My 'Berry And Me That nifty-looking two-way wireless Internet-accessible device, the Blackberry, has lawyers in its thrall, enabling them to stay in e-mail contact with clients and colleagues alike.

BY PAUL R. KIESEL

Is connectivity a beauty or a beast? Is it possible to be too connected? Is there a point of oversaturation? Will it ever be cool to disconnect? Does anyone worry that cash is extinct? Does anyone read those privacy statements on Amazon.com? And do you believe them? These are profound questions for the next century. The paranoids amongst us worry about the connectedness in our lives, along with the risk associated with all that electronic transfer of information. I'm enjoying my connectedness in all its glory. And I have found the hint of what is to come. At the recent technology show, cosponsored by the Los Angeles Daily Journal, several presenters and attendees were toting around a nifty-looking gadget known as the "Blackberry," a two -way wireless Internet-accessible device. There are two Blackberry models available from Canadian-based RIM (Research In Motion), the 957 and the 950. Let me state, at the outset, that I love this device. I am impressed by this product. Let me tell you how it works. I am using the larger, Palm-sized unit. It has a fairly large and readable screen with a tiny keyboard at the bottom. To type messages, you're pretty much relegated to using your thumbs. Your e-mail is sent to the wireless Blackberry, you can read it, click "respond to message" and type your reply. Here's an example: A client e-mails me requesting guidance on an important issue. I'm defending a client in deposition at the time. My Blackberry begins to vibrate. (There are several notification options, including no sound, sound and vibrate, sound but no vibrate, etc.) I open the message, read the client's question and type an answer. After hitting "send," you can watch the Blackberry transmit the message; once it's been sent, a "check mark" appears. One minute later, the client, who has received my reply, sends back a "thanks" - mission accomplished. One more example: I was at a hearing in court when I realized I forgot to tell my legal assistant about an important project that had to be completed. There was no way I could leave the counsel table, the court wasn't going to take a break for at least an hour, and I had to get this instruction to Cesar. What to do? Blackberry to the rescue. Ten minutes later, Cesar confirmed that the request had been received, processed and the world was safe for another day. If you're using Microsoft Exchange, I'm told, Blackberry is an almost seamless tool. With Exchange, an e-mail arrives at your office and is forwarded directly to your Blackberry. When you read and respond to the e-mail, your office computer reflects that the e-mail was received, reviewed and responded to. When you answer, the sender of the original e-mail won't know that you responded remotely. However, our firm uses Novel's Groupwise, not Exchange, and the Blackberry cannot operate seamlessly with it. Here's how it works with Groupwise: My editor at the Daily Journal sends me an e-mail at Kiesel@kbla.com. Groupwise forwards e-mails to Kiesel@kbla.com to my Blackberry address. And therein lies the rub. Blackberry set me up with my own "Blackberry" address. (Your address will be whatever service provider you select to purchase the Blackberry through. Since mine is a "demo," Blackberry simply set me up with their e-mail address: Kiesel@myblackberry.net. So when an e-mail arrives at the Kiesel@kbla.com mailbox, it is automatically forwarded to my Blackberry address, and when the e-mail from Lisa Miller at the Daily Journal arrives, it is labeled a "forwarded" message from Paul R. Kiesel, not a message from Lisa Miller. Therefore, I can't simply hit "reply to sender" because the Blackberry thinks the sender is Kiesel@kbla.com, not Lisa Miller. The other problem is that when I respond, the reply comes from Kiesel@myblackberry.com, not Kiesel@kbla.com. These are not insurmountable problems, but the process is a bit clunky. For more information, as well as pricing, call RIM at (877) 255-2377 or contact them at www.blackberry.net. So what does the future hold? Within 24 months there will be a linkage between your cellphone, pager, personal data assistant (Palm V), the Internet and your e-mail. Now, that's going to be cool. One unit, one price, one battery charger, one address. At the Daily Journal Legal Tech seminar, the moderator began the first morning session by taking the technology pulse of the crowd. "How many of you have cellphones?" the moderator asked. Almost all. "How many have pagers?" Most. "How many have personal data assistants, laptops?" She paused, and looked quizzically at a fortysomething man in the front row. "Sir," she said "you didn't raise your hand at all. Why?" Every head turned to see this low-tech intruder. The pause was uncomfortable. I couldn't believe the moderator had the chutzpah to put this poor guy on the spot. We waited anxiously for the explanation as to why this guy was in "our" room. His voice was loud and clear. "I felt too connected." Bravery or stupidity? The future or the past? Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.