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Category Archives: Hardware

Special Offer for The Mac Lawyer’s Readers on External Battery for iPhone / iPod

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, iPhone, Product Reviews, Special Offers
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A few months ago, I posted a review about the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone external battery.  Richard Thalheimer, the owner of Richard Solo, has authorized a special offer for The Mac Lawyer‘s readers. This external battery, which originally sold for $69.95, is now available for only $5.98 each (and only $5.09 each if you buy two or more) for shipments within the U.S. only.
 
These are new in box and *not* refurbished, and they come with all of the included accessories: Dual voltage 110-240V AC wall charger, USB/mini-USB retractable charge cable, Dual port USB car charger, and support braces for iPhone, iPhone 3G/3GS, and iPhone 4. I have used one of these myself for years, and it is great.
 
To receive the special "The Mac Lawyer" discount, use the discount code fireworks in the coupon code box during checkout.  You can click here to go to the product page to get more information or to place your order.  Remember that this offer ends at midnight July 31st 2011, and is only valid while supplies last.  Thanks again to Mr. Thalheimer for making such great products and also for offering this discount to my readers.

Special Offer on External Battery for iPhone / iPod

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, iPhone, Product Reviews, Special Offers
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Richard Solo makes many outstanding products, and I am a big fan of their company in many respects.  Its owner, Richard Thalheimer, emailed me earlier this week and extended a special offer for my readers.  Until March 31, 2011, you can purchase the RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone external battery for only $19.95.

This outstanding battery provides 1800 mAh of capacity, which is more than enough to completely charge your iPhone, and still have reserve power left over.  It also comes with a car charger (with dual USB port) , a home USB wall charger, and also a built in laser light and flashlight.  This battery works perfectly with all iPhones (2G/3G/3GS/4) and iPods (except for iPod shuffle).

To receive the special "Mac Lawyer" discount, use the discount code "March19" at checkout, and your price will be adjusted to $19.95 in your shopping cart.  You can click here to go to the product page to get more information or to place your order.  Remember that this offer ends at midnight March 31st 2011, and is only valid while supplies last.  I have had one of these batteries for quite some time, and I love it.  I know you will too.

PC World’s “Reliability and Service Survey” Finds Apple Best in Quality

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, Mac vs. PC, Product Reviews 1 Comment
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Earlier this week, PC World released the results of its annual "Reliability and Service Survey", which interviews customers and asks them about the tech products they use, how reliable those products are, and the quality of the services associated with those products.  After interviewing over 79,000 people, PC World concluded that Apple was the best tech firm in terms of quality.

Some of the interesting quotes from this article are:

  • Apple once again smoked the competition in the desktop, notebook, and smartphone categories, winning high praise from customers in all reliability and service categories. The Macintosh and iPhone maker did so well that virtually all its scores were above average.
  • In addition to unveiling the iPad, a touchscreen tablet that launched a new genre of mobile computing devices, Apple enjoyed record sales and profits. And now it’s won the trifecta by smoking the competition in our reader poll.
  • IDC computer analyst Bob O’Donnell attributes Apple’s popularity to the company’s stylish, well-made computers and its easy-to-use operating system. "It’s a combination of having high-quality hardware–you pay a premium for it–and a software experience that’s more straightforward," he says. "And if you have fewer questions, you typically have fewer problems."
  • Apple is very good at offering extras too. "You have things like the Genius Bar at all the Apple stores. People literally walk in with their systems, and the [support] guy sits there and says, ‘Oh, yeah, you’ve got to do this, this, and this,’" O’Donnell adds. "It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling: ‘They’re taking care of me.’ Nobody has anything close to that on the PC side."

You can read much more about the results of PC World’s survey by clicking here.

Sources:  "Survey: Apple ‘Smokes the Competition’ in Quality, Reliability" by Jason Mick, published at Daily Tech, and "The Tech Brands You Can Trust" by Jeff Bertolucci, published at PCWorld.

Guest Post :: Implementing the Updated MacBook Air

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, Product Reviews, Switching to Macs 4 Comments
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The following Guest Post is from one of my readers, John Millard, an attorney in Texas, in which he explains how he implemented his new MacBook Air into his practice: 

MacBook Air and TrialSmart

I bought my new 13′ MacBook Air three weeks ago at a local Apple Store. I opted for the higher end 2.13 GHz processor and 4GB of memory. I also purchased trial presentation software called TrialSmart made by Clarity Legal Software.  In order to display in high definition, I picked up a DVI connector and long HDMI cable. 

Out of the box, everything worked perfectly. In no time at all, I was able to load exhibits (mostly pdf’s) into the software and present them on our HD display.  TrialSmart is simple to learn, and it’s incredibly easy to mark-up and call out portions of exhibits on the fly. 

I had Clarity Legal synchronize a video deposition to its transcript, which they returned in less than a day at minimal cost. I simply put the transcript (.ptx) and video (.mpg) into the public folder of my Dropbox, and Clarity synched everything up and emailed back a synch file to load into TrialSmart. 

Once the synchronized transcript was loaded into TrialSmart, I was able to easily create video clips for impeachment use and strings of clips for a video deposition offer.  When a video clip is called up for presentation, the screen shows the witness testifying with the synced transcript scrolling directly beneath the witness. I have to tell you, the MacBook Air and TrialSmart combo works very well.  

Putting it to the test

I had a chance to try the new system out last week in mediation. Using my trusty Rubbermaid utility cart, I was able to haul a 40” monitor, case file and backpack containing the MacBook Air and cables to the mediator’s office. Setup was super easy, consisting of connecting a mini display adapter to an HDMI cable and then plugging it into the monitor positioned at the end of a conference table. The MBA immediately recognized the monitor as a secondary display.

During mediation, I was able to seamlessly switch between Keynote and TrialSmart. With a few clicks of the magic mouse, I presented and marked-up emails and medical records while making points during the opening session. The ability to zoom in within a document and underline text using TrialSmart’s annotation tools was especially effective. 

I didn’t have a chance to use video clips at mediation, but intend to do so next week when presenting testimony at a hearing. I’ve practiced playing back impeachment clips enough now that I feel comfortable in my ability to pull up and present video excerpts. Because creating new video clips is as easy as highlighting text on the transcript, I’ll be able to create impeachment clips on the fly. This setup is so simple, I’m confident I’ll have no problem operating everything by myself while examining witnesses.

Conclusion

We use PC’s in the office, but have considered going all Mac when it’s time to replace our existing system. For now, the purchase of the MacBook Air is a great start toward the goal of switching to an all Mac office. 

The MBA is particularly well suited for trial and mediation presentation, so even in an all PC office, this laptop would be an excellent addition to your trial arsenal. Because I’ve found TrialSmart to be easy to learn and dead simple to operate, I’m confident I can use this setup by myself during mediation or while questioning witnesses at trial. It was easy to immediately put the MBA to work in my practice in an effective and practical way. So far, I really love this laptop.

John Millard
Law Office of John Millard, PC
One Sugar Creek Center Blvd, Ste 925
Sugar Land, TX 77478
www.millard-law.com
john@millard-law.com

Handling wrongful death, serious personal injury, auto and trucking accidents, divorce, custody and general civil litigation in the Houston and Sugar Land, Texas region. John Millard is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Guest Post :: Initial Impressions of the Updated MacBook Air

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, Switching to Macs
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The following Guest Post is from one of my readers, John Millard, an attorney in Texas, in which he explains his impressions of the new MacBook Air:

A little bit about myself

I’m a solo lawyer handling mostly divorce, custody and car wreck cases.  I need the ability to quickly and easily present exhibits and video clips on a court projector or our 40” HD flat panel monitor. I’ve tried Windows trial presentation software before, but it was so complicated, I had zero confidence I’d ever be able to operate it by myself. 

I’m in court a lot and rarely have the luxury of an assistant.  Typically, it’s just me and a client, so I require a system that’s both portable and simple to use.  When the revamped MacBook Air debuted this month, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on a new system. 

Impressions about the MacBook Air

My initial impression and thoughts about the MacBook Air are:

  1. It is very fast (I suppose due to the flash hard drive). I was initially concerned about power due to complaints I’d read about the original Airs, but so far I’m impressed with the speed. Startup literally takes seconds and programs open instantaneously;
  2. I haven’t processed video yet, but playing back synchronized video deposition transcripts works beautifully. Playback is immediate with excellent video quality;
  3. The MBA is one great looking laptop, that’s for sure. It’s incredibly light and compact.  It’s perfectly sized for a counsel table;
  4. The MacBook Air is a bit slippery to handle, so caution needs to be exercised if walking around with it. Even though it has an aluminum case, if it were dropped it would likely sustain serious damage (but I guess that’s true of most laptops). I bought a sleeve to give my MBA extra protection while carrying it in my backpack.
  5. The screen has excellent resolution and brightness, but my aging eyes really appreciate how easily you can zoom in the screen by using gestures; 
  6. Battery life is good, but from my very unscientific observation, I haven’t achieved the 7 hour life that’s been advertised (around 5 for me). However, the battery life is much better than on other laptops I’ve owned, and it’s more than adequate for my needs;
  7. The track pad is great. It only took 15 minutes to get used to it and to master gesture commands. Once you’ve used gestures, you’ll wonder how you lived without them. I bought a magic mouse, but I haven’t used it very much. The keyboard is wonderful, although back-lighting would be nice for low light conditions;
  8. I bought the MBA for the specific purpose of trial and mediation presentation.  For that limited purpose, it works exceptionally well. However, I’ve really enjoyed using it around the house (specifically, in bed) for general web surfing and working at home. I really like the iWork package. In fact, I typed up this post using Pages, which is an excellent word processor. 

Later this week, I will explain in a separate post how quickly I was able to implement the MacBook Air into my practice using TrialSmart made by Clarity Legal Software.  Stay tuned…

John Millard
Law Office of John Millard, PC
One Sugar Creek Center Blvd, Ste 925
Sugar Land, TX 77478
www.millard-law.com
john@millard-law.com

Handling wrongful death, serious personal injury, auto and trucking accidents, divorce, custody and general civil litigation in the Houston and Sugar Land, Texas region. John Millard is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

10 Reasons to Buy the New MacBook Air

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware 2 Comments
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Hot on the heels of the stunning iPad comes the new MacBook Air – needless to say, it’s generating a positive buzz in the laptop and netbook market. Apple has outdone itself this time; not so often do you see so much packed into such a tiny and sleek package. So if you’re looking for reasons to bring the new MacBook Air home, here they are:

  1. It’s the lightest notebook ever built – at 2.3 pounds for the 11 inch model and 2.8 pounds for the 13 inch version, no wonder it’s been named Air. 
  2. It’s also pretty darn thin – I doubt anyone could have even imagined a notebook that’s only 0.68 inch thick. 
  3. It has flash storage, 256 GB of it (starts from 64 GB); so you don’t have to worry about hard disk crashes or slow boot times. The MacBook Air is not just as light as air, it’s also as fast as the wind. 
  4. You can now own an Apple notebook for under $1,000 – the smaller version retails at $999 and is a pretty good buy for a netbook. Even the pricier models are not expensive when you consider that they’re from Apple; in fact, they’re cheaper than most other notebooks in the same category, and yet lighter and thinner with longer battery life. So with the MacBook Air, you’re sure to get bang for your buck. 
  5. The battery life is incredible – a standby time of 30 whole days, and 5 hours of usage time for the 11.6 inch version and 7 hours for its 13.3 inch counterpart. 
  6. Double your memory size at purchase for just $100 – this option holds good for both models. 
  7. With the App store for Macs being announced, the MacBook Air allows you to install programs from the store and outside of it – in short, you don’t have to worry if applications have been approved by Apple to install them on your new notebook. 
  8. The multi-touch track pad has no buttons, so you can click anywhere on the pad and use your fingers to move windows around on your screen. 
  9. The new design looks absolutely amazing; if looks could kill, this one would. 
  10. It’s the latest and greatest thing from Apple.

So if you’ve been sulking all these days because you haven’t been able to buy the iPad, the MacBook Air more than makes up for any disappointment you may have felt. It’s as sexy as the iPad, and packs in a whole lot more. The only choice you need to make is if you want the 11.6 inch or the 13.3 inch model – but then again, you tend to wish you could take home both. 

This guest post is contributed by Mark Macaluso, he writes on the topic of Masters in Accounting . He welcomes your comments at his email: mark.macaluso985@gmail.com.

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part Three)

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology 5 Comments
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In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment forBen Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

Part 3: The iPad Book: The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane

A big thanks is in order to Dennis Lehane, who wrote one of the best and most compelling novels I’ve read in years, if not ever. The Given Day is a book so gripping and phenomenal, I was able to read it on an iPad without succumbing to sweet Internet temptations lurking just beyond the home button on the gorgeous device.

Pros: While the iPad does not leverage E-ink, a tough blow in my opinion as far as e-readers are concerned, it does have a high-resolution backlit screen which enables you to read it in dark places (i.e. while someone is asleep next to you) without a Snuggie® booklight or similar device. I combatted LCD screen eye strain by dimming its brightness and changing the font to a muted sepia-tone color, which Apple does a great job of facilitating.

The iPad reference tools are terrific: tapping a word looks it up in the dictionary, a huge improvement over the Kindle’s medieval cursor device. If Apple supported multiple language dictionaries (only Japanese and English are currently available), it would be a great teaching aid for foreign language study. Flipping through pages is elegant and quick. Much appreciated Apple-style flourishes like 3D page turning is a significant improvement over Next and Previous buttons on a Kindle.

Cons: Forget about reading on your iPad outside unless you carry a tent with you everywhere you go. The glare from the sun and reflective objects makes reading on an iPad an uncomfortable endeavor in bright light. The LCD screen does not feel like a book at all, unlike E-ink. The iPad is also much heavier than the Kindle 2, making it a challenge to read in bed. As you adjust your reading position, the screen rotates around like a whirling dervish, making reading on your side rather tricky. This flipping back and forth is eliminated by a tiny screen lock button, which took me a month to figure out.

If, like me, you struggle to focus on a single task and do not have an incredible book to read like The Given Day, good luck trying to read it on an iPad. You’ll instead find yourself enjoying any one of the amazing capabilities the device offers.

Finally, In Order of Preference

The clear take-home message to me from this overly-prolonged experiment in 21st century reading is that different book technologies serve very different purposes. All things being equal, my top choice is a paper book in my hands as long as the font is a comfortable size (anyone who’s picked up a copy of Atlas Shrugged recently understands my pain). The ability to leaf through pages, scribble in margins with an actual pencil, and dog-ear pages still trounce their simulated equivalents in e-readers.

After a book, I’d choose the Kindle. It’s lightweight, works in any lighting condition, and doesn’t have all the distractions the Internet brings to the table. It’s a dedicated reading device, and though it’s a little clumsy in places, it does its job exceedingly well.

Then there’s the iPad. It was a worthy contestent in a noble contest, and I wouldn’t live without mine. However, when it comes to evaluating the product strictly for reading, I don’t see myself reading another book on the iPad. You can’t take it outside, it’s heavier than the other reading technologies (though perhaps lighter than the hardcover edition of Atlas Shrugged), and uses an LCD screen instead of E-ink. Moreover, everything that makes the iPad an phenomenal media and Internet consumption device work against it when you require the deep concentration necessary for books.

But that’s just my take. We’re lucky to live in a world with such options, with three remarkable technologies.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA’s Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

 

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part Two)

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology 3 Comments
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In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment forBen Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

Part 2 of 3: Failure and Redemption with an iPad and a Kindle.

In Part 1 of this series, I announced my intention to test all three reading technologies via Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori trilogy. I read the first volume as a paper-based library book, but I apologize in advance to Mr. Hearn. I just couldn’t get through the second book in the series, Grass For His Pillow, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it doesn’t have to do with his prose.

The iPad contains two great book-reading apps, iBooks from Apple and Kindle from Amazon. Unfortunately, the iPad also contains a zillion other apps that tug at your attention, including access to practically all of the information ever recorded by civilized man, email, news, streaming Netflix movies, and every social network imaginable.

If you’re like me, which is a stone’s throw away from an official ADD diagnosis, it may be difficult to finish book on an iPad unless it’s completely engrossing. The device is just so dang incredible. I finally found such a book, so stay tuned to Part 3 to find out the killer read which helped me overcome the allure of iPad amazingness. In the meantime, I switched back, bewildered and dispirited, to the Kindle.

The Kindle Book: Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life, by Steve Martin

If you like Steve Martin, appreciate the art of stand-up comedy, or ever wondered what it feels like to get very, very famous quickly, Born Standing Up is a book you should put on your list. I read the majority of it on my Kindle 2 and a small amount on my iPhone 3G.

Pros: The Kindle was my first electronic book reader, and for a technophile like myself it will forever occupy a special place in my heart, as do other fondly-recalled first-time experiences. Compared to an iPad or a book, the Kindle is much lighter at 10.2 ounces. Book shopping and delivery is quick and effortless, because in reality the Kindle is a portable spigot through which you pour dollars into Amazon. For example, I decided to purchase Mr. Martin’s book at an airport minutes from boarding my flight. Twelve dollars and sixty seconds later, the book arrived and so I could read it on the flight.

The Kindle screen, leveraging a proprietary technology known as E-ink, does not have a refresh-rate associated with LCD screens, which makes it easier on the eyes by eliminating strain and reducing glare. I happen to be partial to devices that do one thing really well as opposed to a device that performs multiple functions fairly well. The Kindle is definitely in the former category: aside from serving as a terrific reading device, the only other thing it excels at is sucking money from your pocket and sending it to Amazon. And you have to see the battery charge to believe it. I picked mine up after a month of idleness and it was still on.

An aside about e-readers in general, including both the Kindle and iPad…

E-readers are great traveling companions. I like to read different kinds of books depending on my current whimsy, and with an e-reader, I can keep a biography, spy thriller, historical fiction, and business book with me at all times without my carry-on weighing 100 pounds. I can also increase the font size for easier readability, critical as I head towards forty. I’ve noticed e-reader adoption among the elderly, incidentally, in my heavily retiree-laden town of Boca Raton, FL.

Because of the mobile Kindle and iBook apps, and the mechanism Amazon and Apple use to maintain your bookmarks, you can always be with your book. For example, I read my book at night on my e-reader and the following morning use the corresponding iPhone app to flick through some more pages at the exact place I left off the night before while, say, waiting in line for coffee. At night, I pick up exactly where I left off at Starbucks on my e-reader. Now that’s cool, although, my inner civil-libertarian bristles at the thought that Amazon and Apple now know exactly what I’m reading, when, and where.

…Back to the Kindle…

Cons: The biggest con I see with the Kindle or other book readers is the following conversation:

Husband: This book I’m reading is incredible! I can’t put it down.

Wife: Wow. I can’t wait to read it. Can I have it when you’re done?

Husband: Sorry, it’s on the Kindle. And I’m reading something else next.

Wife: That’s so typical. You’re always so damn selfish.

Some headway has been made into sharing books on e-readers, but any features are buried deep enough so that I haven’t stumbled across it. Another general strike against e-readers is their limited portability. I still feel uncomfortable taking a pricey e-reader to a beach or pool, since water and sand wreak havoc on electronic devices.

Compared to other modern electronic machines, the Kindle 2 feels glacially slow. At the risk of sounding like a plump, lazy cruise-ship passenger, moving the little cursor around is an arduous task. Page turns are inelegant: the entire text flashes black before it’s replaced by the next page. Flipping through pages to reread a passage is time consuming and laborious, especially compare to a paper book. The Kindle 2 very much feels like a first generation device.

In the next installment, I’ll return to the iPad. Perhaps I’ll fare better the second time around.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA’s Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

 

Guest Post :: How to Choose Between a Book, a Kindle, and an iPad (Part One)

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Guest Posts, Hardware, iPad, Technology 2 Comments
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Part 1 of 3: Adventures in Reading a Library Book.

Are you like me? Do you like to read books, travel a fair amount, and like to justify expenditures on technology in whatever pathetic, desperate way you can?

In April, when the iPad came out, I offered to conduct an experiment for Ben Stevens’ The Mac Lawyer blog. The plan: read a traditional book, a second on a Kindle, and a third on an iPad, then write about it. Over the past year I’d been used to reading primarily on my Kindle and the occasional tree-based book, and was interested in figuring out the new publishing terrain once and for all.

The Library Book: Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn.

My intention, initially, was to read three volumes of Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori trilogy on each of the three different technologies (yes, a book is a technology). If you think you’d like Shogun with a dash of 100 Years of Solitude sprinkled in, you’ll like Mr. Hearn’s books.

Pros: I paid nothing for Across the Nightingale Floor, since I borrowed it from the public library and importantly, returned it on time, which is something you shouldn’t take for granted. I took this book on a plane with me, and since it’s not electronic, I could actually do something without getting yelled at during takeoff and landing.

I enjoyed the volume’s delightful “library book smell” which I believe originates from a combination of binding glue, paper, card catalog stickers, and the librarians themselves. I could theoretically spill water or sand on the book and it would still function fine, though librarians typically frown upon such behavior. Moreover, after using an electronic device all day long, curling up with a paper, analog device was more refreshing than I recalled.

Cons: I finished the book shortly after my arrival, meaning I had to lug dead weight around on my trip. Since I was obligated to return it, I couldn’t just dump it in the hotel’s book rack. In addition, when you read a library book, there’s a little voice in the back of your head whispering bad thoughts. It tells you someone could possibly have been reading the very book in your hands in less-than-delicate locations. Unlike an e-book, a library book requires an extra piece of equipment (some folks call this a “bookmark”) to identify my last read page, which I seem to always misplace.

In the next installment, I’ll attempt to read a book on an iPad. And we’ll see how successful I am.

About the Author

Larry Port is the Founding Partner of Rocket Matter, the leading web-based legal practice management product. A speaker and award-winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession and cutting edge technology, Larry writes extensively for legal publications including Law Technology News, Law Practice Today, ILTA’s Peer to Peer, FindLaw, Chicago Lawyer, and others.

Steve Jobs Explains Apple’s Concerns About Flash

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Ben Stevens Posted in Hardware, Mac OS X, Software, Technology 2 Comments
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There has been a great deal of discussion and debate lately regarding the position that Apple has taken with regard to Adobe Flash.  Steve Jobs posted an article yesterday which clearly sets out the basis for Apple’s decision not to allow Flash on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

He listed the following six reasons as the basis for Apple’s position:

  1. "Open"  ::  While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system. Apple strongly believes that all standards pertaining to the web should be open, and rather than using Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. 
  2. “Full Web”  ::  Adobe’s claim that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash doesn’t consider that all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. For instance, YouTube has an estimated 40% of the web’s video, and it shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices. While Adobe’s claim that Apple devices cannot play Flash games ignores the fact that there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and that there are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.
  3. Reliability, Security and Performance :: Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. Flash is also the number one reason Macs crash, and these problems have persisted for several years despite Apple’s efforts to work with Adobe to fix them. Apple doesn’t want to reduce the reliability and security of its iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash. What’s more, Flash has not performed well on any mobile devices, regardless of manufacturer. 
  4. Battery Life :: To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware, as decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264. While Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software, which can cut battery life by 50% or more. When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. 
  5. Touch :: Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Because Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript? 
  6. Independence ::  Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices, but Apple believes that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. Apple does not want to be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make ots enhancements available to its developers. 

Source:  "Thoughts on Flash" by Steve Jobs, posted at Apple.com. 

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