[X4U] Trying to get a Mac Laptop approved - Part 1

[John Erdman]

Your IT guy is toeing the company line pretty carefully... and they do  
have experience behind them to back up his arguments.

You're not getting much creative help here. It is possible in some  
places to chip away at the rock. The solution however is for you to  
buy the laptop yourself and provide your own support. You would  
clearly have to get corporate IT clearance to connect and access their  
systems. But honey works better than vinegar, especially if you can  
show the business need being served and aren't putting any of their  
capital at risk.

I did this twice once by introducing an Apple II with Visicalc to a  
large multinational corp. Nobody had ever heard of it before and when  
the business leaders saw its value for their businesses, all of a  
sudden I began to see some Apple II's appear despite the IT folks poo- 
pooing them. Of course this was before we had to worry about  
networking the desktops.

And then later on I introduced the Mac the same company but the  
environment was now 100% IBM pc's. But by this time I had been  
promoted and now had a budget of my own to be responsible for. I was  
able to connect the Mac to the corporate network. The business value  
in this case was the prep of stunning graphics for business  
presentations.

There's a lesson here but I'll let others articulate it.

  You'll probably have to get your own boss on board in order to make  
any progress. But I'm guessing that buying the laptop yourself isn't  
what you had in mind.  But might be a good investment for your career.  
It was for mine.

Good luck.
John