e-Tip #81 - September 2008 - Text-Only Version <> Keith Vincent - EclDev: Not Just for Geeks Ordinarily, Will and I try to send out our e-Tips at the beginning of the month, but Hurricane Ike passed through Houston, my hometown, on September 13th. Fortunately, the damage to my house was not too severe, but 10 days without electricity does give you a fresh appreciation for the many conveniences we take for granted! Autumn is the time of year when a new general release of Total Eclipse usually takes place, but this has not been an ordinary year. The past year saw the release of Bridge 2, a major upgrade for Advantage Software’s free and easy realtime viewing software. Another major development focus has been support within the Eclipse program for features that are offered by Advantage’s new Passport steno machine. The general release of Total Eclipse Version 4.3 will probably take place in another few weeks, but you don’t have to wait until then. You can download EclDev immediately and enjoy great new features right away. What is EclDev? It’s the development version of Total Eclipse. Soon after the general release of Version 4.2 (last summer), a new cycle of development began that will lead to Version 4.3. When Version 4.3 is in general release, a new EclDev cycle will begin that will lead to Version 4.4. Constant progress. At the beginning of a development cycle, EclDev tends to include lots of new features from the “wish list.” Those new features get refined as users try them out. You might shy away from EclDev at the start of a development cycle; but as we’re so close to the general release, there’s no need to be timid. I usually play with EclDev for a few weeks and then start using all the latest Eclipse features for all my real work. No need to wait for the goodies! When you download EclDev from the Eclipse website, just save its installer file on your Windows desktop. The installer will have a WinZip icon. Click on the icon until the WinZip Self-Extractor dialogue opens, then just let the contents be placed automatically where they belong. It’s easy and fast. If you’ve never installed EclDev before, you’ll want to know that it goes into the same folder as the general version of Total Eclipse. Thus, in the Program Files folder of your computer, you’d find an Advantage Software folder that contains an EclipseNT folder. In that folder you would find both Ecl.exe and EclDev.exe. Ecl is the general version and EclDev is the development version, but you can use either one to do your work. I should mention that the Eclipse icon on your Windows desktop defaults to running Ecl.exe -- in other words, it’s for running the general version of Total Eclipse. To use the development version of the program, it’s a good idea to have a shortcut that launches EclDev.exe. Let me outline what I think will be an easy way to create a shortcut for running EclDev. Use your normal icon to start Total Eclipse. Then open the File Manager and click on the “Explore” button. (For speedkey lovers, you can also just press Ctrl F twice; that would achieve the same result.) Eclipse will open Windows Explorer and go straight to your jobs folder. The program folder (“EclipseNT”) is typically just a level or two above that, and that’s where you would find the icon for EclDev.exe. Right-click on the icon for EclDev.exe, and a context menu should appear. Select “Send to” and then select “Desktop (create shortcut).” After you’ve done that, you should have a new icon on your desktop that’s labeled “Shortcut to EclDev.exe.” You can always right-click on that new icon and select “Rename” if you want to use a shorter name. It’s worth noting that you can go back and forth between the general version and the development version. Typically, I only tend to do that toward the start of a development cycle, when lots of new features are being shaken out. Thus, at the start of a development cycle, I save my user settings under a name like “Keith (Dev)” so that, if need be, I can get out of the new version and pop back into the old version until things get sorted out. When I return to the new version, I use my “Keith (Dev)” settings so that Eclipse will know how I like to use new features. For example, the new version gives me much more control over Auto-Brief. That in itself is a major reason for taking advantage of EclDev! Don’t just wish for new features. The latest and greatest that Eclipse has to offer can always be found in EclDev. You can pull down the “Help” menu and learn more by selecting “New version changes,” but the Advantage Software technical support staff is ready to help you enjoy every great new feature within Total Eclipse. <> Wil Wilcox: Dell & Lenovo Netbooks Since e-Tip 78 last June, there has been a lot of news about Netbooks -- under-size notebooks, primarily powered by Intel's Atom processor.  Two major players in the computer industry, Dell and Lenovo, have both released their netbook offerings. In case you didn't read my article in June, a Netbook is essentially a notebook computer shrunk down.  It's been said that a netbook is what a regular notebook would look like if you left it in the dryer too long.  They have smaller screens, smaller keyboards, lower storage capacity, among other things, and are meant for using for short periods of time such as while traveling.  Think of it as an oversize Treo, Blackberry or iPhone -- a mobile device that you can throw in your purse or backpack and use simply to access the Web for short spurts, send e-mail, for proofreading transcripts or realtime when it's not convenient to bring your full-size notebook as when taking jobs out of town.  You could also bring a netbook to realtime hookup jobs to loan to attorneys who did not bring their own. Netbooks are not recommended for use as your primary computer but more as a travel accessory. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is an 8.9" netbook with a $349 (Linux) or $399 (Windows XP) starting price and some impressive features.  The Mini 9 is on a par with its peers: It has three USB ports, a 4-in-1 media card reader, VGA port and an Ethernet port.  The 1.3-megapixel webcam with built-in microphone is an extra option.  To get enough storage space for working with transcripts, you can upgrade to a 16GB drive for $40 more.  You can also use an SD chip as a second hard drive, giving you lots of options.  It weighs 2 lb 5.5 oz with the 4-cell battery. One of the things that sets the Mini 9 apart is that all of the alphanumeric keys on the Mini 9's keyboard are large enough to make cranking out a transcript possible, 88 percent of full-sized. Everything else either gets scrunched (as the Tab, Shift, and Caps Lock keys do) or assigned to an unfamiliar location. The function keys F1 through F10 (no F11 or F12 keys) are in the middle of the keyboard and require a toggle.  That said, if you can retrain your brain to know where a couple of wayward buttons are positioned, you'll find that the keyboard is quite good and touch typing as opposed to the hunt-and-peck method is possible. The mouse buttons, however, are better engineered and easier to click than the competition's.  Dell engineers have also made the Mini 9 easy to upgrade the memory, hard drive and even the microphone. You'll love the fact that Windows XP loads in about 30 seconds.  Don't forget that to install Eclipse you'll need to copy the installation CD to a thumb drive.  Its four-cell battery will run for about 3 1/2 hours.  The Inspiron Mini 9 isn't perfect, but it has a great design and a good price. For more information see Dell's website. Next up in this review is the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. Priced at a competitive $429, the Lenovo S10 with its 10-inch display is a mini-notebook to reckon with.  At 2.4-pounds and 1 inch thick it is very portable.  The S10 has the usual ports, including VGA, Ethernet, mic, and headphone and a 4-in-1 card reader. Unfortunately it has only 2 USB ports which can be remedied with a mini USB hub.  The keyboard on the S10 is 85 percent of full size, just slightly smaller than on the Dell. Touch typing is still possible, although I'm afraid some will have trouble adjusting to a smaller keyboard. The wide 10-Inch screen on the S10 is easy on the eyes  Above the screen is a 1.3-MP webcam. Its 1.6-GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB of RAM, and 80GB 5,400-rpm hard drive boot Windows XP Home in less than 45 seconds.  The energy-efficient LED backlit display also helps provide longer battery life than traditional displays.  The S10 has an Express Card slot so you can use an Express PC card for realtime if you like.  There you are. New items for your holiday shopping list! <> Keith Vincent - Bridge Protocol: Progress at NCRA 2008 At the July 2008 National Court Reporters Association convention in Anaheim, California, the Bridge protocol achieved greater acceptance. Let me be specific. I spoke to Johnny Jackson, head of Stenovations. He indicated that the DigitalCAT programmers were already working on implementing support for the Bridge auto-refresh protocol. I spoke to Larry Hunt, head of AristoCAT. He, too, agreed to implement support for the Bridge auto-fresh protocol. At the ProCAT booth, I spoke to Debbie Owens and confirmed their desire to exchange protocols. Eclipse would implement support for ProCAT’s Denoto refresh protocol, and ProCAT would implement support for the Bridge protocol. Finally, I spoke to Jason Primuth at the LiveNote booth and was told that they, too, wish to implement support for the Bridge auto-refresh protocol. As I’ve mentioned many times in these e-Tips, Advantage Software has freely offered the interface information for the Bridge protocol to the entire industry. It is my sincere hope that Stenograph will implement the Bridge protocol and, in turn, make the interface info for its CaseViewNet software available to the entire industry. Of course, it’s one thing to promise and another thing to deliver. As soon as each company has actually implemented support for the Bridge protocol, I will be happy to help spread the word here. <> Video Update: 3rd Edition, "Interactive Realtime Transcription" A 3rd Edition of the popular "Interactive Realtime Transcription" tutorial is now being released. This latest version features Bridge 2.0 by Advantage Software, but it also covers other new realtime viewing programs. For a complete list of topics, go to the Tutorials page of www.KVincent.com. "Interactive Realtime Transcription" contains more than 3 hours of video presentations. Looking for continuing education units? This tutorial has been approved by the National Court Reporters Association; it offers .4 CEU. If you've already purchased the 1st or 2nd edition of this tutorial, you can trade in your current disk for an updated one. See this month's e-Tip special. If ordering an update disk, send in your current tutorial disk. (Keep your case and your installation code for use with the new disk.) __________ In last month's e-Tip, we mentioned that Bridge 2.0 could be run from a flash drive. That really helps if an attorney's computer has been locked down to prevent the installation of new programs. For your convenience, Advantage Software will offer flash drives containing the Bridge program as well as a number of helpful video demonstrations. The cost is just $10 to $15 each, depending on how many you purchase. The flash drives also contain BridgeDistSetup.exe. This lets you personalize copies of Bridge that you give out. Just another way to help you market your realtime transcription services!