Windows

I agree for the most part. Our company uses a great many laptops and they cost about 2 - 2 1/2 times more than an equally yoked desktop PC. We don't often upgrade ours, primarily due to the fact that it is so expensive. We usually spend more upfront to purchase a higher end unit that will last longer. This, however, runs anywhere from $3000 - $4000 per unit. The software costs for upgrading will be the same, but with the hardware, testing, and maintenance, I can easily see a huge difference in capital requirements.

Notebooks (laptops) are used away from the office. While traveling - staying in motels/hotels, airports, on planes and trains, at customer sites. These capabilities can be provided by rental and elasing and I contend that companies are forming that will provided the needed equipment on a rental and lease basis just like headsets are provided on planes to watch a movie. What will be carried is the hard drive that can be attched to the rented cpu on the plane, hotel or customer site.
This will not only reduce costs but will provide convenience to laptop users.

Our enterprise is taking steps similar in the article and is forming an IPG. The goal is to develop and organize an Intranet meeting business priorities and plan using a budget that installs an infrastructure for future Intranet applications.
Weare starting with the customer and planning to develop systems that take advantage of that information while adding information that will leverage the basic customer data base.
One objective is to develop an Extranet that will service our company’s suppliers and vendors similar to the way we serve our customers. We hope this front and back end view will help to add value to the final applications.
When our Intranet grows up we need it to help people entering and using data to make every day business decisions and use the information by bringing the information to meetings for analysis, consideration and ultimately to make smart management decisions.
An open question is how the Intranet will affect our small mainframe’s systems.