In this article, legal technology expert Dennis Kennedy reports on his move to the world of the Tablet PC. He gives the Tablet PC high marks, highlights ten key observations, and comments on how the Tablet PC has changed his approach to computers in some fundamental ways. He then wonders aloud what it will take for law firm IT departments to equip lawyers with these tools.
Introduction
Has the Tablet PC become the best computer platform for lawyers? If you simply count the number of lawyers you see using Tablet PCs, you might not think so. However, based on my experience using a Tablet PC for the last few months, the answer, with two important qualifications, is a resounding "Yes."
Getting Hooked
Appreciating the Tablet PC requires a "hands-on" experience. While you might read a review and buy a notebook PC, moving to a Tablet PC seems to require a few more steps. It helps to watch someone use a Tablet PC and then get a little hands-on experience before buying one. However, you want to be careful. Using a Tablet PC for a few days may be addictive.
When I first used a loaner Tablet PC for a couple of weeks more than a year ago, I told the provider of the computer that I was within about two days of not being able to give it back. That was also when I first wrote that the Tablet PC could become the computer of choice for lawyers. I've since learned that my writings probably do not drive markets in the ways that I might hope.
I rang in 2005 with a new HP Tablet PC TC1100 and, although my comments in this article will address Tablet PCs in general rather than the HP units, I'm hooked. I am even more convinced that Tablet PCs, especially when combined with Microsoft OneNote and wireless Internet access, offer the electronic replacement for the ubiquitous legal pad.
While the desktop computer brought computing power to lawyers, it also bound them to their desks. Notebook computers first gave lawyers a sense of portability and then, especially with the advent of wireless Internet access, mobility.
Tablet PCs usher in an era of versatility, while keeping the benefits of portability and mobility. I also like to describe Tablet PCs as being as much a platform as a device.
Ten Key Observations About Tablet PCs
Below you'll find ten observations I've made about Tablet PC computing followed by two reservations I have about the use of Tablet PCs by lawyers. As a reminder, I continue to believe that the choice of a computer is a highly personal one and careful consideration of your specific needs, limitations, and preferences is essential. The right choice for me might well be the wrong choice for you. Today, however, "one size fits all" choices, especially those made by IT departments without substantial lawyer input, make less and less sense.
1. OneNote Must Be Part of the Mix
Microsoft's OneNote is the killer app for Tablet PCs. OneNote is a program that you can live in all day long on a Tablet PC. If I want to show someone a Tablet PC, I always use OneNote as part of the demo.
OneNote enables you to take notes, draft documents, draw pictures and mind maps, and even record conversations, all in one program. You can write or draw directly on the screen, use handwriting recognition, type in text, and even record audio or video. In a short time, you can see all of the options a Tablet PC provides. Add Microsoft OneNote to a Tablet PC and you'll be saying, "Got a Hemi." OneNote supercharges the Tablet PC experience and is the coolest program I've used in a long while.
2. Smaller Is Better When You Travel
Last fall, I had three flights in a row that were so crowded that I couldn't realistically use my notebook computer. My notebook computer has a medium-sized (14 inch) screen. Because the Tablet PC has a smaller screen and can be used like a legal pad, you need much less space to use your computer. The person in the seat in front of you may recline all he or she wants.
3. Tablet PCs Give You Plenty of Computer Power
Like you, I wondered whether a Tablet PC was more like a notebook computer or simply an overgrown PocketPC with not much more power than a good PDA. It's the real deal. Unlike a PDA, the Tablet PC enables you to use all of the standard computer programs and my experience is no different than using a notebook computer. I feel that I have a fast, powerful computer when using a Tablet PC.
4. Using a Pen Stylus Has Some Definite Advantages
It takes a little while to get used to using a pen stylus rather than a mouse. For example, "right-clicking" is tricky, both conceptually and in practice. However, the pen is mightier than the mouse in several key areas. A pen excels at drawing. A pen works very well for highlighting or annotating. I also prefer a pen for "ticking" through a list of items, as in the case of working through my e-mail inbox or reading RSS feed items in my news aggregator. In both cases, I feel that I can move through and deal with items faster, better and easier by using a pen rather than a mouse.
5. A Few, Mainly Positive, Words About Handwriting Recognition
There are many times when the handwriting recognition on my Tablet PC is nearly magical. There are a few times — much fewer than I expected — where it can be a little frustrating, especially when trying to determine uppercase versus lowercase letters. I first thought of handwriting recognition as more of a parlor trick than a useful tool, but I am starting to change my mind.
I do not see handwriting recognition as a realistic option for drafting memos in longhand or even for taking notes on the fly, but some situations exist where it might prove highly useful, including entering numbers into a spreadsheet, financial program, or calculator, making small edits and revisions in a document, and preparing outlines or bullet point lists. In these instances, you can work within the limitations and achieve great results in a way that might better fit how you prefer to work than you might find with a keyboard.
6. Don't Underestimate the Value of Simply Writing on the Screen
Don't get overly-focused on handwriting recognition. The simple capacity to write and draw on your screen and save those writings and drawings as if you have written on electronic paper has great value. There is no need to scan your handwritten notes at a later time. You have them. In OneNote, I can type notes, handwrite notes, and draw diagrams, charts, and sketches all on the same electronic page. I find that I write down ideas and to-do lists directly on my Tablet PC and have an electronic copy with me when I need it. Because the Tablet PC is the size of a regular page, it's easy and logical to draw mind maps and sketch out solutions to problems directly into electronic form. Another great use: taking notes during phone calls.
7. Break Down Barriers to Electronic Note-taking
One reason that lawyers (and others) do not like to take notes on a notebook computer during a meeting, especially a one-on-one meeting, is that the computer screen creates a physical and psychological "barrier" between people. The sound of typing on a keyboard can also be distracting. Using a Tablet PC is, as a practical matter, very similar to the traditional "taking notes on a legal pad" approach, and enables you to take notes on your computer non-intrusively.
8. Bring the Paperless Office a Step Closer
The Tablet PC starts to make the "paperless" office more realistic to me. I can eliminate the scanning step for handwritten materials. Why have separate paper lists and calendars? In many ways, it's our handwritten notes and annotations that cause the most problems in trying to move toward a fully electronic approach. If you simply use your Tablet PC as your electronic legal pad, you capture your handwritten materials automatically and eliminate the step of scanning. If you can make notes and annotations on a document or PowerPoint slide with electronic ink, you eliminate the need to print out documents or keep a separate paper file. Of course, you can print out your electronic notes whenever paper is more appropriate, but you can carry the electronic versions with you.
9. Is the Tablet PC THE eBook Reader?
While a PDA can work as a way to read eBooks and other documents, the screen is too small to make a PDA an effective or an attractive tool for this purpose. I'm starting to believe that the Tablet PC is a great platform for reading PDFs, eBooks, and other documents in a portable and useful way. I can sit in my favorite chair and read articles comfortably. I haven't come to a conclusion on this point yet, but I'm warming to the idea.
10. A New Data Input Platform
To my surprise, using a Tablet PC has radically changed the way I think about entering data. Before moving to a Tablet PC, I thought predominantly in terms of typing in data through a keyboard. Today, I feel that I have a world of choices and can choose the right tool for what I want to do.
If I want to draw a mind map, I'll draw that with the pen. If I want to create an outline, handwriting recognition or keyboard entry will work well. For long first drafts, speech recognition is becoming my tool of choice. For other types of drafting, the keyboard makes the most sense. For revisions, I might use the pen or the keyboard. In some cases, audio recording might be the right tool. In fact, I increasingly feel that the Tablet PC gives me a whole toolbox at my disposal. Many of these options are available on a regular notebook computer, but the Tablet PC makes the choice of options so much easier.
Two Reservations About Tablet PCs for Lawyers
I mentioned two reservations about the Tablet PC platform.
First, there is some concern about the continued support of the Tablet PC platform because Tablet PCs have not sold in the numbers that people expected. I have long said that the fact that Bill Gates uses a Tablet PC means that Microsoft will continue to focus on the Tablet PC. We are also seeing the pending introduction of new lines of Tablet PCs. The presence of an application like OneNote also bodes well for the future of pen computing and Tablet PCs.
You can over-think this issue. If a Tablet PC does what you need now and for the foreseeable future, I'm not sure that you want to get too hung up on predicting the future. I will predict, however, that if Apple ever introduces a tablet Mac, this category might explode in popularity.
Second, and more important to lawyers, is the unwillingness of law firm IT and accounting departments to consider the Tablet PC as an option for lawyers. I consistently have conversations with marketing and sales people who truly believe that the Tablet PC fits lawyers perfectly, yet are shocked that lawyers are not buying Tablet PCs in significant numbers.
I explain to them that lawyers and law firms believe that Tablet PCs are an order of magnitude more expensive than notebooks and that Tablet PCs are seen as unnecessary luxuries. The immediate reply is that, as a rule of thumb, a Tablet PC will cost about $200 more than a comparable lightweight notebook. Unfortunately, I tell them, most law firms have the attitude that a desktop computer costs $200, a notebook computer costs $2,000, and a Tablet PC costs $20,000.
The "unnecessary luxury" issue is also a tough one. When you push on this comment, what you really find is a concern that if one lawyer gets one, every lawyer will want one.Furthermore, IT departments simply do not want to take on the task of supporting something they perceive as different. In fact, I know of a firm with unused Tablet PCs sitting in a closet because the IT department will not support them.
The question, of course, is whether the convenience of the IT department rather than the benefits to lawyers should be the primary driving force for technology decisions at law firms? My "lawyers first" position on that issue is well known, but I'll leave you to contemplate your answer.
Conclusion
At this stage in my Tablet PC experiment, I'm quite pleased and give the Tablet PC platform high marks. Is it for you? You will have to decide yourself. I encourage you to take a look, especially if you are in the market for a new computer. Make sure that you put in some hands-on time with a Tablet PC, and that you try the Tablet PC/OneNote/WiFi combination. That's the platform I believe will make sense for many lawyers. Remember, if we work together, we can get law firm IT departments to give us the tools that actually work best for lawyers.
SOURCE: Technolawyer
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