Welcome to the the 2009 Issues of NCRA's Tech Tracker, the premier publication tracking the evolution of technology and its affects on the reporting and captioning profession.
Tech Tracker is a service to NCRA members, and provides a digest of recent news items relevant to the profession. The views expressed in the cited articles are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of NCRA.
December 2009
Lead Story: Windows 7: A Complete Survival Guide
Thinking about upgrading to Windows 7? PC World offers a look at the new operating system that launched in October. The page includes links with helpful information for learning about the new features and capabilities of Windows 7.
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July-August 2009
Lead Story: NCRA Involved in Introduction of Internet Captioning Bill
On June 26, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced H.R. 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009. NCRA, through its involvement in the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), has worked to get this bill re-introduced in the 111th Congress. This is the second year in a row that the coalition has successfully seen the legislation introduced.
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June 2009
Lead Story: NCRA Taps Into Online Tools to Keep You Better Connected
NCRA is harnessing online social media to help you connect in new ways to the larger court reporting community. NCRA’s new Web site boasts new features including community areas that allow members with similar interests to connect. In addition, the new Web site houses digital editions of the JCR as well as unique and extended content that relates to articles in the JCR. Also, check out the member resources section that houses a job bank, online directory listings, and continuing education information. Members also can access NCRA’s YouTube channel from the NCRA Web site.
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May 2009
Lead Story: NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator Certificate
Confident in your realtime abilities, yet terrified you’ll be stumped on the job by uncooperative technology? You could be suffering from RTA (Real Time Anxiety). The cure: the NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator Certificate.
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April 2009
As the iPhone continues to make its mark on many of our business and professional lives, the NCRA Tech Eval Committee explored the concept of whether realtime streaming could successfully be viewed using your iPhone. One of the streaming software products test successfully on this concept was StreamText, a vendor commonly used in the CART field. The NCRA Tech Committee is looking forward to a successful testing of the BlackBerry's capability to receive a realtime stream with StreamText other webstreaming products in the future.
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March 2009
Lead Story: Ephemeral Data
The new frontier of digital discovery is likely to be ephemeral data. This short-lived or transitory data came into play in a case where the data was deemed discoverable, and the defendants were also compelled by the court to keep track of data that they would not have otherwise. The is an example of a larger question which is whether RAM data should be treated, for purposes of discovery, just like a paper document or any other recorded information.
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February 2009
Lead Story: Court Reporters Eliminated in Civil Cases
The budget crunch has reached the Massachusetts court system. Starting January 19th, civil trials in Massachusetts will replace per diem court reporters with a tape recording system, and court reporters will still be used to produce transcripts when needed. Court reporters were notified about the cuts in November.
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January 2009
Lead Story: PACER Celebrates 20 Years in the Business
From its modest beginning, the federal system's Public Access To Court Electronic records program, or PACER, has grown to include all federal bankruptcy, district, and appellate courts. The platform provides access to recent and accurate documents. It has grown from 9,000 accounts in 1994 to 900,000 registered accounts in 2008. PACER has continued plans to expand, with five pilot courts making digital audio recordings of cases available.