CIO Essentials: Luke Mellors' picks of the week

Ever wondered what CIOs are reading on silicon.com? Our latest feature - CIO Essentials - puts you in the picture. Each week a leading IT chief picks his or her top stories from the past seven days and explains why they matter.

This week we have Luke Mellor, IT director at hotel reservations and event management agency Expotel - the largest service provider to the UK government.

Virgin bans in-flight use of Apple, Dell laptops
"I want to play it safe like the next guy but really this is a bit much. Air travel is becoming so restrictive and when you can't use your laptop is basically a waste of time which none of us have anymore. Instead of banning laptops in the rare event that it happens, put procedures in place to manage risk and events just in case it happens to a Sony Vaio that hasn't been recalled - and please let us get on with work."

Special: What kind of CIO are you?
"Now if you asked this question at a meeting, I am sure the answer wouldn't be flattering. Fantastic article - I love a good piece of research mixed with the flare of Mr McCue. I always wanted to be a paratrooper when I was kid - now I guess I am."

Norwich Union moves more IT jobs to India
"The trend recently has been pulling back from offshoring initiatives. I hope that Norwich Union does save money. In my experience the overall value that an organisation reaps from these sorts of moves when you factor in efficiency, communication, proper controls and management as well as cost is that it equals out except your team is thousands of miles away."

Steve Ranger's Notebook: The oldest gadget still wows
"The calculator! Do you know I still prefer using a desk calculator than Excel or an electronic one? As budget time beckons I realise that perhaps I should go find one and yet it is an amazing tribute to something lasting - the good old days when things lasted and were dependable!"

Second net gambling exec arrested in US
"I rarely talk with industry colleagues nowadays without somehow talking about the growth and risk of the online gambling market.

Firstly the growth is astonishing. But what is more concerning is that imminent and necessary global regulation, social consciousness, money laundering, fair play and bankruptcy mean that for the online gambling company there will be very tough times ahead. The future of this industry in my mind is very suspect and one which I intend to keep an eye on."