Durable Laptop Suggestions for the Desert? 82
glarbl_blarbl asks: "My brother is assigned to the 82nd Airborne in the US Army. His last laptop was a Sony Vaio whose power jack and hard drive both failed after about three years, and it didn't see anything worse than a state college dorm. He has just been ordered back to Iraq, and as the family computer geek I have been trying to help him with some general advice - but I have no experience with laptops in exotic environments. Does anyone know which brands/models would be better suited for life in the desert?"
No matter what laptop you get.... (Score:3)
If it were me, I'd safely pack and carry a preloaded backup drive.
Ruggedized laptops (Score:5, Informative)
The only major consumer line I know of is Panasonic Toughbooks.
Just get 5 cheap ones instead (Score:2, Interesting)
Besides, he'll have a ready made beowulf cluster and backup space!
Re:Just get 5 cheap ones instead (Score:3, Insightful)
In a dusty, sandy environment, the most important thing *has* to be that it's sealed. If not, you can guaranteed that all the shit that gets inside it will kill the fans, CD/DVD and possibly hard drive in pretty short order.
Plus a ruggedised laptop will be squaddie-proof - throw it across the room, drop your bags on it, throw it out of the truck or whatever, it'll survive. The same could not be said of any five regular laptops!
Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:2)
Re:Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Panasonic Toughbook. (Score:2)
The MIL SPEC laptops (Score:4, Informative)
Itronix GoBook [itronix.com]
Panasonic Toughbook [panasonic.com]
They are more expensive than your average notebooks but the extra costs means they take a beating from a baseball bat and still be fully functional. Also unlike some of the other types of MIL SPEC notebooks these actually look and function similar to a regular notebook.
... or at least an ATA flash drive (Score:3, Insightful)
Here is my first froogle hit [logicsupply.com] but many others exist. Many modern laptops can boot from a cheaper USB flash device too, but an external gizmo may be undesirable.
some flashes have limited write-life (Score:1)
If you go this route, turn off swap and set up a ramdisk and configure your OS to use it for temporary files.
Re:The MIL SPEC laptops (Score:2, Funny)
Re:The MIL SPEC laptops (Score:2)
Re:The MIL SPEC laptops (Score:2)
We are in the process of rolling them out to our ~200 field techs right now.
We need them to work in pretty much any weather that Canada can throw at us, both indoors and outside.
Also, these are the laptops that our local (Winnipeg.MB.CA) police have in their cars, and they seem happy with the laptops' ability to absorb abuse and resist
On the other hand, the RCMP uses Toughbooks (the ruggedised version) and seem happy with them. Our field techs have also bee
Panasonic Toughbook!(?) (Score:2)
Panasonic(R) Toughbook(R) 29 Wins Laptop Magazine Torture Test [prnewswire.com],
Panasonic's own case studies [panasonic.com].
I can't seem to find any links Re: military/sand, but again I seem to remember something about the Toughbooks being used in Iraq (#1, #1.5 or #2, I'm not sure). I've never used one myself, but it may be a place to start!
Look for dustproof design and heat tolerance. (Score:5, Informative)
The issue currently on the stands is the 2005 Buyers' Guide, which deserves a read. A few issues ago, they paid a visit to a durability testing lab. The photos of the shower stall, drop test, hinge exerciser, button pusher, and screen scratcher were hilarious.
My personal go-everywhere machine is a Toughbook CF-M34 [wikispaces.org]. It's tiny, doesn't weigh much, and takes whatever I dish out. The other day I had it standing on top of my car when a gust of wind shoved it over the edge. A little chunk of metal was liberated from the hind corner when it hit the concrete, but the running apps didn't crash, and there was no cracking of the case beyond the ding. Thank goodness for padded hard drive mountings!
The main concern you have with desert operation is dust. A washable keyboard will let you simply rinse the grit out from under the keys. Rubber port covers will keep gunk out of the PCMCIA slot, for instance, when it's not in use.
There's an option in the BIOS of my '34 for "high-temperature operation". What it does is stop charging the battery when it reaches 80%, since operating a lithium-ion battery above its rated temperature is as simple as derating its maximum charge. Going to 100% at high temperature would significantly shorten the cycle life of the battery.
Re:Look for dustproof design and heat tolerance. (Score:5, Funny)
We all know you forgot it on top of the car when you drove away.
Re:Look for dustproof design and heat tolerance. (Score:1)
The laptops do not stand up to hollowpoints, though reportedly they have limited casualties from stray rounds fired in Iraq from some lower energy rounds and ricochets. (Doh! there's that word again!)
Working in the field, Toughbooks fare better than Fieldworks (who have seemingly bad keyboard designs) and some other 'ruggedized' laptops/luggables.
For some manufactured... ruggedized seems to mean adding some rubber pads to the corne
A Few Tips (Score:2)
Next, look for all the openings. The RAM cover, HD cover, battery cover; anywhere sand might creep in. Tape all thoes closed with duct tape or strapping tape. That will keep sand from creeping in.
Get more tape and some cheesecloth/filter paper. Find the vents for the heatsink and the modem/LAN jacks. Co
Re:A Few Tips (Score:2)
The main problem will be heat. Ok, you're in a desert. That's one strike. Now you need to keep the thing sealed. That's going to include intake and exhaust. That's a very serious strike. We have to almost completely discount any notebook which is going to require a fan and which doesn't have any measures already in place to seal the inside of the intake/exhaust. That
Re:A Few Tips (Score:2)
Take everything with you that you think you might need, it's much harder to get things once you're in Iraq.
And thank you for your service to our country.
Jon Acheson
Everyone is saying it... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:FPS games (Score:1)
Ummm... we go to great lengths to avoid doing that. Really. It's a lot less painful for everyone involved if you don't go out with the intent of doing things that you can't forgive yourself for later. Or that you will see courts-martial over.
As an aside, the most popular game in my platoon during 1AD's extension last year was the Sims on GBA...
dongle (Score:2)
Exactly what is he going to do with it? (Score:4, Informative)
Ruggedised stuff usually is not that cheap.
Aside from ruggedised computers, as a general rule, Toshiba stuff usually stacks up pretty well, but even Toshiba's break things like plugs and drives pretty commonly.
Aside from high strength, also consider small. Small size automatically improves structure (think inverse square law)... Half the size, means four times the structural strength... Although it's actually higher, because all you are really reducing is the form factor.
I have a small 90's era Libretto that I carry around to play GO on, so it gets very harshly treated. But it's suitable for travel as well. PCMCIA adaptors are small, hard to break (if you get good ones) and cheap to replace if they do. It gets dragged around with me everywhere, and it's still working. And I don't really take care of it. But I can log on to networks, comprise emails, play go and serve files... It's great.
Something similarly small, and perhaps second hand (newer palmtops often have overheating problems) makes a great PC with little weight or space taken up.
But maybe a PC isn't the best choice? Perhaps a games box, eg, PSP or DS.... Or even a palm device?
Again, the smaller, the easier to cart around, and the stronger.
Finally, what are his friends carrying around? Something similar is often a good idea, even if it's not the best choice.
Think of something to just get the job done. If it's just for a few years, consider something that will just last that long. Also field strippable can help (Seriously!).
And keep in mind that in a year or so, he'll know what he wants. Better then to get you to send it to him, so whatever he leaves with might only need to last a year.
Finally, keep in mind the operating system you choose. You want something he can fix himself, even if he needs to blow it all away, so being able to boot from a CD or USB you include and fix all might be a good idea too.
Just some thoughts.
GrpA
Re:Exactly what is he going to do with it? (Score:1)
I work for a paving company, and our equipment shop uses a laptop for vehicle diagnostics. We bought them a Compaq two years ago or so (right after they were bought out by HP) and have had no problems at all with it. It's no battleground, but it is a fairly dirty environment (oil, grease, bit of asphalt, gravel, etc.. all over the place) and it gets tossed around a fair bit when it's being hooked up to and unhooked from machines all the time. People always bash
Re:Exactly what is he going to do with it? (Score:3, Funny)
Harshly treated? Well, I guess if you scratch the grid onto the lid and really smash those stones when placing them, you could get some harsh treatment by playing go.
Miltope (Score:2)
No fans (Score:5, Informative)
strike
Re:No fans (Score:2)
I've seen models, I think from Itronix, that actually include a heat exchanger. The air inside the laptop is circulated by one fan, and outside air is blown across the exchanger by another fan. They achieve desktop-like CPU clocks, with no dust intrusion. When it gets clogged with dust, just ho
Fujitsu P1120 (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Fujitsu P1120 (Score:1)
Almost all laptops already come with multivoltage (Score:2)
Then all you need is a _plug_ converter - that is, a piece of metal and plastic that makes it fit in the right holes. These are very cheap. For instance, a european/israeli plug is $0.99 from Bombay Electro
Sun (Score:2)
http://www.rugged-systems.co.uk/pdf/V2%20Unix%20L a ptop%20-%20RSL.PDF [rugged-systems.co.uk]
Tadpole even makes a dual processor UltraSPARC laptop, the bullfrog. It's quite a beast. You can order it with up to 16GB RAM. I got a quote on a fully decked out bullfrog:
....An x86 machine is more economically re
List Price $46,933
Discount ($3,248)
Your Discounted Price $43,685
holy crap (Score:1)
Its battery life must be... 10 seconds?
Those laptops are pretty darn rediculous.
Panasonic Toughbook (Score:2)
I believe you're looking for a Panasonic Toughbook [panasonic.com]. These are standard issue in the Air Force for any portable computer not confined to an office setting. They even make one that's designed to military specifications. They are a bit expensive, but I've even seem some with armoured keyboards. They should be able to handle desert abuse with little problem.
Everybody Loves Hummers (Score:2)
Check out these guys (Score:2)
http://itronix.com/ [itronix.com]
One with a warranty (Score:3, Interesting)
Aaron had only one problem, he got a cheap referb, and 3 days after his 90 day warranty was up (and only like 10 days in the harsh environment), it died, the IDE controller died, and fried the HDD, there went all of his work on his book. So he went and bought another one, a $1000 Avaratech (that was twice the machine) but adding a $150 warranty upgrade.
When his brother, Nathaniel, got told he was going 3 weeks after Aaron got the new one, to join his MI National Guard Unit that was already over there, we asked what he needed, and Aaron said, "Decent power, a charger (with internatinal just in case), and an ethernet jack, you won't be wireless or moving it. Period."
When Nathaniel went he had no problems beyond the crap that was installed on the laptop when he bought it (a new model [cheap Toshiba with out wireless] from Ebay that had been gotten from BestBuy 2 weeks before school started that was cheap at the time [$650 after rebates] and gotten 1.5 months later for $700 with no rebates).
Nathaniel has returned with no problems, exept now that he is on a college campus, he wants WiFi, and Aaron, who is still over there for another 4 months at least, has had no problems (beyond Adware and the ilk, even war doesn't get you away from that crap).
MOD PARENTS UP! (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Get a good warranty (Score:2, Funny)
I've seen them stay up and running for decades under very harsh conditions. There is no problem if you drop it in the water or sand. Replacement parts are cheap.
Re:Get a good warranty (Score:1)
Somehow I doubt that.
something easy to blow the sand out of (Score:2)
Re:something easy to blow the sand out of (Score:2)
Even better, it doesn't void your warranty as you have to do all this to install a mini-PCI card. Of course, if you phone IBM and ask them how to get your RAM out of a hoover, they might get suspicious...
The Compass Grid Ranger Series (Score:2)
Going back with 101st Airborne myself (Score:2, Informative)
iBook? (Score:2)
Re:iBook? (Score:1)
I wouldn't call it rugged. I recently got a new-ish g4 iBook, and though it's more durable than my earier one (white g3 iBook; the plastic creaked when you picked it up and peripheral connections were made out of easily breakable plastic), I reckon it'd still be much more comfortable on a desktop than in a warzone.
Don't try this at home with your laptop (Score:1)
The Legends of Thinkpad [ibm.com]
He'll probably be driving/riding one, so... (Score:2, Funny)
Ask someone who's there... (Score:1)
As an Iraq vet (Score:1)
You can pick up Satellite's pretty cheap now (A15-S157 is my particular model). It's still going strong.
More thoughts (Score:1)
I really just recommend a semicheap laptop. Put it away when you are away, knock the dust out when you start hearing the fan grind.
Twinhead (Score:1)
Hard Case (Score:2)
Depending on you budget, this would be the best solution. A metal or plastic carring case with some foam padding will protect it during transport.
I learned this lession a few years ago. Most laptop damage won't occur while you're using it but, when its packed for transport.
Alphasmart Dana? (Score:2)
If you want something to play games on or run normal software, of course, this isn't going to work.
Jon Acheson
Re:Good Advice (Score:1)
While my brother and I completely agree with you on all these points, he has a plan and the Infantry is a big part of it. He graduated w/ a BS in Politcal Science a couple of years before he signed up, and could have gone straight to OCS... But his plan is to gain experience/respect in the Army now by doing their hardest (from what I hear) entry-level job, later he hopes to become a police officer in a large city (he already has
Re:Good Advice (Score:1)
Re:Good Advice (Score:1)
My advice would be to teach him to make backups, even something simple like just burning his files onto CDs. (That reminds me I should make a backup tonight.)
First hand experience (Score:2)
The best laptop IMHO, for that climate would have to be Panasonic's Toughbooks. These dimwits would leave ordinary laptops in their trucks all day long with the windows rolled up (130F+!) and the LCD's would be black as night.. Simply put, r
No fans (Score:2)
As for the panasonic toughbook series, not worth the price in my book. Have used them in the past and just aren't worth the additional cost UNLESS you are dealing with w
He wants something sealed. (Score:3, Informative)
Otherwise, I suggest a PowerBook. I beat someone with mine a couple of months ago and it still works fine.
Heat kills batteries (Score:2)
Store the batteries in a cool place (50-80F if possible) and they will last much longer and need fewer recharge cycles. There is no need to stick them in a refrigerator, but even that would be better than leaving it out in the sun... as long as moisture doesn't get 'em. Maybe next to the vent of an air conditioner.
Someday there will be battery chemistries where heat won't be a problem (demonstrated this year at a tech expo in Japan I think), but for the moment all common batteries perform better in mode
xplore ruggedized tablets (Score:1)
waterproof and mostly drop proof. magnesium case. 9400 mha battery gives me 5 hours of unconected use.
with 2 of them i can go for most of a day of solid use.
price ouch!! start at about 2200 and go up from there.
but it is nice. i dont worry about breaking it much.
www.xplore.com
toughbook line (Score:1)