com) has been a healthy and loving one. I dubbed her Noripsni (Nori for short) -- the model name spelled backwards. Nori has a 266 MHz Pentium MMX, 128MB of RAM, and a 4.3GB hard drive. A real screamer when she first came into my life, Nori continues to perform exceptionally well with regard to all my standard legal tasks, such as accounting, case management, and word processing. She does, however, fall short regarding anything involving serious sound, such as voice recognition technology or ripping MP3s because her power source lies too close to the sound card and creates a great deal of interference.

Despite Nori's shortcomings, I had always eschewed desktop computers as the devil's technology. Why shackle myself to a single location, when a laptop lets me take notes at any meeting or court proceeding, write research memos in the library, and read my e-mail on the bus?

Portability does have its problems, however, as I learned one dark and stormy night not too long ago when I dropped Nori on her side. Of course, I did what any parent would do in this situation -- I burst into tears. Eventually, I composed myself enough to try the power button. I heard the familiar whirring and beeping, but saw nothing on Nori's display. I tried again ... and again -- but still nothing. Then I plugged Nori into an external monitor and found that her CPU still worked, but not her display. And so Nori rode into the sunset of early retirement. I quickly replaced Nori with Paddy -- an ultra-compact IBM ThinkPad 240.

Sister Sister
The Big Drop made me realize that with my entire practice -- my entire life for that matter -- on a computer, one computer simply wasn't enough. Sure, like many lawyers, I back up my data in fifteen different ways, and store at least one backup in a fire-water-lightning-and-gremlin-proof container in a remote mountain cave. But, I knew a better solution existed -- a second computer ready to go, complete and up-to-date with my settings, files, templates, records, schedule, and e-mail.

Thus did I purchase a new Dell Dimension desktop PC, which I named Mensi (again, I shortened the brand name). Despite Mensi's 600 Mhz Pentium III processor, 27GB hard drive, and oh-so-delightful DVD-ROM drive, she will never replace Paddy. Rather, Mensi complements Paddy. On Mensi, which resides at home, I listen to my entire CD collection in MP3 format, evaluate free trial software at light speed, work on my Web site, and sneak in a game of NHL 2000 (yes, I am Canadian!). Meanwhile, the core tools for my legal practice -- Word, Outlook, the Brain, PCLaw, and Quicklaw -- exist on both computers, at the ready in case anything should happen to either of them. Even more important, all of my files reside on both computers -- fully synchronized of course.

To make this redundancy a reality, I use a synchronization utility called Second Copy 2000 (www.centered.com). Using a parallel cable, I connect the two computers, map Paddy's drive onto Mensi's system, and synchronize the files before leaving with Paddy for the office, the library, wherever. When I return home, I again synchronize Paddy with Mensi. I work on Paddy during the day and Mensi at night. (As an extra safeguard, I also regularly back up my files to removable media.)

If Paddy suffers an accident similar to that which befell Nori, I would lose no more than a few hours of work, and I would be able to work effectively from home with Mensi until a new Paddy arrived from Dell. Similarly, if Mensi ever experiences problems, the elder Paddy can step in to keep my work flowing and the clock ticking with virtually no downtime.

Yet, still, I felt a void.

Full House
Meet Rosi, the latest addition to my digital family. Rosi is a Handspring Visor Deluxe (www.handspring.com), a handheld computer that runs the Palm operating system. Rosi (by now, you should know how I coined the name "Rosi") makes me a true 21st century lawyer -- she goes places where even Paddy svelte 3.3 lb form factor would be unwieldy. I use Rosi to jot down appointments, telephone numbers, and notes at the courthouse, to keep track of stats during field hockey games (I'm the coach), and to record those brilliant ideas I only seem to have when I'm out and about. I synchronize Rosi with both Mensi and Paddy, which truly makes us one big happy digital family.

Conclusion
Clearly, having a family of computers is more expensive than only having one, but if you're a fellow solo practitioner, you cannot deny the benefits:

• A laptop allows you to work anywhere and everywhere.
• A desktop provides you with power, comfort, and a large screen.
• Synchronizing the two computers means that you can continue
     working if one computer dies.
• A handheld computer gives you constant access to your contacts,
     calendar, and much more.
• Increased efficiency will eventually pay for the second
     computer and the handheld computer.

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