Hardware Thursdays! Before Smart Tablets were a thing!

Newton next to iPhone
Photo © Wikipedia.

Happy Anniversary to the Newton! Apple’s foray into PDAs was something well before tablets and smartphones were common as they are today!

We have come a long way in nearly 20 years! 🙃

PS: The Newton was released four years before the Palm Pilot!

The only way to clean your mobile devices…

Don’t over think cleaning your cell phones and tablets!

Katie Corner, over at C-Net, wrote an article about how to clean the screens of your mobile devices. It pretty much comes down to the simple task of only using a micro-fiber cloth. “Maybe,” you might slightly dampen the fabric. But, you never use an industrial cleaner, e.g., Windex, as it may erode the “anti-fingerprint” coating or other special coatings that puts the extra shine on your smartphone or tablet.

Also, be wary of sticking things or even blowing air into the ports and openings (speakers & power ports) of your mobile device. You may end up pushing gunk into the devices instead of removing it.

There are devices out there that will irradiate germs on your devices. I have no opinion on these devices themselves. But, they don’t kill viruses.

I think, in the end, the best way to keep your devices clean to wash your hands regularly!

iPads still not the Laptop Killer ... yet ...

In recent years, I think many attorneys have been hoping to have the iPad replace their laptops. Laptops can be heavy and burden to lug around. iPads tend to be a bit lighter and bring more joy (at least to me and many who I speak with). The overall ease of use is great; but there is still one major issue - files!

Apple held its World Wide Developers Conference last Monday. It came out with its annual update to its various operating systems - MacOS and ideviceOSes (Now the iPhone/iTouch have a slightly different iOS than the iPad). Part of the announcement included an update to how files are managed on the iPads. Problem remains, searching through your folders for that one special file.

Sure, if you know where your file is then it’s not too troubling to move through your file tree. But if you have misfiled or not sure the exact name of the document, you will likely have a problem. On the computer, you can search folders, files and the contents within the files easily. But when you want to use the find function to look for just not the name but perhaps the details within the file (this is where OCRing your documents comes in handy - see my April 30, 2019, post), it’s not a simple effort. And I usually give up and get on the computer either remotely or onsite.

I’m not convinced the new update is going to adequately address the legal professionals’ concern about file management on the iPad. I can’t in good faith tell anyone that an iPad is (or will be in the near future with the release of iOS13) a laptop replacement for work.

You are better off with a laptop, either Windows or Macs. My iPad is primarily media consumption. But, I do experiment from time-to-time to see how or even if I can use it as a laptop replacement. So, for right now, the answer is “no”. As for the future, only time will tell.

iPads and Tablets in the Courtroom.

Jeff Richardson over at iponejd.com posted an interesting article the other day: The use of iPads by U.S. Fifth Circuit judges and law clerks.  I think it can be universally applied to both iPads and Tablets. While Jeff noted that only half of the judges on the CLE panel preferred iPads when reading their briefs, it appears that most if not all of their clerks prefer an iPad. And as that generation of clerks move up in their careers and leave behind a legacy of how work can be done while at the court, it seems to show that we lawyers need to make sure we are keeping up with technology. ABA Model Rules. 

Remember, we want to make the judges’ (and their clerks’) life easier: When the document contains links to legal citations or to the record and they don’t have to carry extra paper around the office or home, its makes their life a little less stressful. I would think this would allow them to read our briefs under better conditions and hopefully be more open to our persuasive arguments.