IN THIS ISSUE:

Status Quo

New, new, new—in the world of computers it is always a blurring rush of new. Or is it really?

Take, for example, the way we work with computers—a mouse and a keyboard in a graphical windowed environment. This way of working originated from the Xerox Alto, an early personal computer developed at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. It was the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and mouse-driven windowed interface and is the über-ancestor of today's desktop computer. It was developed nearly 40 years ago (1973). This way of working with a computer has not changed and is still the predominant design today.

Consider the computer keyboard. The "QWERTY" layout was designed by Christopher Sholes, supposedly to slow speedy typists who often jammed early typewriters. His original design dates back almost 140 years (1873). This way of inputting words has not changed.

Both of the above are good examples of "network effects"—when something becomes more valuable and more popular because a lot of people use it. At a certain point it can become an entrenched standard and difficult to supplant because of this value and popularity. This is where desktop computers are today—entrenched in a windowed environment, using a mouse and keyboard for input, all based on designs that go back almost 140 years.

Many attempts have been made to derail this ostensible juggernaut to provide more meaningful and useful options, including alternative keyboard layouts (the Dvorak layout, for example), gesture recognition, alternative input devices (trackball mouse, eye tracking devices, motion sensing devices), pen-based computers, touch-based computers, and more. However, while the technology has improved, the fundamental desktop interface has remained unchanged.

Something Is Happening

Last year, Apple Computer introduced the iPad, a touch-screen tablet, which uses Apple's iPhone operating system but with a much larger 9.7-inch screen. Since then, other manufacturers have seen the success of Apple's iPad and they are flooding the market with more touch-based tablets. Some examples include the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the RIM Playbook, the Motorola XOOM, and the HP Slate.

More importantly, these tablets, in particular the iPad, now threaten to upset the above-mentioned status quo and profoundly change how we work with computers. Increasingly, the former stable landscape of the personal computer appears to be changing.

People are spending more time with tablets and less with desktops.

A recent survey by Google AdMob¹ showed that people are spending much more time on their tablets and far less time with their computers. Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents report that their desktop/laptop usage decreased after they started using a tablet. The survey highlights how the habits of customers are shifting as the tablet market grows. Forty-three percent said they now use their tablets more than their personal computers.

Another study, by software vendor Read It Later, showed a huge spike in the number of people using their iPad to read late at night rather than their computer or smartphone.²

Demand for personal computers is faltering.

According to Gartner Inc. and International Data Corp. (IDC),³ for the first time in six quarters, worldwide shipments of personal computers declined during the first quarter of 2011. IDC's report indicated a 3.2 percent decline (from first quarter last year) and Gartner's report showed PC sales slumped by 1.1 percent. For the United States, both firms indicated that sales of PCs dropped from 17 million units in the first quarter of 2010 to around 16.1 million units this year. In a related Wall Street Journal article, Gartner indicated that low-priced PCs had not attracted consumers and that consumers had pursued media tablets (like the iPad) and other consumer electronics.

iPads are invading schools.

Schools have been a longtime bastion for the use of personal computers. That, too, is seeing radical and profound changes. The fact that students (even young children) are finding the touch interface to be simple to use and attractive has not gone unnoticed by educators.

In one example of many across the United States, the local school board of Auburn, Maine, has purchased iPads for every kindergartner because teachers had noticed learning improvements in children who used educational software on the iPad to learn the alphabet.⁴ The program is a pilot, but the school expects to do a complete rollout in late 2011. Auburn's school board is looking for the iPad to help boost literacy rates from 62 percent to 90 percent in the next two years.

iPads are showing up in the office.

Organizations are also embracing the iPad. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that 65 percent of the Fortune 100 have either deployed or are running pilots with the iPad already.⁵ NetworkWorld also reported "over 80% of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting iPad, up from 65% in the September quarter. Some recent examples include JPMorgan Chase, Cardinal Health, Wells Fargo, Archer Daniels Midland, Sears Holdings and DuPont."⁶

Why Is This Happening?

What is causing this evolution? Why does it appear that people are apparently more interested in using a tablet over a more powerful desktop computer? The answer is the simplicity of the iPad's touch interface.

This interface is based entirely on touch and is a well-thought-out and consistent environment that works on finger taps, double taps, swipes, finger pinches, and more. It is quick to learn because it is bone simple and based on natural finger movements.

Compared to the effort it takes to learn a mouse, keyboard, and graphical interface, the iPad has a very low learning curve. The touch interface gives the iPad a powerful and flexible user interface that is very attractive to users.

With the abstract layer of the mouse and keyboard gone, the user can interact directly with the screen. The touch interface makes the computer more accessible.⁷ Ultimately, this may open up computers to a wider and less technical audience.

Will the iPad Change How Legal Professionals Work?

Adoption of new technology in a legal practice varies widely. It is often a mix of what keeps the firm competitive, what clients expect, and what keeps the attorneys happy (and productive). It appears law firms are adopting the iPad, either for the whole firm or for individual timekeepers. The following is based on conversations with multiple legal professionals from various size firms.

Usefulness of the iPad depends upon the practice.

An iPad, with its onscreen keyboard, may not appeal to a transactional lawyer who spends all day drafting long documents. However, for the lawyer who goes to trial, the iPad may be a great tool and a much more discreet device to hold while talking to a jury or judge than a laptop.

The on-the-go attorney will find the iPad useful for online research, basic note taking, document annotation, or checking email. It is also a huge asset to be able to load hundreds of documents on an iPad for reference.

Does the iPad replace carrying a laptop?

Yes and no. This is an individual decision, but the list on the "no" side is getting shorter.

On the "yes" side: it is better for reading documents than a laptop; it can browse the Internet, check email, make hand annotations and edits to PDF files, take handwritten notes or basic typed notes, and do presentations; it can provide travel logistics; battery life is very, very long; it is small and light; and it starts instantly.

On the no side: it is not good for touch-typing long documents; it doesn't run Microsoft Word; it doesn't have a built-in CD drive; and an external keyboard is extra. Some particular positives mentioned in interviews:

1. Breaks down meeting barriers. The screen on an open laptop on a conference table can create a small social barrier. The iPad sits flat on the table and does not create this problem. Also in smaller meetings, people are more likely to pass an iPad among themselves to share information.
2. Portable presentations. For larger meetings, it provides the ability to do a presentation with a projector or to "whiteboard" without requiring a laptop.
3. A more portable travel companion. The iPad can provide immediate access to travel itinerary and electronic tickets. It is easy to get out and use in "little" pockets of time when you cannot easily use a laptop, such as when a plane is boarding or standing in line. Because of its size and weight, the iPad is also much easier to use on a crowded flight; it easily fits in the airplane seatback pocket and it travels easily in a briefcase.
4. An electronic reader. Tech-savvy litigators can use the iPad for document support. It's lightweight, instantly on when needed, and far less troublesome to handle than reams of paper.
5. Faster client communication. Some attorneys like the ability of the iPad to keep them up-to-date faster on timely news about legal issues that are important to a client.
6. As a second screen. Some attorneys use the iPad as an additional screen for their current laptop (using specialized software).

Summary

Ultimately, the technology that lawyers use has to make sense for their practice and allow them to provide the best service to their clients. There is no "one" technology used by a legal professional. It is a complement of multiple technologies, and the iPad is a tremendous addition with unique advantages to a lawyer's technological tool kit. The iPad and its touch-screen brethren provide alternatives, not substitutes.

Will the tablet replace the personal computer? Yes, the general consensus is that it will ultimately replace the venerated personal computer in the long term. However, in the near term, it is starting to transform what we think of as a computer. It provides a unique and intuitive way to work and legal professionals will continue to find new ways to use it in their practice.

Sources

1. Tablets Are Changing the Way Consumers Engage with Content, Google Mobile Ads Blog, April 7, 2011, http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/04/tablets-are-changing-way-consumers.html.

2. Is Mobile Affecting When We Read?, Read It Later, Jan. 12, 2011, http://readitlaterlist.com/blog/2011/01/is-mobile-affecting-when-we-read/.

3. Demand for PCs Falters, Ian Sherr, Wall St. J., April 14, 2011, at B5.

4. Auburn Kindergarten Students Set to Get iPads, WCSH6.com, April 8, 2011, http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/154919/314/Auburn-kindergarteners-to-get-iPads.

5. John Paczkowski, It's Business Time for Apple's iPad, The Wall Street Journal, Digital Network, Feb. 14, 2011, http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20110214/its-business-time-for-apples-ipad/?mod=ATD_skybox.

6. Maria Korolov, iPads Storm the Enterprise, NetworkWorld, Feb. 14, 2011, http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/021411-ipads-enterprise.html.

7. Jesus Diaz, Why Photoshop for iPad Marks the End of the Desktop Computing Era, Gizmodo, March 31, 2011, http://gizmodo.com/#!5787574/why-photoshop-for-ipad-marks-the-end-of-the-desktop-computing-era.

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