Criminal Defense Law With An Apple

In case you were living under a rock, Apple updated just about everything. The real excitement and media buzz is focused on fanboy favorite: iPhone. See the guided tour here.

So my iPhone was stolen. Bummer, right?  I am still in the first 5 months of this contract, so no subsidized phone. Thanks to all the folks that called and said, “My iPhone was stolen (so they could jailbreak or ebay),” AT&T doesn’t allow you to get another unsubsidized phone while still in contract. I own a 2 year plan and need a phone to go with it. Eesh.

I am not trying to sound flippant. I am mad. But I have an assault case that I am preparing for trial and I do not need to stretch this pain out. No point in being angry at Apple or AT&T.  They didn’t steal my phone. Okay. So get over it and buy the unsubsidized iPhone. But wait. What about everything on my iPhone? All my client contacts and the privileged data on the phone? Well, it is not lost. Once I purchase the new phone, I have my apple Address Book and iCal “push” all the info via my MobileMe account. It takes a while to set up email (it did last time too), but it is up and running within 20 minutes. 

The Phone, the Phone!

But what about the data that is still on the old phone? Preventing sensitive data from falling in the wrong hands is critical. It should be true for all your electronic data. Here, you have to do the smart thing. The iPhone should be set to lock after  1-5 minutes. Your iPhone should have Pass Code turned on. Then… the nuclear  decision. “Data Wipe” after 10 attempts to unlcock (these options can be found in your “General Settings”). Why is data wipe no big deal? If it is your phone, you go plug it back in to your Mac and everything is repopulated. If it is not your phone, you lose, everything is gone, nothing to see here but an empty phone. 

So what about all the calls that our new friend is making to far away lands. My contract was set to unlimited minutes and data plan (some of my clients have the gift of gab). So no lost minutes. Still, there was the potential for sabotage. If someone could figure out how to get in to the phone, or stole it before the lock turned on, they could wreak havoc on my email, calendars and address book.  The next sync could be a disaster. Good new/bad news. The good news is that you can call AT&T 24/7 and have the phone disconnected. It disconnects the phone number and data plan. This makes the iPhone an instant iPod touch. The bad news is that when you do this, if someone calls, the number will go to a pre-recording that says, “this phone number is not taking calls at this time.” So that makes getting a new phone set up a priority.  So I sent one last text message, giving the nefarious holder of my phone a chance to return the phone with a reward. Then, shut it down. 

It’s Over Now & Looking to the Future

At the end of the day, I am still pretty mad. It was an expensive lesson. And what was the lesson, you ask? Patience. See, my iPhone was in my car (it slipped deep beneath the seat). But life goes on. And knowing things are safe and can be restored within 24 hours is a bonus.  

I am considering adding  Instamapper or Gadget Tracker. This is the closest thing there is to a lo-jack, besides TUAW’s solution. I think it might be helpful. I doubt I  would have Seattle PD help me track down my phone. But it might have been nice, if, let’s say, I just lost it.  I am still deciding on the wallpaper that is a “if found” page or I found your phone.  If you can overlook aesthetics, there are also some lost and found websites that allow you to put a sticker on your phone and have the person contact the website for a reward. After looking further, there is a host of choices in this arena. Folks over at Makeuseof.com have a roll your own application.  if you have suggestions, preventative or otherwise, to help survive an iPhone loss, leave it in the comments.

Being covered, tweeted and blogged everywhere is the Kindle application for the iPhone. I look forward to checking out the Kindle excitement that is buzzing around my iPhone-toting colleagues. I downloaded it a few days back.  Just need to find some time to sign up for an Amazon account.  We are also drafting up our popular multi-part series: “What software do you use?” Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I swore I posted this. I guess not. So you have an iPhone. You are a lawyer. Go to iPhone JD and stay caught up on all things iPhone/Lawyer at iPhone JD. They have been going strong since last year with great content. Swing by and say, “Hi, from Law With An Apple.”

A cool t-shirt for you iPhone lawyers.

Blackberry v. iPhone showdown.

Full article from Wired here.

 On your iPhone or your iPod touch, when you press the Home button, there’s a nice little animation that takes you back to the home screen.

To create that animation, your iPhone takes a screenshot of whatever it is you’re doing, and uses it for the transition. Sounds innocent, right?

Not so much, says data forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski (thank you, clipboard). The screenshot is presumably erased from the iPhone after the application closes, but is any digital file really gone after you delete it? Survey says no.

Forensics experts have mined for these screenshots, successfully recovering evidence against criminals accused of rape, murder, and drug deals. They can also recover data from the iPhone’s keyboard and web caches, too. In his presentation, Zdziarski also demonstrated how to bypass an iPhone’s passcode in order to own the device and access personal data. Time-consuming? Sure (it took JZ about an hour and involved a custom firmware build). Impossible? No. As with all things digital (and networked), your privacy is largely illusory. Time to go Don Draper on this one and just use Field Notes books, my stack of business cards, and the rotary dial. Read full article from TUAW.  

See the full post here. 

Their is not a lot for the lawyer in the app store. Plenty of fun applications. Even some great time wasters. Still, I am not a user of Evernote or Omnifocus. If I was, I might be a bit more enthusiastic. As it stands, my only must-have apps for the iPhone are these two.

First, is recorder from Retronyms. Frankly, as simple as this app would be to create, I am hard-pressed to understand why the iPhone did not ship with a recorder. Simple app. Easy to use. Small price tag on this one.

I know, I have said it a dozen times, but let me say it again, Password1 is a brilliant developer. Having the ability to visit all my usual websites, including Westlaw, the Bank, my blog, is great. But being able to get signed in with a few clicks. Even better. And free? Yep. Free.

Well, that is it. I am sure there are other great things to add to the iPhone. For now, they are going to be a matter of taste and interest. I really like the Urban Spoon as a restaurant locator. The “remote” program is nice when I can’t find my itty-bitty white remote for the Apple TV. I have not used Shazam but others have said it is great. But for the law office, it is slim pickins. 

I am back this week. The real culprit for my infrequent posts? The iPhone, of course. I have been playing with the iPhone all week, bending it to my will. Results so far? Eh. Not bad. I don’t have much to add to the conversation. But that never prevented me from blogging before. So here is my mini-review: What’s to like:

•  Interface via Apple. Simple set up. Easy access. The user-interface for calendar, contacts and phone are brilliant. Pulled all my mailboxes from itunes. The whole set up process and the most used applications was flawless.
• No problems syncing up with the computer through iTunes.
• Great sound and 3g connection is superb. My building can be hit-and-miss for Edge. 3g connection is great. 
• Able to surf the internet and visit sites in their actual form, using Safari. No truncated or funked up sites through the usual phone browsers. These are the actual sites. And with 1Password, getting to secure sites is a breeze.

 What’s to Complain About:

• I want Mobile-me to be an advantage, not a threat (I have avoided cloud syncing until I hear better things from those on the bleeding edge).
• I miss my click wheel. I know that poking your screen is the principal behind the iPhone. Still, I miss moving around with my thumb.
• Uhm, did my phone just crash. Hard to say. Without the spinning beach-ball-of-death,  I can’t tell if it is crashed or just thinking of crashing. Only happened twice. Never happened on my last phone. Of course, my last phone could only do 1/10 of what this thing does. 
• App store is pretty sparse. In terms of productivity tools or things for the lawyer, I have found two apps worth mentioning. Reviews for both, in the next post.

Indifference:

• I think I can get used to the keyboard
• ATT customer service.  When combined with Apple’s stellar customer service it should come out to a zero sum. 
• Not for businesses. Really? We shall see.

 Look forward to providing more about how this becomes a tool for our law office in the days to come.