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MacBook Pro Touch Bar banned from multiple state bar exams
Here's an unexpected drawback of Apple's latest flagship laptops: law students in several states are being asked to disable the Touch Bar on their new MacBook Pros, or leave them at home entirely, if they plan to use the machines when they take the bar exam in February. According to an announcement from testing software company ExamSoft, the Touch Bar's predictive text feature could compromise "exam integrity."
New York Bar Association to would-be lawyers: No Macs Allowed
The New York State Board of Law Examiners says: "We do not support Apple products in any form including Intel-based laptops running Boot Camp - no exceptions." Today, as eager lawyers-to-be finish the New York State bar exam, those using laptops to write their essays won't be running Macs. The NY board, which has allowed candidates to write essays using laptops since 2003, has a strict no-Mac policy in place. They will not be exploring Mac-friendly options until at least February of next year. Before you react in outrage, be aware that according to the NY Times, computer support for Windows laptops remains so buggy that many candidates prefer to stick to pencil and paper. After a series of software exams gone wacky, the legal warnings and disclaimers now read: "If you choose to continue to use your computer to write your essay answers after experiencing technical difficulties, or when you have been instructed not to do so, you do so at your own risk." The exam software is designed to lock out all other applications on the laptop, so that test-takers can't leverage reference materials or crib notes on their machines. Amusingly, the article points out that many candidates have little or no experience writing out essays by hand as law school exams are "routinely administered on laptops." Presumably, a good percentage of those laptops are manufactured by Apple.
Professors banning in-class laptop use
In yet another sign that Luddism is alive and well in academia (remember Lakehead University's silly WiFi ban?), the Associated Press has picked up on a disturbing "trend" of professors banning laptops in their classrooms. Unlike the WiFi brouhaha, which revolved around fears that the wireless signals might be dangerous, keeping laptops out of the lecture hall is seen as a way of forcing students to pay attention. The AP article cites several law school professors who have enacted the ban, including one whose inspiration came while serving as an expert witness in a trial, when he realized the court stenographer wasn't absorbing any of the content that he/she was transcribing. If you ask us, not only does this policy fail to address the root of a problem -- hey Prof, try making your classes more interesting if you want people to pay attention -- but considering what students are paying for a higher education these days, they should be allowed to lug a mainframe and three monitors to class if that's how they like to get their learnin' done.
