30GB iPod

By David A. Saraceno

David A. Saraceno is a practicing attorney and owner of Pixelcraft Studios,
a presentation graphics consulting firm in Spokane, Wash.

Attorneys might view Apple Computer Inc.’s newest iPod purely as an audio player for music. However, a novel look at this diminutive device reveals its varied uses, many of which are applicable to the practice of law. Apart from audio playback, the fifth-generation iPod, available in 30GB and 60GB versions for both Macintosh and PC platforms, can be used as a video viewer, voice recorder, photo viewer and more. I used the 30GB iPod and found I was able to play back and create video depositions. You are not limited to using the device’s 2.5-inch screen to view the video. The iPod can be hooked up to a presentation device, such as a projector or television, to view video.

The 30GB iPod has a 2.5-inch color screen, CD with Portable Document Format manuals, and a universal serial bus cable for charging the battery and syncing the device to the iTunes application, which works for both PC and Mac computers.

Law firms also can create and distribute podcasts for the video iPod. All you need to create a podcast is a microphone and an application to record the audio — these types of applications are included on most PC and Mac computers. Audio podcasts can include marketing information about the firm and its members, information on firm specialties or basic information about a variety of legal topics.

However, the real utility of the new iPod is in two areas: video presentations and the use of slide-based presentations. To create a slide-based presentation, photographs from your computer can be transferred to the video iPod and shown to an audience using presentation devices such as a projector or television. Connect Apple’s audio-visual cable to the presentation device and use the iPod to select which presentation or photographic slide show you want to show.

With iPresent It from Zapptek, an attorney can convert existing Microsoft PowerPoint, PDF and Keynote presentations into slide shows and download the files to the iPod. Some interactivity is lost, however, because the application only converts each slide into a separate image. This means the transitions and animations are not included. However, iPresent It cleverly automates the process with an interface that only requires you to drop the Keynote or PowerPoint file onto the application icon.

Attorneys can use the iPod to create portable, full-screen video that is presented using a 4.8-ounce battery-powered device. Basically, any video that resides on your computer or can be captured on your computer can be resized, compressed and imported for use on the iPod. For Macintosh law offices, the software bundled with your Mac computer simplifies the process.

To create a movie on the iPod, make an Apple QuickTime file using iMovie, and then export it directly from the iMovie interface to an iPod-compatible format. Select the “Share to iPod” command in iMovie, and the software automates the process of creating an iPod movie. The movie then automatically launches iTunes, imports the movie and downloads it to your connected video iPod. Quality for full-screen output to a television or projector is approximately the same as a VHS tape.

Content that can be included for video on an iPod runs the full gamut of law office relevancy. Video depositions, firm marketing, surveillance, settlement, training and educational videos all are applicable uses. DVD videos can be converted for display on the video iPod using either free or shareware-priced software programs available on the Internet. The encode process is slow, but the trade-off is the portability of the device and its applications.

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