iPad at Work: Replacing Laptops in the Texas Legislature

Texas Legislature iPad

Photo Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziel

The Texas Legislature is replacing laptops with iPads for the new session that starts in early January of next year. As my hometown newspaper – the Austin American-Statesman – reports,

.Each lawmaker’s office in the Capitol will be offered two iPads for the session that begins Jan. 8. Each committee will get one, too. And the Legislature’s website has been upgraded to be readable on mobile devices for members of the public wishing to track legislation or find out about where and when committees are meeting.

The Statesman article quotes Chris Griesel, House parliamentarian (shown above) on some of the key reasons why the iPad is being adopted. These include:

– It’s viewed as a natural progressive step in the legislature’s technological development. Over the years they’ve gone from mainframe computers to desktops to laptops. “And now, Griesel said, it’s all about iPads and mobile computing.” Hello, Post-PC era.

– Members have made clear their preference for the iPad – with growing numbers of them choosing to use their personal iPads instead of state-issued laptops over the last couple of years.

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Read the rest of iPad at Work: Replacing Laptops in the Texas Legislature (192 words)

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