60,768 News Articles

The 10 things we most hate about laptops

Why mobile computing = IT dept headache

By | 01 December 07

Laptops are a rising force in computing. Growth in notebook sales is astronomic, and portable computers have changed the way business operates to the point that we literally cannot imagine a work life without them. But IT professionals, whether they're dealing with accident-prone users or keeping the network secure, consistently say that laptops are nothing short of a nightmare.

Why mobile computing = IT dept headache

Related Articles

Damaged. Lost. Stolen. Too big, too small. Insecure and unreliable. And just plain annoying. If you're in IT, there's just not much to like about laptops.

Some members of the IT crowd swerve the issue by outsourcing support altogether; others by rigidly adhering to standards and trying not to personally take the hate mail they receive from disgruntled sales reps, irritated secretaries and rowdy marketeers.

Either way, IT executives have a lot to say on the subject of laptops, and nearly none of it is good.

And that's ironic, or maybe just tough luck, because sales of laptops in the business sector are growing 20 percent a quarter, while sales of desktop computers are declining sharply, according to IDC.

By this time next year, IDC says, shipments of business laptops will have surpassed that of desktops, and the gap will continue to widen. This year in the US alone, laptop sales are expected to hit 31.7 million units.

IT departments have to support those 31.7 million machines, quickly and efficiently, whether the units are ensconced at a Starbucks or being dragged around remotest Africa, or even when the machine is run over by a train and sliced in half. (Trust me, it happens.)

But we didn't say IT had to like it.

Over the next few pages we present, in no particular order, the top 10 things IT professionals absolutely hate about laptops. (And yes, we did have to edit down a very long list.)

1 3 4 5 … next » last »

Share this article




Comments

Ron Graves said: Damn That should be spends not spend

Ron Graves said: Isnt it time to drop the term laptop Oh I use it as much as anyone but its always been a misnomer Use one on your lap and itll either slip off or overheat as clothing blocks the vents in the base I think cooling is the main Achilles heel of the portable computer and mine spend its life sitting on an akasa cooling base with its two fans forcing air through the caseIm still not sure how youd lose something that size either - its pretty hard to overlook

Send to a friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:

PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.