I've spent some time this week preparing for an upcoming appellate oral argument, and I've used GoodNotes extensively to prepare what I am going to say and to prepare the best responses to likely questions from the panel. I love that I can write things in different colors and ink sizes, paste an image of a part of a case so that I can quote it verbatim during my presentation, and easily move things around when I change my mind on the order. Handwritten notes in GoodNotes allow me to do so much more than just typing an outline in Microsoft Word on my computer. (I wrote about using GoodNotes to prepare for an oral argument in this post.) When I'm finished, I'll export my notes to a PDF file and print them out in color as a backup, but I prefer using the bright screen on the iPad Pro at the podium. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Speaking of the GoodNotes app, California attorney David Sparks has shared some templates that you can use with GoodNotes, things like daily diary forms. If that interests you, you can download them from this page.
- And here's one more article regarding GoodNotes: This week, Josh Ginter of The Sweet Setup picked the best apps for taking notes with an iPad. For handwritten notes, he picked GoodNotes, but he picks lots of other apps for different types of notes.
- Do any of you have a suggestion for a good projector to use with an iPad Pro for trial, presentations, etc., with portability being an important factor? I was asked that question this week by a Mississippi attorney, and while I have used lots of different projectors with my iPad Pro that were provided by the venue where I was giving a presentation, I've never shopped for one for myself so I don't have any specific suggestion. If any of you happen to have a suggestion and don't mind sharing your wisdom, please post a comment to this post or send me an email. Thanks!
- Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of Wirecutter recommends the best home sensors to use with HomeKit. One of the products she recommends is the Eve Degree, which I reviewed last year and I continue to enjoy using.
- Yesterday, I reviewed the HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Hub for iPad Pro. Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviewed a similar product called the Kanex USB-C Hub. It looks far more awkward than the HyperDrive because it used a cord and connects to the corner of the iPad, which means that your iPad cannot lay flat while using it, and it costs $10 more than the HyperDrive, so the Kanex product doesn't appeal to me, but Hardy gave it a positive review so perhaps it makes sense for some folks.
- Pang-Chieh Ho posted on Digg the winners of the 2019 iPhone Photography Awards. There are some fantastic pictures in there.
- Nick Guy of Wirecutter recommends fast chargers for the iPhone and iPad.
- CarPlay Life discusses NewsFlash for CarPlay, a CarPlay app that can read aloud the text from a website so that you can hear a website while you are driving. It looks like you have to choose one of the 29 websites in the app (such as CNN, the New York Times, 9to5Mac, and Lifehacker); it would be more useful if you could add other websites. Still, it's an interesting idea.
- Although Apple changed its mind about selling the AirPower charging mat, there are some similar alternatives. Julio Ojeda-Zapata recommends some of them in an article for TidBITS.
- In an article for Tom's Guide, Jason Snell explains why Apple spent $1 billion to purchase Intel's cellular modem business.
- Here is an Apple support article showing the icons and explanations of every status icon that you might see at the top of your iPhone. There are several on this page that I've never seen before.
- And finally, at some point this month, Apple will let you sign up for its new credit card, the Apple Card. It offers some advantages over standard credit cards, as Apple explains on this page of its website. Also, the physical card itself is really cool; it is made of Titanium, is laser-etched, and doesn't display your credit card number (for privacy, although you can always get the number in the iPhone app if you need it). I saw one of these in person not too long ago and it is a very distinctive looking card. Here is a video from Apple showing the design of the Apple Card:
