The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/230349
4. THE NEED FOR SPEED (PART TWO) I recently heard the term "massive broadband" from a member of ILTA's Emerging Technologies Peer Group Steering Committee and did some investigating. Really? ISPs can provide 1 Gbit/s Internet connectivity to residential homes? Yes!! I currently have a paltry 2 Mbit/s connection (via point-to-point wireless from my house to a grain elevator six miles away), and I'm beyond jealous! I might have to move to Springfield, Vermont where I can get gigabit broadband for $35 a month (which is half of what I pay for my 2 Mbit/s). Prices for gigabit broadband seem to range from $35 to as high as $270 per month. I would pay the $270! There are many players in the field: AT&T, Gig City, Vermontel, Google Fiber, Gigabit Squared. Wait a minute. Google Fiber??? USB 3.1 image courtesy of tested.com Surface Pro 2 www.microsoft.com/surface 2. TABLETS, TABLETS AND MORE TABLETS … The iPad is a great device, as are the various Android-based devices available (the Nexxus 7 second-generation is so cool), but which tablet is a true workhorse for your legal workforce? Hands down it has to be the Microsoft Surface Pro 2. For about the same price as a comparably configured iPad you get a fullfeatured, Windows-based tablet that is capable of running just about all your Windows applications. It also allows you to connect USB devices and pop in an SD card for additional memory! Not surprisingly, the Surface Pro won our Tablet Deathmatch held at ILTA's annual conference. Go to http://bit.ly/19xF9Fe to listen to the session. 3. THE NEED FOR SPEED (PART ONE) Remember the original USB 1.x interface? It was so fast! A whopping 12 Mbit/s. Fast forward to Q3 of 2013, and we now have the announcement of USB 3.1 (dubbed SuperSpeed+), capable of transferring data at 10 Gbit/s! Imagine dumping that 1 TB drive of litigation data to your network at these blazing-fast speeds (if your budget can afford the cost). I expect it to be a while before affordable versions hit the market. 42 Peer to Peer FIRM IMPACT: Residential broadband of this magnitude is an excellent step forward. My attorneys are going to love having gigabit broadband. Unfortunately, the 100 Mbit/s office Internet circuit will soon be the bottleneck for people in my firm who work from home.