The Mac Lawyer : Ben Stevens : Using Macs In The Practice Of Law

PC World recently made the following statement as part of its "The Most Notable Notebooks of 2007" article:

The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware. The $2419 (plus the price of a copy of Windows Vista, of course) MacBook Pro's PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 88 beats Gateway's E-265M by a single point, but the MacBook's score is far more impressive simply because Apple couldn't care less whether you run Windows.

Thanks to SwitchingToMac.com for its post on this topic.

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If you are a trial lawyer, you will find this article particularly useful.  During presentation (to a jury, mediator, etc.), it is often helpful to emphasize one particular portion of a document.  One demonstrative way to do this is through the use of a "callout."

Apple's Keynote can be used to easily create elegant callouts, as shown in a recent post at The Trial Technologist's View blog.  This post contains an easy to follow video tutorial that shows just how easy it is to create callouts with Keynote.  I urge you to check it out and determine if you can use this in your practice.

Source: "Video Tutorial: Document Blowups in Keynote" by Blake Boyd, posted at The Trial Technologist's View blog.

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Steve Jobs announced that this Friday's release of OS X Leopard will be only one of a series of upgrades that could continue for as long as a decade.

"I'm quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future," he said. "We've put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it's given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve."

Poor Microsoft must really be upset at this news.  Not only is Leopard vastly superior to Microsoft's Vista at a much lower cost, but it doesn't take Apple seven long years to upgrade its operating system as it has Microsoft to move from XP to Vista.

Source:  "As Apple Gains PC Market Share, Jobs Talks of a Decade of Upgrades" by John Markoff, published in The New York Times.

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Today, Steve Jobs announced Apple's plans to third-party applications on the iPhone.  Contrary to rumors, Apple stated that it does want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an software development kit in developers' hands in February of 2008.  The delay is due to the fact that Apple wants to provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc.  You can read more about Apple's position on this issue HERE.

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As you may have heard, Apple announced today that it is releasing its updated operating system, Leopard, on October 26, 2007.  The upgrade boasts over 300 new features, and it will cost $129 for a single license or $199 for a family pack.  Shipping is free and pre-orders will be delivered on October 26th.  You can learn mch more about the new features by clicking HERE.

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A recent article addressed the issue of whether Macs offer superior capabilities in legal offices, particularly in trusts-and-estates practices.  Not surprisingly, its authors concluded that the "Mac definitely has its advantages. It offers a stable operating system, an attractive interface that enhances the computer operating experience, simplicity of hardware installation, a wide variety of portable and desktop machines, built-in software and hardware for video work and a growing list of law practice applications."  This article even gave nice plugs to The Mac Lawyer and the Macs In Law Offices (MILO) Group.

Source:  "The Mac: A Good Fit for Legal Eagles?" by Donald H. Kelley and Brenda A. Kelley, published at MacNewsWorld.

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This has been a week for The Mac Lawyer.  First, this very blog was chosen as one of the Top 10 Law Blogs by Greg May of The California Blog of Appeal.  In commenting on my blog, Mr. May said that "anyone using a Apple Macintosh computer in their practice should check this frequently."  While that is certainly one of my goals in publishing this blog, it is nice to hear someone else say it.

Then, I received an email yesterday that said "Your site rocks and has helped me a great deal over the last year."  I spend a lot of time working on this blog, and comments like that make it worthwhile.  The email I referenced was from Aaron Pelley, who publishes the Criminal Defense Law With An Apple blog.  Mr. Pelley wrote a post yesterday called "Where do you get your information? (Part 2 - Blogs and Sites)" in which he said that The Mac Lawyer "is hands down the best blog for lawyers looking to set up a Mac-Firm."  This was very high praise, and it is very much appreciated. 

If you are not familiar with these two blogs, I urge you to check then out, as I believe they are pretty great themselves.

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As you are probably aware, Apple is expected to release it's new operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, later this month.  There are many previews of this fantastic new software, including the one at Apple's website.  I found the following article by David Sparks interesting because it provides  a stark contrast and good insight into the difference found between Mac and Windows with regard to upgrading one's operating system:

I thought I'd do a series of articles as I begin preparing for the Leopard upgrade. This is where my windows bias shows through. I was talking to a very knowledgeable Apple friend, Gabe Wilson, and explaining how I was backing everything up and printing out copies of all my license codes so I could do the "big upgrade." As he watched me his face showed first dismay, then pity, then humor. Finally he relieved me of my suffering. "Dave. It's a Mac. Don't wipe your drive. Just upgrade."

Huh!?

I'm used to windows upgrades. When you upgrade a windows machine you first remove the hard drive then you drive a stake through it (preferably made of silver). Then you pour acid over it and proceed to make all the necessary incantations (which include multiple recitations of random letters and numbers in groups of four). Finally, you put in the install disk and pray to all that is nerdy that the rest of your PC components don't declare an absolute mutiny (which will probably happen anyway). You then spend the next two days attempting to convince Microsoft that you should be allowed to re-install Office on the new version of their windows software without spending another $500.

Tonight I listened to Steve Stanger confirm Gabe's sage advice and I'm sold. I'm not going to do the 3 days of reinstall but instead just going to click "update" and see what happens. If it doesn't work I can always do the "root canal" version of the upgrade later.

Source:  "Preparing for Leopard - The Install" by David Sparks, published at his MacSparky blog.

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My partner's PowerBook began having problems last Friday, and it stopped working.  His machine is over two years old, and this was the first problem that we had with it.  Anyway, we have AppleCare on this machine (and all our Macs), so Paul placed a call for help.  When the technician was unable to resolve the problem by phone, he informed us that the PowerBook needed to be sent in for repair.

The shipping box arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and DHL picked up the computer on Tuesday evening to ship it back to Apple.  I thought that it would be at least a week before we saw it again, but I am thrilled to say that Paul's PowerBook returned to our office this morning in perfect condition.  Yes, you read that right, It was gone less than 72 hours which included the shipping time from SC to CA and back.  Better yet, the cost to us -- free since it was covered by AppleCare.

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Several notable people have switched from PC's to Macs over the last few months, including:

• Mark Cuban  ::  Billionaire Entrepreneur  ::  "So a few months ago I made the executive decision to buy a MacBook to replace my laptop.  I haven't looked back.  I love me some MacBook."
• Robert Scoble  ::  Technical Evangelist and Former Microsoft Executive  ::  "I just switched my life over to a 17-inch MacBookPro."
• Marc Andreessen  ::  Founder of Netscape  ::  He "finally said good bye to the Windows life, and switched to a Mac."  He said, "now I am a Mac user again." He was visibly happy when telling this little story.
• Simon Pickstock  ::  Editor of PC Answers  ::  "With Apple's Boot Camp, you effectively get two laptops for the price of one, because I can and do run Windows on it, alongside OS X. However, the biggest reason for switching to OS X is that I'm sick and tired of dealing with all the security issues that are associated with Windows."

Anyone know of any noteworthy switchers from Macs to PC's?  I didn't think so.

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It might sound a bit odd to hear that I have been following the Mac Law Students blog for quite some time.  Erik Schmidt has done a great job posting timely, helpful information on this blog. 

A recent post took a close look at Mac's OS X 10.5 (Leopard), with an emphasis on which functions are expected to be most helpful for law students.  However, I believe that most of the functions he lists will also be helpful to practicing attorneys.

Some of the highlights listed in that post are:

• PDF annotation and markup capabilities included in Preview
• Virtual desktops offered in Spaces
• Fast review of *.pdf documents via Quick Look
• Improved iCal functions and features
• To-do lists included as part of Mail

I encourage you to visit the post to get much more insight into these new features and how they might benefit your practice.

Source: "Leopard for Law Students" by Erik Schmidt, published at the Mac Law Students blog.

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