Ernie the Attorney- loves the Tablet PC but can’t use one in court
Ernie the Attorney has one of the greatest blogs around, his coverage of Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans was first-rate journalism. Ernie really is an attorney and he’s blogged that recently his girlfriend loaned him a Tablet PC to use in his work. His observations won’t surprise anyone who has used a Tablet PC:
(1) a Tablet has a completely different social dynamic than atraditional laptop because people don’t perceive it as a computer;unless you stand behind someone using a Tablet you easily assume thatthey are just writing on a pad of paper; (2) the Tablet is morecomfortable to use; but if you type reasonably well you will stillprefer to use a keyboard; (3) the Tablet is more natural to use at alectern or in a conference, as long as principle #2 isn’t a factor; (4)even though it’s a niche product I would absolutely use a Tablet incertain situations, except for one thing: (5) Tablet PCs run Windowswhich means they don’t wake up quickly, or reliably.
Ernie’s observations of the Tablet used in social settings are right on the money but unfortunately #5 is the deal breaker.
Just as I was starting to use the Tablet a lot I found that it wouldsometimes get slow or become unresponsive; this happened once or twiceat semi-critical times. I dutifully rebooted, and didn’t suffer toomuch. But the thought lingered: I could never rely on the Tablet duringa hearing or trial, or any situation where I was in front of a judge.It’s one thing to reboot during a deposition, but it would becompletely unacceptable to tell a judge to "hang on, your honor, whileI reboot my computer."
So, I’ve stopped using the Tablet completely. I have several lawyerfriends who have tried the Tablet, and one or two are still using it.Perhaps they haven’t had the problems that I have had, so I know it’spossible the Tablet could be a useful tool for a litigator. But not forme.
This is sad but I understand Ernie’s position. It’s true that not every Tablet PC suffers from these problems a lot but like Ernie experienced in certain situations it only has to happen once at a critical time and it’s a huge problem. It’s too bad that we still see these problems at all but as one who uses a Tablet PC heavily (every day) I understand his position. To Ernie’s credit he sees the advantages that a Tablet PC bring to an attorney and still loves to use it in depositions or other settings when a stoppage wouldn’t risk a contempt of court charge.
Well, yes, but always have the pen and notepad ‘backup’ to hand for critical notes. Oh, and we all know to jam as much memory as we can into those tablets to make them snappy!
I’ve used my tablet in court. It did impress the judge and intimidate opposing counsel
However, because of slowness and freezes, I used my HTC Advantage instead. With Transcriber or Calligrapher, you can write notes a la a Tablet. Of course, remembering to turn the phone off is important 
I’m a second-year law student and just used my tablet in a moot (for non-law types, a moot is a fake case that you argue in front of an imaginary panel of often very real judges).
The author’s pejorative comments about Windows are typical but not universally accepted. If you know what you’re doing, you can use Vista and OneNote in such a way as to make the crash rate extremely low… such that the likelihood of forgetting or misplacing a key piece of paper is far higher.
Very interesting to see this story raised. I’m a barrister in England and last year I used my tablet with Onenote successfully for 3 months every day in various courts around the country.
Never had any issues with it crashing or running out of battery. I have yet to see any lawyer with one at court!
I was once asked to stay behind by a judge and I thought I must be in big trouble – in fact the judge was a fellow tableter and wanted to swap stories!
I am attorney who enjoys technology and reading the JKontherun blog. I have never used a tablet PC. I have used my laptop in some depositions but never have taken it to a hearing or trial. For what I do, it is more of a distraction and the possibility crash/reboot is indeed unnerving.
Is a tablet PC more likely to crash than a standard laptop?
this is a Windows problem not a Tablet problem, the fact certain people cant draw a distinction between the 2 makes me heavily doubt their computer literacy.
Laptops are used in court rooms all the time, so Tablets should be able to as well (but most people dont write & wont spend the extra money)
this is a Windows problem not a Tablet problem, the fact certain people cant draw a distinction between the 2 makes me heavily doubt their computer literacy.
Laptops are used in court rooms all the time, so Tablets should be able to as well (but most people dont write & wont spend the extra money)
I’ve been thinking about grabbing a tablet to use in my legal practice as well – as a way in which I could (hopefully) stop keeping a mish mash of legal pads to keep track of various cases. I’ve been a tablet owner in the past (TC1000, x61t, the original Toshiba), but never tried to run part of my practice on a tablet. One thing is for sure, I wouldn’t dream of installing Vista on my tablet (or any mobile device)since it is simply unreliable and I would be petrified of exactly what Ernie’s fear is – the device crashing. Instead, I am going to stick to XP tablet until I am convinced that Vista is reliable – or the next version of Windows becomes available to replace Me, I mean Vista.
And James, since I know you have strong feelings about this due to some inexplicable fondness for Vista, just ask yourself why almost every tablet manufacturer has either XP Tablet as standard or at worst, an option. It’s because experience has shown just how unreliable Vista is on mobile devices, improved tablet functions be damned. The tablet improvements simply don’t warrant the tradeoff. I don’t want to have cross my fingers everytime I wake my computer from sleep in the hope that it turns back on properly.
1. Freezing is a Windows problem not a Tablet problem. And Windows Mobile devices can freeze also. Ditto for BlackBerries. Or for any electronic device for that matter. As Gavin Miller says, a paper and pen backup is always prudent.
2. Lee, I must respectfully disagree re Vista when it comes to the Tablet PC. Vista has its issues, but its support of Tablet functionality is superior to XP. What tablet manufacturers do may be more a function of consumer perception, which has been shaped by a lot of Vista-bashing (some deserved to be sure). Vista does require more RAM, etc. than XP, so with an underpowered machine, bad things are more likely to happen with Vista. Just my opinion.
Genghis, I don’t disagree that Vista has better Tablet functionality then XP Tablet. I know that it does. My issue is not with the Tablet functionality of Vista, but Vista’s behavior on mobile devices. I returned a fully loaded x61t, fast hard drive, 2gb RAM, 1 gb Ready Boost – because the computer crashed more in 2 weeks then my last 4 computers had crashed in 6 years. I had so many BSOD’s that I considered just making one my wallpaper.
I even went out and bought (and returned) one of those crappy hp tx1000 which I thought I would use as a play machine. Besides weighing more then a school bus (at least it seemed that way), it also suffered from Vista crashes. And I don’t want to be told that I need to spend hours “tweaking” Vista by disabling features that I don’t really need in order to make the OS run with more stability. If the feature is not needed it shouldn’t be in my OS to begin with since it is only clogging up the works – is it too much to ask that my OS should work out of the box?
I would be more then willing to pay for an “upgrade” to XP Tablet which would give me some or most of the functionality that Vista Tablet has built in. I find it almost impossible to believe that the increased functionality of Vista Tablet over XP Tablet is strictly OS related. Not that MS is about to offer to improve my XP TIP experience – but I think that offering better functionality in a more stable mobile OS platform would only help people who are on the fence about tablets, not hurt sales.
As a technical user, I definitely don’t have any issues with crashing, since I keep my systems running pretty smoothly. Even so, for all the support work I do, I definitely see and read about all the issues of Vista.
It’s a shame that Ernie feels a need to give up rather than consult someone to assist him with a more stable setup.
Maybe it’s time to try a ModBook?
@Genghis…
Having better inking support and some pen-gestures doesn’t mean squat if overall performance and stability robs you of your ability to use it.
I should have been clear in my last post, btw… I am an XP user, not a Vista user.
We could argue the merits and demerits of Vista all day, but back to the subject of the thread, assuming you’re using an OS that is stable on your Tablet (Vista on mine, XP on yours), I’m curious about others’ experiences using Tablets in a courtroom or another mission-critical environment where you can’t say “hold it, wait a second until I reboot.” I mentioned above the HTC Advantage which has the Windows Mobile OS. That’s fine for note-taking, but to be fair and balanced
, in a trial where you’re using presentation software that runs only on Windows (Trial Director, LiveNote, etc.), it’s not an option.
What is inexplicable to me is how many strong assertions about the alleged unreliability of Vista are made here, without any hint of technical understanding or evidence that the OS is truly the issue.
Arguments from experience – or worse, arguments based on what major OEMs preinstall on their machines – are far from convincing. For one of us, Vista crashes often. For others, it never does. One is left wondering if perhaps some other factor would explain the pattern.
Finally, if one knew enough about technology to stand behind claims about OS stability, one might also possess the ability to downgrade one’s Vista Tablet PC to an XP install. Otherwise, how about a bit more humility and a bit less rhetoric?
Benjamin:
You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
If I had to pegg bad experience/stability on anything its all the fun-bloatware that manufactures oh so often decide to fill up computers with. Luckly the u810 I have is very light on that, almost nil. And my m1300, I did a
fresh install myself.
But personally Vista has been all green flags in the house of me
No problems at all for about three months (thats when I got my first vista tablet, the u810)
Wouldn’t a supersized Advantage like machine be wonderful though. Instant on, instant off, store all your notes, use for communication. Sure it wouldn’t replace a powerful machine, but would be so much more useful for simply that instant on standpoint.
I would love to see a slate, thinner than the Stylisics, but just as big screen (writing surface) wise. But with Windows Mobile behind it.
Sorry guys, but I’ve been using a Fujitsu T4020 for two years now on XP Tablet 2005 and have never experience frequent Windows crashes. I’m a trainer and technical writer by trade, so while not taking my Tablet into courtrooms or whatever, I’m still not having the problems you speak of.
My system seems fairly stable.
I’ve had more critical moment sputters, stutters, and crashes with XP than on Vista, but Vista, for whatever reason, drops recognizing a CF card so much, I can’t use it actively, and can only back up to it when I have time to try three or four times, drops wifi, and can’t load some drivers at all (and totally lost the ability to ink on Office documents).
I certainly don’t see the problems my wife has with her Apples as a better swap for me, as I really rely on handwriting recognition.
I’m sure these problems are entirely unique to me as a result of my ignorance of operating systems, the same way my ignorance of automotive repair has left me on the side of the road with a blown water pump or whatever.
I am primarily a Mac user, but finally purchased a Fujitsu P1510 and, later a P1620 convertible for the tablet function. I use it for taking notes at meetings and, more recently, for giving presentations at professional meetings. I have 1 GB RAM and Vista installed. I have rarely experienced any freezes or crashes. It is perfect for my purposes. I certainly wouldn’t want to experience a freeze or crash during an important presentation in front of several hundred people, but I’ve learned to trust this particular tablet with Vista.
The analogy to automotives is apt. I wonder if those only capable of driving automatic would complain that a standard transmission is “unstable”?
…and then get sort of defensive about it?
for all you guys having Vista stability issues, you need to check your drivers & the software you have installed.
theres a reason your Vista machines are unstable & none of mine are… we all have the same OS, but not the same drivers/software.
I am also an attorney, and I have been using a tablet pc as a regular part of my routine since the HP (compaq) TC 1000. Since then, I progressed to the 1100, the Motion Computing LE 1700, the Lenovo X60, and I am now using a Fujitsu T2010 (which I highly recommend).
The tablet pc has been a fantastic resource and has totally revolutionized my practice. First of all, when it comes to storing and reading documents, in my opinion nothing compares. I have thousands of documents on my tablet that have handwritten edits. Also, I have stopped using a legal pad and now, my notes are always within reach. I used to use Journal exclusively, but I recently started using One Note for the first time.
I have also used the tablet in court to have documents and notes at my hands for immediate retrieval. When standing at a podium with a tablet, noone can even tell you are using a computer. However, when I present an argument I still bring in critical paper documents just in case there is a software failure.
Truthfully, I am shocked that more people haven’t jumped on the tablet bandwagon. But if you are an attorney (or anyone who wants to have a more versatile computer), the tablet is a great way to go.
Jack, just curious how you ended up with the 2010 as opposed to the hp 2710 or the fuji 1610/20? And whether you had tried the others before deciding on the 2010. I’m deciding between the 3 models myself and am interested in real world thoughts or comparisons.
The writer brings up a valid concern:
>>>But the thought lingered: I could never rely on the Tablet during a hearing or trial, or any situation where I was in front of a judge.
And is apparently dismissed by a fanboi:
>>>The author’s pejorative comments about Windows are typical but not universally accepted. If you know what you’re doing, you can use Vista and OneNote in such a way as to make the crash rate extremely low…
But the attorney is correct. Fanboi does FAIL.
See:
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/quote-stan-lau-at-gear-diary/
>>>Truthfully, I am shocked that more people haven’t jumped on the tablet bandwagon.
It is such a different paradigm and does some things so differently that people need to be *educated*. So far, hardly anyone but technoids knows it exists.
MS should spend some coin and do, I don’t know, TV infomercials? Long-form vids placed on popular video services (YouTube, Veoh, etc)?
jk has touted it for a few years now. I’m still not sure I can use it.
You’re right on the money with both points, Mike. I have stated more than once that Apple has a distinct advantage in controlling the entire user experience and it’s not debatable. That is why the Mac experience is pretty bullet-proof as Stan describes in the Gear Diary article you linked to. If something doesn’t work on the Apple side you have one entity to turn to and that system does work, and work well.
Your observation that not enough marketing is done to spread the Tablet technology to the real world is spot on too. As you pointed out I have been using Tablets and preaching about them for years and years and nearly every day I still hear from someone who sees me using one who wants to know what the heck it is. It is a sad state of affairs for sure.
JK,
You’re exactly right when you say that Apple is good at controlling the end-user experience. They don’t install a lot of junk on their systems and what they do load doesn’t run on startup, so of course “it just works.” Unfortunately, when Microsoft tried to control the Windows environment in the 90’s, they were sued for being anti-competitive. Something about how competitors couldn’t convince people their lousy products were necessary unless they were allowed to have them shoved down our throats.
The result is what we see today where OEM’s are allowed to completely junk up their systems with absolute crap.
Personally, I love taking “clean” Apple environments and “clean” Windows environments and comparing them without all the extras. You’re not comparing Apples and Oranges when you do this. They’re actually quite comparable in speed, performance, and usability.
Maybe it’s time for people to stop holding Microsoft back and actually let them compete again.
@Mike Cane
>>> And is apparently dismissed by a fanboi… But the attorney is correct. Fanboi does FAIL.
What are you, 12? So far you’ve got sk8er-spelling name calling, repetition, and all-caps. Go back to Slashdot?
In response to why I chose the Fujitsu T2010, it has incredible battery life, a very powerful screen, and is fast enough for my work needs (I also increased the RAM to a full 4 GB). I had a chance to use the P1610 for a short time, and although the form factor is fantastic, I found it too small to be able to read hundreds of pages of documents and take margin notes, highlight, etc. I also prefer the active digitizer.
I really like the HP 2710 but stayed away from it solely because it does not have buttons you can use to switch pages, as does the T2010. It sounds insignficant, but when reading page after page, a dedicated button is crucial and saves time.
By the way – if Apple does ever come out with a tablet, I will jump on that. My home computers are apple products, and I think that if/when it releases a tablet, it will be the best.
If you have any other questions about how I use a tablet in my practice, please let me know.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned linux as a far more stable and pleasing alternative to windows. I have a p1620 and never booted into the installed OS (Windows XP Tablet, I believe) — went straight into installing Ubuntu 7.10 via a bootable thumbdrive. All hardware with the exception of on-board microphone is working — including touchscreen, screen rotation (via xrandr), and fingerprint reader (via fprint). I confess I don’t use the suspend and hibernate features, as a sub-60 second boot-up time is acceptable to me.
I’ll be the first to admit that, while Linux has made great strides in becoming accessible to the non-geek crowd, getting it working on new hardware is still not for the faint of heart, unless the process has been ironed out by more experienced pioneers. That said, I would expect readers of this site to be offended at being relegated to the “non-geek crowd.”
If anyone’s interested, consider starting here, to create a persistent ubuntu install on removable media, so you can always go back to windows if you want:
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09/28/usb-ubuntu-710-gutsy-gibbon-install/