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News & Publications

Technology News

2013

May

April

  • April 30, 2013 — TechCon 2013 Recap
    Scottsdale, Ariz.- Providing ample opportunities for attendees to share information, exchange ideas, and expand their professional network, TechCon 2013 attracted hundreds of legal professionals from different corners of the industry. The event, held April 19-21, combined the best of NCRA's technology workshops with unique approaches to conference learning, tailored specifically for court reporters, legal videographers, and trial presenters.
  • April 25, 2013 — Announcing NCRF’s fourth Oral Histories Program partner
    The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) is pleased to announce that it a fourth official partner has joined its Oral Histories Program: the Illinois Secretary of State’s Illinois State Library. The Illinois State Library is honoring veterans from that state by archiving the stories of their wartime experiences in the Illinois Veterans History Project, as well as the Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress.
  • April 25, 2013 — Make the promise
    As you know, 2013 marks the 10th Anniversary of National Court Reporters Foundation’s official partnership with the Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress. We are so proud of that! With the help of so many NCRA members, we’ve coordinated the completion and submission of more than 2,875 veterans’ histories to the Library of Congress for inclusion in its VHP archives.
  • April 25, 2013 — Upcoming Board member visits in your area
    One of the most important and rewarding duties of a member of the NCRA Board of Directors is the opportunity to attend state affiliate conventions. Board members meet one-on-one with attendees and discuss issues and activities from a national perspective.
  • April 23, 2013 — Court reporting ranked as 68th best job in country
    Court reporting was ranked as the 68th best job overall on a list released today by CareerCast.com, a career website.
  • April 11, 2013 — NCRA to be represented on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance
    NCRA lobbyist, Adam Finkel, named co-chair
  • April 11, 2013 — Sequester causes federal court delays
    A few people in the media have noted the sequester’s effects on the federal judiciary, which has hurt access by the public to the judicial process and to the court system overall.
  • April 11, 2013 — Special Donation to NCRF from the Shorthand Reporters Association of Australia (SRAA)
    Earlier this year, the Shorthand Reporters Association of Australia ceased to exist as an association and had to make a decision about the remaining funds in their bank account. SRAA officers, including former president Suzanne Mendra and treasurer Polly Templeton, decided to close the bank account and donate the remaining funds to NCRF.
  • April 11, 2013 — Stenograph steps up for NCRF—AGAIN!
    Once again, Stenograph is donating a new Diamante to NCRF for the Foundation’s fundraiser at Convention in Nashville this summer. Raffle tickets will be sold on site only: $50 for one, or three for $125. The winner will be able to choose one of the exciting Diamante colors.

March

February

  • February 28, 2013 — Improve the quality of your audio
    Wes Long, Director of Technology for Dynamic Captioning, LLC explains that there is actually a lot you can do to help fix "muffled" audio.
  • February 21, 2013 — Court Reporting and Captioning Week highlights
    Theindependent.com reports on two official court reporters for the Ninth Judicial District of Nebraska, who are getting involved with National Court Reporting and Captioning Week.
  • February 21, 2013 — Future stenographers participate in demonstration
    Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, made news again as students in the court reporting program continue to participate in National Court Reporting and Captioning Week.
  • February 20, 2013 — Captioning business to host open house Wednesday
    Voice to Print Captioning LLC is hosting an open house and demonstration of realtime court reporting and captioning technology.
  • February 20, 2013 — Court reporting school makes news in Texas
    Kiii TV News interviewed Whitnie Brezina and Iris de la Garza from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, about the occupations in the field as part of National Court Reporting and Captioning Week.
  • February 20, 2013 — People urged to consider court reporting as a career
    During National Court Reporting and Captioning Week, court reporter Tracy Bennett, RPR, CRR, is encouraging today’s youth to consider a career in court reporting.
  • February 20, 2013 — Spirit Week at College of Court Reporting
    In celebration of the first annual National Court Reporting and Captioning Week, the College of Court Reporting is hosting a spirit week.
  • February 20, 2013 — The importance of court reporters
    The Harding Law blog posted on Saturday about the importance of a court reporter's role and how court reporters are essential in recording and memorializing the testimony and argument presented.
  • February 15, 2013 — Court Reporting and Captioning Week recognized in Congressional Record
    Congressman Ron Kind joins nationwide effort to showcase professionals, career opportunities in stenographic court reporting and captioning.
  • February 7, 2013 — Capturing the spoken word and each other’s hearts
    When we think of couples, more than a few come to mind. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Sonny and Cher. John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In the court reporting world, we have several couples who have captured the spoken word — and each other’s hearts. Some have met while on the job, others through mutual friends, and some even while visiting an online forum. Whether they’ve been together for decades or just met within the past few years, these court reporting couples have made a mark in the industry and have been there for each other along the way.

January

2012

December

  • December 20, 2012 — Distinguished Service Award Nominations Now Open
    The Distinguished Service Award encourages and recognizes work amounting to distinguished service by individual members of NCRA for the benefit of the reporting profession.
  • December 20, 2012 — Donate Your Vacation Property to NCRF
    NCRF needs vacation properties for its Sixth Annual Vacation Property Auction to be held at NCRA’s Firm Owners Executive Conference in Dana Point, California, February 3-5, 2013.
  • December 20, 2012 — TRAIN tips and success stories
  • December 20, 2012 — Time savers to be had with just a little effort
    With the start of the new year, why not make a pledge to make your life easier? Give me an hour, and you can start saving time.
  • December 6, 2012 — Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus planning for an expanded program in 2013
    The Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus held a meeting to begin planning for an expanded program for 2013. NCRA strongly supports the caucus and will continue to attend briefings and meet with members of Congress to ensure that broadcast captioners and CART providers are represented with our nation’s elected officials on Capitol Hill.
  • December 6, 2012 — Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus planning for an expanded program in 2013
    The Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus held a meeting to begin planning for an expanded program for 2013. NCRA strongly supports the caucus and will continue to attend briefings and meet with members of Congress to ensure that broadcast captioners and CART providers are represented with our nation’s elected officials on Capitol Hill.
  • December 6, 2012 — Gifting and the holiday season
    With the holiday season upon us, it is important to remember why NCRA focuses so strongly on educating court reporters, attorneys, and other legal professionals on the subject of incentive gift-giving. While many offices will likely be inundated with desserts, gift baskets, fruit, and other small thank you gifts during the month of December, the ethical implications often associated with such gift giving should be kept in mind as the year draws to a close.
  • December 6, 2012 — Many affected by courts' budget cuts
    Over the past few months, a number of articles have shed light on how budget cuts in courts are harming average Americans. On RH Reality Check, a blog site supported by a law firm that focuses on women’s issues and gender disparity, an October 16, 2012, article by Sheila Bapat mentions that some states have reported greater difficulties in timely restraining order hearings and enforcement of abuser sentences.
  • December 6, 2012 — Senate fails to ratify United Nations CRPD Treaty
    On December 4, the United States Senate failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Treaty (CRPD) from the United Nations by a vote of 61 in favor to 38 opposed.
  • December 6, 2012 — Tennessee Court Reporters Association hosts one-day Boot Camp
    The Tennessee Court Reporters Association, in conjunction with NCRA’s Government Relations Department, hosted approximately 30 members for a one-day, mini Legislative Boot Camp. Throughout the day, sessions were held on the basics of politics, grassroots lobbying, and communications tips and techniques, with an intense focus on the issue of third-party contracting.
  • December 6, 2012 — “Make the Promise” and guard the record of America’s heroes!

November

  • November 29, 2012 — At the TRAIN Stop…
    As you may know, the new Windows 8 contains major changes in the user interface. A very helpful tutorial for anyone who is starting to use Windows 8 can be found here.
  • November 29, 2012 — Productivity: My top 10 gadgets
    Productivity is defined as "The quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services." As a busy professional, I am always striving to find new ways to aid me in my quest to complete a job more efficiently. After all, who doesn't want more time to spend with family and friends; right? Read more about Lynette's top 10 gadgets.

October

September

  • September 29, 2012 — CCRA President Early Langley defends official court reporters
    Early Langley, RMR highlighted the importance of stenographic court reporters to the court system in an article published by the Marin Independent Journal.
  • September 26, 2012 — Google+ Hangout Captions
    Google made an exciting announcement at the National Association of the Deaf annual convention in July, introducing Google+ Hangout Captions. Now it is possible to provide realtime CART in a Hangout, Google’s version of a video call.

August

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

2011

December

November

  • November 8, 2011 — Hidden Content In Your Documents: What You Don't Know Can Be Dangerous
    Scott Smull, CEO of Workshare discusses the risks of unknown data lurking in your documents. Republished with permission from The Metropolitan Corporate Counse, learn how you can protect yourself against unwanted problems that arise from unintended metadata.
  • November 8, 2011 — VITAC gets spooky for Halloween
    VITAC continued their Halloween tradition this past October of providing closed captioning for a public domain horror flick.

October

September

  • September 26, 2011 — A Break in Microsoft's Cloud
    The first email hit TechCrunch’s tip line at 11:32 EDT. Others quickly followed saying the same thing: major Microsoft cloud services are down worldwide.
  • September 26, 2011 — Apple, Dropbox Back Privacy Bill
    With many Americans leading an increasingly digital life, it's not surprising that the government is turning to things like cell phone and email records when conducting investigations.
  • September 26, 2011 — Captioning for Ducks
    Attentive Duck fans at Oregon’s first home football game of the season at Autzen Stadium on Saturday may have noticed strings of words flashing across the Duck Vision scoreboard in-sync with the announcements by game officials.
  • September 26, 2011 — FaceBook Testing Realtime Translation
    The ability to communicate with ease across languages and cultures has so far been the stuff of futurists and science fiction writers.
  • September 26, 2011 — Keep Confidential Information Out of Email
    The New Workshare Protect 7 helps reduce the number of times people accidentally email documents with hidden comments and suggested edits not intended for public distribution.
  • September 26, 2011 — PACER Fees to Rise
    The basic fee federal courts charge for electronic copies of court records will be hiked by 25%, a panel overseeing federal court administration announced Tuesday.
  • September 26, 2011 — Realtime Hookup Videos
    NCRA's Realtime Systems Administrator Committee has put together some videos dealing with hooking up to realtime.
  • September 26, 2011 — Technology in the News
    Links to various technology related stories in the news.
  • September 26, 2011 — Using an iPad in a Jury Trial
    In April of 2011, we began the trial. We structured our trial plan and presentation around these overarching themes, using the ABC Regulations and Dram Shop provisions as key demonstrative exhibits.
  • September 26, 2011 — Wireless Hacking Is No Joke
    Midsummer in Las Vegas is to geeks, hackers, and IT security pros what mid-April in Augusta is to golf fanatics: an opportunity to watch the best in their respective fields strut their stuff.

August

  • August 30, 2011 — County Praises California Computer System - Others Hate It
    A state computer project is being touted as an electronic super train that in about five years will link all the courthouses in California and law enforcement agencies to share information.
  • August 30, 2011 — Court Reporting School Distinguishes Steno from Voice
    When deciding to train to become a court reporter, students want to know the difference between machine court reporting (steno) and voice court reporting (mask).
  • August 30, 2011 — NCRA Expo Vendor Video Tour
    NCRA's Technology Evaluation Committee takes you on a video tour of the 2011 NCRA Expo at the Annual Convention in Las Vegas. The committee focused its efforts on new products and services being offered at the Expo.
  • August 30, 2011 — Pennsylvania Justice Touts Videoconferencing
    Toward the beginning of his 13-year tenure with the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery was given a preview of the cost-saving and practical benefits of videoconferencing.
  • August 30, 2011 — Pennsylvania Supreme Court Proceeding to Be Televised
    Next month, people will be able to watch from the comfort of their living rooms as lawyers argue before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court the fate of two people on death row.
  • August 30, 2011 — Product Spotlight
    YesLaw Online Case Repository is a web-based repository for deposition and court content.
  • August 30, 2011 — Report from Visionary Legal's Voice Recognition Realtime Expo
    "Evaluation" was the goal as several members of NCRA and TCRA attended the Expo presented by Visionary Legal.
  • August 30, 2011 — Repository Offers PACER Court Records
    Want to see the federal indictment of a mortgage fraudster? You got it. Need the docket for a U.S. appeals court case? It’s yours. All with the click of a mouse — and your 16-digit credit card number.
  • August 30, 2011 — Skype Used in Custody Case
    A deported Mexican couple won back custody of their two U.S.-born daughters in part thanks to testimony given over Skype, an apparent first in a U.S. custody case.
  • August 30, 2011 — Technology in the News
    Technology stories in the news.
  • August 30, 2011 — West Case Notebook Now Integrates with Worldox
    Thomson Reuters today announced that West Case Notebook, West’s case analysis software and part of the Westlaw Litigator Suite, now integrates with Worldox® Document Management System (DMS) software.
  • August 16, 2011 — Casey Anthony Trial Webstreamed
    Read about how the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida utilized video technology to cover the Casey Anthony trial.
  • August 16, 2011 — HarQen Develops a Voice Service Product Symposia
    HarQuen is currently developing a voice service product called Symposia, a smartphone/desktop program which aims to capture records of meetings and interviews for analyzing and sharing purposes using social media and database integration.
  • August 3, 2011 — Different Approaches Taken to Closed Captioning and Transcription
    In an effort to better accommodate hearing impaired students, many colleges and universities are renewing their emphasis on closed captioning in the classroom.
  • August 3, 2011 — Harry Potter Presented with Captioning
    Last Wednesday July 27, a theatre in the Midwest US showed “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II” in closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

July

  • July 22, 2011 — 10 Alternatives to Dropbox
    Dropbox is a hugely popular “cloud-based” file sharing service (and app) that allows you to synchronize files among different computers.
  • July 22, 2011 — Behind the Pink Noise
    It starts like this: "May we approach, Your Honor?" Any veteran court observer knows what this means.
  • July 22, 2011 — Faster Transcriptions With "Listen N Write"
    Many occupations require individuals to take recordings of meetings and interviews to review later.
  • July 22, 2011 — Google Scholar Tips
    Google Scholar came online in November 2009, offering advanced legal research to everyone.
  • July 22, 2011 — Technology in the News
    Technology stories in the news.
  • July 22, 2011 — Voice and Translation Services Still Not to Par
    Voice and translation services always look great in demos, but never work in the real world.
  • July 22, 2011 — Web to Replace Lawyers?
    Negotiating a settlement is expensive and difficult -- which is why automating the process so that a fee can be agreed on in minutes is so appealing.
  • July 22, 2011 — Why Realtime?
    A recent discussion by members of the Technology Evaluation Committee ranged from thoughts about the use of iPads to provide realtime in various parts of the country to different ways to overcome attorneys' objection to having realtime.

June

May

  • May 25, 2011 — Dropbox Accused of Misleading Customers on Security
    A complaint was filed with the Federal Trade Commission last week alleging that the popular Dropbox file-sharing service has been misleading users about the security and privacy of their files.
  • May 25, 2011 — Livescribe Smartpen Connects with Facebook, Google Docs, and Evernote
    Think about updating your Facebook status with pen and paper or sending an e-mail directly from an old-fashioned notebook (the paper kind).
  • May 25, 2011 — Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing
    Increasing costs are pressuring the manufacturing companies to take a closer look at the various resources that can provide services to the companies on the Internet itself, thereby saving costs and allowing easy access to the stored data.
  • May 25, 2011 — Six Reasons Why Chromebooks Are a Bad Idea
    Not everyone thinks Google's attempt to reinvent the computer will work. When it took the wraps off its stripped down, nothing-but-the-browser Chromebooks this week, Google was attempting its own iPad moment.
  • May 25, 2011 — Stenograph Introduces Built-in WiFi Option for Diamante Writer
    Stenograph recently announced its new, built-in WiFi option for the Diamante writer.
  • May 25, 2011 — Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara Automates
    Anoto Group today announced that the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara is improving efficiency and ergonomics for its clerks by adopting digital pen and paper technology.
  • May 25, 2011 — Technology Boom Triggers Privacy Alarm among Florida Lawyers
    Big Brother is here, and he is us. The conspicuous consumption that drives the market for smartphones and state-of-the-art gaming systems may make privacy -- even privacy expectations guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
  • May 25, 2011 — Technology in the News
    Technology articles in the news.
  • May 25, 2011 — To Skype or not to Skype
    The growth of video communications hit a new milestone on May 10 as Skype, the VoIP peer-to-peer provider, was purchased by Microsoft in a deal worth $8.5 billion.
  • May 25, 2011 — Using "Save As" to Conform to PDF/A
    Using "Save As" is perhaps the easiest way to apply the transformations necessary to existing PDFs, such as embedding fonts, setting color spaces, and the other 20 or so checks that Acrobat can undertake to conform to the PDF/A specification.
  • May 25, 2011 — Using an iPad to Recreate a Scene in a Deposition
    When taking a deposition of an adverse witness, I sometimes want to pin down a witness on exactly where he was standing or where some other events took place.
  • May 16, 2011 — Meet the Accidental Entrepreneurs
    The first Fortune story in this article is about a court reporter who acquired so many clients throughout the years that she was able to start her own court reporting firm with employees without even planning on it!
  • May 16, 2011 — Netflix Adds Captioning to iOS Apps
    Adding captioning to movies in Netflix for the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone is going to be a big deal for a lot of people, and Netflix has added that feature today.
  • May 16, 2011 — Technology Can't Replace Court Reporters
    This article defends the court reporting profession and its need for real, live, court reporters instead of technology, which has been introduced as a possible replacement for the profession.

April

March

February

January

2010

December

2007

November