14 DAY TRIAL // The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners announced this weekend that all Microsoft Surface models beside the Surface Laptop are banned at the bar exam, adding that test-takers will be allowed to use their MacBooks as long as they are OK with having the Touch Bar disabled (if it’s available on their laptops).
While information on why exactly Microsoft’s 2-in-1 Surface models are banned wasn’t provided, Surface Laptop users should be able to attend the exam, though another series of restrictions apply to all those running the Windows 10 Creators Update.
Specifically, users of systems with the Windows 10 Creators Update already installed need to notify the Board of Law Examiners that they’d be using such a machine and apply a workaround that involves running SofTest, the application that runs the test, in compatibility mode with Windows 8.
The Surface Pen is banned too
The board also warns against keeping automatic updates turned on during the test, explaining that the Windows 10 Creators Update install could start all of a sudden without users specifically asking for it.
“If your laptop freezes during the exam and cannot be restarted in SofTest secure exam mode, you will be required to handwrite the exam. NO EXTRA TIME IS GIVEN DUE TO A COMPUTER FREEZE,” the warning reads.
Although Surface Laptop users are allowed to take the exam, there’s also one extra requirement in their case. This device launches with Windows 10 S, the new Windows 10 SKU that is limited to Windows Store apps, and because SofTest is not available in the Windows Store, upgrading to Windows 10 Pro is mandatory. Thanks to Microsoft, the upgrade to Windows 10 is free of charge until December 31.
As far as Apple users are concerned, SofTest should run just fine on the MacBook, though on models with a Touch Bar this feature would be disabled because it’s not supported just yet.