Your department has the option to purchase extra peripherals from their own funds if this is desirable. Using a laptop in place of a desktop tends to complicate the issue of backing up your system. Since most of our back-up systems work over the network at night, laptops tend to be missed since staff often take them home at night. Staff and faculty using laptops may have to take responsibility for managing their own back-ups. Doing daily back-ups is very important for laptops because their portability tends to place them at greater risk for theft and damage.
Security is another issue to consider when acquiring a laptop or a desktop computer.
All Desktop 2000 systems are leased from a vendor. When the lease expires for the original system, the replacement system must be turned in to the vendor in order to fulfill the lease agreement. Laptops are obviously more vulnerable to theft because of their portability and frequent trips off campus. Yes, both Apple and IBM have agreed to sell comparable machines at comparable prices to faculty and staff until August 30th. The quantity will be limited to one system per employee.