“I received the below email 10 days ago, and thought it was a good candidate. Today he asked me for a followup, but I’m still stumped…”
Good morning to you my old friend …. how are you doing today? Question about what I call computer toys; as time goes by it would become a lot more useful to me if I have something beside my laptop to take with me out in the field when I make either day trips or over night trips that I can use ILO my laptop, which I`d like to keep at home all of the time for when I use it here like I am now. I need something that is fairly small and portable so I can carry it with me, that I can use in some “wi fi” area, which we have a lot of them down here, and something I can use to have access to the Company VPN so I can get into PQ (sales software, RDP), and make necessary changes and additions to various specs while I`m out traveling, so I don`t always have to wait until I either get home at night or back to my hotel room at night? Of course I`d continue to use my BlackBerry for cell calls and to send and receive emails.
Is there such a computer toy out there that you can recommend and if so do you think BC would buy it for me?
via: [Spiceworks Community]
[Picture Source: Salvor (CC)]
beginning to wonder if the “fail” of faildesk is the admins ability to take their users concerns seriously.
There’s a whole market of netbooks and tablets for the very reason that people are interested in ultra portable solutions, rather than lugging around a whole laptop bag – large, heavy, lots of accessories, etc.
it’s not a matter to taking their concerns seriously, it’s a question just how many devices does the user need. we give them laptops to be portable, that is what a laptop is for. now they want something smaller, more compact. Fine, give me your laptop and take this net book. then they whine about it being to small at home. where does it end. the trend in technology is one device, multiple uses, yet users are demanding more devices now then ever before. i think alot of it is the “shiney” syndrome, they want it because it is new, not because they need it.
There is a “shiny” syndrome for sure – Apple products pretty much created the market for that.
But for road warriors – and they still exist – who have increasingly less space on planes and trains and just want to travel only with what they need, why are you giving them hassle if they want to have a lighter, fast version of their laptops to take to client interactions?
I’ve been on both sides of this – as the help desk and as the user. So I can tell you who you should be venting your spleen towards is the management that asks employees to work at the office, on the road, and once they get home. The management that asks this rarely wants to buy the better, lighter laptops for their workforce that would work for all environments – instead they buy heavier and cheaper products that are clunky in all senses of the word.
My husband – a computer programmer who builds high-performance systems and is getting his PhD in Computer Science, so not computer illiterate – finally succumbed to an iPad for his shorter trips. Because he kept pulling back muscles out schlepping his laptop bag through airports and hotels, and it’s faster to get through TSA.
Not all support issues are actually PEBKAC generated. Sometimes they are management fantasy generated.
Try a Tablet or a Netbook….
I think the user is trying to GET a tablet without ASKING for a tablet.
As for Dave G – We DO take their requests seriously, that’s WHY FailDask is so true to life! LOL Some users just don’t get it. They think we are out to make their life difficult, but we’re not. We try to make their life easier.
As for the netbooks and tablets, if users would rather have that than their laptop, get it for them (unless it violates policies). Let them see how fun it is (not) to write their e-mails on it, update sales sheets, etc. I understand laptops can be “cumbersome”, but there’s a reason for them…..
Here is a novel idea, buy a desktop for home and use the laptop for travels.
Except a laptop != netbook/tablet.
These days, a laptop is a workstation… Something people can use between work/home fully functional. People don’t want a cumbersome desktop, and many people are working longer hours, including at home… a laptop allows them to do this.
A Netbook/tablet is a nice portable solution for business users when travelling. Less cumbersome, with still some basic functionality. No, they’re not great to do lots of work on, but many companies today are using these options for quick connections to the office, sales entries, presentations, etc. Something you can throw in a briefcase/luggage, then just turn on when needed… not something that adds another bulky case to everything else you have to travel with, and then has to boot, update, virus scan, whatever, when you’re trying to demonstrate something to a client or try to enter a sale.
Yes, because every company provides their staff with up-to-date laptops. Sometimes when you’re out and about and trying to impress or get stuff done quickly, the three year old laptop the company gave you is a royal PITA that gets in the way or is too heavy or the battery too old (because some clients have surprisingly few outlets for you).
Be nice. He’s simply asking if there is a lighter alternative to his laptop that’s company approved.