road warriors

The ultraportable laptop: form vs. function

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

In the world of ultraportable laptops, there's no more fundamental dichotomy than that of form vs. function. After all, a good subnotebook is only expected to be two things at the end of the day: portable and usable enough to get the job done. The question is, however, how much portability are you willing to sacrifice for power? Or conversely, how many features are you willing to go without for the sake of a featherweight machine?

Two new ultraportable laptops--the Apple MacBook Air and the Lenovo ThinkPad X300--rekindled that age old ultraportable debate this past week. Both laptops can fit in a manila mailing envelope. Both sport dual-core Intel chips and can run Windows. Both offer WiFi, Bluetooth, a full-size keyboard, a 13.3" LED-backlit display and a respectable amount of battery life. And both machines are being drooled over by mobile professionals as we speak.

Here's where they diverge: the X300 is a bit fatter but offers a whole lot more in the built-in hardware department (optical drive, 3G, more ports). Meanwhile, the MacBook Air sacrifices a lot of features in order to squeeze into a jaw-droppingly svelte case. In this light, many have pointed to the X300 as the business answer to the more consumer-oriented MacBook Air.

I, however, am not buying this argument. I think that there are a lot of consumers out there who will find the X300 appealing. And I think there are just as many road warriors who would love to tuck a MacBook Air into their briefcase and forget that it's there. Ultimately, it comes down to a question of how you work and what you value in a portable machine. Do you need multiple USB ports and an Ethernet jack or are you wireless 99 percent of the time? Do you like to watch DVDs while waiting at the airport on business trips? Would that extra inch of thickness be just enough to make your bag feel too cramped? Does the idea of a major data transfer over WiFi fill you with dread?

At the end of the day, the MacBook Air and the ThinkPad X300 are both powerful machines in impressively small packages. And it can be said that both offer a lot of function with a focus on form. The real question, as with any laptop, is which offers the right balance for the way that you work? I don't think I need to tell you that there's only one person who knows the answer to that question. -Mehan

ALSO NOTED: IT hiring is still difficult; Technology for road warriors;

Mon, 07 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

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And Finally… More stupid user tricks. Article

Data left behind poses a big risk

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 19:01:36 -0500

While it may seem that laptop data theft is primarily due to thieves and disgruntled ex-employees, it looks like plain old user forgetfulness is the major reason mobile devices go missing. A new report from Pointsec Mobile Technologies states that over 10,000 devices such as PDAs, cell phones and laptops were left behind in taxi cabs, in the Washington, DC area alone, during a six month period. While the majority of these devices found their way back to owners, it's still clear that tons of confidential data--from contact information and messaging content to files on corporate initiatives--could potentially end up in the wrong hands.

For more on the real threat to mobile data:
- read the news at CSO online

Related Article: Picking the right mobile device for road warriors. Article

SPOTLIGHT: Laptop security in three simple steps

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

Despite a recent article about how road warriors can work without a laptop at their disposal, most of today's mobile staffers still need the device to get their job done. Given the continuing news of laptop thefts and data loss, it's critical to make sure that users know how to best secure and protect their handy mobile PC. There are three simple steps that can make that happen and that can also improve remediation and response if the unthinkable happens. Article

SPOTLIGHT: Mobile CRM requires a plan

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

Mobility is key for every enterprise but just because you've doled out devices and network access to road warriors, doesn't mean that your business is getting a strong return on investment in the area of customer relationship management (CRM). Get insight on six ways that you can not only enhance mobile productivity, but can also boost your CRM strategy at the same time. Article

SPOTLIGHT: The risk of today's wireless explosion

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:01:34 -0400

Today's road warriors love the fact that there's wireless Internet access pretty much everywhere--it has even been deployed in a remote Amazon city. What they might not love as much, though, is the fact that their laptop or handheld can be easily hacked via many of these cutting-edge networks. While it's the IT team's responsibility to do as much as possible to protect the data and communications housed and transmitted via these devices, it's also very important that users realize that free access comes with a very big risk. Article

ALSO NOTED: Storage specialists in demand; A slew of 'critical' Firefox patches; and much more...

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:50 -0400

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And Finally... A high-tech ear cleaning approach. Article