Original Developer of ACS Juror Recalls Client/Server Challenges
By Laura Neufeld
If you have looked into buying a piece of electronics recently, you may have been shocked to discover that the old standards you have been used to (such as tube tv’s, cd players, or your basic 35 mm camera) have been replaced by completely new versions - many of which look and act nothing like those standbys you remember from a decade or so ago. Or perhaps you bought yourself a new computer a couple of years ago. After patting yourself on the back for being so "ahead of the times," you are now frustrated to learn that your high-tech (and high priced) purchase is already being sold for discounted prices amongst the "Discontinued" racks.
Such is the speed with which technology moves. And in order to keep up with business, many companies and organizations have learned the hard way that they must place themselves right on the edge of the wave to keep ahead. Paul Arntsen, VP of Product Development at Courthouse Technologies, knows all too well the need to keep abreast of the latest technological developments. Arntsen is the original developer of "ACS Juror," a client/server jury management system still widely used by courts across North America.
Client/server computing architecture was popularized in the early to mid 1990s -- around the same time cd players replaced tape decks as the music media of choice. In the client/server model, the application software was installed on each workstation; those workstations were then connected to a database server via the local area network, which allowed each workstation to access information on the connected data server. "Back in the day, PC computing power wasn’t what it is today," explains Arntsen. "Client/server effectively allowed developers to use the computing power of the local PC together with that of the server. The downside was that every workstation had to have the software installed on it." As any of us familiar with software programs knows, updates can be frequent in order to provide the best product possible to the client. However, for client/server applications, these updates were sometimes more trouble than they were worth: with each update, the software would need to be reinstalled on each workstation. "The most common complaints I received concerned maintenance updates."
Today maintaining client/server applications is being made easier with remote control software like Citrix and Terminal Services. These systems allow people to connect to applications installed on central servers. But according to Arntsen, this is akin to buying an adapter for your tape deck so you can play CDs. "At best, you’re artificially extending the life of a past-its-prime technology. In addition to being expensive investments, these systems consume tremendous bandwidth, they require much greater reliability from the network, and they can’t take advantage of many of the features that make software applications perform in the ways we have come to expect." But one of the biggest issues for Arntsen is that these implementations don’t avail themselves of the abundance of riches available to developers in the new era of web architecture.
"Web systems offer tremendous benefits and costs savings, and provide our clients with new opportunities," explains Arntsen. No software has to be installed on any workstation, courts can easily outsource or centralize certain aspects of their business for greater efficiency, and it is even possible for courts to consider "hosting' web applications for neighboring courts for a fee. According to Arntsen, "A single installation of Courthouse JMS serves the 53 Superior Courts of North Dakota, as it does the 24 Supreme Courts of the Province of British Columbia. With web architecture, there’s no reason why the jury management software for a group of counties or states, or nation-wide in the federal courts, for example, couldn’t be run from a single data center and the questionnaire and summons printing and mailing process centralized at a service bureau."
The amount of new opportunities gained by the change to web-based technology has surprised even Arntsen. For him it’s this new area of web-based technology known as Web Services that puts the sizzle in his steak. "I couldn’t believe how many services could be made available to the user through web-based software. It is limitless!"
Web Services provide Courthouse Technologies the ability to do things such as connect their jury management software to the Courthouse Technologies’ Customer Service Center. Because of that connectivity, the jury management system itself can automatically open a support case when their client has a problem, and then automatically pass them all the information they need to solve that problem. It’s also what allows Courthouse Technologies to connect their customers to continuing education materials like training movies and knowledge-base articles from directly within their application. Need some instruction on how to create a pool? Click the "watch the movie" icon and you’re watching the latest Courthouse Technologies production, which explains the process step-by-step.
Web Services also enable Courthouse Technologies to seamlessly connect Courthouse JMS to its print and mail service center. "The print and mail service is a real innovation for our customers," says Arntsen. "It allows us to automatically extract their pool data, conduct a real-time national change of address search, image and print their summons forms, and then mail them at bulk postage rates, without any human touch. And all our user has to do is a couple of mouse clicks to create their jury pools."
According to Arntsen, the biggest single change in overall computing technology is the shift to web-based software. "In the future, when you want to use any of the traditional software programs (such as a word processing program like Word), you will access it through your web browser. Instead of paying a large purchase price up front (and then having to buy the newer versions within a couple of years), you will just pay a small monthly sum to have access to it," he predicts. Indeed, Google has made this a reality with its release of Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
Courthouse Technologies is committed to staying at the forefront of the technological revolution, and passing all its exciting developments on to our clients. "We are already working on several new updates and additions to Courthouse JMS which allow us to take full advantage of the tools provided by using web architecture," says Arntsen.
If you are interested in learning more about web-based technology, or the advanced services provided by Courthouse Technologies, visit www.courthouse-technologies.com, or call 877-527-2199.
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By Laura Neufeld
If you have looked into buying a piece of electronics recently, you may have been shocked to discover that the old standards you have been used to (such as tube tv’s, cd players, or your basic 35 mm camera) have been replaced by completely new versions - many of which look and act nothing like those standbys you remember from a decade or so ago. Or perhaps you bought yourself a new computer a couple of years ago. After patting yourself on the back for being so "ahead of the times," you are now frustrated to learn that your high-tech (and high priced) purchase is already being sold for discounted prices amongst the "Discontinued" racks.
Such is the speed with which technology moves. And in order to keep up with business, many companies and organizations have learned the hard way that they must place themselves right on the edge of the wave to keep ahead. Paul Arntsen, VP of Product Development at Courthouse Technologies, knows all too well the need to keep abreast of the latest technological developments. Arntsen is the original developer of "ACS Juror," a client/server jury management system still widely used by courts across North America.
Client/server computing architecture was popularized in the early to mid 1990s -- around the same time cd players replaced tape decks as the music media of choice. In the client/server model, the application software was installed on each workstation; those workstations were then connected to a database server via the local area network, which allowed each workstation to access information on the connected data server. "Back in the day, PC computing power wasn’t what it is today," explains Arntsen. "Client/server effectively allowed developers to use the computing power of the local PC together with that of the server. The downside was that every workstation had to have the software installed on it." As any of us familiar with software programs knows, updates can be frequent in order to provide the best product possible to the client. However, for client/server applications, these updates were sometimes more trouble than they were worth: with each update, the software would need to be reinstalled on each workstation. "The most common complaints I received concerned maintenance updates."
Today maintaining client/server applications is being made easier with remote control software like Citrix and Terminal Services. These systems allow people to connect to applications installed on central servers. But according to Arntsen, this is akin to buying an adapter for your tape deck so you can play CDs. "At best, you’re artificially extending the life of a past-its-prime technology. In addition to being expensive investments, these systems consume tremendous bandwidth, they require much greater reliability from the network, and they can’t take advantage of many of the features that make software applications perform in the ways we have come to expect." But one of the biggest issues for Arntsen is that these implementations don’t avail themselves of the abundance of riches available to developers in the new era of web architecture.
"Web systems offer tremendous benefits and costs savings, and provide our clients with new opportunities," explains Arntsen. No software has to be installed on any workstation, courts can easily outsource or centralize certain aspects of their business for greater efficiency, and it is even possible for courts to consider "hosting' web applications for neighboring courts for a fee. According to Arntsen, "A single installation of Courthouse JMS serves the 53 Superior Courts of North Dakota, as it does the 24 Supreme Courts of the Province of British Columbia. With web architecture, there’s no reason why the jury management software for a group of counties or states, or nation-wide in the federal courts, for example, couldn’t be run from a single data center and the questionnaire and summons printing and mailing process centralized at a service bureau."
The amount of new opportunities gained by the change to web-based technology has surprised even Arntsen. For him it’s this new area of web-based technology known as Web Services that puts the sizzle in his steak. "I couldn’t believe how many services could be made available to the user through web-based software. It is limitless!"
Web Services provide Courthouse Technologies the ability to do things such as connect their jury management software to the Courthouse Technologies’ Customer Service Center. Because of that connectivity, the jury management system itself can automatically open a support case when their client has a problem, and then automatically pass them all the information they need to solve that problem. It’s also what allows Courthouse Technologies to connect their customers to continuing education materials like training movies and knowledge-base articles from directly within their application. Need some instruction on how to create a pool? Click the "watch the movie" icon and you’re watching the latest Courthouse Technologies production, which explains the process step-by-step.
Web Services also enable Courthouse Technologies to seamlessly connect Courthouse JMS to its print and mail service center. "The print and mail service is a real innovation for our customers," says Arntsen. "It allows us to automatically extract their pool data, conduct a real-time national change of address search, image and print their summons forms, and then mail them at bulk postage rates, without any human touch. And all our user has to do is a couple of mouse clicks to create their jury pools."
According to Arntsen, the biggest single change in overall computing technology is the shift to web-based software. "In the future, when you want to use any of the traditional software programs (such as a word processing program like Word), you will access it through your web browser. Instead of paying a large purchase price up front (and then having to buy the newer versions within a couple of years), you will just pay a small monthly sum to have access to it," he predicts. Indeed, Google has made this a reality with its release of Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
Courthouse Technologies is committed to staying at the forefront of the technological revolution, and passing all its exciting developments on to our clients. "We are already working on several new updates and additions to Courthouse JMS which allow us to take full advantage of the tools provided by using web architecture," says Arntsen.
If you are interested in learning more about web-based technology, or the advanced services provided by Courthouse Technologies, visit www.courthouse-technologies.com, or call 877-527-2199.
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