Bill & Phil Gadgets

BILL & PHIL’S GADGET OF THE MONTH By: Bill Ramsey

Neal & Harwell

By: Phil Hampton

THERE’S A NEW PHONE IN TOWN (AND IT AIN’T AN IPHONE)

We love our smartphones. Phil always has the latest Samsung “Ultra” phone and another one. Bill always has the latest iPhone and an Android model. But Bill has found a “new phone in town.”

Bill noticed Phil’s Samsung Galaxy ZFlip phone with a foldable screen. Bill immediately got a bad case of phone envy. So, when Samsung announced the release of the ZFold 4, Bill had to have one because it has a giant screen when it unfolds, much larger than the ZFlip.

Bill immediately began shopping for his ZFold. The retail price for the phone ($1800) gave Bill a temporary case of sticker shock, but he soon discovered he could get $900 off when he traded in his old phone. He bought it and immediately fell in love. Here is why:

The ZFold actually has three screens – a front screen and a foldable inner “double” screen that converts into a 7.6 inch display. It is almost as large as the screen on an iPad Mini. You have to see it to believe it. In one phone, you get a regular smartphone to use, and a nice tablet that doubles as a smartphone. In fact, when you use it as a tablet, it is practically a minicomputer. You can connect it to a keyboard and a mouse, and it serves well as a 7.6 inch Android computer. It even has a taskbar at the bottom of the screen, like a Windows computer or an iPad.

And that is just the beginning. You can open up to three apps simultaneously on the inner screen and copy and paste information from one app to another. You can open an app in “Flex Mode” and fold the upper part of the screen at an angle. Then you can control the app with a trackpad pointer and use the phone as a mini laptop. The large screen is ideal for gaming if you are into that.

The ZFold excels when you are reviewing Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets, or emails. When you are old like Bill and your eyesight is failing, the large screen does wonders for your ability to review complicated documents or lengthy emails. The large, on-screen keyboard makes it easy to respond to emails or to edit documents. You can place the screen at most any angle for your comfort and convenience, but we really like using the screen fully open to take advantage of the large, very bright and sharp OLED screen. There is a “fold” in the center of the screen, but you barely notice it once you began using the ZFold as a tablet.

There have been rumors that the camera is not up to the standard of the cameras on iPhones or the other Samsung Galaxy phones. We have found that not to be the case. The telephoto camera shots were amazing. The front-facing camera on the foldable screen took great pictures and it makes for a great camera to use for Zoom calls. The screen is large enough to accommodate a Zoom session easily. The speakers on the phone are loud enough to provide clear conversations in a Zoom session or a speakerphone call.

There are a few drawbacks. The phone is a bit bulky – certainly thicker and heavier than an iPhone or a regular Samsung Galaxy phone. The outside screen is a bit small, making typing and texting a bit awkward. But all of this is overcome by the cool factor of the large screen when the phone is folded out. Bill walked around to everyone, even strangers on the street and made them stop and watch him fold out the screen and play a YouTube video.

Yes, Bill is in love with “the new phone in town.”

LEGAL UPDATE, continued from page 15

timely file a BOI report may result in civil fines up to $500 per day for each day the violation continues.27 Criminal violations may result in fines up to $10,000 and imprisonment up to two (2) years.28 As a safeguard for personally identifiable information, any government employee or third party recipient who unlawfully uses or discloses any beneficial ownership information may be subject to the same civil penalty, but also faces potential fines up to $250,000 and imprisonment up to five (5) years.29

What does the CTA mean for businesses and business lawyers?

The CTA will affect more than 25 million privately held companies doing business in the U.S,30 and it has been estimated that compliance will cost businesses an estimated 131.7 million hours of paperwork at a cost of $5.7 billion over the first ten (10) years.31 Lawyers will also have to contend with the CTA in various contexts: new entity formation, change of ownership, dissolution / termination, mergers and acquisition, securities offerings, and trusts and estate planning, among many others. Lawyers will also need to exercise care in protecting personal information of beneficial owners and company applicants.

The CTA warrants much more in-depth discussion and analysis, but hopefully this article has given you a good overview and a framework for studying its particulars. If nothing else, lawyers will want to monitor the anticipated publication of the final regulations by FinCEN.

1 31 U.S.C. § 5336. 2 Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements, 86 Fed. Reg. 69920, 69925 (proposed Dec. 8, 2021) (to be codified at 31 C.F.R. pt. 1010). 3 The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury, and is charged with implementing the CTA. 4 31 U.S.C. § 5336(b). 5 31 U.S.C. § 5336(b)(2)(A). 6 31 U.S.C. § 5336(c)(1). 7 31 U.S.C. § 5336(c)(8). 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B). 11 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B). 12 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B)(xxii). 13 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B)(xxi). 14 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(11)(B)(xxiii) 15 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(2). 16 Corporate Transparency Act, FinCEN Report, Corporate Transparency Act beneficial ownership reports | FinCen Report Company, LLC (last visited Jul. 29, 2022). 17 Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements, supra note 3, at 69971. 18 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(3)(B). 19 31 U.S.C. § 5336(a)(2). 20 Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement, supra note 3, at 69973. 21 Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements, supra note 3, at 69971. 22 Id. at 69970. 23 Id. 24 Id. 25 Id. 26 31 U.S.C. § 5336(h)(1). 27 31 U.S.C. § 5336(h)(3)(A)(i). 28 31 U.S.C. § 5336(h)(3)(A)(ii). 29 31 U.S.C. § 5336(h)(3)(B). 30 Preparing for the Corporate Transparency Act, ALI CLE, Preparing for the Corporate Transparency Act (ali-cle.org) (last visited Jul. 29, 2022). 31 The Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 Passes US House, Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus., (Oct. 25, 2019), https://www.nfib.com/content/nfib-in-my-state/grassroots/ the-corporate-transparency-act-of-2019-passes-us-house/.

Photo Ops Photo Ops

KBA Tennis & Pickleball Mixers – August 19

The winner of the Tennis Tournament was Luke Durham and the winner of the Pickleball Tournament was Wayne Wykoff.

MANAGEMENT, continued from page 13

email or some other type of asynchronous communication that allows employees to work most efficiently and effectively, rather than spend unnecessary time in yet another meeting.

However, while productivity is key, be wary of burnout. With employees working remotely, it’s easy to blur the line between work and home and to feel “on” 24/7. Empower employees to disconnect when the workday ends, including turning off email notifications. Set the example with your own behavior – if you’re sending emails at all hours of the night, they’ll feel like they should be working too, so make an effort to limit after-hours communications to truly urgent matters. We’re all still learning how to operate in this new hybrid environment. Remain willing to learn and adjust your expectations and hybrid model as you learn through experience what does and doesn’t work for your unique workplace and employees.

Has the meaning of service changed? It hasn’t for us.

Mergers and high-employee turnover seem to be today’s business status quo. Since 1993, TCV has defined the true meaning of service. We provide genuine personal service by experienced professionals you can actually speak with.

1 Research Report, Accenture, The future of work: A hybrid work model (April 30, 2021), https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/consulting/future-work

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