Apple has reworked their iWork suite of productivity programs for the iPad. Let's see what Pages for iPad can do.
I'm sitting in court waiting to be called and I'm writing this blog post with the iPad on my lap. There is no doubt that the keyboard will take some getting used to but it is nearly full size and I am starting to get the hang of it. And there is also no question. that getting the iPad out to get a few words down is much easier than pulling out a laptop; something I would never actually do in court.
Right away, the iPad pickups up convenience points.
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I started the Off-Site Law Center to help lawyers move their operations off-site, out of the office, to a home office or anywhere else they wanted to get work done. The basic idea is to grease the rails of information storage and exchange via a computer system or application of some type.
Before today, there were several good options and approaches. Today I saw the future and it's called iPad.
The icons to the left of the document in the Panel Pane are every useful. I use the bookmark panel to organize long PDFs. Tip- If you create bookmarks and want them to be open by default when the PDF is first opened, go to "File">"Document Properties" and click on the "Initial View" tab to set those options- the keyboard shortcut for Document properties is "cmd + d" (ctrl on a PC)
The problem with them is that we often forget to use them. In this video, I go over the Pages Panel in Acrobat which is very handy to move, reorder, and combine pages from multiple PDF documents. If you are missing the old days of shuffling papers between files then this video will may make you feel better. I also show you the fastest way I know of the rename a file, which is great for cases.
I found this video on YouTube about Google Chrome OS. The days of installing programs on the computer are numbered; it's all internet these days. Check out the video, It just makes sense.
PS I highly recommend NOT using Internet Explorer. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are all nice and free.
I was copying and pasting using perhaps the most popular series of keyboard shortcuts of all time- cut, copy, and paste. When I stumbled upon another handy shortcut.
By pressing ALT (Option) + "C" iCal opens up a new window. I was expecting to just copy some info from one place to another and there I had iCal, staring me in the face. This handy shortcut works whether iCal is running or not.
I am a huge fan of keyboard shortcuts, they just save so much time and effort. In case you didn't know and have been right-clicking your way around, the shortcut for:
A very non-techie friend asked me today how to make iTunes stop playing. I pressed CMD + Tab to bring up the application switcher, pressed tab, while holding down CMD, until I reached iTunes and then pressed Q, also while holding down CMD. It blew his mind and it looks like this...
For years I have been trying to avoid being like that guy- chained to a desk.
My strategy has been to let machines do everything they can - a rapidly expanding category to be sure. To get this done requires face-time with the machine. But which one?
A few years ago, I would have said a really fast and reliable laptop or desktop. But now the only critical machine is a server, the others are just ways of getting to it. I prefer a Macbook or iMac, but in a pinch any computer will do.
This brings me to my point - Websites, blogs, and Web 2.0 apps. All these run on servers yet many people set them up as separate things.
Should my firm have a website or blog? Really?
I attended the social media for lawyers at New York Law School. Here is the Reader's Digest version: technology is inescapable, the Internet is here to stay, social media is real, law firms and many lawyers are already doing it, and it works. But it may seem like a full-time job. Maybe not.
Topics Include: Meeting Potential Clients, Getting Started with a Web Presence, Getting Started with Social Media, Twitter Quick Start Tips
The core of my thoughts about computers in the law office is captured in a phrase I attached as a tagline to one of my websites "We are an information industry and this is our age." In my view, few industries are better situated to reap digital benefits than us.
I spend much of my time on this site discussing the "basics" and reviewing discreet tips and techniques. But Digital practice is far more than getting a little more from Acrobat or a Mac. That stuff is just the threshold, what may come next is much more interesting.
Apple released, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, the refined version of Leopard on Friday. It is fast and very responsive and has some nice upgrades to the expose features, more on that in a latter post. This is a warning about Snow Leopard and the Fujitsu Scansnap. The Fujitsu Scansnap Quick Menu does not work in Snow Leopard. So if you use it to alter the settings for each scan be prepared to do without something until Fujitsu fixes it. Fujitsu says it'll be done in 2009 and they have released a patch for now. More on this issue from Fujitsu. I hate to see two of my favorite things not play well together. I have been using Acrobat 9 pro in Snow Leopard and open up a PDF with Acrobat 8 Pro and so so far no troubles. Losing Acrobat would be hurtful, I'll keep you posted.
I have been thinking about new language for the paperless office concept. Paperless is unnecessarily confusing in the context of a paper dependent industry. And the concept is laden with baggage of a failed promise. Computers were supposed make the office “paperless”, instead they made every person a publisher. But most importantly, “Office” fails to capture the real value of 21st century computers in the law office.
We need a fresh start and a specific focus; we need to start talking about “Digital Practice.”
Just the word “paperless” is enough for many lawyers to dismiss the idea immediately. Lawyers do paperwork, end of discussion. I’ve seen it happen many times and without prior knowledge of how paperlessness works in the law office it is difficult to avoid rapid foreclosure.
Oddly, explanations of how paperless really works in the law office puts the paper back into the equation. A paperless law office is not actually paperless; it is an office than engages in selective printing. The central idea is to shift from printing documents by default and instead scanning to digital or refraining from printing a file already digital. Documents are then printed as required or desired.
A specially designed and configured PDF to allow you to email and upload multiple files all at once using the free Adobe Reader. (Video and Free Download)
Another specially designed and configured PDF that allows you to track and organize your time easily. (Video and Free Download)
My take on how lawyers should use social media sites and what the whole Web 2.0 thing is all about. (Blog Entry)
Wouldn't it be cool to be able make your own forms to collect information online and by mail? You be surprised how easy it is for anyone to do. (Blog Entry with Video and Demo Form Embedded)
Wondering what the Cloud computing thing is all about? The Cloud Compting page has an embedded scrolling presentation that reviews the concept and a few popular services.
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All the Computer Demo Videos
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