GrandPerspective and Disk Inventory X are both programs that visually break down hard drive usage by file and folder.

GrandPerspective

You can customize the programs to color code different types of files, and also run custom scans of specific folders or partitions.

Disk Inventory X

The layout of the programs are a bit different, but functionally they are the same. Both allow you to see the path of each file/folder you click on.

Recently, I noticed I had “lost” almost 50 gigs of hard drive space in less than a week. Knowing I hadn’t installed or saved anything that large, I opened up Disk Inventory X to help me out. Come to find out, CrashPlan was freaking out and instead of incremental backups, it had switched to full back ups, every day. Without one of these programs, I could have wasted precious Moot Court prepping hours trying to find the cause. Instead, it took less than two minutes. And even if you don’t need to account for “missing” space, it’s just cool to get a visual snap shot of your hard drive.

Both programs are free so check ‘em out!

GrandPerspective

Disk Inventory X

While Yojimbo has served me well over the years, I recently started experimenting with Notational Velocity, a clever little app written by Zachary Schneirov. In a nutshell, Notational Velocity does less than Yojimbo, but it does it at lightspeed. While Yojimbo can store text, images, and PDFs, Notational Velocity sticks to text. But in NV, the search and text entry interfaces are combined.

Creating in Notational Velocity

Searching in Notational Velocity

It’s not easily explained with images; it’s better to see it in action yourself.

Notational Velocity synchs flawlessly with Simplenote (free), a stripped-down but effective note-taking app for the iPhone OS. Because Simplenote can also be accessed via web browser, the combination of Notational Velocity and Simplenote provides an always-synched, always-available solution.

While Webjimbo ($30) extends Yojimbo’s reach to iPhone OS and the Web, I haven’t tried it. While I have a handful of images and PDFs in my Yojimbo database, probably 99% of my entries are just text. Synchronizing big files takes time, and the pointed simplicity of NV’s text-only approach means that I never have to wait for a sync.

I haven’t switched completely to Notational Velocity, but its speed and clarity make it a pleasure to use.

• Cost less than $2,000
• Have sufficient power to handle daily applications
• Incorporate truly exceptional WiFi
• Use a 10″ – 12″ screen (so as to not get in the way in crowded classrooms)
• Ideally be light and thin
• Go for hours and hours on a battery charge
• Provide tablet capabilities (this was not a must-have)

In July, 2008 an Apple patent filing got me wondering if Apple was utilizing some sort of brain-scanning technology in their design process:

In fact, I’ve been wishing Apple would create some sort of lightweight hybrid cross between a Newton and a MacBook for years now. Perhaps Apple has been reading my mind?

Then in April of last year all the excitement around netbooks compelled me to opine that Apple would likely opt for a tablet device rather than a netbook. I figured Apple might build such a tablet around the tremendously successful iPhoneOS:

The real key to the success of a Mac tablet would lie in applications. Rather than scaling the Macintosh experience down to a small device, I wonder if Apple might instead scale up the iPhone/iPod touch experience to a tablet. Zillions of application developers have jumped into the iPhone/iPod touch market, hoping to strike gold. If Apple could give these developers the opportunity to easily adjust their iPhone/iPod touch apps for use with a new tablet, the chicken-and-egg problem of getting developers on board would be solved.

Tempted yet again, I wrote in July that an Apple tablet could be a wonderful device for law students:

A thin touchscreen tablet built around ubiquitous connectivity could be the perfect computing device for law students, particularly if Apple were to sell it for less than the price of a MacBook.

You can probably already guess that I think the iPad will be a game-changer. Of course I’m not alone in my Apple tablet obsession. Pretty much everyone in the computing world has an opinion about the iPad, whether positive or negative.

I’m curious about your opinions. Do you think an iPad would be a viable replacement for a MacBook in law school use? Would you buy an iPad for on-campus use and keep a laptop for home and the library? Are you excited by the concept but waiting for the next version of the iPad? Do you feel a touchscreen will just never work on your primary computing device? Is the “closed” nature of the App Store a problem for you? Do you see legal textbooks ever coming to the iPad?

Wave is a great collaboration tool that lends itself to the needs of law students. It allows realtime chat, document editing, map sharing, links, video chat, and even live sudoku matches. During finals last semester, a few section-mates and I started a Wave for each class to work through problems and talk through theories together.

The biggest current drawback, other than being in buggy beta, is the lack of notification when someone contributes to a Wave. However, there’s a third party fix. Hiroshi has created the Google Wave Notifier for Mac. It’s free and a snap to install.

If you’re using Wave, especially at school, I’d love to hear your feedback!