To take advantage of the recent three-day weekend, my family went to Disney World along with some other members of our extended family.  I also went to Disney World in 2014, and after that trip I wrote about all of the useful Disney-related apps that you can use.  Just about everything that I wrote in that post remains true today, but here is some additional and updated information that you can use if you have a trip to Disney World in your future.  Consider this a pocket part update to my 2014 post.  I doubt that very many of you are currently packing your bags to head to Disney World, but remember that this post is here, and come back to it when you do next find yourself headed to the Most Magical Place on Earth, because the most important thing that I can tell you is that an iPhone is an incredibly useful tool while you are at Disney World and will vastly improve your trip.  And while I haven’t yet been to Disneyland in California, I suspect that many of these tips work for that park as well (although I’d have to defer to my friend and California attorney David Sparks, who has deep roots in Disneyland).

Wi-Fi

I should have mentioned in that prior post that there is free Wi-Fi throughout all of the Disney parks.  The network is called Disney-Guest.  For the most part I got a good AT&T signal throughout the parks as well, but I figured that I might as well use free data rather than use up some of my monthly AT&T data allotment.  And there were many times that the free Disney Wi-Fi worked better than the AT&T signal, although to be fair there were also a few times when the Wi-Fi felt slow and I got better service with AT&T.  It is nice to have the ability to switch back and forth.  And if you are using a device without built-in cellular such as certain models of the iPad or an iPod touch, then having free Wi-Fi is fantastic.

Note that whenever you are using a public Wi-Fi network, there is a risk that someone else on the network, with the right tools on their computer, could monitor your unencrypted traffic on the Wi-Fi network.  As I’ve discussed in the past, I recommend using VPN when you are any public Wi-Fi network, whether it be a VPN service that you have through your office or a third-party service such as the one provided by Cloak, an app that I reviewed in 2014.  I’ve continued to use Cloak since I wrote that review, including throughout my recent trip to Disney World.  I love that the service automatically turns itself on when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network without you having to even remember to do so.

Find My Friends

Apple’s free Find My Friends app is a great tool to use when you are with others at a large place like Disney World.  Once you add someone as a friend (and they accept the invitation), you can see where they are located and they can see where you are located.  So when my son and I are finished riding the roller coaster at Space Mountain, I can quickly see on a map that my wife and daughter are across the Magic Kingdom on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  I can start walking that way and by the time that they are finished with their ride, I am already half-way there.  Sometimes the accuracy is pinpoint perfect, and other times not quite as accurate, but in a large place like the Magic Kingdom, it always works well enough for your friends and family to have a general sense of where you are located — whether it be the general area of the same park, or even to show you that your cousin is in EPCOT while you are at the Animal Kingdom.  If you ever need privacy, flip a switch to disable the app from sharing your location, and when your trip is over you can delete people from your Find My Friends list.

My Disney Experience — Walt Disney World

Besides services like Wi-Fi and Find My Friends that can be useful most anywhere, there are a number of apps that are specifically designed to assist you during a trip to Disney World.  The one app that you need to get is the free official Disney World app, called My Disney Experience. 

The main reason that this app is so useful is that it shows you each FastPass that you have — along with anyone else linked to your My Disney Experience account, which can be folks in your immediate family and extended family members and friends.  Effective use of a FastPass can be crucial to a successful trip to Disney World.  As much as I love many of the fantastic roller coasters that Disney offers, I just cannot see waiting up to two hours for a ride that lasts two minutes.  But by using a FastPass, you can walk right past the long and winding line and in just a few minutes find yourself riding the train, mine cart, spaceship, etc. 

Not only does the app show you each of your FastPasses, you can also use the app to change your FastPasses while you are in the park.  You might want to change a FastPass to accommodate a change in your schedule that you might not have foreseen when you booked the FastPass many weeks ago — perhaps you are spending more time at lunch than you expected.  Or, there were times when I saw that a ride didn’t have a long wait in the normal “Standby” line, so I cancelled an upcoming FastPass to use it for another, more popular ride.  There are kiosks throughout the park that you can use to change a FastPass, but you need to find them and then wait in line to use them.  With this app, you can do it all yourself, no matter where you are, without waiting.

 

The app also does a great job of showing you the wait times for rides, so that you can decide whether it is worth heading to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan’s Flight, or if you should avoid that ride for now because the wait is just so long. 

I discussed these features in my post last year, but what I didn’t mention is that you need to be careful because sometimes the app doesn’t show you the current wait times but instead shows you the wait times the last time that the app loaded data, which might have been several hours ago.  In theory the app should refresh its data automatically, but you can always swipe down to see an indication at the top of when the app last refreshed the wait times.  If you notice that you are using old data, I recommend that you force-quit the app.  (Press your Home Button twice to see a list of running apps, swipe up on this app to force your iPhone to close it completely, and then launch the app again.)  That trick always resulted in me getting current wait times when the app wasn’t refreshing on its own.

 

As that last tip indicates, one of the frustrating things about this app is that it sometimes has trouble loading data.  Everyone once in a while, I would start the app to look at my FastPasses, but they wouldn’t appear.  Force-qutting the app usually fixed it, but not always; there was one Saturday morning when I was in Hollywood Studios and I just could not get it to work at all, forcing me to use a FastPass kiosk.  But then an hour later, it started working again.  I mentioned in my post last year that the app had this problem, and to be fair it worked much better in 2015 then it did in 2014, but it still wasn’t perfect, so be warned.

Disney World Maps

For me, the most useful Disney-centric app besides the official app was an app called Disney World Maps by VersaEdge.  I actually moved another app that normally lives at the bottom of my home screen to another page so that I would also have fast access to this app during my trip to Disney World.  Launching the app quickly shows you a full screen map of the park and includes a blue dot to show your current location.  You can zoom out to get an overall sense of the park, or zoom in to see every specific ride, restaurant, bathroom, etc.  Yes, the official Disney app also includes some maps, but it isn’t nearly as fast and useful as this app.

 

Although the app purports to also show you the current wait times for rides, in my experience these wait times were not as accurate as the ones in the official Disney app.  They were usually close enough to give me a sense of what rides were more or less busy, but for more accurate information on wait times you will want to use the official Disney app.

Disney World Dining

Another app that I mentioned last year that I also find very useful is the VersaEdge Disney World Dining app.  This app is better than the dining information that you get in the official Disney app for several reasons.  First, like the maps app, the dining app is very fast to use, quickly presenting you a list of restaurants organized by the area of the park.  Second, this app gives you additional information.  For example, the official Disney app will tell you the names of the items on a menu at a restaurant, but this app will also give you descriptions of each item.  Here is an example from my 2014 post:  the official Disney app (the first picture below) will simply tell you that you the Chicken Breast Provencal is an item on the menu at the new (and popular) Be Our Guest Restaurant in Fantasyland, but the Disney World Dining app (the second picture below) explains that this dish is “Pan-seared and simmered in a rustic blend of Heirloom Tomatoes, Olives, White Wine, and fresh Herbs with Seasonal Vegetables and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.”

 

When we were walking through the park and wanted to quickly see what restaurants were nearby and what they offered to eat, this app was incredibly useful.

Use these apps to enhance your next trip to Disney World, and your vacation will be even more enjoyable.

Click here to get Cloak (free): 

Click here to get Find My Friends (free): 

Click here to get My Disney Experience — Walt Disney World (free): 

Click here to get Disney World Maps ($2.99): 

Click here to get Disney World Dining ($1.99): 

WestlawNext is one of the most useful law-related apps on my iPad, and I also appreciate WestlawNext being a sponsor of iPhone J.D.  Whether it is on the iPad or the computer, WestlawNext is better than the former version of Westlaw in every way.  Nevertheless, I still have fond memories of the old Westlaw — not to mention the old WALT terminals that I used to use in law school — so I enjoyed reading this tribute by North Carolina attorney Jim Dedmon on the great Abnormal Use blog.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• California attorney Morgan Smith has some good tips for using your iPhone 6 to give presentations.
• California attorney David Sparks reports that the iPad productivity apps OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and OmniPlanner will soon be available for the iPhone.
• South Carolina attorney Ben Stevens explains why Scanbot Pro is his new favorite document scanner app for the iPhone.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that Siri has gotten much better over the last year or so.  I’ve noticed the same thing.  It does an amazing job at translation, which is so much faster than me typing on my iPhone or iPad keyboard.  It also does a great job of answering simple questions or performing simple commands, such as “wake me up at 7am tomorrow” or “remind me to call David when I get to the office.”
• California attorney David Sparks also shared his thoughts on Gruber’s post about Siri.
• Google updated its useful (and neat!) Google Translate app yesterday in two significant ways.  First, the app can now read signs, incorporating technology that Google acquired when it bought an app called Word Lens.  Thus, you can point your iPhone at a sign that is in one language, and the sign will appear on your iPhone with the text translated to English.  Second, the app adds real-time translations.  I haven’t had a chance to try out all of the new features yet, but I look forward to doing so.  You can get more information in this post on Google’s official blog.
• Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac has some interesting photos of a man with 94 iPhones strapped to his body as he tries to smuggle them from Hong Kong (where they are cheaper) into China.  That’s a lot of iPhones.
• Joseph Keller of iMore reports that the Je Suis Charlie app was approved for the App Store in record time after a plea to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
• I don’t think that I will ever purchase a Selfie Stick (which you use to take a picture of yourself with an iPhone), but after reading this article by Joanna Stern in the Wall Street Journal, I now appreciate that these products are actually more useful than I would have guessed.
• Separation from your iPhone can lead to anxiety, according to a study by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication as reported by Amit Chowdry of Forbes.  Or, you could have just asked almost any iPhone owner to learn the same thing without an expensive study.
• And finally, as President Obama is preparing for his State of the Union speech, he is previewing some of the topics that he intends to discuss.  One of them is seeking to increase affordable high-speed broadband Internet service in America.  I mention this today not because of the politics, but instead because I thought it interesting to see the President in this video, casually explaining his goals while he uses an iPad as an aid.  I don’t know that this is President Obama’a personal iPad (he usually keeps his in a DODOcase), but I use my iPad like this when I talk to clients and colleagues all the time.  I’m always interested to see other lawyers do so too, including the most powerful lawyer in the world.

This week is the big International CES show in Las Vegas, a place where companies show off new consumer technology that they plan to sell this year (although many products are never actually produced).  One of the interesting focal points this year is home automation, much of which works with iPhones.  For example, the Eve smart home modules are pretty neat and let your iPhone monitor temperature and humidity, and even let you know when a window or door is open.  And Incipio introduced some neat products, including a smart outlet that lets you use your iPhone to turn something plugged into an outlet on or off for only $25, or $60 if you want a power strip.  And now, the news of note from this past week:

• Seattle attorney (and blawg guru) Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog makes the case for attorneys getting the iPhone 6 Plus.  I admit that the larger screen can be nice when you are using it, but I cannot get over the fact that — to me at least — the iPhone 6 Plus is simply too big for a pocket.
• San Diego attorney Jeff Bennion argues that attorneys need to take the time to understand how to use technology such as an iPad.
• I mentioned earlier this week that I’ll be presenting 60 Apps in 60 Minutes at ABA TECHSHOW in April.  New Orleans attorney Ernie Svenson posted two very short clips showing some entertaining moments from last year’s session.
• Apple added an interesting page to its website this week discussing the over 1 million U.S. jobs created or supported by Apple.
• Apple also announced this week that the first week in January of 2015 set a new App Store record:  customers around the world spent near $500 million on apps and in-app purchases.  To date, developers have earned $25 billion from apps.
• What do developers do with that money?  Dave Mark of The Loop tells the story of iPhone developer Joseph Riquelme who used his earnings to pay off his parents’ mortgage — and there is a video of when he did it.  Pretty awesome gift!
• And finally, one of the interesting products being shown off at CES this week is the Noke (pronounced “no key”), a padlock that unlocks automatically when it senses that your iPhone is nearby.  Thus, you don’t have to use a physical key or enter a combination; just click it, and the lock will use Bluetooth to see if an approved iPhone is nearby, and if so, unlock.  You can even give others access from their iPhone (including one-time access).  It looks like a pretty clever device, and you can pre-order it for $60.  Better yet, it is a really neat use of new smartphone technology, much like the Apple Pay system.  Here is a video that was prepared a few months ago during a Kickstarter campaign that shows how it works:

From time to time, attorneys who read iPhone J.D. write to tell me how they are using their iPhone or iPad in their practice.  I love to read these stories, and with permission I like to share some of them here on iPhone J.D. After I posted earlier this week about Lit Software being a new sponsor of iPhone J.D., I heard from Christopher Abernathy, a family law attorney in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, who told me about how much he loves to use the TrialPad app.  We got to talking via email about how he uses his iPad, and I was so fascinated by his response — for example, he uses an iPad as his primary device, not a computer — that I asked if he would write something to share with all iPhone J.D. readers.  He was nice enough to say yes, and the result is today’s guest post.  So with no further ado, take it away, Christopher:

– – – – –

Life without technology….. Imagine that!

Try to imagine working today without the advantages of modern technology. It wasn’t so long ago that we relied exclusively on paper documents, paper files, paper note pads and paper calendars. Everything we did was paper-driven. And where was all this paper generated from? It was mass-produced with Dictaphones, typewriters and fax machines. Workers produced reams and reams of paper which were placed in paper storage files and stored in row after row of file cabinets. With the advent of computers, the internet and email came the promise of reducing paper to a bare minimum. However, while offices scurried to purchase computers to accomplish this goal, this technological wonder did nothing to reduce the volume of paper documents. Instead, for all practical purposes, computer technology became nothing short of a back-up system to the archaic paper producing work environment.

I suppose by now you realize I am not a great fan of relying on the use of paper in today’s workplace. And so, a few short years ago, I decided to make a concerted effort to reduce or eliminate the use of paper within my office. The results have been overwhelmingly successful. I now operate a paper-light office and voice an optimistic belief that colleagues and the courts can likewise realize the same benefits I am experiencing in my law practice.

How this was accomplished requires a bit of experience and a brief learning curve. But it entails nothing more than the use of an iPad. For me, the use of an iPad has become an indispensable game-changer. And, while my staff do have personal computers (with a Microsoft operating system), I do not maintain a computer in my office. The iPad is my operational weapon of choice.

I now have no paper files and my office staff does not retain paper documents. Instead, everything is scanned and either emailed to a client (then shredded; which is our preferred method) or mailed directly.

Each evening, in preparation for the following work day, I copy files to a “Court Files” subfolder. A client file is then created and set up in TrialPad. This allows me to create a trial folder which can be expanded and organized over time. For each court appearance, documents are placed into the appropriate client TrialPad folder, organized and annotated. By the time of trial, minimal preparation is required. At the end of each court appearance, the files in Dropbox are deleted, while files in TrialPad remain locally on my iPad.

Within Dropbox, besides a “Court Files” folder, I have an “Incoming Mail”, “Drafts” and a “To Do” folder. The “Incoming Mail” folder allows me to have instant access to my daily mail. Long gone are the days when you have to be in the office to retrieve your mail. As mail and faxes are received, they are scanned into the client file and sent to the client, with a copy being placed into my “Incoming Mail” folder. Once reviewed, it is simply deleted. This allows for an immediate response. Documents I am working on are placed in “Drafts”, revised in Word and emailed back to my staff. I use Microsoft Word to create and revise documents on my iPad because Apples Pages simply doesn’t compare. My “To Do” file speaks for itself.

I am seldom in my office. Instead, I work remotely as frequently as possible. I have taken the adage “do more, bill more and go home earlier” to heart.

I generally communicate with clients via email and/or text, and collaborate with them when creating most documents. When an email is received from a client, I cut and paste the contents into a template I have created in Word (i.e. pleading or letter) and revise it as deemed necessary. This revised document is emailed back to the client for signature or further revision. Once a document has been finalized, it is emailed to my staff, saved and filed. Having templates in Word allows me to create, revise or retrieve documents anywhere or at anytime. This ability to create letters enables me to respond immediately to incoming mail and faxes. I use RingCentral, an internet based fax service which is available as an iPad application, which allows me to see all incoming faxes and send faxes remotely.

The ability to work on anything, anytime and anywhere makes me far more efficient. I am constantly working, and all of this directly benefits my clients. It results in reduced billable hours and allows for expedited turnaround times. Again, these are key benefits to clients.

One of my favorite applications is Evernote. This is a very popular application which has many uses. However, I primarily use it as an invaluable research assistant. Thanks to Evernote, I no longer need to rely on memory. I cut and paste research information into subject folders I have created and include legal research, opposing counsel’s comments or usable information I might come across in articles. This allows me instant access to thousands of pages of research which is easily and readily retrievable. It is available to argue at a moment’s notice and can be pasted into subsequent legal arguments.

I use RealLegal E-Transcript from Thompson Reuters as an alternative to TranscriptPad. While I haven’t used TranscriptPad myself, from what I have read and heard, the applications are fairly similar. The key feature in this program is the ability to search. In E-Transcript, the query term is displayed by page and line and in the context in which it was used. I use E-Transcript because of the format in which my local court reports and stenographers send transcripts. I was unable to use TranscriptPad without a work-around.

To operate remotely, one must have a solid keyboard. I have tried most and believe ClamCase is the best. Most believe I use a MacBook Air, but I prefer ClamCase which provides me with the functionality of a laptop, even though it is an iPad. Basically, I see this as the best of both worlds.

I also use a Livescribe 3 Smartpen in conjunction with my iPad. I have found that taking notes on my iPad is difficult when I am simultaneously using the iPad to conduct research and view documents. The integration is seamless. I can instantly create reminders, and my notes are emailed to my staff and scanned into the client’s file for future reference.

– – – – –

Thank you so much, Christopher, for sharing with all of us the interesting ways that you use your iPad in your law practice.

If you are willing to share your own experiences using an iPhone or iPad in your law practice with other iPhone J.D. readers, I’d love to hear from you!  And in case you missed any of them, here are reports that I previously shared from other attorneys:

• William Axtell:  2/19/13
• Zane Cagle:  1/1/12
• Megan Erickson:  5/11/11
• Jeff Forbes:  3/21/13
• Tom Freeland:  7/13/10
• Will Harrelson:  8/19/14
• Cliff Maier:  12/22/08
• Lindsay Rakers:  12/18/12
• Alfred Saikali:  5/4/11
• Mike Schneider:  4/28/09
• Clark Stewart:  7/22/10
• Joe Suhre:  12/3/13
• John Walker:  7/2/13

—–

This article won the BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award. The editors of BlawgWorld, a free weekly email newsletter for lawyers and law firm administrators, give this award to one article every week that they feel is a must-read for this audience.

I am incredibly honored to welcome Lit Software as a sponsor of iPhone J.D. in 2015.  The company makes TrialPad and TranscriptPad, which are two of the very best law-related apps on the iPad.  I have extensively reviewed TranscriptPad several times, most recently in November of 2014 when TranscriptPad 2 was released, and I use this app in my practice every week, and sometimes every day.  Just yesterday, I used it in connection with two different cases.  TranscriptPad is simply the best way to read and annotate deposition transcripts, and I have seen other attorneys buy an iPad simply so that they could use TranscriptPad.  The app lets you assign issues to lines of a deposition as you read it and then lets you create useful reports of all of the key testimony in a case on each issue. 

Lit Software’s other app is TrialPad, a powerful app for presenting documents and other exhibits.  You can use the app at trial to show documents to a jury, plus call out important parts of the document.  I haven’t had a chance to use TrialPad at a mediation yet, but one of my partners did last year and said that it worked great and was very helpful.  You can also use TrialPad when you are in a meeting with other attorneys or a client to show off documents on an external screen, and even do so wirelessly if you have an Apple TV. 

TranscriptPad and TrialPad demonstrate how the iPad can be used as a professional tool.  And as powerful as these apps already are, they frequently receive updates which make them even better.  I see Ian O’Flaherty, the founder and Chief Software Architect of Lit Software, every year at TECHSHOW, and he is always excited to tell me about new features that are in the works.  Speaking of which, Lit Software develops, programs and supports its apps entirely in the USA.  If you send an email with a support question, it will most likely be answered quickly and personally by Ian O’Flaherty himself, who is (obviously) an expert on his apps and who has been working with attorneys for years.

I really cannot say enough good things about these apps.  If your law practice ever involves working with transcripts, then you owe it to yourself to get TranscriptPad.  And if you ever present documents with your iPad, whether it be to a judge or jury or just to other attorneys or clients in a meeting, then TrialPad is an incredibly powerfuly app.  If you don’t yet own one or both of the apps, you can buy each of the apps for $89.99 — far less than you would pay for similar software for a computer, plus the fact that you can use these apps on an iPad makes them more portable and thus more valuable.  Better yet, Lit Software is now taking advantage of the new App Store bundle feature.  This means that you can purchase both apps as a bundle for $159.99.  It also means that if you have already purchased one of the apps, you can now pay the difference to get the other app — e.g. if you already paid $89.99 for TrialPad, then it will only cost you $70 to add TranscriptPad to your iPad.

Click here for the Ultimate Litigation Bundle ($159.99): 

Click here for TrialPad ($89.99): 

Click here for TranscriptPad ($89.99): 

If you are looking for a great way to get your CLE hours in 2015, my favorite CLE every year is ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago.  It is a unique opportunity to learn about legal technology, see some of the latest technology in use, and spend some time with some great people.  This year, TECHSHOW will be held April 16 through April 18, and it is once again at the Hilton on Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park.

Back when the iPhone, and then the iPad, were new, there were only a few formal sessions devoted to iOS devices.  But nowadays, mobile technology is such a hot topic that there will be tons of sessions at TECHSHOW devoted to these tools.  For example, the first day of the conference, there is a full track devoted to the iPad.  The iPad track starts out with the session Introducing Your iPad Into Your Law Practice, taught by two attorneys from Columbus, OH:  Paul Unger and Joe Bahgat.  The next session is iLitigate on the iPad:  Essential Litigation Workflows from Beginning to End, taught by Dallas attorney Tom Mighell, New Jersey attorney Jon Lomurro, and the Hon. Herbert Dixon of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

I’ll be teaching both the third and fourth sessions on Thursday, April 16th.  At 2pm, I’m teaming up with Bjorn Christianson, an attorney in Manitoba, Canada, for Easy and Effective Presentations from Your iPad.  I’ve been using an iPad to give presentations for many years, but this is the first time that I’ve had a chance to talk about it in a formal presentation, and I’m looking forward to it.  In the final session of the iPad track at 4pm, I will discuss using Microsoft Word and other Office apps on the iPad.

Ever year since 2009 (except for 2013), TECHSHOW has had a Saturday morning session called 60 Apps in 60 Minutes, and I’ve been a part of every one.  It is always a fast-paced and fun chance to learn about great new apps and old favorites that you should consider putting on your iPhone and iPad.  This year, my co-presenters are D.C. attorney Reid Trautz (who was a founding member of this panel in 2009 and has done it many times since then) and newcomers Ohio attorney Joe Bahgat and legal tech consultant Adriana Linares, a fun and dynamic speaker who I have presented with at other events but this will be our first time on a panel together at TECHSHOW.  [UPDATE:  Unfortunately, Reid Trautz had to cancel, but fortunately, his replacement will be Dallas attorney Tom Mighell, who will be a great addition to the panel.  Tom has written many books about iOS devices, including  iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers, and is an all around great-person, as those of you who joined us for the Taste of Techshow dinner that he and I hosted in 2013 can attest.]

There are tons of others sessions that would be of interest to iPhone J.D. readers.  There is a full Mobile track on Friday, including a session on wearable technology that could be very timely depending upon when Apple releases the Apple Watch.  There are also sessions on going paperless, using Microsoft Office, using the cloud, a track devoted to the Mac, etc.  You can see the full schedule here.

But attending the sessions is only part of the reason to go to TECHSHOW.  There is also a huge Exhibition Hall where you get to see the latest and greatest legal technology from vendors.  Last year, you could barely count all of the booths with something related to the iPhone or iPad. 

And perhaps most of all, TECHSHOW can be a great place to meet other folks interested in legal technology.  For example, to make it easy to socialize at night, TECHSHOW always has lots of Taste of TECHSHOW dinners on Thursday night and Friday night.  Each dinner typically has two hosts (TECHSHOW speakers) plus 10 other attendees who share a large table at a Chicago restaurant and split the bill (although sometimes a vendor will sponsor a dinner and underwrite part of the cost).  Each dinner has a topic, but in my experience there is usually minimal time spent discussing the topic, and instead the topic just serves as a way to channel folks with similar interests to a particular dinner.  These dinners have always been one of the most fun parts of TECHSHOW, and this year I’m especially excited to be co-hosting a dinner with Florida attorney and Mac Power Users co-host Katie Floyd, who will be attending TECHSHOW for the first time.  I’ll post more details about our dinner when we have them.

If this sounds interesting and fun to you, then I hope to see you in Chicago in April!

I hope that you enjoyed the holidays.  Now we start a new year, and I think that it is going to be a great one for iPhone and iPad users.  Developers are finding all sorts of creative ways to take advantage of iOS 8, Apple will soon be introducing new tools for working with photos (for those who also use a Mac, which is what I use at home), and of course the Apple Watch is due in a few months and I suspect that it will be one heck of an iPhone accessory.  While the iOS world was mostly quiet over the holidays, here is the news that jumped out at me:

• Florida attorney (and Mac Power Users co-host) Katie Floyd wrote an excellent article with tips for managing email while on vacation using your iPhone and other tools.
• The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center released Volume VI of its annual technology survey — the volume devoted to mobile lawyers — in August of 2014, and I discussed it in this post.  But a few weeks ago, the ABA released its second annual ABA TECHREPORT, consisting of 10 articles discussing and analyzing the contents of the ABA’s 2014 survey.  Many of these articles relate to the use of iPhones and iPads by attorneys.  Dallas attorney Tom Mighell wrote about Mobile Technology.  Pittsburgh attorney David Ries wrote about Security.  Missouri attorney Dennis Kennedy discusses Cloud Computing. 
• ABA Journal is celebrating its 100th year, and came up with some interesting inventions and events that were not yet around in 1915. 
• Missouri attorney Dennis Kennedy announced his eleventh annual blawggie awards, his picks for the best law-related blogs.
• If you have considered using the Family Sharing feature of iOS 8 to share your iTunes, iBooks and App Store purchases with up to five other members of your family, you might want to first read this article by California attorney (and Mac Power Users co-host) David Sparks, in which he explains the problems with the service and why he is quitting it.
• CNN Money named Apple CEO Tim Cook the CEO of the Year.
• And finally, I spent some time with my family in New York City just before Christmas, and I always love Manhattan that time of year.  So does ad agency Truth NYC, and they created a holiday video campaign for skincare brand Erno Laszlo that shows off New York City during the holidays.  I mention it today because they shot the videos in this campaign using the Slo-Mo feature of the iPhone 6 Plus, and they came out great.  These ads remind me that I need to use the Slo-Mo feature on my iPhone even more; it really does add a different perspective.  The videos are Central Park Horse and Carriage, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center and Holiday Wonders (SoHo).  My favorite one, Rockefeller Center, is embedded here:  (via The Loop)

Apple has a tradition of running some pretty great Christmas commercials.  The one that they ran last year, called “Misunderstood,” was one of my all-time favorites.  But they have a great one this year too.  It is called “The Song.”  It is less of a commercial and more of just a short movie.  If you haven’t seen it yet on TV or on the Internet, here it is (or click here):

Apple has since released another video that shows a small a part of how they made that commercial, and it is also worth watching.  Here it is (or click here):

If you want to see more great Apple commercials from Christmas Past, here is a roundup that I posted last year.  Even though you have likely seen them before, many are worth watching again.

– – – – –

Here are the ones from the last few years that feature the iPhone and iPad:

• Christmas 2012, I’ll be home for Christmas, featuring the iPad, iPad mini and FaceTime.
• Christmas 2011, Santa, featuring the iPhone and Siri.
• Christmas 2010, Under the Covers, featuring the iPhone and FaceTime.
• Christmas 2009, 12 Days of Christmas, featuring the iPhone and some useful apps.

I think that my all-time favorite Apple Christmas ads were from 2007 and 2008, part of the Get a Mac campaign featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long.  They were an homage to the great Rankin/Bass Christmas shows that I used to love when I was a child and that my own kids still love to watch today.  Here is the first one (or click here):

The two follow-up commercials in 2008 were also cute.  Here they are (or click here):

I hope that you and your family enjoy this most wonderful time of the year.

This week, my third grade son needed to give a presentation to his class about a holiday tradition in our family, so I helped him to create his first Keynote slide show for a presentation on how we pick out and decorate a Christmas tree every year.  He showed it his class by connecting an iPad via HDMI to the SMART Board in his classroom.  He did great, but I mention this today because I have seen countless ineffective PowerPoint presentations over the years (and I know that you have too) in which the presenter wrote virtually every word on the slide, in a font too small for most audience members to read, and with little visuals.  But my son’s instincts were to use lots of big pictures and very few words — e.g. “Step 4. Lights!”  “Step 5. Star!!”  Aside from the fact that he is overly fond of the exclamation point, it was nice to see that his natural instincts for his very first slide show were to keep his slides interesting, minimalistic and punchy.  Needless to say, I was very proud.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• South Carolina attorney Justin Kahn reviews Day One, a journaling app.
• John Edwards of Law Technology News provides a few tips for using an iPad to give presentations.
• iMore created a really good list of the best iOS apps and accessories this year in its Best of 2014 Awards.
• Federico Viticci of MacStories created a 2014 version of his list of must-have iPad apps.  Most of these apps are designed for power users — e.g. folks who want to use automated tasks — but if that sounds like you, this is a great list.
• Transporter updated its PC and Mac software to version 3.0 yesterday, and it looks like the iOS software will be very updated very soon.  With the updated app, you will be able to use the iOS app to create new folders, and there are other improvements for iOS 8.  On the Mac and PC, there are new folder icons which make it much easier to quickly see the status of each folder.  Another new feature is that you can create read-only folders to share with others.  More information is in the release notes.
• iMore decided to re-evaluate iOS 8 now that we have been using it for and while, and created iOS 8 review: 3 months later.
• We are still in the early days for the HealthKit features of iOS 8, but Ochsner Health System in Louisiana and Duke University teamed up to start to integrate the system into their health care, and Jonah Cornstock of MobiHealthNews describes what they have come up with so far.
• Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac has named what he considers to be the best Bluetooth speakers of the year.
• And finally, while Seth Weintraub was concerned with sound quality and portability when he reviewed Bluetooth speakers, what if you would prefer something that is not portable and has (I presume) mediocre sound, but is definitely a conversation piece?  Then you will want to look at The Megaphone from designers en&is in Milan.  It is huge, made of ceramic, and has a thin wooden frame.  The prices range from €399 to €599, so you’ll spend a lot more on this than you would on that Bluetooth speaker.  Here is a video if you want to see it in action:

The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) is a peer networking organization for people who work in the legal technology field, such as the people who work in law firm IT departments.  I know that the folks in my law firm’s tech department frequently take advantage of ILTA resources when seeking advice on selecting and working with hardware and software designed for the legal market and when recruiting new hires.  A few months ago, I reported on the ILTA 2014 Annual Technology Purchasing Survey, and while that survey about what law firms buy was interesting, there is a limit to how much it tells you about the iPad and iPhone because so many attorneys purchase those devices themselves.

ILTA recently released the results of ILTA’s 2014 Technology Survey, which is based on the input of 454 law firms.  ILTA has firms of all size, but ILTA tends towards the larger law firms.  Of the 454 law firms that responded to this survey, 33% had under 50 attorneys, 31% had 50 to 149 attorneys, 19% had 150 to 349 attorneys, 10% had 350 to 699 attorney, and 8% had over 700 attorneys.  It is also worth noting that ILTA firms are not Mac shops.  When asked to identify the primary desktop operating system, virtually all picked Windows 7.  A handful answered that they are primarily using Windows 8, Windows Vista or Windows XP.  Only two law firms indicated “other,” which I presume is Mac but could be something else — could be Microsoft Bob so far as I know.

For the law firms represented by ILTA, this comprehensive survey reveals a lot about the technology being used by lawyers at these firms.  I’m focusing today on the part of the survey that asked about mobile devices.

iPad Use

The survey revealed that 90% of law firms have attorneys using iPads, 44% of law firms have attorneys using an Android tablet, 42% have attorneys using a Microsoft Surface tablet, 17% have attorneys using a Windows tablet (other than Microsoft Surface), 5% have attorneys using a BlackBerry Playbook, and 8% report that none of their attorneys use a tablet.  As for the 90% of law firms that report iPad use at their firm, that represents a slight increase; it was 89% in 2013, 88% in 2012, and 74% in 2011.  These numbers are consistent with the 2014 ABA Tech Survey, in which 84% of attorneys who use a tablet reported that they use an iPad.

When asked to estimate the percentage of attorneys that use tablets such as iPads, the average response was 40% — up from 37% last year, and 26% in 2012.  This was slightly less than, but similar to, what we saw in the 2014 ABA Tech Survey, which found that 49% of all attorneys were using a tablet.

In the Executive Summary, ILTA notes that while tablets are popular, they are an adjunct to, not a replacement for, laptop computers:

I don’t find this very surprising.  Although I do frequently use my iPad as a laptop replacement — I virtually always travel with my iPad instead of a laptop, and I use my iPad, not my laptop, when I am giving presentations — I can’t imagine not having a laptop computer at my desk for those rare occasions when I do need to move my computer to another location.  And I suspect that I make far more extensive use of my iPad than many other attorneys.  The iPad is an amazingly useful tool, one that I think can help virtually every attorney, but I see it as an additional tool; I don’t see it replacing laptop computers for the foreseeable future.

iPhone Use

The ILTA survey did not ask which percentage of attorneys use an iPhone.  Instead, the survey asked about platforms in use at law firms, such as the number of law firms that have attorneys using iOS, which includes both iPhones and iPads.  The survey revealed that basically all law firms, 98%, have attorneys using iOS, whereas 77% of law firms have attorneys using an Android devices, 56% have attorneys using BlackBerry devices, and 44% have attorneys using Windows Mobile or the newer Surface operating system.

82% of law firms report that they provide some sort of financial support for smartphone hardware, which includes 47% that purchase the hardware, 36% that provide a stipend or allowance towards the purchase of a smartphone, and 25% where the user pays the full cost of the smartphone.  (Those numbers don’t add up to 100%, so some firms must be doing more than one.)  In only 5% of firms does the user pay the full cost of monthly data service; the rest of the firms either pay all or some part of the monthly data service. 

Mobile Security

When asked to name the top three technology issues or annoyances in the law firm, the #1 response was security and risk management.  Thus, it comes as no surprise that 83% of law firms report that they force their attorneys to use a passcode on the lock screen.  One way to do this is to use Mobile Device Management (MDM) software.  Most firms (54%) don’t use MDM, but for those who do, popular choices include MobileIron, Good Technology and Airwatch.

Wireless Email Platforms

Microsoft may not make the iPhone or iPad, but it does make the technology that most law firms use to get email to those devices.  The survey asked law firms what types of wireless email platforms are being supported.  Microsoft Exchange (ActiveSync) is supported at 87% of law firms.  BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which had been in use in 84% of law firms back in 2011, is now only used in 48% of law firms.  GoodLink Server is used by 9% of law firms.  4% just allow for standard IMAP connections to the email server.  All of these are solutions that can work with an iPhone or iPad.

About half of all law firms said that they either support one wireless email platform, or they are working to standardize on a single platform.  For those firms, Microsoft Exchange (ActiveSync) was the clear winner at 84%.  The BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which was the standard for 58% of law firms back in 2011, is now the desired sole standard for only 4%.  GoodLink Server was named by 5% of law firms, 4% identified a hosting service from an outside provider or cellphone carrier, and 3% responded “other.”

Popular Apps

The ILTA survey asked law firms to indicate “to the best of your knowledge, which non-native tablet/iPad apps are most used at your firm for business purposes.”  I doubt that IT departments know all of the apps being used by their attorneys, but I’m sure that most do have some sense of the popular apps.  The top 30 apps, identified by at least 5% of the law firms, were:

1. Citrix Receiver
2. Adobe Acrobat
3. LinkedIn
4. Dropbox
5. Skype
6. Documents to Go
7. Facebook
8. Evernote
9. Mimecast
10. GoodReader
11. iAnnotate
12. TrialPad
13. RSA
14. Pages
15. Twitter
16. WorkSite Mobility
17. QuickOffice
18. iTimeKeep
19. Dragon Dictate
20. WebEx
21. VMware View
22. Good Messaging/Enterprise
23. WestlawNext
24. PocketCloud
25. PDF Expert
26. NetDocuments
27. TouchDown

That list is similar to the apps reported in last year’s survey, except that last year, at least 5% of the survey respondents identified remote access apps that connect to an attorney’s specific computer, such as LogMeIn or GoToMyPC.  There are some surprising omissions from that list, including Microsoft Office apps such as Word, TranscriptPad and any of the many apps that contain the text of laws and rules.