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TECH SUPPORT less expensive, and become easier to use. Travel has become more expensive and onerous . . . and companies [are]becoming more aware of the environmental cost of travel. Finally, the economy tanked, mak- ing everyone more cost conscious. On the one hand, high-cost "telepres- ence" systems have helped improve the technology's image. They simulate face- to-face meetings with mirror-image con- ferencing rooms at each end, CD-quality audio, and multiple high-definition flat panels that show participants life-size. On the other hand, much less expensive vid- eoconferencing over the Internet between computer desktops has improved in qual- ity and has also become easier to use. The eVideo Mediations service, launched in March, uses this latter technology. "In terms of the video quality, we weren't looking for anything like high definition," says Stitt. "It's not necessary for media- tion. You want to see facial expressions, but you don't need to know the person has a small scar on their forehead." Besides, he says, market research the firm conducted showed the convenience of being able to sit at your desk and attend a mediation or arbitration session was more important than visual clarity. "People wanted to be able to be working at their desks until one minute before they have to go into the mediation." This speaks to one of the prime rea- sons Stitt believes people will be attracted to eVideo Mediations. It's not so much the travel costs that daunt potential par- ticipants' mediation, he says, it's the lost productivity of being en route and away from the office for a whole day or longer. The idea for the service was born at a conference of alternative dispute resolu- tion professionals last year in Victoria, B.C., and responds to a problem ADR firms like Chambers frequently encoun- ter. "We regularly have situations where parties don't want to mediate because one person is too far away," says Stitt. "Sometimes you end up doing it anyway where one person is just on the phone, which is not a great way to mediate. Or you have to spend a huge amount of money to fly a person in." The ADR Chambers service will cost a flat fee of $250 per remote participant. The firm will courier a web cam if he or SONY PORTABLE READER SYSTEM PRS-700 ($450). It's a great advertisement for the technology. E-book readers are book-sized (usually thinner than a real book) with a monochrome E display that is very high resolution, very high contrast and — this is crucial — emits no light. Result: a device ideal for reading text. Very legible, easy on the eyes, doesn't wash out in sunlight, and portable. And Electronic Ink-based readers only draw power when turning the page so their rechargeable batteries last hundreds of hours. To turn the page on an e-book, you typically push a button. The big innovation with the PRS-700 is that it's also a touch screen device, and you can turn pages with the swipe of a fi nger across the screen. The new device also has a built-in light so you can read it in the dark. The other great thing about e-book readers: you can adjust the text size. Set of documents. You can even take an e-book reader to the john. 24 M AY 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com to large, I can read without glasses. It's a miracle! E-book readers are mainly thought of as consumer products, but they can be useful business tools, especially for lawyers. You can buy and download com- mercial e-books from sites such as www.ebooks.com, including a few legal texts. More importantly, you can turn any computer document into a PDF e-book using Adobe Acrobat. So no need anymore to bake your knees under a laptop while reading reams — GB -book readers based on the amazing Electronic Ink screen technology from E Ink Corp. have so far failed to make much of an impression in Canada, partly because not many are available here. But late last year, Sony released its second-generation product, the she doesn't have one, and provide instruc- tions on how to go to the service's web site and log in to the mediation session. The audio portion of the conference will be carried separately over a phone line. In most instances, ADR Chambers assumes only one participant will be in a remote location, but the technology could easily support multiple remote users in different locations. The firm had to adapt the original web conferencing technology on which eVideo Mediations is based to allow participants to caucus in private and let the mediator "knock" virtually on their door to ask for progress reports. Stitt prefers not to reveal the U.S.-based supplier but several providers, including WebEx Communications, offer the basic technology that allows videoconferencing and document sharing and collaboration over the Internet. Stitt agrees the service may eventually find a role in international mediation and arbitration, but it's a question of running before walking, he says. "Our intention is to first get experience domestically, then start thinking about using it for interna- tional disputes. That's a second stage in the evolution. People aren't thinking that way yet." Thériault agrees. They may never use the technology in some situations in medi- ation or arbitration, she implies. "There are circumstances where you can't really replace that in-person contact." It would likely not be acceptable in the large-scale interna- tional arbitrations she works on for critical processes such as examination and cross- examination of witnesses. But it could be used in less critical areas like establishing procedural calendars, communicating deci- sions, adjournment hearings, she says. "In the midst of a huge recession, everyone is very cost conscious and any suggestion along the lines of a cost-cutting solution will be welcomed with open ears," she adds. "Whether that means we want to use Skype [an inexpensive online confer- encing service] for this — we're not there yet. But maybe we'll get there sooner as a result of this downturn." Gerry Blackwell is a London, Ont.-based freelance writer. He can be reached at gerryblackwell@rogers.com Gadget Watch