Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

.new TLD Looks Handy

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

At least, I thought so….

As described in How to open blank documents/instances of many common programs from your browser, google is rolling out the .new TLD exclusively for shortcuts that “[t]ake the user directly into the action generation or content creation flow”.  E.g.,

  • doc.new for a new google doc
  • sheet.new for a new google calc sheet
  • word.new for a blank M$ Doc file
  • excel.new for a new Excel sheet
  • ppt.new for a new powerpoint presentation

Many, many other shortcuts too.

The nice thing about this — besides noticeably reducing the time to open blank documents in Word or Sheets — is that because this is a DNS hack, it works in all browsers–it’s not just a Chrome thing.

Google is opening the .new TLD to all comers, subject to mild restrictions:

All .new domain names are required to comply with the .new Registration Policy, which features a usage-based restriction to ensure that all domains are being used for new actions. That means that all .new domains registrations must:

  • Be used for action generation or online content creation;
  • Take the user directly into the action generation or content creation flow;
  • Resolve to the action within 100 days of registration;* and
  • Allow Google Registry to verify compliance at no cost.

While anyone can register, domains that don’t comply with this usage policy may be suspended or deleted by Google Registry without refund. So be sure you review the full .new Registration Policy before you register your .new domain to ensure that it meets our policy requirements.

Posted in Internet, Software | Comments Off on .new TLD Looks Handy

Tripit Three

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

I sent in my form, and that seems to have done the trick.

Previously:

Posted in ID Cards and Identification, Internet, Software | Comments Off on Tripit Three

Tripit Two

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

Next act in, Does Tripit Think I’m on a Watch List or Financial Sanctions List?

After I wrote in asking why my account was suspended, the Tripit help desk promptly sent me a form to fill out attesting that I’m me, and asking where I live and what my birth date is; they promised not to share it with any third parties. Top of Tripit form requesting ID confirmationThe form didn’t ask for any proof, other than my signature, but I’m sure it’s a trivial thing to validate the information against many commercially available data bases.

I sent in the form last night, and we’ll see how long it takes them to chew on it. Worst case, I suppose I can always open a new free account with a different email address. I’ve got several…

Posted in ID Cards and Identification, Internet, Software | Comments Off on Tripit Two

Does Tripit Think I’m on a Watch List or Financial Sanctions List?

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

Admittedly, its been a long time since I tried to use Tripit, the handy travel itinerary planner site. Today I noticed that my Tripit widget on my phone wanted me to re-login, so I tried to do that. Didn’t work.

OK, maybe I have the wrong password, let’s try the web version. Password manager confirms I have the right password, but still no dice:

OK, maybe the link to the help page will explain this?

Well, that’s odd.

Seems to me there are four possibilities:

  1. Tripit is having a bad day.
  2. For some weird reason (unlikely to be my VPN since that’s set to a domestic location), Tripit wrongly thinks I’m located abroad or on a watch list / Treasury sanctions list.
  3. Tripit has decided that Florida is a foreign country they will no longer serve.
  4. I am on a watch list or a Treasury asset control list. (Would be news to me.)

I’m betting on #2, but we’ll see.  I opened a ticket with Tripit, and will report back if I hear anything.  Then again, if they think I’m on some list, maybe they don’t even answer help requests.

Other possibilities?

 

Posted in ID Cards and Identification, Internet, Software | 2 Comments

He’s Wrinkled, Rested, and Ready

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

I’m surprisingly OK with the idea of President Biden running for re-election. Although not the second coming of FDR that his most fervent partisans predicted, Biden has been far more successful than I would have predicted. The giant climate and jobs bill, the rallying of NATO to help Ukraine (plus its expansion to heretofore neutral northern nations), the judges (on the whole), plus a lot of smart regulatory moves, all together it’s a remarkably good track record.  I do worry about the upcoming debt limit fight, but that’s on Biden only to the extent that his team chose not to try to defuse the bomb during the lame duck session.

Anyway, despite all that, I thought this SNL bit was really funny:

Posted in 2024 Election, Completely Different | 1 Comment

Summer Job for a UM Law Student

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

JOTWELL, the online journal of reviews of recent faculty scholarship relating to the law, needs a MiamiLaw 1L or 2L to join our editorial team for the summer.

The workload typically runs about 30 hours per week, and is paid at the law school’s research assistant scale. The student editor supports faculty editors both at UM and elsewhere, and has a role that is a blend of a substantive editor and a managing editor.

The ideal candidate will be sensitive to nuance and a careful editor, organized, and will enjoy reading legal scholarship. JOTWELL uses WordPress to publish, but it is easy to learn, so no experience needed.

Grades matter for this job, but a demonstrated ability to organize, to write, and to edit may substitute for grades. The job would start as soon as you are available after your Spring ’23 final exams—May 15 or earlier—and run to about when classes start in August. /UPDATE: If you are doing the writing competition, you could start c. May 24 or whenever that is over./ Once you get up to speed there would be no problem if you wanted to take one or more brief vacation periods during that time, as long as none of them was for a long continuous period.

In addition to the circa 30 hours per week for Jotwell, there is an option to add on some extra hours to bring the work up to about 40 hours per week.  These entirely optional extra hours would be traditional research assistant duties supporting me in my summer research.

PLEASE NOTE: Assuming all goes well, I would hope that the Jotwell Summer Editor will transition into being one of three regular Student Editors next academic year, thus working 7-10 hours per week during the 2023-2024 Fall and Spring semesters (with time off for exams and holidays).  Please indicate in your application whether  you are willing to continue in this role for the next two semesters.

If you are interested, please email the following to me at my email address:

  1. Your c.v., aka “your résumé”.
  2. A copy (unofficial is fine) of your transcript,
  3. If you have a non-legal writing sample, please include that also. Please do NOT send your LCOMM paper.
  4. Please state some times when you would be free for a Zoom interview of about 30 minutes in the near future.

Please put “JOTWELL Summer 2023” and your name in the subject line of your email. Also, please ensure that that all attachments to your email have file names starting with your last name.

Posted in Jotwell | Comments Off on Summer Job for a UM Law Student