Are notebooks set to bury desktops?
COMMENTARY--Has my Reality Check finally lost touch with reality? Many of you seem to think so. I wrote that the availability of inexpensive, high performance notebook computers has made it senseless to buy desktop systems anymore. Even the latest research into buying trends from IDC makes clear that notebooks are in, and desktops are out. But enough of you from medium to large companies wrote to suggest that it's time I landed my spaceship back on earth.
The number one reason you told me I needed an attitude adjustment is that the support calls you get for desktops are vastly outnumbered by those for notebooks. The biggest problem, according to many, is hardware failure. For example, not only did BrassRing CIO Andy Cooper tell me that notebooks tend to last about half the three-year life expectancy of desktops; he also recalled how he tracked notebook users at a previous job and noted that they called for support about 20 times more frequently than desktop users. He admits that sounds unbelievable. When sharing this information with others, he cuts the number in half --- to 10 times more frequently--- just to make it sound like he's not exaggerating. If my e-mail is any indicator, 20 is no exaggeration.
CIOs like Cooper understand the benefits of equipping everyone with a notebook. But they point out another flaw in my argument that the cost of a notebook that gets the job done isn't that much more expensive than a desktop system. The cheaper notebooks apparently don't hold up to abuse nearly as well as the more expensive models. That leaves IT managers with two choices: Pay now for the more durable notebooks, or pay later by dealing with 20 times the support calls. Either way, the cost of equipping users with notebooks is still dramatically higher than giving them desktops. BrassRing's Cooper, for example, knows that the life expectancy of a desktop is three years. But while desktops typically last longer, he says, notebooks rarely go longer than expected.
Two desktops = one notebook?
From an end user's point of view, my editor David Grober must be able to relate. He has routinely requested a notebook computer from CNET's IT department so that he can work from home. But, since his need is primarily related to telecommuting and not to traveling, the company opted to issue him a second desktop for home use. This isn't an uncommon practice. Several readers wrote to tell me that giving users two desktops is actually less costly to a company than giving them one notebook. If that's true, it's a wake-up call to notebook manufacturers that more must be done to bring down the cost and increase the reliability of these systems. This is especially so if those vendors are hoping for success with Microsoft's forthcoming TabletPC version of Windows.
Anyway, this dose of reality has me wondering what people are doing to their notebook computers. Are notebook systems really that shabby or are people just not treating them with the respect they deserve? Perhaps a little bit of both. Dating back to the old Zenith SuperSports, I've been using notebooks and portables for about 15 years, and it took me the first five years to realize that I had to baby these systems if I wanted them to last.
Since 1992, when I started using one of IBM's first color ThinkPads (the 750c) and except for a brief stint with an HP Omnibook (a notebook that didn't last), I've pretty much been using nothing but ThinkPads. They haven't been flawless, though. Three have had display failures that required me to send the units back to IBM for repair.
Untimely repair
Once a notebook has a hardware-related failure, affecting a timely repair is the second biggest problem that people wrote to me about. If a desktop's display, keyboard, floppy drive or other component goes bad, replacing it is simple. Most companies have something on hand so that the part can be replaced quickly. When this happens with a notebook, however, it's a completely different story.
When a notebook fails, depending on what component fails, the entire system may need to be sent back. If you (or your IT department) planned ahead and ate some significant cost, you may have some spare notebook shells. If the spares are not already all in use, you could gut the parts from the failed notebook (hard drive, CD-ROM, RAM, etc.), put them in the new shell, and hope everything works. Often this does the trick. But more often there are no spare shells to be found. If that happens, IT managers are advised to have some decent Scotch on hand to head off a nervous breakdown on behalf of the notebook owner who learns that he or she will have to go without a system for three or more business days.
I've been close to tears over a hardware failure on several occasions. My solution is one that few can afford (uh oh, the ugly truth comes out): I have two notebooks--one that I use all the time (an old ThinkPad 600e) and another that's ready to go (a ThinkPad 570) in case the first fails. I take special care to keep all my data files in one directory branch and I routinely copy that entire branch to a network file server that's accessible to both notebook computers. I also try my best to pamper these systems during my travels.
Before I wrote that column about how notebooks are so great, my 600e was my "old reliable" for years. But then, almost in spite of the column, things started going south on me. First, the TrackPoint pointing device started to malfunction. Then, as if the TrackPoint had caught a disease, other parts of the system started to experience electromechanical failures. Now, to get the system started, I have to press the escape key to bypass one big green error screen, and then the F1 key to bypass another. Fortunately, my standby (the 570) was ready to go. Unfortunately, the 600e is collecting dust. Our IT department doesn't have any spare shells.
It is problems like these that no amount of babying can overcome. Add the problems that babying can overcome, and it's easy to see why so many readers thought I was out of touch. A lot of notebook parts, from keyboards to modem and Ethernet dongles to removable floppies and CD-ROMs, are routinely destroyed by innocent mishandling. I'll never forget the day that I quickly hoisted my backpack over my shoulder and I forgot to zip the thing shut. My notebook hit the ground and splayed its parts in a 25-foot diameter circle. I was lucky. I had a tiny screwdriver in my trusty pocket protector (next to the pen/pencil/PDA stylus combo unit). I got onto my knees and reassembled the system as people handed little pieces back to me. Sure, I had a few extra screws, but nothing a little duct tape couldn't handle. The system actually worked.
OK, maybe notebooks still have a ways to go before they can truly replace desktops from the cost, support, and life expectancy perspectives. But, no matter what my line of work, I'll take the bad with the good. I'll still take a notebook over a desktop any day.
Share your worst notebook nightmares with me in the TalkBack below, or e-mail me at david.berlind@cnet.com.
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