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Earlier this week, I was talking with an attorney from California about the ever increasing number of lawyers who are using the iPad. He commented that he was hearing them say, "Hey, the OS is so easy to use on the iPad, why don’t we consider using Macs in our law practices." I told him that I predicted from its release that the iPad would be the "gateway drug" for a whole new wave of Mac converts.
Computerworld published an article earlier this week that verifies my prediction. Consider the following quotes/facts from that article:
- Chicago-based law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal allows the firm’s lawyers to use iPads, and up to 100 of the 800 attorneys around the globe are already doing so — at their own expense.
- "The iPad has real value for attorneys servicing our clients, of being able to access corporate data and document libraries immediately and [doing so] a lot quicker than on a laptop," said Michael Barnas, the firm’s director of application services. "They take iPads and iPhones everywhere."
- The firm’s IT professionals have OK’d the iPad’s security and manageability and can provide limited support to a road warrior having problems logging in, authenticating or using Citrix Receiver.
- [W]ith the second version [of the iPhone], it was possible for IT to design and install security certifications for a second layer of password authentication, and it was possible to do remote wipes of data on iPhones that were stolen or lost. The iPhone 3GS allowed the firm to add Citrix Receiver for another level of security.
Source: "iPad lures business users" by Matt Hamblen, published in Computerworld.
Combine the iPad with upcoming MS Office 2011, and the gateway drug analogy may be complete. As I’ve reported here previously, I retreated from the MacBok because of the need for full feature Outlook support, and Windows in VM type software was not the answer for me.
I am now awaiting the rollout of 2011, while increasingly integrating the iPad into my practice. In fact, the addition of DocsToGo, Goodreader, FileBrowser, Dropbox, and Note Taker HD have enabled me to swear off all netbooks, and leave my HP 2730p at the office. In fact, the latest software addition, Logmein Pro, has replicated my desktop on the little iPad and created a full fledged out of office experience. I can foresee vacations and long weekends without the laptop in tow. Come to think of it, I don’t even carry the notebook around the office anymore – as I get better with Note Taker HD, the yellow pad stays behind as well.
Perhaps Apple should have christened the iPad the “Chameleon” for its ability to take on any personality. That is the real key here – as other reviewers have noted – the iPad “gets out of the way” so you no longer feel like you are “computing” but you are “working”; “reading”; “painting”; “surfing” or whatever.
I love using the iPad in my practice. It has made me rethink my whole office tech plan.
I will be publishing a review of TrialPad and Evidence (trial presentation apps for iPad) this next week, and will follow up with a review of iJuror and JuryTracker (iPad Apps for jury selection and montitoring.
http://trial-technology.blogspot.com/2010/12/ipad-apps-for-trial-presentation.html
I will post updates on the blawg and via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/litigationtech