Month: April 2012

I took a deposition yesterday in which the witness had produced thousands of pages of documents.  In the past, that would have meant lugging tons lots of boxes and binders to the deposition.  Instead, I just put everything on my iPad.  I used Apple’s Numbers app to read some Excel files.  The PDF files went in to my Dropbox account, and while it took over an hour to sync almost 2 GB of data to GoodReader, everything worked great once it was there.  Searching for a term in a 2900 page PDF file was slower in GoodReader than it would have been with a laptop computer, but it was fast enough for what I needed during the deposition.  It worked great, and reminded me (once again) of why the iPad is such a great litigation tool.  And now, for the news of note from the past week:

• Speaking of depositions, a California attorney asked me yesterday if I had any experience with using an iPad for a realtime deposition transcript during a deposition.  I have not, and frankly I’m not sure that I would use this because I’d rather use my iPad for accessing pleadings, exhibits, etc. during a deposition.  (Unless I brought a second iPad?)  The website for the court reporter company Gramann Reporting, Ltd. mentions this feature, but it’s not clear to me if they have a dedicated app or are just sending the realtime transcript to a web browser.  If any of you know anything more about relatime on the iPad, I’d love to hear about it.
• The Lexis Advance app for the iPad (which I reviewed in February) was updated this week to support client-matter requirements.  In the past you could use the app without entering a client or matter number, even if your law firm required these codes when accessing Lexis Advance on the web; now thy are required in the iPad app as well.
• When I need to access the full version of Microsoft Office on my iPad (for example, to view or add redline edits), I usually use the LogMeIn app to connect to my office computer or the Citrix app to connect to a virtual computer on my law firm’s network, but if neither of those options are available to you, you might consider the apps CloudOn and OnLive Desktop.  I’m still trying these out myself, but Harry McCracken of Time wrote a helpful article comparing what these apps can do.
• Speaking of OnLive Dekstop, Paul McDougall notes that Microsoft has recently given OnLive permission to do what it does, except that now the app uses Windows Server 2008 instead of Windows 7, which makes it somewhat less useful.
• Joel Mathis of Macworld reviews Notes Plus, a powerful app for taking notes on an iPad.  I reviewed Notes Plus earlier this year.
• Philip Michaels of Macworld reviews SlideShark, a free app to view PowerPoint presentations on your iPad.  It sounds like an interesting app, but I recommend that you just pay Apple the $10 for its excellent Keynote app.
• Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal praises voice dictation on the iPhone 4S and Android devices.  I’m a huge fan of using my voice, instead of my fingers, to draft e-mails on my iPhone 4S and my third generation iPad.
• Ellis Hamburger of The Verge reviews iPad styluses.  It’s a great, comprehensive review and includes a fantastic video showing all of the devices being used.  Definitely worth a look if you are trying to pick a stylus for your iPad.
• Quickoffice is a nice app for reading Microsoft Office documents on the iPhone or iPad.  It was updated this week to add the ability to edit PowerPoint 2007-2010 files.  
• Greg Buckles of eDiscoveryJournal discusses the discoverability of information on mobile phones.
• King & Spalding law librarian Greg Lambert of the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog makes the case for sticking with his first generation iPad.  He makes some interesting arguments, but I’m sure there are iPhone J.D. readers at K&S with a third generation iPad, and I encourage one of you to loan your device to Lambert for a few minutes; I suspect he’ll change his mind.
• Kevin Tofel of GigaOm runs through the multi-finger gestures on the iPad.  I’m a big fan of the four-finger swipe left / right.
• Attorney Neil Squillante, publisher of the TechnoLawyer newsletters, writes about some unique iPad stands that don’t take up desk space.
• Connecticut attorney Adrian Baron of The Nutmeg Lawyer discusses using a Netzero device as a hotspot for his iPad.
• The iPhoto app on the iPad is incredibly powerful, but because it has so many cool features, it takes some time to learn how to use it.  Leah Yamshon of Macworld writes about the different brushes in the app.
• Better yet, California attorney Katie Floyd of the Mac Power Users podcast recently wrote about SCOTutor for iPhoto on iOS, a $0.99 app that contains a 50 minute video by Don McAlister of ScreenCastsOnline that walks you through all of the features in iPhoto.  I purchased this app this past weekend and I learned a ton from it.  It was definitely worth a buck.  Click here for SCOtutor for iPhoto on iOS ($0.99):

  

• And finally, Rob Schmitz of Marketplace was recently given permission by Apple to take a look inside of the Foxconn factory in Shanghai, China that produces the iPad.  This short video gives you an interesting insight into how your iPad was made:

For most attorneys using an iPad, I have a strong suspicion that PDF is the most important file format.  Rather than lugging boxes full of documents to meetings, courts, trials, etc., it is so much better have everything in PDF format organized in an app on your iPad such as GoodReader, PDFpen or the many other fantastic PDF apps.  But Adobe controls PDF, so when it updates its own PDF software for the computer or other devices, it is worth paying attention to what is new.  I reviewed the free Adobe Reader app for the iPad and iPhone last year, and while the app was limited, it considered it useful.  Everyone once in a while I encounter a file on my iPad or iPhone that only Adobe Reader can handle.

Yesterday, Adobe updated Adobe Reader for the iPad and iPhone to add some great new features.  

First, Adobe added simple annotation capabilities including highlighting, strike-through and underlining for readable files.  You can access these features from a menu at the top, or by simply selecting text and choosing the option from a pop-up menu.

For all files, including those that are not readable, you can add a note or you can draw on the document using a simple pen tool.

[UPDATE 12/1/2012:  Be sure to read Ernie Svenson’s comment to this post about what happens to annotations when you export a PDF file.]

This version also adds a nice signature feature.  Select the signature tool and tap on the spot in the document where you want to sign.  A screen then appears where you can sign your name. 

The app then adds that signature to your document, where you can resize it to make it fit and edit the thickness, color or opacity of the lines.  In the future, just tap the signature button to add your previous signature again, or you can choose to edit your saved signature.

The update also adds the ability to fill out forms, although I haven’t tried that feature yet.

The first time that you make an annotation, the app asks for your name.  In the future, you can change your identity by going to the iPad’s Settings app and selecting Adobe Reader.

All of the features mentioned above also work on the iPhone, although annotating and signing a document on the iPhone’s tiny screen can be a challenge.

The annotation features in Adobe Reader are simple and do not hold a candle to more sophisticated apps such as PDFpen.  I recommend that most attorneys use more sophisticated PDF apps, especially on an iPad, to gain more features such as the ability to store files in folders, sync, make advanced edits, etc.  On the other hand, the features Adobe just added to the Adobe Reader app are well implemented and make this an app that I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and easy way to annotate a document.

Click here for Adobe Reader (free): 

This is a short week with the Easter holiday, and it has been a busy week for me as a return to my practice after TECHSHOW.  Here are the iPhone and iPad news items that caught my attention this week and might be of interest to you:

• Florida attorney Katie Floyd of the Mac Power Users podcast has been shopping for an external keyboard for her new iPad.  In this post, she explains why she tried the Apple Wireless Keyboard but ultimately opted for the ZAGGkeys Flex.
• New York attorney Niki Black writes about last week’s ABA TECHSHOW for The Daily Record.  I was honored to see that she wrote:  “My favorite session was the ’60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes’ given by attorneys Josh Barrett, Brett Burney and Jeffrey Richardson. This presentation stood out due to the quality of the content and the beautifully designed slides.  The speakers presented the material with ease and humor and obviously knew their stuff. The apps discussed were highly relevant to lawyers who use iPhones and iPads in their practices.”  Thanks!  We had a blast putting together and presenting the session.
• South Carolina attorney Jim Dedman of Abnormal Use tried to depose Siri.
• Have you ever wondered why, when you travel with an iPad instead of a laptop computer, you don’t need to remove the iPad to go through TSA?  Matt Richtel of the New York Times researched the reason for the distinction, and apparently there isn’t much of an answer.  Regardless, I love this policy so I hope that TSA doesn’t change it.
• Jim Tanous of The Mac Observer analyzes the change in iOS 5.1 that causes an iPhone 4S on AT&T to say that it has 4G instead of 3G.
• ExhibitView is powerful app that you can use to give presentations in court or in a meeting using an iPad.  It was recently updated to version 2.0, and then 2.1, and is dedicated to the memory of Finis Price, author of the great TechnoEsq. blog who recently passed away.  (When the ABA Journal ran its Droid vs. iPhone feature back in 2010, Finis Price argued for the iPhone.)
• Brian Malcom has tips for litigators using an iPad in this article for Law Technology News.
• Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times provides more thoughts on the new iPad.
• Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS explains that Apple’s success comes from releasing products like the new iPad with important, albeit only incremental, changes.
• Ben Bajarin of Time explains why America needs Apple.
• If you upgraded to the new third generation iPad, you now have an extra iPad.  If you want to pass your old iPad along to a child, Christopher Breen of Macworld has tips for doing so.
• And finally, I recently had an opportunity to see Walter Isaacson, author of the Steve Jobs book, speak about the book and his time with Steve Jobs.  On April 2, Isaacson gave a 20 minute presentation at the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam and then had an hour-long Q and A session.  The session was recorded, and if you are interested in Steve Jobs and you haven’t had an opportunity to see Isaacon speak over the last few months as he has toured the country (and apparently, the world), I recommend that you set aside 90 minutes to watch the video.  You can watch it below, but unfortunately it is in Flash format so you cannot view it on an iPad or iPhone.

This past Saturday morning at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, Josh Barrett, Brett Burney and I presented the 2012 installment of 60 Apps in 60 Minutes.  We highlighted some of the best new apps for attorneys as well as old favorites that cannot live without, plus a few others just for fun.  Here is a list of the apps that we discussed this year.  I put links on the names of the apps that have received a formal review here on iPhone J.D.  I think that you will find that this is a good, diverse list of apps for you to explore.

1. Agenda – calendar ($0.99): 

   

2. Instacast – podcast organizer and player ($1.99): 

   

3. Conference Pad – presentations ($4.99): 

   

4. GoodReader – store documents, annotate PDFs ($4.99): 

   

5. PDFpen – PDF editor ($9.99): 

   

6. Adobe Reader – PDF reader (free): 

   

7. PDF PROvider – convert to PDF ($6.99): 

   

8. PDF Expert – PDF editor ($9.99): 

   

9. Mr. Reader – RSS reader ($3.99): 

   

10. PaperKarma – reduce junk mail (free): 

    

11. Voice Brief – read your email, calendar, etc. out loud ($3.99): 

    

12. Cards – create and mail cards (free): 

    

13. TranscriptPad – annotate transcripts ($49.99): 

    

14. Documents to Go – view and edit Microsoft Word docs ($9.99): 

    

15. WordPerfect Viewer – view WordPerfect files ($5.99): 

    

16. CloudOn – virtualized version of Microsoft Office (free): 

    

17. Phraseology – text editor ($3.99): 

    

18. DayOne – diary ($2.99): 

    

19. Picture it Settled Lite – mediation analysis (free): 

    

20. Note Taker HD – handwritten notes ($4.99): 

    

21. Notes Plus – handwritten notes ($6.99): 

    

22. Notability – handwritten notes ($3.99): 

    

23. SoundNote – take notes and record ($4.99): 

    

24. Air Display – iPad as a second monitor ($9.99): 

    

25. PhotoSync – transfer photos from iPhone to iPad ($1.99): 

    

26. AutoStitch – create panorama ($1.99): 

    

    cc
27. GroupShot – merge photos of a group of people ($0.99): 

    

28. iPhoto – photo editor ($4.99): 

    

29. Photoshop Touch – photo editor ($9.99): 

    

30. Reminders – to do list (free) (included with iOS 5)
31. Scanner Pro – scan to PDF ($6.99): 

    

32. DocScanner – scan to PDF ($3.99): 

    

33. Print Central – print from iPad or iPhone ($3.99): 

    

34. Toodledo – task manager ($1.99): 

    

35. Timeli – project manager (free): 

    

36. OmniFocus – task manager ($39.99): 

    

37. Launch Center – shortcuts ($0.99): 

    

38. LogMeIn – remote access (free):  #

    

39. Business Card Reader – card scanner ($4.99): 

    

40. CardMunch – card scanner (free): 

    

    /li>
41. GateGuru – airport inforation (free):

    

42. Hipmunk – plan flights (free): 

    

43. SitOrSquat – find and rate bathrooms (free): 

    

44. Sparrow – e-mail client ($2.99): 

    

45. Office Time – timekeeper ($7.99): 

    

46. WestlawNext – legal research (free): 

    

47. Lexis Advance – legal research (free): 

    

48. Fastcase – legal research (free): 

    

49. Klammer – view Outlook attachments ($0.99): 

    

50. PST Mail – view Outlook .pst files ($9.99): 

    

51. GoToMeeting – attend online meetings (free): 

    

52. AppStart – app suggestions (free): 

    

53. 1Password Pro – password manager ($14.99): 

    

54. DaysFrom – date calculator ($0.99): 

    

55. Do Date – daily reminders ($0.99): 

    

56. Tweetbot – Twitter client ($2.99): 

    

57. Keynote – presentations ($9.99): 

    

58. Keynote Remote – presentations ($0.99): 

    

59. Google Translate – translations (free): 

    

60. Infinity Blade II – game ($5.99): 

    

61. Action Movie FX – add special effects to movies (free): 

    

I created a short live demonstration of that last app, Action Movie FX, during our presentation.  Here is that video.  For those of you who attended, you can see yourself being crushed by a helicopter:

I enjoyed talking to many of you after this session and throughout the conference.  I hope to see you next year at ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago, April 4-6, 2013.