Tablet Wars Update

 

Screenshot from CNet.com

Again, in fine form, our friends at CNet.com have provided an excellent review of the Samsung Galaxy and the Apple iPad.  The video link above will provide you with much of the information that one would want in making a decision about which tablet to buy.  There is also quite a bit of updating on the newcomers to the tablet market.

While I am a very satisfied customer with my iPad, I can certainly see how someone else would be interested in the upcoming competition.  However, the two-screen tablets are of future interest to me since I would like to have a tablet that allows me to type on one screen into a word processing app, while having my research up on the other screen.

Pics of Iconia Two-Screen Tab (Engadget.com)

I don’t necessarily need a full laptop experience, but definitely see a need for being able to multitask better than is presently allowed by any of the ‘major’ players in the field.  I state this last observation keeping in mind the IOS 4.2 update that we recently got from Apple.  Having to press the home button twice and switch around is not my idea of practical app multitasking.

Related Articles

• Tablets: The March Of Progress (reevoo.com)
• Study: 85% prefer iPad over Galaxy Tab, both must cost less (electronista.com)
• Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Provides Tweener Tablet (socialmediaexplorer.com)
• iPad, Samsung Galaxy and why we should call them Slates (liberatemedia.com)
• ‘iPad is Amazing’ according to new Apple commercial (intomobile.com)

Not Sure? Check out the Prizefight Series by CNet.com

Image via CrunchBase

If you have been left wondering about what tablet to buy this Christmas or for your next year of legal practice, CNet.com provides an excellent source of comparative information on the various features of products now on the market.  Video comparisons of products include the Samsung Galaxy & iPad.  This Prizefight can be found along with information about the MacBook, Acer Timeline, iPod, XBox, Wii, and other various competing products which may be of interest to you or yours.  CNet is an extremely helpful website which provides consumer information that can be easily understood.  They cover a wide range of tech devices, software, phones, and other products used by lawyers and the general public alike.  If you are interested in technology, this is a great place to start looking for information.  Armed with this information should be able to much better gauge which products best suit you and your practice.

Related Articles

• Prizefight: iPad vs. Galaxy Tab (news.cnet.com)
• Prizefight: iPod Nano vs. Sansa Clip+ (news.cnet.com)
• Should you wait to buy a tablet? (news.cnet.com)
• iPad gaining quickly on Kindle (news.cnet.com)
• Samsung Galaxy Tab landing Nov. 11 for $600 (news.cnet.com)

Noterize: Mark Up Docs with this Basic App

Noterize is an app that I have used when I’m in a pinch to mark up a pdf exhibit and just need to make some basic notes as to the document along with any high-lighting.  I have mixed feelings about this app because I do not find the user interface to be all that particularly friendly.  What is likeable about the app is the fact that it is easy to import documents from Dropbox. Also, legal notes and comments can be placed directly onto the documents.  Adding an all encompassing toolbar for easy navigation would be a great improvement to an otherwise good app.

I would recommend this app to anyone looking for an adjunct to Noteshelf, which is very user friendly and intuitive.  With respect to both apps, having Adobe‘s Acrobat Pro 10 is an absolute must.  If you are inclined to use your Mac, PDFPenPro 5 is also a great user-friendly .pdf creation, editing, and sharing program for Mac.  I would give Noterize an 8 out of 10.  It could be a near perfect app with some work on the UI.  You can click on either image below for additional reviews on this app.  The pic below these is an actual screen shot showing the high lighting function, comments, and signature ability.

Related Articles

• Noteshelf 2.1: Dropbox Integration, Finer Ink, New Notebooks (macstories.net)
• Best Apps for Lawyers Provide Productivity on the Go (zifflaw.com)
• Skip Upgrading to Adobe Acrobat X Pro Unless You Really, Really Want To Spend $199 (ADBE) (businessinsider.com)
• Adobe launches Acrobat X Pro, ships in next 30 days (electronista.com)
• Adobe Reader X Adds Protected Mode for Windows Users, Android Gets New Features [News] (makeuseof.com)

Microsoft Office 11 for Mac — Looks Good

Office Mac 2011 is definitely an upgrade from the 2008 version.  Among other things, the user interface has improved dramatically.  The various tools and tabs on the ribbon are useful and intuitive.  In fact, I would claim that the Mac version is better than the Windows version.  I still have to figure out the ribbon UI in Windows and gave up long ago.  One of my favorite additions to the Office Suite is the “Notebook” template, which is very much like the Notebook offering made by CircusPonies.com, without any significant cost differential.  Most of the templates are more on the consumer side and I am looking forward to seeing if my Windows-based pleadings templates will be compatible with the Mac version.  Another key issue will be looking at the ease of being able to insert tables for exhibit lists, witness lists, or for demonstrative courtroom exhibits.  The Powerpoint program seems equally intuitive and the interface is clean and understandable.  Again, the templates are are little simplistic, but easily tailored to meet the needs of a trial lawyer preparing a presentation with use of video clips from a deposition, pdf exhibits, images, and interactive elements. The spreadsheet element of Office is what one would expect and offers a number of good templates, including invoicing, timesheets, and other useful tools for the legal profession.  Finally, I really like the smooth interface between SkyDrive and the Suite.  I have been using SkyDrive or its predecessors for some time and have enjoyed the remote accessibility to my files, especially during trials and travelling.  SkyDrive also makes it easy to share files with clients, which is becoming more important as cloud-based technology develops.  All in all, the suite is just one more reason to justify the transition to Mac as an office tool.  While many of us in the legal world are stuck on Wordperfect, this offering may just be the reason to finally break the chains so that lawyers can more easily interact with clients (most of whom use Word).  I give this new version of Office a 9.5 out of 10.  If there were templates for pleading, I’d give it a 10.  For additional reviews see, TechRadar.com and ZDNet.com.  For an article on whether it’s worth your time, money and effort to upgrade your present office suite, you can see this MacWorld article which does a good job of speaking to this issue.

Microsoft Office 2011 Looks Promising for Mac Users

Microsoft is releasing Office 2011 for Mac users on October 26, 2010.  If you already have purchased Office 2008 in the last couple of months, you get a free upgrade to 2011.  The office suite looks very promising.  Among other improvements to the suite, Office 2011 is including Outlook for Mac.  Up until now, they have offered Entourage, which is an ostensible version of Outlook with considerably less features and a less polished user interface.  With Outlook, calendar integration, task integration, and collaboration ought to be quite a bit easier.  As to the new version of Word, one can expect to see the “ribbon” user interface that is present in the PC version of the suite.  According to MS, “Office for Mac 2011 gives you an enhanced user experience overall, as performance and launch times have been improved in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Your documents feel “lighter,” since they load fast, and respond quickly to your commands. And searching text within documents has never been faster.” Overall, this sounds like a worthy update to a program that needs to come up to speed for Mac users, especially those of us in the law. Try finding a usable pleading template for Mac Office 2008 some time !!!

Apple Software Ideas & Demos

If you are interested in the different software offerings that come with converting to Mac, here is Apple’s software download page.  Many of the downloads are free or trial editions that will give you a good idea of what is offered.  There are productivity suites, games, accounting tools, system tools, and a variety of other programs available.  This is a good place to start looking if you have already purchased your Mac or you are thinking about purchasing one.  This link is also available under the apple icon in the upper left hand of your Mac or Mini-Mac screen.

This Week’s Best Apps

This Week’s Best Apps.  This site has information on all kinds of apps within the Android, Iphone, and Ipad (Ios) platforms.  Games, productivity tools, and entertainment apps are described and reviewed.  Worth checking out on a regular basis.  Attorneys should keep up on word processing, research, and billing apps as these are coming out on a regular basis and the market is widening for the industry’s needs.  Provided by Gizmodo.com.

Apple – Mac Solutions for Legal Professionals

Apple’s Page for Lawyers

Link to Apple’s site for software and information for legal professionals.  Generic, but helpful.  This site contains some information on software and office integration.  Worth checking out for a basic overview of how a Mac, Ipod, or Ipad might fit into your practice.

Law Office Software for The Macintosh

Law Office Software for The Macintosh /Attorney using Macintosh Legal Software.

This site has a good listing of much of the software that an attorney might be interested in using. Topics include law office management, estate planning, billing, family law, patent law and other substantive areas.  A newsletter subscription is available to viewers along with an “Attorney’s Toolbox” page with information concerning online legal research sites and other valuable information.  Great site for a wide array of legal software, discovery hints, trial preparation and online research options.

Welcome to EsquireTech !!!

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