[eno_]

Keeping IT efficient is incredibly difficult.

That is because IT is purely a cost. And the only way an IT mananger advances his career is by running a bigger IT department.

Personally, I think IT should run only the servers and network. An individual PC is like an infantryman's rifle. If the infantryman can't take care of his rifle he is screwed. So it should be with laptops and individuals' desktop PCs.

[E Rocc]

Personally, I think IT should run only the servers and network. An individual PC is like an infantryman's rifle. If the infantryman can't take care of his rifle he is screwed. So it should be with laptops and individuals' desktop PCs.

That might be practical in 20 to 30 years. Not now. The gradient of computer knowledge is tremendous (being about in the middle, I see that from both directions) and the powers-that-be are typically at the lower end. Yet they are hooked on the information access.

What will increase is the marketability of those who have some PC troubleshooting/repair skills in addition to their primary skills. There's two or three of us at my company that probably mean one less person is needed in MIS.

-Eric

[RochesterFan]

Personally, I think IT should run only the servers and network. An individual PC is like an infantryman's rifle. If the infantryman can't take care of his rifle he is screwed. So it should be with laptops and individuals' desktop PCs.

I couldn't agree more. In this 'information age' the core competencies of a 'knowledge worker' must include the ability to keep a pc with essential apps running. I hate the 'let's keep them dumb and helpless' approach of most IT departments. I find it offensive.

[Mr Crontab]

Maybe if you are in an office full of computer consultants.
Expecting an office full of ... say ... pediatricians to maintain their own computers is not very realistic.

[Sofa King]

I agree. Really, I have had my PC for a little more than 3 years now. I've had to replace the CD-ROM (this can hardly be blamed on Windows, as it was made by a third party), I installed a new hard drive (again, not Windows fault, the old one just wasn't big enough anymore to install all of my PC games) and once had to deal with a virus. I did all of this on my own without, pretty much by simply reading the instruction manuals. I'm still running Windows 98, by the way.

My father runs his own company. He's been using PCs since as far back as I can remember and he's never had a serious problem. Some of the computers at the office ran for at LEAST 5 years without failing.

If your PC breaks every year, or even every 2 years, then you are doing something wrong. If all you ever do with your computer at work is use Powerpoint, Excel, and MS word, and IE then there's no reason for your computer to be having any problems that you can't fix yourself on a regular basis.