Mac Law Students

Computer

In June, 2005 I purchased a 1.67 GHz 15″ PowerBook with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and a built-in SuperDrive for burning CDs and DVDs. I carry it around in an Empire Builder bag by Tom Bihn.

Periodically I backup the contents of my user directory onto a LaCie 160GB external drive, which I purchased in January, 2004. I’ve used a variety of external hard drives over the years, and in my experience LaCie drives are the most reliable of the bunch. You usually pay a bit more per GB for a LaCie, but since the point of backing up your data is to be able to retrieve it in case of a disaster, I’m willing to pay a few extra dollars. My wife and I use a 24″ iMac as our media center, and she uses a 12″ PowerBook, so I ordered a 500Gb Time Capsule to wirelessly backup all three computers.

Outlining

OmniOutliner Professional is my workhorse. I use it to take notes while reading and in class. Initially I created a separate OmniOutliner document for each case outline, but after a while I developed a more streamlined system that incorporates all of my reading and class notes in one hierarchical document. You can download an example file.

Diagramming

OmniGraffle Professional is useful when I need to diagram something. I tend to understand complex relationships better when I can examine them visually, so OmniGraffle comes in handy for subjects like Civil Procedure and Property. While I don’t use it constantly, OmniGraffle is a unique application I wouldn’t want to be without. You’ll find an OmniGraffle example document here.

Writing

For almost every word processing document I create, TextEdit is more than adequate. It doesn’t create complex formatting, but 90% of Microsoft Word features are extraneous anyway. TextEdit saves documents in RTF (Rich Text Format) by default, so they can be opened by just about any other word processor, including the many permutations of Microsoft Word. TextEdit comes free with OS X. When I just want to get words on paper and want to minimize distractions, WriteRoom is excellent.

Occasionally professors post exam prep materials online in Word format. Although TextEdit can open Word documents, sometimes complex formatting confuses it, so I use Word 2001 to open them. Aside from that, I never need Word.

I have been using Pages more frequently of late, because it has more formatting capabilities than TextEdit, but doesn’t include all the bloat of MS Word. Pages exports to Word’s .doc format. I find this app particularly helpful when I want to embed charts or tables into a document, or when I need to use a multi-column layout.

This semester I have to write three papers, and my experience writing just one paper the spring of my second year convinced me that I need to find a better method of collecting research, taking down concept notes, and integrating it all into a cohesive document before exporting it to a word processor. I’ve been using Scrivener to accomplish all this, and so far it looks like it will save me a lot of time and effort.

Portable Document Format (PDF) Viewing

Although Adobe’s Acrobat Reader is free and quite capable, I prefer Preview, which is part of OS X. Preview launches faster than Acrobat Reader and offers additional image-viewing features. OS X can save any document in PDF without the need for the expensive full Adobe Acrobat package, and the combination of easy PDF creation and fast navigation of PDF documents makes working with PDF easy. When I need to annotate and highlight PDFs, I turn to Skim. Managing large numbers of PDFs is made easier with Yep, an app that acts like an iPhoto for PDFs.

Storing Important Information

There are several very capable Mac information-gathering applications. I reviewed DEVONThink, KIT (Keep It Together), Soho NOTES, and Yojimbo. My personal favorite is Bare Bones Software’s Yojimbo, but these are all capable apps. I also use Journler to write down my thoughts and observations (see my January, 2007 Journler review). Many Journler users have embraced it as an all-around information-management tool.

Time/Task Management

For years I’ve been searching for a time management application that blends the advantages of paper product like the Franklin-Covey Planner with the data backup and portability advantages of software. At the start of my first year of law school, I came across kGTD (aka “Kinkless”), a package of scripts for the above-mentioned Omni Outliner Professional that turn it into a surprisingly useful task management tool.

Kinkless did the job in its day, but since then several dedicated GTD apps for the Mac have come into being. I use OmniFocus, which is handy for me because it shows me only what I need to know at a given moment.

Finding the right software to help you manage your time isn’t an easy task, so if you don’t already have a tool of choice, I advise playing around with a few before deciding on one.

Email

Apple’s Mail application provides excellent spam filtering, extremely handy smart folders, and an intuitive interface. There are several other alternatives, but thus far I have never felt the need to explore them.

Web Browsing

I admit to being a bit of a browser geek. I like trying out new browsers the way my wife likes trying on shoes. Some of the time I use Apple’s Safari browser, which is Mac-only. It’s fast, and I like the Safari implementation of tabs. It renders pages well and the pop-up blocker is a godsend. I also like the intuitive way Safari manages bookmarks. After you use Safari for a few minutes, you’ll never want to go back to Internet Explorer.

Camino, an Open Source web browser that is also designed for the Mac, has grown into an excellent application. I find myself using Camino most of the time, mostly because of its page rendering speed and uncluttered feel. Camino is a lightweight browser that does a few things, but does them well. If you like your browser lean and mean, check out Camino.

On occasion I use Firefox. If you’re a browser power-user, you’ll appreciate the extensibility of Firefox. There are literally hundreds of plug-ins for Firefox. It doesn’t have the same “built for Macintosh” feel that either Camino or Safari provide, but it is an excellent browser. If you are for whatever reason using a PC and haven’t yet switched from Internet Explorer to Firefox, you’ll be amazed at how much your overall browsing experience will change for the better with Firefox.

More Info

For a broad overview of software options for Mac-using law students, check out The Mac Law Student’s Basic Software Arsenal. Also, look in the site navigation for setups used by other law students.