iPadLawyer

iPad Lawyer on hold

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:34:00 -0800

For a variety of reasons I have struggled to find time to write much on iPad Lawyer recently.

For the time being I have decided that it doesn't make sense to try and focus on two different blogs, so I will be writing any iPad related articles on my main Peninsulawyer site.

I may still post here from time to time and I will be leaving the site up as a resource for the iPad acquiring lawyer.

Thanks for reading and commenting... hopefully see some of you over on Peninsulawyer.

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iOS5 and iCloud and other new arrivals

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:02:41 -0700

A quick explanation for the lack of iOS5 and iCloud material on iPad Lawyer. As well these exciting developments there was another new arrival over the last couple of weeks which has been keeping me otherwise occupied (a new baby!). There have been great reviews and comment from the usual suspects anyway and not much I could add to these. I have been making heavy use of iOS5 and iCloud though and normal service will be resumed shortly with some more specific posts about how these are relevant to iPad using lawyers.

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Drop the Box

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:39:21 -0700

The hottest topic on iPad Lawyer over the last year or so has been the issue of transferring documents to the iPad.

To summarise the options:–

Use iTunes and a USB lead for file transfer (urgh!)
Transfer files using a USB lead and Diskaid (secure and fairly quick and easy)
Sync files with specific apps like iAnnotate using WiFi (convenient, but requires both devices to be on the same network which can be a problem in the office)
using DropBox (easy, widely supported across most platforms and apps, but not appropriate for client data)
(as from 12 October) using Apple’s iCloud (seamless integration, but data security status isn’t yet clear. Also limited to Apple devices)

For those who are tied to a PC in the office, DropBox is the easiest solution, but as I pointed out in the post linked above it isn’t an enterprise grade solution for client information or personal data. Once again, I’m not picking on DropBox; the same issues apply with most consumer level cloud services.

Not everyone agrees with me on this last point (although I still stand by it!). The September / October 2011 edition of the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers includes an article from a UK law firm who use DropBox to share files with expert witnesses and others.

What the iPad Lawyer needs is an enterprise grade solution which syncs as smoothly as DropBox, but:–

has terms and conditions which comply with the 7th Data Protection Principle
guarantees that data will be stored in the EEA or is a member of the US Safe Harbour Scheme (to avoid 8th Data Protection Principle issues).

For the last few months I have been testing a system called ProjectFusion which satisfies both of these criteria. Disclosure:– I have been trialling it for free up to now.

ProjectFusion is primarily an online deal room service (i.e. a secure extranet which can be used to share due diligence and other documentation with people outside your firm).

The servers are located in the EU and their terms and conditions contain the necessary provisons in relation to data protection and security.

What is interesting for iPad users is that the deal rooms themselves are accessible via the WebDAV protocol.

Various iPad apps (including Apple’s iWork suite) have the ability to save documents to WebDAV servers. More importantly so does GoodReader which allows you to view pretty much any document on the iPad (and also annotate PDF documents).

This makes the iPad an ideal tool for reviewing data room documents.

However, it is also straightforward to create an iPad deal room folder in ProjectFusion and then set this up to sync with GoodReader. Once set up a press of the sync button on your iPad will synchronise the local folder on the iPad with the ProjectFusion folder.

To complete the loop you can install GoodSync on your PC, Mac or both, which will automatically keep a local folder on your machine in sync with ProjectFusion.

Imagine you have a contract on your desktop machine which you want to review on your iPad. All you need to do is save it into the ProjectFusion folder on your desktop machine. Goodsync then syncs it with your iPad folder on ProjectFusion.

When you want to read the document on your iPad you simply hit the sync button in GoodReader and it pulls the document from ProjectFusion to your iPad. If you annotate a PDF then any changes can be synced back in exactly the same way.

This is just as easy as using DropBox to access documents on the iPad, but without the security or data protection concerns.

IOS5 and the iCloud may be game changers in terms of seamlessly syncing your data, but unless you only use Apple products the iCloud won’t be a complete solution.

It also remains to be seen what the Data Protection Act implications of using the iCloud for personal data are. Apple are registered with the Safe Harbour scheme, but I doubt that the terms and conditions for iCloud will impose any binding obligations on Apple in terms of data protection and security.

Project Fusion’s iPad sync functionality is a real bonus if you are looking for an online data room service. No matter how slick the iCloud turns out to be, this type of secure sync is still a must-have for lawyers (especially those who are tied into a mixed PC and Apple ecosystem).

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The rise of the plain text editor

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:09:25 -0700

I am typing this post on my iPad using Elements by Second Gear Software, which is a plain text editor.

Elements links with DropBox so if I need to tweak the post later on my Mac I will open it in ByWord, which is another plain text editing app.

Windows users don’t seem to have access to anything as elegant as these two apps, but can easily open and edit plain text docs in WordPad or (my personal choice) Notepad++ (which is very functional and also boasts green credentials – apparently due to using less CPU capacity than Microsoft Word!).

For formatting, links and lists I use Markdown, which is a very basic text formatting language. For example to add emphasis to a phrase in Markdown you just use an asterisk symbol like *this*.

Most blogging platforms allow you to post in Markdown and will automatically convert the Markdown document into HTML. This means that you have total control over the formatting of your text (rather than relying on a WYSIWYG editor, but without having to learn the detailed HTML tags (or equally important on the iPad, without having to type them).

The process is even easier if you use TextExpander to automatically add in Markdown syntax for links. For example, to add a link I have copied from Safari I simply type “mdl” and hit the spacebar and TextExpander adds in the full Markdown link including the URL from the clipboard. All I have to do is add in the anchor text.

All of this means that I don’t have to worry about using or finding an iPad app for the blogging platforms I use or needing an Internet connection so that I can log in and compose a post online. It is by far the best workflow I have found for iPad blogging.

However, there are a few other advantages to the plain text approach.

If I decide that I want to use a different editor on one or more platforms then there are no concerns about my data being tied into one platform. Any text editor can open the files on any platform. This should also avoid any problems in the future as I am not tied to any proprietary platform.

Forgetting about styles and formatting really allows you to focus on the important part: what you are actually writing. Some documents do require the formatting options which are built into MS Word (legal contracts for one), but for notes, articles and blog posts the formatting can be an unnecessary distraction.

You can always use Markdown to add some formatting or let someone else deal with it in Word at a later stage, but plain text is a great way of just getting the content onto the page.

It is easy to see plain text writing as a compromise which is forced on you as a result of using the iPad (and to extent this was the driver for me). However, I have found myself using it more and more across different platforms and embracing the distinction between the writing process and the formatting / typesetting operation.

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Terms and conditions for iPad apps

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:19:10 -0700

This isn’t an iPad post as such, but I wrote over on my Peninsulawyer blog about terms and conditions for iOS apps.

If you are interested in iPad apps from this perspective it might be worth a look.

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WDDC 2011 - the UK lawyers' perspective

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:19:41 -0700

What are the most interesting parts of Monday’s Apple WDDC announcement of IOS5 and iCloud for lawyers?

There isn’t much I can add to the general reports and posts on the keynote and TabletLegal’s US perspective on the iCloud. However, there are a couple of specific points which are very relevant to UK lawyers.

Data Security

I have posted before about Data Protection and DropBox on the iPad and one of the most important aspects of the iCloud for lawyers is how (or if) it will address these issues.

One of the mysteries which the iCloud announcment cleared up for me was why Apple haven’t developed a decent file management system for the iPad. Clearly, they don’t see USB transfer of files onto iDevices as the future.

Instead, all your data will be pushed into the cloud and accessible across all your Apple devices.

I presume that all apps will have access to your iCloud documents so that changes you make in one app will be synced back to the iCloud.

In theory this sounds great, but will this work for lawyers from a Data Protection and client confidentiality perspective?

Apple are at least signed up to the US Safe Harbor scheme (explained concisely here by Out-Law) so it may be that transfers of data to their iCloud servers will be allowed under the 8th data protection principle. However, I’m not sure the iCloud terms and conditions are likely to fulfill the 7th data protection principle requirement that there is a written contract with the data processor which requires the data processor to:

“take the same security measures you would have to take if you were processing the data yourself”

For the iCloud to be of use for UK-based lawyers this is essential; however, I suspect that the reality is that the terms will just include the usual raft of “no warranty” and “provided as is” exclusion clauses (see for example the MobileMe Terms of Service).

NewsStand and the FT web app

The other interesting feature is the NewsStand which will debut in iOS 5 (which seems to be a Flipboard style feature to aggregate content from all your news subscriptions in one place).

This is particularly interesting in the light of the FT’s recent launch of an HTML5 based web app which is intended to avoid the need for a download from Apple’s iTunes store (and also avoid the 30% cut taken by Apple from subscriptions sold through the store).

The app looks and works spectacularly well (the first week’s subscription is free so definitely check it out on your iPad) and seems to have been well received by the tech blogging community. The TechCrunch article is a good primer for anyone who has managed to miss the PR blitz.

However, a very canny move by the FT seems to have been out-flanked by the launch of the NewsStand (at least so far as iOS devices are concerned).

Once you have all your news subscriptions in one app which is built into iOS 5, will it really still be attractive to have to access a separate web app for your FT content?

Time will tell if I am right or the FT is, but I would be interested to know if they were aware of the launch of NewsStand whilst they were developing the web app model.

How long until Autumn?

iOS 5 and the iCloud are coming “in the fall” so there is plenty of time for speculation in advance of the general release, but I am really hoping there will be enterprise grade data security built into iCloud (and its terms and conditions) or at least a premium enterprise version available.

Apple’s vision clearly involves the cloud more than the USB lead and lawyers really need to be able to get into the iCloud if they are going to get the full value from the iPad.

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Writing Kit for iPad

Tue, 31 May 2011 06:07:45 -0700

I have used a lot of text editors on the iPad and until now my favourite for composing blog posts has been Elements from Second Gear.

There are a number of good writing apps around, but Elements wins out for me because I write blog posts in Markdown and Elements has a handy built-in preview mode which shows you the HTML output from your Markdown text.

I am writing this post on an interesting new app called Writing Kit, which also features Markdown preview along with a bunch of other features which are very useful for blogging on the iPad.

I haven’t explored it in full yet, but the most obvious feature is probably the built-in web browser, which makes it very easy to search for links and supporting material to copy across to your post. Once you find a suitable page you just hit a button to import the link into your post. You can do this with Safari, but it involves more navigating between apps and has an annoying tendency to need to reload pages once you have swapped to another app.

Other interesting features include:

an extended keyboard with buttons for common Markdown syntax like inserting images or lists
a new navigation system allowing you to move the cursor back or forward by one letter or word by tapping in the margins
DropBox sync (pretty much essential in a text editor these days)
a “quick research” button which allows you to do a basic search for any term whilst editing your post

I’m sure there are a lot more features and I will definitely be testing this out in more detail as it seems squarely aimed at Markdown blogging. As the name suggests it is more of a suite of tools than a simple editor.

The detail features are good too, like a button to export your Markdown code into the Mail app (ideal if you blog using Posterous) and support for sending items to OmniFocus (one of my most used apps) and for TextExpander.

Incidentally, I imagine that the reliance on Markdown will limit the mass market appeal for lawyers, but actually it is a very straightforward way to write blog posts (or anything else) on the iPad and this app makes it very easy to use without really having to learn the language.

As of this morning the price on the app store was £2.99, which seems like a bargain if you are looking for a Markdown focussed blogging tool.

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The iPad one year on

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:24:46 -0700

The iPad was launched in the UK one year ago today.

Reports of overnight queues for the launch in London were not matched in my town, where I walked into the high street branch of PC World and picked up my choice of iPad that morning without any need for queuing. Today represents a year of iPad use for me.

Over that year I have used the iPad for many different purposes, and have now settled down to one major use. This post looks back over the first year of my iPad use, and explains what I now think the iPad is best at.

1. The big iPod Touch

The iPad was initially dismissed by some as simply being a big iPod Touch.

For me, at first this was my primary use for the iPad. I had previously been using an iPod Touch, but sold it to fund the iPad purchase. I am a podcaster, and a big fan of podcasts in general (legal podcasts of note (apart from mine) - Without Prejudice and the 11KBW series). Without the iPod Touch, the only way I had of listening to podcasts on the move was the iPad.

This seemed ok for a while, but the iPad is really too large for this sort of mobile use, and required regular syncing to iTunes to update the podcasts. Syncing with iTunes is one of the ongoing frustrations of iPad use, and syncing daily (or sometimes more often) in order to download podcasts is a time-consuming exercise.

After a few months of this, I settled on using a borrowed iPod Shuffle for much of my podcast listening, which still required regular syncing.

Earlier this year I got my first iPhone, and now use that for listening to podcasts, downloading them using the Podcaster app, which does away with the need for iTunes syncing for podcast subscriptions, and has made by life much easier. The iPhone is also now my primary music player. The only media files that remain on the iPad are video files, and as things have turned out there was no need for me to get the (most expensive) 64Gb iPad.

2. Dropbox arrives, notes are taken

Complaints about the difficult process of getting files on and off the iPad were a common feature in the early days of iPad use, and to some extent remain today.

Dropbox, the cloud storage and syncing service, had an API by the time of the iPad launch in the UK, but it was not until a few months later that it really started to be used as a solution to the problem of getting files on and off the iPad. There seemed to be a rush of Dropbox-compatible apps, and any document-related app now really has to have Dropbox storage enabled. It was at this time that note taking apps took off. Designed to be simpler and more elegant than the official Pages app, these new apps included the likes of PlainText and iA Writer - and each one was simpler and more elegant than the last. I bought them all, chasing after the dream of being able to run a client meeting or even an employment tribunal hearing from my iPad.

I still use the iPad occassionally for meeting notes, but as Jon has pointed out, consumer-grade cloud services like Dropbox don't pass scrutiny for use in a regulated profession, and recent scares over Dropbox security have reinforced these initial doubts.

Recently I have conducted my first employment tribunal hearing running all my notes digitally - but it was from laptop rather than an iPad, and I have given up the goal of running an employment tribunal hearing from my iPad.

3. Email and calendar

One of the core items of business or professional use of the iPad would have to be using it for email and calendar appointments.

I was initially keen on email on the iPad. At the time I was using a Blackberry as a phone, and the larger screen and keyboard on the iPad was much more attractive than using the Blackberry. Since then, I have got an iPhone and use that far more often for email. It is easier to carry round.

As for the calendar app, it seems to me that both on the iPad and iPhone Apple's Calendar app is not so good as it could have been. It never seems to have the right screen for me. The monthly view which does not actually show you your daily appointments until you scroll down seems particularly bad. I did switch to Calvetica for a while, but this was not much better. I can't help feeling that Apple could do better with both email and the Calendar app.

4. An e-reader

One of the original selling points for the iPad was as an e-reader, either using Apple's iBooks (and the iBookstore) or the Amazon Kindle app.

My experience at using the iPad for heavyweight legal books has been similar to Jon's. It is not really up to it, and it does not seem to be able to cope with the large files.

However, for shorter works, such as case reports and lecture notes, it comes into its own.

I have recently had some lengthy commuting to do on the train, and being able to catch up on reading on the iPad has been very useful. Most lawyers will have a pile of unread articles that they mean to get to some day, or updates that they need to read. Putting all of these on the iPad keeps down the paper, and means that you don't forget them and leave them behind on the train journey.

Many iPad lawyers will also have RSS feeds - law-related or not, that they keep up with. The iPad is excellent for keeping up with RSS fees. My app of choice for this is Byline, with an honourable mention for the good-looking Pulse.

Finally, there many be articles from websites to read. Instapaper allows you to click on a bookmarklet, and then read the article or web page later. It is an essential app for me.

In practice, this is the single most important use of the iPad for me, and the one for which there is no better tool. Music and podcasts are best handled on an iPhone - a smaller device. Note taking is best done on a laptop - a larger device. For reading short articles, RSS feeds and longer web pages, the iPad is the best device I have, and the right size.

Conclusions

One of the challenges for the iPad has always been finding its space in the market - not necessarily against other tablets, where there is still relatively little competition, but against alternative devices and form-factors such as the smartphone and laptop.

In the course of my year of iPad use, I have changed my phone (from a Blackberry to an iPhone) and also bought a new laptop. Each of these decisions have affected my iPad use considerably. The iPhone has taken over the media player role, and the laptop has taken over the note taking. This has left the iPad with a relatively small, but important, niche as an e-reader.

The future

Reports suggest that WWDC will showcase a preview of iOS 5. Back in July last year I set out my initial view of the way in which the iPad would benefit from improvement. Here is a more considered "wish list" for improvements over the next year or so.

1. Desktop widgets and improved notifications

Noted in my early post as my hope for iOS 4, and now my hope for iOS 5. Desparatly needed if Apple is not to lose further ground to Android.

2. A better Calendar app

Tied in with the improved notifications.

3. Improved syncing and cloud connections

Why is the iPad so reliant on a third-party service (Dropbox) to make it usable? This cannot be what Apple want.

While they are improving syncing, how about also permitting syncing of information between iOS applications on different devices? When I am not reading legal articles on my iPad, it would be good if my iPad recognised the progress I had made on Choo Choo Steam Trains on my iPhone, so that I could swap between devices when playing that and other games and apps.

One way in which Apple may be able to improve on the current Dropbox syncing would be to allow some sort of background wireless syncing. At present, Dropbox-compatible apps only sync when they are open - so if you change a note in iA Writer while you are offline, you have to open iA Writer again when online and upload and sync the note with Dropbox. Apple ought to be able to implement a system where the files are synced next time the iPad, not the app, goes online.

Comments

Now over to readers in the comments - how has your first year with the iPad been?

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When is encryption not encryption?

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:45:02 -0700

When it’s on your iPad?

The latest version of GoodReader comes with some very useful features including the ability to “flatten” your PDF annotations (basically converting them to part of the PDF file so that they are compatible with a greater number of viewers and can’t be subject to any further editing).

It also comes with a very educational briefing on iPad security as part of a new Data Protection feature.

I have referred a few times on this blog to the fact that iOS4 brought 256-bit AES encryption to the iPad so that all data on the device is encrypted.

I mentioned in my post on iPad data security that this encryption is dependent on having a strong password set as the data can be accessed when the device is unlocked.

However, it seems this isn’t the full story. The data on the iPad is encrypted in hardware so that it is decrypted on demand when needed. One of the primary reasons for this was to allow the remote wipe feature to work (basically it allows the remote wipe to simply delete the AES key rather than having to delete and overwrite the data which could take a long time).

However, if your iPad is connected via USB to iTunes on a computer with which it has been paired (or an application like DiskAid on a paired computer) then it is possible to access and download any files which are stored in third party apps (such as GoodReader prior to this latest update and almost all other apps) even if the iPad is locked with a passcode.

Apparently even though the files are encrypted, Apple chose to make the iPad decrypt them on demand when requested by iTunes file transfer rather than making the iTunes sync experience more clunky by requiring the device passcode to be entered. The passcode security is at the initial pairing stage only (you will notice if you try to pair a locked iOS device with iTunes for the first time that you have to enter the device passcode before you can do so).

On the face of it this seems like a reasonable compromise. After all, if someone has open access to your computer already then it is probably too late to be worrying about data security on the iPad.

However, it appears that a determined intruder can still access the file system in this way by Jailbreaking the iPad and using USB file transfer or with commercially available forensics tools. This isn’t something I have ever looked into myself, but apparently in this situation the iPad hardware encryption will not protect your data.

iOS4 does offers proper Data Protection via a security API which individual apps can use. This prevents data from being decrypted when the device is locked by adding your device passcode to the hardware encryption key. It then deletes this element of the key when the device is locked so that the data can’t be decrypted until it is entered again.

The iPad Mail app takes advantage of this (and therefore should be secure), but up until now few third party apps implemented it.

GoodReader have now implemented this function via the latest update (hence their handy guide to iOS4 Data Protection) which instantly puts GoodReader at the top of the “must have” document reading apps for lawyers as it is basically the only one in which client data can be stored with this level of security.

Another important thing to note is that if your iPad has been upgraded to iOS4 (rather than shipping with it installed) then the Data Protection function is probably not enabled at all (even in Mail). A rather involved process is needed to activate it as described in this Apple KnowledgeBase article which involves restoring the iPad from a backup.

You also need to set up the security in GoodReader, which is a lot easier to do thanks to their helpful manual (which also has a good summary of how iOS Data Protection operates).

Kudos to GoodiWare for incorporating this and stealing a march on the competition. The only other app I have found so far with Data Protection enabled is Cortado Workplace, which seems to be a potentially useful enterprise focused cloud storage service (with the 2GB service available for free). Their iPad app also allows you to securely encrypt data stored locally on the iPad using the Data Security API.

None of this is a revelation as there is a lot of information around about how iOS security works. However, a lot of users may assume (as I did) that the encryption which is built into iOS4 is sufficient to secure your data in most circumstances if a strong pass-code is used. In fact, for sensitive or confidential information best practice may be to only use apps which have Data Protection enabled.

For those who want further information I refer you to a great post on the detail of iOS Data Protection by Anthony Vance which explains the technical side and another post explaining iOS hardware encryption.

I can’t understand why Apple don’t simply include an option in iOS4 for security conscious users where all data stored in apps on the iPad is securely encrypted and cannot be accessed when the device is locked with a passcode. Without this it is hard to shake the feeling that iOS devices prioritise convenience over security – something which I am sure RIM will be happy to capitalise on when marketing the Playbook.

Unless (and until) that happens we are in the hands of the app developers – and having looked into the reality of iOS encryption in more detail I hope that more of the providers of enterprise apps follow GoodReader’s lead and start to incorporate the Data Protection API.

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iPad lawyers on the wrong track?

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:14:06 -0700

It’s not all iPad veneration on this blog (not quite!), which is why I am highlighting an interesting post by Venkat Balasubramoni on his Spam Notes blog entitled What is the iPad for Lawyers crowd smoking?.

I don’t agree with a lot of what he says (probably not a huge surprise!). For example, see how far you get reviewing tracked changes on your laptop without investing in some software over and above the operating system… like Microsoft Word… and ask yourself how this is different from needing to download an app (other than being more expensive and complicated!).

However, it is interesting to see this perspective from someone who has tried the iPad for legal work and doesn’t like it. Maybe there is a tendency on the part of the iPad enthusiasts to be too ready to embrace “workarounds” rather than asking why things like a central filing system are missing from the iPad in the first place?

Personally I find that the iPad fits well with my workflow, but it’s good to recognise that it isn’t a one size fits all scenario.

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Where to stash your iPad?

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:56:00 -0700

Apple seem to be doing their best to put iPad case manufacturers out of business with the new Smart Case for the iPad 2... and personally I like the official Apple iPad 1 case although nobody else seems to.

The harder problem for me to solve has been what to carry your iPad around in (case or no case). I have tried a variety of options including small iPad size bags (too manbag for me to carry off) and laptop cases (too large and cumbersome).

Then I read Ben Brooks review of the Tom Bihn Ristretto Bag (in that case the one sized for the MacBook Air).

One bit of credit-card bashing and a UPS transatlantic shipment later (there doesn't seem to be a UK distributor for Tom Bihn) I am the proud owner of a Ristretto for iPad.

This really is exactly what I have been looking for. It stores the iPad (with or without case) in a padded foam sleeve compartment and also has room for the Apple Bluetooth keyboard and the various accessories I cart around (Blackberry, headphones, VGA-out adaptor etc.).

The quality is great and to my mind it looks fantastic... more messenger bag than Murse and you can choose from a variety of colours from business-like black to more outgoing shades like Cayenne.

The Absolute Strap is a worthwhile upgrade too... simply the most comfortable shoulder strap I have ever come across.

The lack of a UK distributor is a shame, but it less than a week to arrive from the US so it isn't a big deal.

If you are looking for a bag to take your iPad (and essential accessories) on the road then you could do a lot worse than the Ristretto.

Where do you stash your iPad? Let me know in the comments if you have any other good solutions.

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LogMeIn remote file transfer for your iPad

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:44:01 -0700

Still no iPad 2 in the iPadLawyer household… although I have used one and the decrease in size and increase in speed are very impressive.

However, I have found a new solution to the perennial problem of getting files from your computer onto your iPad whilst out and about.

Josh Barrett recently wrote a good series of posts on Tablet Legal on transferring files to your iPad via the cloud or your local WiFi network (which is a must-read for any new iPad or iPad 2 owning lawyers).

However, the recent update of LogMeIn Ignition for the iPad goes one better than this.

LogMeIn Ignition has always allowed you to remote control your Mac or PC desktop from the iPad (which amongst other things means that you could email files to yourself). However, the new update gives you access to the file management system on your desktop machine using a folder-based system.

If you have used DropBox then you will recognise the concept. Rather than bringing your Mac desktop to the iPad this lets you access your desktop filing system as if it were in the cloud. The screenshot shows you what to expect if the explanation doesn’t make sense!

Once you have access to the desktop files you can drag and drop them into your iPad’s local filing system and then open them with an iPad app of your choice for editing or viewing (or use the LMI built-in viewer).

Unlike cloud services your files remain on your desktop system so there should be no security worries (subject to the security of the LMI connection).

This could be an absolute lifesaver in client meetings (or when you realise you have forgotten to bring your Powerpoint deck along to a talk!). If you need to discuss or refer to a document which isn’t saved on your iPad then just log into your desktop using the LMI app and bring it across to the iPad.

You could also use it is a transfer app instead of connecting via WiFi or USB although you will have to open the app in order to get files out to the respective apps you wish to use them in.

It still isn’t the central file system I would like to see for the iPad, but it is fantastic addition to the file transfer armoury.. especially when you also get the usual remote control functionality of LogMeIn Ignition in the app (great for helping out less IT-savvy relatives with their PC problems amongst other things).

LogMeIn Ignition is currently selling for £17.99 in the UK app store, which isn’t cheap, but it is an excellent piece of software and seeing the developers releasing substantial updates like this from time to time makes you feel that you are getting more for your money.

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iPad 2 is go

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:06:31 -0800

The big news on planet iPad is obviously Apple’s iPad 2 launch announcement from last night. All the usual commentators live blogged and tweeted this as it took place, but the best place to get the full information is probably Apple’s own iPad 2 video.

So how does the reality compare to my recent post on feature rumours and wish list?

I wasn’t surprised to see that most of the more outlandish rumours turned out to be just that. No worldwide connectivity, no retina display and no SD card slot (I would expect to see the retina display on the iPad 3 at some point).

More system RAM, a much faster processor (a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5) and a thinner form factor are all welcome developments and the introduction of front and rear cameras (although at a surprisingly poor 1 MegaPixel resolution) for FaceTime purposes isn’t surprising.

The price, in the US at least, starts at an attractive $499 for the 16GB WiFi model. In the past I have always recommended the 3G version as you need connectivity to realise the full potential of the iPad. However, for iPhone 4 owners the new Personal Hotspot feature should make the WiFi model a viable proposition providing that you don’t mind paying your network operator an additional tariff to enable the “tethering” functionality.

Pricing in the UK has yet to be confirmed, but I would love to see the starting price point at £399 rather than the usual “translate dollars to pounds and knock a few off” model. There are also rumours that the iPad 1 will remain on sale at a lower price, which could be interesting.

The pricing is even more interesting when compared to the recently announced Asus EEE Slate Windows 7 Tablet which is apparently set to retail at a hefty $1,000.

One prediction from my last post which has come true:– the new IOS 4.3 will allow you to choose whether the hardware switch on the iPad controls orientation lock or mute (you heard it here first!).

The other interesting feature is the new range of Smart Covers for iPad 2. These cover the front of the iPad only and apparently attach using magnets… and also cleverly double as a stand to hold the iPad in typing position (reclined in landscape mode) or viewing position (standing up vertically).

I actually really like the existing Apple case (which seemingly puts me in a minority of one!) which already provides these stand options and I also prefer the fully enclosed “book” format rather than just a front cover. However, I’m sure the covers will work very nicely in reality.

The one feature of the Smart Covers which I would love to see on my iPad is the auto on/off function which sleeps and wakes the iPad when you open the cover (rather than having to press a button). Of course if you have a passcode set (which you really should) then the benefit of this may be reduced as you will still have to enter the passcode, but it seems like a cool feature.

Most of the rest of the Keynote focussed on apps like iMovie and GarageBand. These look interesting, but aren’t really that relevant to using the iPad 2 for legal work.

I don’t think there is anything in the Keynote which changes my conclusion in my last post. If you have been holding off on buying an iPad then the iPad 2 looks very attractive. As an upgrade it is less compelling, but will probably become more so as apps are launched which take advantage of all that new found power.

I don’t think I will be upgrading for the time being – although I am happy to accept iPad 2s for review purposes (can’t promise they will be returned though!).

The only thing which might change my mind at this stage is the pricing of the iPad 2 in the UK and the O2 tethering tariff. These two in combination could just make it worth upgrading to a Wifi iPad2 and using the iPhone 4 personal hotspot if I could also share it with other devices.

The existing O2 tethering tariff doesn’t compete with the current £10 a month I pay for iPad data, but at the time of writing their website was down for “maintenance” so maybe there is something new and exciting on the cards?!

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iPad 2 for lawyers?

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:12:51 -0800

Did anyone’s partner follow Apple’s email exhortations and buy them an iPad for Valentine’s Day?

And, if so, are you worried about the (supposedly) imminent announcement of the iPad 2?

At the moment the device is mainly grist for the ceaselessly grinding Apple rumour mill, but it seems likely according to TUAW and other sources that the update to the original iPad will be announced some time this month. Of course, these are just rumours and the launch date will be shrouded in the usual Apple secrecy, but an announcement this spring seems likely.

There are lots of roundups of the list of (rumoured) possible features around. TechRadar have a good and frequently updated post on the subject if you are interested in the detail.

However, how much better is the iPad 2 likely to be for lawyers? And what would be my wish-list of “lawyer friendly” features based on my own experience so far?

It seems fairly certain that the iPad 2 will have a front facing camera (and maybe a rear facing one too) and the ability to use this for FaceTime video calls.

I am a big fan of FaceTime on the iPhone 4 for keeping in touch with friends and family (particularly my brother and his family who live in the USA), but sitting here holding my iPad I struggle to see how it would work with FaceTime.

iPad 2 may be lighter, but the current iPad is too heavy to hold at arms length during a conversation. I guess the camera could be angled so that it works with the iPad flat on a table (or at a keyboard-like angle in its case), but this would require Apple to perfect some kind of anti-double chin technology!

Some kind of built-in stand which lets the device stand vertically like a monitor? Possible, but it doesn’t really seem to fit the Apple ethos of the iPad being a device which you hold.

I suspect this is one of those features which nobody really sees working, but Apple find some leftfield way to implement, but beyond that I’m not really sure about FaceTime on the iPad.

Leaving aside the technical issues, I have never yet used FaceTime in “lawyer mode”. Most of the other lawyers I deal with aren’t really in an Apple ecosystem (at least in the office)… and if I was going to arrange a video conference I would probably just use the laptop and a webcam.

As a lawyer I can see the camera being more useful for other functions, like scanning in a document to save as a PDF and annotate whilst out of the office. Again, the iPad seems to have some some weaknesses for this (just try holding it steady at arms length as you would with an iPhone to take a photo), but in principle it could be useful.

Another supposed “feature” which has created a lot of excitement is the possibility of an enhanced screen… possibly even an iPad sized version of the Retina Display featured on the iPhone 4.

This would be an amazing development, but most of the informed commentators I follow seem to be suggesting that this isn’t going to happen (at least in the next iPad iteration). See John Gruber’s excellent Daring Fireball post for a much better explanation of the technical reasons why than I could provide.

Maybe the screen will be improved (although in my view it is already pretty impressive… at least until you start looking at the iPhone 4). However, I can’t seen this being a “killer feature” for lawyers buying an iPad.

More memory and an increase in processor power? This seems very likely (after all the iPhone 4 already has twice the system memory of the iPad). Based on previous iPhone experiences these changes make the new version snappier to use (think iPhone 3GS versus 3G), but they don’t really provide a compelling reason to upgrade straight away. What tends to happen is that new apps make use of the increased capacity over time and eventually push you towards an upgrade.

It is also odds-on that the iPad 2 will have a more accurate gyroscope built in (again, like the iPhone 4). This will help with any motion sensitive applications, but again I can’t really see this being too exciting from a legal point of view.

The new iPad will probably look a bit different externally. However, most of the ones I see in the wild spend their lives in the black Apple case or something similar so the novelty of this is likely to wear off fairly quickly.

Rumours also suggest there could be a USB port for connectivity and/or a slot for an SD card. Personally I’m not convinced about this, but the SD slot could certainly be handy on holiday for importing and managing your photos (without the need to buy the Apple adaptor).

What would I really like to see from a lawyer / work perspective? Only three main things really:–

More connectivity. The World iPad suggested by the Digital Daily (which could use GSM and CDMA networks to get online anywhere in the world) would rock. Provided Apple can work out a way to allow data roaming on all these networks at a reasonable cost…
A file management system. Not really a hardware issue, but a central file storage system which all apps can access and which can be synced to one or more desktops and/or the cloud anyone? This is still the biggest pain for me in using the iPad day to day.
Bluetooth keyboard customisation so I can map function keys to switch between running apps. Not a big point, but one which would make using the iPad as a netbook replacement much easier. And also how about letting me choose whether the hardware switch controls mute or orientation?

I’m sure there are some cool features which will show up in the launch announcement and which nobody has hinted at yet, but at present I can’t see a compelling reason for lawyers who already have an iPad to start saving their pennies for an upgrade.

Of course if you don’t have one (and you weren’t one of the luck Valentine’s recipients) then it may well be worth waiting so see what is on offer.

Do you have any thoughts on what the iPad 2 could / should offer for lawyers? Let me know in the comments.

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iPad body language

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 05:53:21 -0800

I have been following a recent debate in the technology blogging “scene” about whether the iPad is the ideal tool for client meetings or should be kept firmly in its case and replaced with good old fashioned pen and paper.

Weighing in for the Moleskine camp is Randy Murray on First Today, Then Tomorrow. His post is titled Talk to me – client meetings without technology getting in the way and advises leaving all your gadgets (laptops, iPads or whatever else floats your boat) off the meeting room table and focussing on actually talking to your client.

His view is that:–

“The effect of seeing someone physically write a note is warm and personal, not cool and clinical like typing on a keyboard.”

and that this helps to build a connection with the client and show them that you are interested in their story. Technology on the table just gets in the way of this.

In the iPad corner we have Ben Brooks who writes The Brooks Review blog with a post about Why the iPad is the best thing to happen to meetings since the 1960s.

Ben focuses on the productivity benefits of digital meeting notes:–

“My entire meeting setup seeks to do one thing: let me move on to the next task the second the meeting is over.”

In his view the iPad’s flat configuration (as opposed to the barrier created by an open laptop) minimises any disruption and lack of focus and the productivity benefits outweigh any downsides. I find the silent keyboard also helps a lot with this.

So who is right?

I suspect the answer has to be that they both are (Ben also touches on this in his post). Client meetings aren’t (or shouldn’t!) be all about you… so a lot depends on the client’s perception.

Ben asks his clients if they are comfortable with him using the iPad to take notes. Personally I tend to have a pretty good feel for which clients are likely to click with the iPad (and probably want to have a play with it) and those who would look at it like something from outer space, but for a first meeting asking if they mind is probably the way to go.

Generally though I like the iPad as a tool for meetings. The productivity benefits of only inputting your notes once (rather than writing them and dictating a file note) fit well with the way I work and I actually find the iPad is pretty unobtrusive.

Whilst I wouldn’t sit and type away on a laptop, the flat form factor of the iPad seems to create much less of a barrier than a laptop lid.

To me this is almost a body language issue. Sitting with a laptop in front of you gives an impression of being closed off and defensive in a way which is very similar to the body language of crossed arms.

The iPad, in contrast, sits flat on the table and doesn’t close you off in the same way. It also makes it easy to pass round or share a document, email or web page just like a paper copy (although admittedly slightly heavier).

I also find it can be very useful for closing off issues which would otherwise need to be taken away as action points and dealt with later. A good example is company names:– if a client wants to incorporate a company called “XYZ Limited” I can check the availability right there and then and if it is taken they can choose something else. A lot more efficient than doing it when I get back to my desk and calling them to say it is taken.

Obviously this is nothing that you couldn’t do on a laptop, but the laptop probably wouldn’t be in the meeting in the first place… whereas the iPad is right to hand. Even if I’m not using it for notes it takes a couple of seconds to fire it up and get connected.

Personally I just think you need to make sure you pick the right meetings.

Also, as Ben advises, don’t forget to clean the screen first as greasy fingerprints don’t add to the attractiveness of the device!

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Extend your desktop with an iPad

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:33:02 -0800

My first post of 2011 is about a rather strange use for the iPad… as a secondary display for your laptop or desktop.

DisplayLink is an iPad app and companion desktop application which allows you to use your iPad as a second display for a laptop or desktop in the same way as you would plug in another monitor.

Both devices need to be connected to the same WiFi network (if you are using Windows 7 then my previous post on setting up a hotspot will be worth reading) and then you simply download the app on your iPad (£1.98 at the time of writing) and download the free companion software to your PC.

You set a password for the iPad (for security reasons), launch the app on both devices and, hey presto, your iPad turns into a second monitor. You can extend your PC desktop onto it, which means you can drag any application from your main desktop onto the iPad.

At this point you might reasonably be asking why bother?. After all, an iPad is a fairly pricy alternative to a second monitor.

To be honest the first reason is the simple “because I can” factor. The app works really smoothly and it is pretty cool to see the desktop extending onto the iPad.

Secondly, if you are considering a dual monitor setup (and you should in my view as it makes pretty much any task quicker and more straightforward) then it is worth paying a couple of pounds to evaluate the benefits.

Finally (and this is why I really like it) it is great for sharing and reviewing stuff. I already have a dual monitor setup, but with DisplayLink I can just drag an email or document which I want to share with a colleague onto the iPad display and pass it over to them… if they are sitting across the desk from me for example. No more of that awkward “leaning over the shoulder” stuff! As @filemot pointed out on Twitter though when I tweeted about this just make sure they pass it back!

I can see this being really useful for lawyers where it would be handy to show a client or another lawyer an email in your inbox, but without giving them an eyeful of other confidential information. It’s like having a chunk of your monitor you can break off and pass around.

I was also impressed to see that the iPad display also worked with Ultramon, which is a great little utility I use to control the dual monitor setup. It adds extra controls to your windows allowing you to flick them from one display to another as well as minimise them (and many other things).

I wouldn’t say that DisplayLink is the most important iPad app I have seen, but it works extremely well and it is a good illustration of how a tablet can alter the way in which you use and share electronic documents. If you have a couple of pounds to spare it is definitely worth checking out.

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Supercharge DropBox and iWork

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:11:00 -0800

A little Christmas eve treat for anyone who is frustrated by the rather lame integration between DropBox and Apple’s iWork suite on the iPad.

Your standard options for importing files into iWork apps are fairly limited (as you can see from this screenshot).

If you have a MobileMe account then you can copy from iDisk, but otherwise you are limited to iTunes or WebDAV import.

If the file is stored in your DropBox then you can open the DropBox app and then use the “open with” option to get it into the iWorks app, but there isn’t an easy way to sync it back again. If you change the file on your iPad then the DropBox version will be out of date.

Enter a service called DropDAV. This is a very simple service (at least from a user perspective) which allows you to upload and download files from DropBox using the “Copy to/from WebDAV” options in the iWorks apps.

You simply enter your DropBox credentials and DropDAV then emails you the login link to use. Just click on the “copy from WebDAV” or “copy to WebDAV” option in any iWorks app and enter this link and your DropBox credentials. You can then copy to or from anywhere in your DropBox file structure direct from the app thus keeping the copy on your iPad and in DropBox the same.

The price is calculated as 30% of your DropBox plan price. So if your DropBox plan is free then WebDAV is also free.

This solves a really annoying “missing link” in iWorks and has made it much easier for me to import Keynote presentations onto the iPad, edit them and save the changes back to DropBox.

The only thing I can’t vouch for is the security of passing on your DropBox credentials in this way (although most of the other apps which use DropBox as storage or for syncing require you to do so).

I have researched this as much as I can and nobody has reported any security concerns, but if you have sensitive or valuable information in DropBox then I guess you need to think carefully about this.

Thanks to everyone who has read this blog during 2010. Best wishes for the holidays… hopefully with the launch of iPad 2 and some interesting competitors like the RIM Playbook 2011 will be a very exciting year for iPad lawyers everywhere!

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LexBlog iPad endorsement

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:19:40 -0800

I was interested to see Kevin O'Keefe (CEO of the LexBlog blog network) endorsing the iPad this morning as “a wonderful client and professional development tool”.

I always look out for Kevin’s posts in my RSS feed so when he suggests that an iPad is the perfect Christmas present I am inclined to pay attention (although it may be worth bearing in mind the likely arrival of the iPad 2 next year).

Find out why Kevin is such a fan here.

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Law eBooks on the iPad

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 07:03:00 -0800

One of the most obvious uses of the iPad should be for law texts and reference books.

These are typically bulky, heavy tomes which aren’t easily portable. If you could transfer your whole bookshelf to the iPad and have it with you at all times, then why wouldn’t you?

LexisNexis have now made some of their books available as eBooks and have kindly let me have an eBook copy of Tolley’s Employment Law Handbook to review on the iPad.

The books aren’t available from the Apple iBook store so you have to download them from LexisNexis to your computer and then transfer them to the iPad. This is a simple drag and drop via iTunes if you want to add the book to iBooks (although it is best to read the rest of the this post first) or via the iTunes USB file transfer if you are using another eBook reader.

The book is in the ePub format, which means it is difficult to give a definitive review because the reading experience depends so much on which app you use to read it.

The most obvious choice is Apple’s own iBooks, but I found this to be almost unusable for a book of this size as it slows to a crawl when opening the book and for a minute or two afterwards.

The reason for this is that ePub books don’t have “pages” as such. It is a reflowable text format, which means that the amount of text on each “page” will depend on which eBook reader and settings you use.

It seems that iBooks calculates this for the whole book each time you open it or change settings (or change the iPad orientation). This process causes a progress bar to appear which slows iBooks almost to a standstill. On a normal novel you don’t notice this as it doesn’t take that long and you are generally reading one page at a time in order. By the time the indexing finishes you have probably only read a couple of pages and haven’t really noticed the slowdown.

For a textbook which is several thousand pages long and used as a reference rather than being read cover to cover it is a serious issue as it slows down searching and finding subjects in the index to an unacceptable crawl. I timed the process and it can take up to three minutes to open the book, search for a term and select the relevant page.

Luckily there is an answer. Stanza is a free eBook reader for iPhone and iPad which reads ePub books and doesn’t have the same speed issues as iBooks. I’m not quite sure why this is, but I think it only counts the pages in your current section and not the whole book.

Using Stanza the book presents a totally different experience. It is easy to browse the table of contents and index or search for terms. It all zips along pretty quickly without any noticeable lag.

You can add your own bookmarks and annotations and it is easy to select and copy text. This is very useful now that IOS 4.2 allows you to switch to another app like an email or document and paste text into it (copyright permitting of course!).

Stanza also allows quite a bit of flexibility in the formatting of the book. This includes not just the font, but also line spacing, margins, justification etc. Because the ePub format is similar to XHTML much of what you seen on the screen is a function of how your reader presents different formatting (body text, heading levels etc.) and it is also possible for publishers to use a form of CSS to dictate formatting so it may be possible for more “polished” formatting to be introduced as the market matures.

I still find that eBooks in Stanza don’t quite have the polished look which you expect from content on the iPad, but they are certainly functional. Freed from the iBooks startup lag it is much quicker to find a search term and hit the relevant page than it is with the paper copy of the book.

It is also possible to convert the eBooks into Kindle format if that is your thing (Lexis Nexis have instructions on their website) and Google have recently launched an eBook reader which may be a workable alternative to iBooks and Stanza.

Of course, you can also use your laptop or desktop to view the eBooks. I don’t know about other publishers, but the LexisNexis DRM allows the licensed user to install the books on their mobile and desktop devices.

Ultimately, I don’t believe that the ePub format as it is currently used allows law eBooks to reach their full potential. What I would really like to see is a more powerful format which allowed:

Collaborative bookmarking and annotations (see what comments other lawyers in your firm have made on the book)
Push updates from the publisher as they become available so the text is always current
Ability to link to standard documents and resources on your firm’s own know-how system
A great looking and lightning fast interface which delivered a true iDevice experience and wasn’t so dependent on the reader app used

I don’t know how much of this is dependent on the reader app and how much could be done by better use of the ePub format, but if someone could deliver this I believe it would drive a huge uptake in eLaw books.

For now though, eBooks on the iPad are still a worthwhile format… the prices of the LexisNexis ones come in at less than the paper equivalent and you can carry a whole library in your briefcase.

If you own an iPad and you are considering updating a law text I would recommend checking if it is available as an eBook first.

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What about IOS 4.2 on the iPad?

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:17:00 -0800

The focus of this blog has always been on using the iPad in practice and how it really works for lawyers.

Because of this I decided that rather than post a review of IOS 4.2 on the iPad the day it was released I would wait for a while until I had a chance to see how it worked in real life.

I already posted on the upgrade to Apple’s iWork suite for the iPad, but apart from this, how big a difference has IOS 4.2 made to the iPad?

The biggest feature for me is the introduction of “multitasking” (although I appreciate it isn’t multitasking in the true sense).

I am writing this blog using Elements from Second Gear Software, a great text editor featured on Tablet Legal recently which allows you to preview text in Markdown – very handy for writing blog posts.

IOS 4.2 multitasking lets me switch from Elements to Safari to cut and paste links (and check a few facts!) without losing the work on the post… and this in itself is enough to make the iPad much more attractive for writing blog posts.

This applies to an even greater degree with legal documents and correspondence… the ability to switch to Safari or an eBook law text and cut and paste into what I am working on makes a huge difference to productivity.

I have had a few teething troubles with multitasking (in particular the WiFi file download in iAnnotate seems to get “stuck” when you switch away from the app and require a forced exit before it will reconnect), but generally it is all very familiar from IOS 4.0 on the iPhone and works pretty smoothly.

What else is good apart from multitasking?

The integration with MobileMe Calendar is much neater and the threaded emails and unified inbox in Mail are very welcome… if hardly game changing.

AirPrint would be a great feature if it actually worked with printers on your local network rather than a few select HP printers. Luckily, Printopia (which I have previously blogged about) steps into the breach to fix this… Heaven knows why Apple couldn’t just have done it themselves though.

There are a few “so what?” features (for me at least). Game Centre I would just like to delete (you can’t, but at least with IOS 4.2 you can dump it into a folder called “Pointless” or something).

Speaking of folders, the jury is still out on this for me. I have quite a few folders on my iPhone, but on the iPad I have left most of my apps to stand alone on the home screen. I don’t really like the look of folders and I don’t have a ridiculous number of apps so I generally just try and keep the ones I use most on the first couple of home screens. If you use a lot of apps though it may be useful.

AirPlay seems like a good idea in theory, but I don’t really have much music on my iPad and I tend to use it the other way round… using the Remote App to stream music and movies from my main iMac to Apple TV or AirTunes speakers. If you could stream from your computer to the iPad it would be much more interesting.

I can’t end this review without referring to what seems to be Apple’s least popular decision of all… to change the hardware lock switch from orientation lock (as under IOS 3) to a mute switch.

This seems to have generated a lot of debate, but personally I find the mute switch more useful as I use the iPad in a lot of meetings. If I want to use the orientation lock then I will be in an app anyway and it isn’t a problem to scroll across to the software lock… whereas with the mute switch I often just want to kill the sound without even unlocking the device so to me it makes sense. I know that you could do the same thing with the volume switch, but I prefer to have the orange mark as a visual confirmation that the iPad isn’t going to chirp at me at an embarrassing moment.

For me, IOS 4.2 is a great improvement to the iPad, but it is a case of evolution rather than revolution. This is especially true because of the time I have had to get used to IOS 4 on the iPhone.

However, I always thought that multitasking was essential for the iPad to work as a serious business tool… and in this respect IOS 4.2 really delivers. I think Apple are right on this… it may not be multitasking in the true sense, but it delivers what I need in terms of fast switching and persistent data in my apps – so does it really matter?

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