HerringLaw: Civil Rights & Discrimination Law in Iowa

OverDrive: Library-oriented app for the iPad & iPhone

I’m a card-carrying member of my public library and recently found that using Adobe’s OverDrive on my iPad allows me to download both audio files and pubs to read or listen to on the iPad [and iPhone].  Ironically, no Flash is required!  OverDrive is a media console which you can download free at the iTunes App Store.  

You then go to to ‘Get Libraries’ and search for the library you want by name, city or zipcode.  You need to have a library card/membership (and have your number with you since it’s not saved & needs to be entered each time].  Once you do login with your library number, you are sent to the online link where you can download books to read/listen to over a set span of days [7 days in the case of something I selected].  You can add a book to a wish list, or place a hold on it and you’ll get an email alerting you to its availability with a window of two days to download.  But, the app also gives you access [as do many others] to free ebooks [most of which are through the Gutenberg Library project].  

OverDrive provides a way to view the epub or listen to it.  There certainly are a number of reading/listening apps out there, but this one is specifically linked into the downloadable content of the nation’s public libraries.

 

Using the 3G in the iPad WiFi + 3G

This is on my 'old' original iPad, but probably holds true for the iPad2 [which I don't have].

I finally had a chance to use my iPad's 3G! I have a 3G & WiFi iPad but haven't had the need for 3G since I tend to go places where there is WiFi...until we were driving across the country [I-80] from Des Moines to Boulder and, mainly on a whim [I did have my iPhone with me but wanted the screen real estate of the iPad and it was a good test of the usefulness of the 3G] I opened the iPad and turned on 3G [which you do in settings - turn on 3G and sign up and confirm the payment in the account]

I got the$15/250mb/30 day plan and started to do all the things one does online with the iPad= mail, Twitter, news feeds etc. I noticed that it was just like the iPhone in terms of connection = when there was no 3G the Edge network came on and I was able to do what it was I wanted to do.

It's a 10 hr drive [having the iPad helps with the flatness of Nebraska] but I didn't use it all the way thru the drive, just occasionally to check things.  I used up 49mb but have 200 left for the rest of the month.

 
I usually don't need 3G but it certainly is easy to get it and it works [almost] anywhere because of the Edge option.  Between all those McDonalds Restaurants [and Starbucks and a whole gob of other places with free wifi] and my 3G I'm certainly connected.

Legally-oriented apps for the iPad

There are quite a few apps specifically for the lawyer or litigator.  If you search online you'll find quite a few blogs or websites on the topic of apps for lawyers, office practice and in litigation or on appeal.  And some provide text of materials that are useful.  Many apps are for the iPhone/iPodTouch, but either also apply to the iPad or can be made to do so:

 

Constitution, Declaration [of Independence], Your Rights, Wierd Laws

Law Stack, LawBox, Law Dictionary

FastCase [for access to caselaw on the iPhone or iPad.

Media Consuming Apps on the iPad

There are many apps that are specifically directed to allowing people to consume media on their iPad. Television, radio and news media applications.  Most of these do require an ongoing connection to the Internet [hopefully via WiFi, as the 3G data plan might be exhausted quickly].  

CNN, MSNBC, BBCNews, HBO, ABCPlayer, CBSNews are excellent for known television channels.

LiveTV, Hulu and HuluPlus, iTV, YouTube, and others, are more generally useful for video watching.  Netflix is great for movies.

NPR, AOLRadio, Public Radio and many others provide radio access or access to the website of the station.

Cool - on the iPad you can take a picture of your screen

without a camera...the original iPad [which I have] works like the iPhone.  If you want to take a picture of your screen, just hit the power and the home buttons simultaneously and you'll hear what sounds like a camera shutter - you'll find the picture in the Photos app on the iPad.

It's helpful if you've opened a message or warning or dialog and want to remember what was in that note.

Reading Apps

I like to have my iPhone or iPad with me so that when there is downtime, I can enjoy some business or personal reading.  There are a bunch of apps that use visual media in addition to reading material, which are extremely enjoyable [Al Gore's new book, books by Vook, etc.]

Apps to download and read books and magazines:  Kindle, Zinio, Barnes and Noble eReader, Borders, iBooks [Apple's application which will hold both books and pdfs], Instapaper [save online reading for later].

Apps which are themselves to present paper or online magazines:  AARP Bulletin, HuffPost, The Economist

Apps which contain reference or classic materials for reading:  Holy Bible, Shakespeare, Homer.

[These are mostly apps that contain content on the device rather than always needing to go online to access the data]

Financial Applications for the iPad

 [Remember that there are apps specific to the iPhone/iPod Touch and also those which can be used on the iPad as well]

There are a plethora of applications to help keep track of and manage your finances:

Square - allows [with a little 'square' reader plugged into the iPHone or iPad] taking creditcards and keeping track of cash payments;  apparently Intuit also has a reader and app]

Dwolla - an application for making and receiving payments

Stock managers and Financial recordkeeping:  TDAmericade, iStockMngr, Mint.com, SmartyPig, among others

 

 

 

 

 

Applications for the iPad [and also the iPhone/iPodTouch]

There is a discussion going on on the listserve for MacLaw.org on whether the iPad is useful [“productive”] or merely a media consumer.  My response was that it’s a computer which can be what you want it to be, depending on what applications you will have.  Then thought it might be interesting [or helpful] to go through and note some types of applications on mine.  [Remember that there are apps specific to the iPhone/iPod Touch and also those which can be used on the iPad as well]  So, in sequential posts I’ll discuss them.

Utility Applications:  These applications are often already part of the iOS applications provided initially but some are new:

1Password-great creator of or access to all those passwords and user IDs we need to know.

AppBoxPro-great collection of all sorts of applications which are useful but you want to have in one place not twenty on your screen

Billings - timekeeping [in conjunction with the desktop program, Billings]

There are various other utility apps:  measure and unit conversion apps, scanning apps, remote controls, etc.

more to come. . . .

The Recipient, part II

3.  If you reply [as in Reply All]  to an email which has a bunch of emails in the TO or CC lines, all those persons will get copies, whether you want them to or not.  If you're sending something important to everyone, fine;  but if you're doing an RSVP, saying you can or cannot make a meeting, doing a comment on bad weather, bad food, making a comment to only the sender or one person, or whatever, is that what you want everyone to have?  Would  you want all that sort of stuff clogging up your email?

4.  Your email program has an internal system to remember email addresses, so you shouldn't have a problem sending emails to people individually.  If you don't know how it works, find out because it'll save you much time.  And it will be respectful of others who really don't need to be, or want to be, in on the conversation.

Again, the main thing to remember, Recipient or Sender alike, is to try to cut down on email traffic by using BCCs, Replying only to the Sender or whoever really should know of your comment, foregoing any response at all if not called for.  Be as respectful of others's time by curtailing unnecessary emails and then ask them to do the same.

The Recipient: They also have responsibilities for handling email

Once an email is sent, the person receiving it also has to understand why it was sent and how best to handle it.  Forwarding on may not be a good idea, a Reply to All might not, a response may not even be needed.  Again, we are all drowning in email and anything each one of us does to cut down the traffic is, really, much appreciated by the rest of us.  It's sort of like doing some small thing that really adds up to a larger thing.

1.  Some of what follows depends on what your email system is and how it is configured.  Even if you don't intend to Reply to All, some systems might have that as a default.  So, if you want to only reply to the sender and not everyone in the CC line too, you need to find out what your program's default is and either adjust it or be aware of it.

2.  Most programs/systems have the default as a Reply to the Sender only....but some do Reply All as the default - if that is true, you need to adapt so that your replies are to Sender only and not everyone.  [One way to do that might be to Forward the response to the Sender instead of just hitting Reply, it accomplishes the same thing.  A Forward = a Send TO.  As with every email, the question is why was it sent to you and why should you respond or forward at all?