CP Notebook for iPad Available – Christmas Came Early

Long on the wish list and one ‘killer app’ missing from the iPad was a decent outliner. Circus Ponies Notebook, an outliner and much, much more,  is now available as an iPad app.

For those unfamiliar with the product, Circus Ponies Notebook is a kind of outliner onsteroids. Specifically, the application operates on a “traditional paper notebook” paradigm while incorporating the benefits of an electronic medium such as a word index of all words contained in the notebook.

Notebook for iPad carries over from the Mac platform beautifully. Notebook itself begged for the existence of a tablet before the iPad came into existence. Now that the iPad is here, Notebook can really shine.

Notebook allows the user to take notes on a page in an outline format. Additionally, other electronic media can be incorporated onto the page. For example, an exhibit or pleading which exists in a PDF format can be dropped onto the page and either annotated/marked up using Notebooks annotation tools, or saved as a multipage PDF which will open for viewing. From a lawyer’s perspective, this allows building of a trial notebook, a notebook for oral arguments or hearings, or, a notebook containing all pertinent client/case matter information in one place. Ideally, the bulk of the heavy lifting would be done on a MacBook and then the individual Notebook would be synchronized to the iPad via iTunes.

Thus, while an amazing leap forward for lawyers generally, Circus Ponies Notebook still does have some limitations, quirks and bugs at this time. For example, the need to synchronize Notebooks via iTunes is a kludge.  Hopefully, the ability to synchronize via the ubiquitous Dropbox will come in a future release.

Additionally, synchronizing back and forth between iPad and Desktop Notebook resulted in all tabs on the MacBook side being changed to a solid black color. A few other quirks are that the spiral bound notebook paradigm as a graphical user interface can sometimes be difficult to understand if you are accustomed to working with the standard menu/icon paradigm of computers. Also, some of the display features such as the dual page display became stuck during testing, requiring a power down and restart of the iPad to clear the graphical display.

Some limitations also involve using Notebook while simultaneously using the iPad to present exhibits for a jury or bench trial. Right now, it does not appear that Notebook supports external displays. Accordingly, if during direct or cross-examination, the need arises to use the iPad to present a particular photo or PDF file, that file will need to be opened in another application such as iAnnotate, GoodReader or some other application. This has the downside of taking the lawyer away from the examination process, into another application to present the exhibit and away from the notes/examination outline. Hopefully, future versions will incorporate the ability to leverage an external display for exhibits, jpgs and the like.

Finally, Notebook seems at times a bit sluggish while running on the iPad. However, despite these initial small first-generation hiccups, Notebook by Circus Ponies is definitely worth the $29 and goes a long way toward filling a much-needed slot in any litigator’s toolkit.

DEVONthink To Go Review, DEVONthink Pro On Sale

The DEVONthink To Go app for iPad has been out for a while now.  The app ‘syncs’ a selected set of data from any DEVONthink database over to iPad.  After testing for a week or so now, the app is less than useful. The worst part: after adding some entries to the ‘sync’ folder, text data goes missing.  Even if the app weren’t corrupting some of the data, it is still not ready for prime time.  Notably, only a partial set of meta-data (labels, tags, keywords etc.) is usable on the iPad app.  For example, tags will sync from the desktop DEVONthink but are not editable on the iPad app. Further, the iPad app does not allow adding tags. In short, DEVONthink To Go is at best a work in progress and the recommendation is to wait before purchase.

On the other hand DEVONthink Pro desktop still remains a very powerful tool and, right now, is a huge bargain at 50% off at MacUpdate. If you haven’t bought a copy, $39.98 is a really good opportunity.

DEVONthink To Go

A new update for DEVONthink Pro just released with…. support for syncing to an iPad or iPhone. The new product DEVONthink To Go uses a wireless sync function, allowing you to selectively pick which parts of any particular database get moved to your iPad/iPhone. It also appears that data can be brought back from the iPad to the main database on your Mac. This really does change everything. Work up your case analysis (as posted here) and then take the necessary parts (or all of it) with you to the deposition, hearing or meeting. The app for iPad/iPhone has not yet hit the app store, but should be coming soon and will cost $14.99, a paltry fee for the ability to take your case analysis data on the go.

DockView Shows App Thumbnails

Jealous of Windows 7’s ‘thumbnails’ that show up when the mouse hovers over an app on the task bar? DockView offers the same functionality, and more, for Mac OS X.  This great little app is only $7.99 and is free to try out with no limitations except an annoying and occasional ‘buy me’ window. The app plays nice with OSX’s Spaces so long as you switch to each Space and activate the app in that Space at least once.  So, if you have Preview PDFs open across three different Spaces, you can switch to them via the Dock thumbnail.  Additionally, when using Command-Tab, DockView also provides the pop-up thumbnail allowing quick switching for apps and windows. Finally, and better than Windows 7’s thumbnails, you can:

(1) alter the height and width of the pop ups; and, (2) pause, play and skip in the iTunes thumbnail. Genius and well worth the $7.99.

Distractions and Correcting Focus

The internet, according to some, is destroying our ability to maintain focus.  Of course, our ability to maintain focus plays a key role in our work as lawyers. Reading a ten page memorandum dense with argument, analysis, complex factual patterns and case citation requires a good deal of focus. But, it may also require accessing the internet. Hence, the dilemma. So, here is a solution. Pomodoro Technique + Concentrate Software = Focusing.

The Problem

The New York Times is running a series “Your Brain On Computers.” The problem, for lawyers who need to focus, comes down to this:

Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.

In sum, and contrary to most critics, lawyers are mammals and ‘ooh, look, shiny’ still applies. The Times article is a great read and a highly recommended to anyone who thinks they don’t have this focus problem.

Pomodoro

Pomodoro Technique ™creates a limited time where you focus on a single task. Knowing that this will be the time during which you focus, you key yourself to that task. For 25 minutes, you focus on nothing but the task at hand. At the end of 25 minutes, you take a five minute break. During that five minute break, get up, stretch, get a cup of coffee, check your email return a phone call. But get back to it after 5 minutes for another Pomodoro.  Lather, rinse, repeat and create a hash mark on a piece of paper for each Pomodoro you complete.

Pomodoro, for you billable types, tailors nicely with the 2/10 (or even 1/10?) billable. Complete a Pomodoro, and you’ve finished up 4/10 of a billable hour. For you contingency types, Pomodoro can stop you from running wild with research and work on a case… there truly is no end to the amount of time you can spend on a single case.

Concentrate

Now, bring a little muscle to bear. Pomodoro technique relies on a kitchen timer with a ‘ding’ to let you know when to break. Concentrate, is a handy piece of customizable software that blocks whatever you want to keep you from being bothered. It will shut off your IM, your email client and, if you tell it do so, will block designated web sites or even all access to the internet. And, it will do this for a set period of time so that you can’t sneek back, just to check and see how much more oil has spilled on that live video feed.

Maclitigator recommends three different Pomodoro ‘types’ in Concentrate. All three shut down mail apps, set chat status to ‘away’ and play a ding at the end of 25minutes. First up, PomoGoogleOK. This Concentrate pattern blocks most distraction domains (you can add whatever you want) such as flickr, groups.google.com, metafilter, facebook, twitter, video sites and mail.google.com. This Pomo allows you to search and research as needed on the broad internet without getting sucked into any of the typical distractions.

PomoNoWeb does exactly what it says… no internet access at all.

Finally, PomoWestlawOnly does just that as well. All internet access except Westlaw gets blocked. Concentrate is $29 and well worth it.

One Last Step

Find the DND (“Do Not Disturb”) button on your desk phone. Push it when you start the Pomo. Find the sleep button on your cel phone. Push that button too. Find the door to your office. Close that. If necessary, tell your staff what you are doing and that you will be available later at a set time.

The Payoff

Two things occur when using this technique. First, at the ‘ding,’ you will probably find yourself startled or feel a bit interrupted, as if you were just getting into the zone. That’s o.k. Take the break. You’ll be eager to pick up where you left off and you might even gain some additional insight while walking around.

Second, if you do this regularly, you’ll begin to notice a flow. Working Pomodoro for a few days ends up creating the habit of working in 25 minute bursts and a certain ebb and flow will develop that carries over even when not formally running the clock.

iPad & OSX Apps for Appeals

Working with the iPad at oral argument before an appellate court, trial court or other hearing cuts down on killing trees while keeping all information at your fingers. Rather than print out reams of pleadings and argument outlines, the iPad can display all the information you need, but it takes a bit of work to ditch the three ring binder.  Here are the apps, both iPad and Mac OS X, that will get you there.

OmniOutliner/Circus Ponies Notebook

Drafting argument outlines in a dedicated outliner works far better than the 1998 method of turning on outlining mode in Word. Both OmniOutliner and Circus Ponies Notebook (CPN) provide not only excellent outlining tools, but the ability to ‘attach’ your pleadings, exhibits, deposition transcripts etc. directly within the outline as a PDF file. For purposes of getting an outline onto the iPad, CPN provides the better approach until OmniGroup releases OmniFocus for iPad sometime this summer.

Circus Ponies is much deeper than a simple outliner.  Hyperlinks can jump across the entire notebook to cross reference other related items on different pages. Additionally, CPN provides a robust indexing of the entire notebook and advanced sorting and flagging features. Finally, and crucial to getting all this info onto your iPad. CPN offers two key export methods. First, the entire notebook can be exported to PDF with both page numbers and chapter-page numbers.  Second, the entire notebook, PDF attachments included can be exported as a website. That means that CPN will export your notebook as a fully hyperlinked document with PDF images, functioning expand/collapse arrows on the outline and any tabs added to the side as a self sufficient website.  From CPN choose File>Export as a Website>To Disk.  It’s easiest to do this if you create a ‘temp’ folder on your desktop and save the file there.  CPN kicks out an index.html file and a few folders.  Double click the index.html folder and you’ll open the notebook in Safari/Firefox.  Getting that notebook-as-website on your iPad and functioning is the next step.

Air Sharing HD

Air Sharing HD is the most direct method and highly recommended independent of this exercise.  Air Sharing HD creates a network connected hard drive accessible from your Mac.  Following theinstructions for the software gets you a mounted hard drive on the iPad where you can then drag and drop documents and folders through Finder.  Take the ‘temp’ folder from your desktop containing your Notebook as website and drag it to the iPad mounted hard drive. Next, from within Air Sharing HD, open that temp folder and tap on ‘index.html’ and your complete notebook opens. Tapping on any of the links, tabs or pages works just like a click.  Additionally, you get any PDFs saved inside the outline and, tapping on those PDFs opens them in full screen mode. Hit the ‘back’ button and your back to your outline.

A Second Method: iAnnotate PDF Approach

Another approach uses strictly PDFs. After composing an outline, print the file as a PDF. Then using iAnnotate, ‘import’ those documents. iAnnotate has a ‘server’ application that resides on your Mac. Designate a folder, and iAnnotate will upload all PDFs contained in that folder. This allows you to load not only your argument outline, but also related pleadings and documents. Most importantly, iAnnotate provides a tabbed interface, allowing you to switch back and forth between documents quickly. It is especially helpful that iAnnotate allows searching within a PDF if the document has been OCR’d. In testing, iAnnotate handled a 422 page record on appeal, two 40 page appellate briefs, the argument outline and a few pages of Utah Code Annotated with no problems. By contrast, using Air Sharing HD with CPN, opening the 422 page record on appeal as a PDF was noticeably laggy and slow, although it handled shorter documents just fine. Tablet Legal recently covered iAnnotate’s features in detail.

Both approaches are a bit of a kludge in terms of loading the iPad. Still, it remains much easier and more environmentally friendly than the old three ring binder approach.

Dragon Dictation for the iPhone

“Finally, dictation software you might actually find useful. Nuance the makers of dragon dictation, released an iPhone application today. Unlike Mac speech,iTunesthere’s no training required and the dictation software work works remarkably well. In fact, this entire blog entry was dictated using DragonDictate for the iPhone . Dragons the iPhone is free for the taking from the app store.”

The above was dictated using Dragon and is presented unaltered from the original. You’ll notice the error with the period at the second to last sentence and the last sentence itself should read “Dragon for the the iPhone is …”

The error from the period arises because the app can only handle a limited amount of dictation before it stops dictating, then you must start dictating again. Still, a pretty useful little app to have around. It lets you cut n past from app into SMS, email etc which can make it very handy for responding to emails and SMS without needing to type. For longer dictation projects, probably not all that useful.

Snow Leopard Compatibility Checker

A downloadable and free piece of software will help you determine whether or not Snow Leopard cripples your favorite piece of software or, more accurately, whether the developer of your favorite piece of software totally ignored the inevitable and has left you high n’ dry… I’m looking at you Fujitsu Scansnap (limited functionality under Snow Leopard) and Vonage Companion (completely borked).

Snowchecker via Lifehacker.

PersonalBrain Screencast

PersonalBrain offers some really nice features which may be of interest to lawyers. Years ago I tried to use this software in lieu of Casemap, while still working in the Windows environment.  Originally called ‘The Brain’ it had a lot of flash, but was thin on substance.  Since that time, upgrades and improvements have come a long way…. tagging, attachments etc. Here’s a screencast showing PersonalBrain in action with some legal research originally collected and kept in the now defunct Journler. Apologies for the crappy YouTube resolution. FWIW, click on the ‘fullscreen’ & ‘HD’ buttons, bottom right, for best viewing.

Three things not mentioned in the screencast. First, the software is cross-platform and can be used on both Windows and Mac provided you have licenses for both. Second, because the software is cross-platform and because it has been around for quite some time, it is likely that it will continue to be around for some time. Finally, the software has a great export feature which allows you to export the entire ‘Brain’ as a self-sufficient webpage. I haven’t tried this out yet, but the possibilities of being able to share a brain with an expert and/or client are tantalizing.

Google Voice Widget

Somebody (Apple? AT&T? a conspiracy?) may have killed the Google Voice iPhone Apps, but there is a new widget out that allows you to dial using Google Voice from your Dashboard, GV Connectgvc_call. A huge plus to dialing using your GV number is that people will use it to call you back when looking at their caller I.D.  However, dialing from that number is cumbersome, requiring you to log in to your google account, go to the GV web page, and then dial out. GV Connect does all this, right from your dashboard, lets you choose which of your registered phones the call will connect with and, perhaps most importantly, integrates with your OS X address book. Oh, and you can also SMS directly from the widget. While this doesn’t take the bitter out of your mouth at the loss of an iPhone app for GV, it’s at least a little sugar to make it more bearable.

Another widget added to the collection, replacing the previous time zone clock set up, is iSlayer’s Organized.  This hand widget gives you clocks, calendar, todo and a place to jot down your notes.

organized-sml