Rugged Laptop/Tablet Suggestions, 2010 Version? 249
robbievienna writes "I'm currently living in the Arabian desert. Typically, unless a building has been sealed against the elements, sand and dust get everywhere. I purchased a keyboard cover for one of my laptops, and noticed that there was more accumulation on the underside than the topside. I've had sand crunk up the guts of one laptop and one tablet (Nokia N810). My coworkers who are native to the region tend to trade out their technology every six to twelve months, but I don't want to migrate data and adjust to new hardware that frequently. I was wondering what suggestions people have for working in this type of environment — both for laptops and for tablets. For reference, I work in a pseudo-secured zone where computers (phones, etc.) are not permitted to have cameras. A DVD drive would be nice, but is unnecessary. The more USB ports, the better. The last time the question was posted on Slashdot was five years ago, so I'm presuming that there are new industry leaders."
EliteBook (Score:5, Informative)
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Not if you want to do some REAL computing on it, unless it is more than just a tablet?
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The more USB ports, the better.
The iPad is somewhat deficient in this area, unless you get a docking unit for it. And since the docking unit provides only one USB port, maybe a USB hub would also be useful. Even if you're willing to lug them around together, it's a bit inconvenient.
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I do think that if it is anything like the iPod Touch it'll be much more rugged than most laptops and portables. Add a screen protector and a case and it'll take a lot of abuse.
I don't understand people that claim somehow the iPad isn't real computing. It certainly isn't a dual six co
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I don't understand people that claim somehow the iPad isn't real computing.
It's not about the processing power under the hood. Can you install OpenOffice on it, or any other application that hasn't been given the "Ok" by Apple to be distributed through the iTunes App Store? No.
The iPod, iPhone and iPad are just terminals into Apple's closed application repository. Although developers can create pretty much whatever they want and submit it for the App Store, Apple has final approval thus making it a closed environment. And Apple has the power to revoke any application at any time f
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If I felt like it I could probably get OpenOffice running on my iPod
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Re:iPad is still better. (Score:5, Insightful)
Steve and his guys hate slots, buttons, ports, battery bays, or anything that breaks up the polished outer surface or suggests that the user might be able to do anything more invasive than plug a set of headphones in. Consequently, their designs aren't terribly easy for stuff to get into(or once it gets in, out of, as anybody who has ever had to deal with the "single speck of dust/crud/eyelash hair that somehow got behind the iPod screen cover" problem can attest).
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If it's got enough computes and actually does what he wants, that's good advice. It's got no moving parts, so dust getting inside it is probably okay, although you'll have to be careful of the screen - I'd use screen protectors religiously, and only change them when you're in a steamy room after showering (I know that sounds weird, but it really does help). The good thing about this solution is that you can keep a couple of keyboards around so that when one of them gets too crapped up to use, you can sw
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Does AT&T have 3G coverage in the Arabian desert?
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Do you think he would be connecting to a public cell network if he's not even allowed to have a camera?
out of your box solutions including OS X (Score:4, Insightful)
I realize you asked for a ruggedized laptop. However, that everyone else replaces theirs regularly points to the idea that you should consider that as a serious alternative and not discard it out of hand. I called this 'out of your box' because they're all doing it, and you're rejecting it a priori. I see basically three legitimate issues with this solution:
a) maintaining a consistent interface for you to be used to
b) providing easy data migration to the replacement device
c) total cost of multiple non-ruggedized devices compared to the realistic lifespan of ruggedized ones.
I'm not suggesting that my parent post had the right thoughts in mind, but Apple does provide surprisingly good, quick and easy solutions for a&b in OS X and the iPhone; I would expect the iPad to continue this.
Apple is not historically great about 'c', but that sand environment is hard even on the modestly ruggedized ones so it's not impossible.
Of course, I imagine their are .e.g Linux distros with good solutions to a & b and other laptop vendors who tend to have a consistent interface.
Of course you might need to account for shipping, purchasing, processing, or environmental costs in 'c', but even on the environmental front it's not a given that one device is better than 3, esp if it gets recycled well (many parts of the sandworn one will still work, and it'll be early enough that those, minus your HD, are reasonable used replacement parts in the right shop...)
Re:out of your box solutions including OS X (Score:4, Insightful)
Any linux distro would be good at A & B. Just install your distro, rsync your /home to the new computer, and reboot. Then all you need to do is re-install your software and, presumably, that's all in the repos. Anything not in the repos should be kept in deb/rpm/tgz files in your home folder somewhere.
Outside of that, about the only thing you might want are backups of configs in /etc that you modified.
The iPad comment was a joke.. (Score:2, Informative)
If you don't want to touch the toughbook, maybe the Dell Latitude E6400 XFR http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-latitude-xfr-e6400?c=us&l=en&s=bsd [dell.com]
Good Luck (Score:3, Insightful)
Depending on the exact timeframe you're looking at for the standard replacement cycle there vs. your total expected residency, you may be better off financially just going the replacement route and mitigating damage by keeping your N810 sealed in a Ziploc bag or something. Seriously, the last time I looked at prices for truly "ruggedized" equipment, I was floored and my wallet felt violated just by reading the prices.
Use a disposable laptop (Score:4, Interesting)
Try getting a cheap netbook, and just replace it when it dies.
but I don't want to migrate data and adjust to new hardware that frequently
Keep spares in sealed plastic bags so that you won't have to change hardware. For data, put everything (including O/S) on a rugged external hard drive. A single USB/firewire hard drive should be easier to protect than an entire computer.
Re:Use a disposable laptop (Score:5, Informative)
Buy two. Seal one in an airtight bag, with some dessicant packets, and put it back in its padded packaging, then stash it under your bed or in a closet or something. Use the other one. When it dies, or becomes excessively full of sand and flakiness, pull the drive out of it, blow any grit off, and put it in to #2. Boot #2 and order a third from the electronics site of your choice. When #3 arrives, seal it and store it until #2 dies.
Wasteful, sure; but you can easily repeat this procedure a fair few times before you equal the price of a single "rugged" notebook.
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all you really need to do is build an installation USB stick and archive your deb files (for example) on it, and put /home and maybe /etc on a SDHC card. Anything important is kept on that card and backed up to another USB stick periodically. When the machine fails, you boot the machine off the installer and install the archives. When the card fails, you restore to a new one from the USB key (but you can use the USB key in the interim if you don't have a new SDHC card handy. Do you feel lucky?) If you creat
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It isn't all that uncommon to find machines(especially laptops) were you have to do the magic wi-fi dance to get the card working(Broadcom deserves a lot, but not all, of the credit here), or the magic audio dance to get audio working fully correctly(basic noisemaking will almost
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The point isn't that Linux will work on every possible device. Of course it may not work on some device, although it works on most.
The point is that your operating system installation and application settings aren't baked in. On Windows you can't copy your hard drive onto a different system and have it work. Your Operating System has been hard coded to your hardware and your application settings are stuck in the registry.
On Linux you can just copy the hard drive onto a new system and the Operating System wi
Re:Use a disposable laptop (Score:5, Informative)
Fine sand is a killer - it gets everywhere.
I used to work on powder processing instrumentation and regularly had to take laptop computers onsite to calibrate instruments. We used to use Dells with external IP-54 keyboards and masking tape over all the unused ports. On a few occasions I had to take a normal keyboard they didn't last more than a few keystrokes (I'd guess 20 per key before they failed).
This was lactose, coal, silica, calcium carbonate, etc. When we started work with metal powder we invested in proper IP54 laptops - no fan, membrane keyboard and rubber plugs on all the ports. Heavy, underpowered (800MHz PIII) but they worked. We looked at some "ruggedised" efforts but without the IP rating they were really just slightly less prone to drop damage.
Fine sand? Try pet dust! (Score:3, Interesting)
Years ago, as a consultant, I was hired by a pet wholesaler to come up with a solution for his computers, which had a very short useful life before the dust got to 'em.
The place was loaded with fine, silty dust, which was *everywhere* and all over everything despite their obvious effort to keep things clean. Birds, lizards, and other pets can generate an *insane* amount of this, and if you can imagine a large, heated warehouse where pets were bred and sold in volume, then you get the idea. They were having
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While you do still want a rugged laptop, ultimately it is better to make sure you have a fantastic recovery plan for when shit happens.
One way is to go fully virtualised. Treat your host operating system as a basic shell, and instead install yoru real software on a VM. We use VMWare
Panasonic Toughbook (Score:4, Insightful)
They've got units that are rated for such harsh environments. They're not cheap, though.
Apple (Score:5, Interesting)
FWIW, I just spent a few weeks in the Moroccan Sahara and most of the natives who had laptops, had a Macbook
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How can that be modded offtopic? He was in the Moroccan Desert, and people WHO LIVED THERE had Macbooks. I am no Mac fan but surely if it works for them it might work for the purpose of this story?
Re:Apple (Score:4, Informative)
dust filter bags (Score:2)
What about using a computer dust filter bag? You could cut a window for typing and seal around the keyboard cover. You could also create flaps for the optical drive and ports, though an extension hub might make more sense and provide for a tighter seal.
Re:dust filter bags (Score:5, Interesting)
Put the laptop in a place where dust won't be such a problem (like in a bar fridge) and run cables for mouse, keyboard, and external video. bar fridges are ~$100, and not only will it keep your laptop cool, but your Dew as well.
Or just say you're "sandboxing" your code.
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"Think of the beer!"
It's not like the fridge even has to get down to freezing - just keeping the interior at room temperature would be good enough, though if it CAN get down to almost freezing, it not only adds the possibility of overclocking, but also the aforementioned beer to cool the human as well.
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Then you have a different problem: even with low humidity, you'll get condensation. This starts to be a problem at about 55 degrees, in my experience.
Maybe keeping it at about 60 degrees would work okay, tho -- if the fridge will go that high.
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Besides, it's under warranty.
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Tho one might get dripping from parts that aren't hot. And you'd have to turn off the fridge when the computer wasn't in use.
Most warranties don't cover water damage!
Still, there's probably something to the idea, if you set it so that it never reaches dew point. Fridges do seal fairly well, provided the door seal isn't damaged or dried out.
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Just leave the fridge door open to vent things out a bit. BAM PROBLEM SOLVED.
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Unless, of course, the object was partly to keep dust out... whoops, just defeated that purpose!!
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Your experience involves waterblock coolers, doesn't it (where the waterblock drops below the dewpoint). That's not applicable in this case. But to be safe, he could always use a real, self-defrosting type refrigerator. These are very good at removing any humidity from the fridge, probably better than a small bar fridge would.
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Actually, I don't have anything modern/hot enough to need a waterblock cooler, so no :)
I suppose you could put your non-rugged laptop inside a real fridge with defroster, but that would be a trifle large for putting under the desk!!
OTOH a real fridge might substitute for a server room, under severe conditions when it isn't practical to actually build a climate-controlled server room and you only need a handful or single rack worth of servers. Might even be quite cost-effective for construction and power cos
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And QUIET! Think of it - throw a couple of servers in a fridge, paint it black, mount a couple of 16" tape reels on the freezer door and some flashing LEDs, and you'll have one heck of a retro case mod!
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In that case just use an external keyboard, which are cheap enough to throw away.
There are two reasons for a non-local to be in the desert. One is because you are deployed and making TDY money, and the other is you are a contractor and making phat bank. Either way, two decent notebooks and external backup are affordable.
I'd get a couple of refurb Thinkpads and load the second to keep as an updated spare, and ship each in a Stormcase or Hardigg or similar tough container where they would live when I wasn't u
get canned air and warranty (Score:5, Interesting)
I get them "spill proof" keyboards as those are sealed and keep things from getting deep in the keyboard. Just turn it upside down and shake it. Plus you can wash them if you really want them clean.
I find that there isn't much more you can do. The sand/dust causes extra wear and tear and the equipment will have to be replaced more often. I buy the "full coverage" warranty for equipment that will primarily be used on construction sites and it pays for itself when you constantly have to replace burnt out PSUs, video cards and CPUs that overheat and die due to clogged fans..
Rome (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Rome (Score:4, Funny)
Uh...so he should crucify every native he sees until he no longer has a dust problem? Sir, your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
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Be fair, we rarely crucify the natives.
Rugged Notebooks (Score:5, Informative)
They have notebooks with sealed keyboards, low reflectivity (especially greate for the desert conditions
Field notebooks (Score:5, Informative)
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I live in the same environment. Panasonic toughbook or replace shit every 6 months. If it's in a very nice building, then a thinkpad, because it weights half as much, but is rugged enough to last that long. I'm thinking about flash drives from the heat perspective. However, toughbook is the answer.
Re:Field notebooks (Score:4, Interesting)
Another vote here for Toughbooks. Where I work, we've given Toughbooks to all the field personnel and have no regrets. Our crews work outside in difficult environments and while I've seen HDs fail, broken keyboards and a couple of smashed screens (hit by something while open), for the most part they're almost indestructible.
Last fall we had a field engineer set a CF-30 on a backhoe and walk over to his truck to look for a drawing. When he came back, the backhoe had moved and his Toughbook was apparently somewhere in a trench that had been filled in.
I went out to the site that afternoon with another tech and an access point configured with a SSID that we knew the missing CF-30 would try to connect to. We slowly drove along the trench with a directional antenna pointed at it until the AP indicated that the missing laptop had tried to connect. We had the backhoe driver gently dig out several feet of trench before we found it. Disassembled, cleaned and reassembled it, it's still in service.
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I can throw my vote in for the Toughbooks. We use them internally and we setup the fully rugged models for our customers to use in the middle of chemical plants and refineries. So far we see very few of them come back with issues and the ones we do see come back someone has screwed up the applications on it.
Now against sand I would think they would be pretty good. Every entry point into the laptop is covered by a latching door that is fully sealed when closed.
Kage_
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MIL-STD-810F http://www.linux-laptop.net/rugged-laptop.html [linux-laptop.net] and a URL to a Linux friendly selection.
I thought about making a 'transportable' one that has the guts in a dust proof box with a battery pack and a heat exchanger and no openings. It would use an industrial wireless mouse and keyboard and have a sealed bulkhead USB connector(s). A CD is a problem even if it's external. I doubt I'll get the funds soon.
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There are models that meet MIL-STD-810 [wikipedia.org].
No there aren't! There is no such thing as 'meeting MIL-STD-810 standard'!
MIL-STD-810, "Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests" suggests how certain environmental conditions, such as vehicle vibration and ballistic shock, could be simulated in the laboratory. For some of these test methods it also suggests parameters and limits for different applications. A large part of the standard is devoted to explaining how the tests should be chose
Dell Outlet (Score:5, Informative)
Dell XFRs start around $1,600 from the Outlet, with Core 2 Duos, no webcam, and designed to operate in the conditions you describe. I don't think they're quite as rugged as the Panasonic Toughbooks, but you can just buy two XFRs for the same price and switch the hard drives out if one breaks.
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb [dell.com]
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Amusing to see this discussion on Slashdot when colleagues and I were testing a Dell XFR laptop just last week, suggested to us as a cheaper alternative than the Panasonic Thoughbook's.
Well, I give it to you: http://twitter.com/sraveau/status/10663156737 (If you're considering buying a rugged laptop, DO NOT BUY ONE FROM DELL: seriously, theirs are a JOKE!)
I rarely ever tweet, but this I felt like I had to tell everybody. They market it as something special ops people would use ( http://www.samsung.com/us/bu
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I work in a coal mine and they bought us the Dells. They have been nothing but problems. Mine alone has had a motherboard failure and a wireless card die. The keyboard is a disaster. Trying to blind type with it is almost impossible. My computer shuts itself down regularly for overheating problems. The Panasonic toughbooks blow them away.
SSD not spinny disk (Score:4, Insightful)
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Not in 30-40 degree heat as well. Sadly, deserts are both dusty AND hot. Worst place in the world for computers. Except maybe the arctic, since LCD's just don't work. Even there though, you can always add heat to the equation. It's a lot harder to remove heat..
I think the best suggestion so far has been the "buy a decent machine and stick it in a bar-fridge and run the cables out to cheapo monitors and keyboards".
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The 2 things that fail on computers are hard disks and fans. I wonder if a really low power cpu could run without sucking dust in if a cpu cooling fan wasn't needed much.
Smartphones fit this bill, as will the iPad and other next-generation "computer-lite" tablets.
Oddball Suggestion... (Score:4, Interesting)
Stretch a ladies nylon stocking over the whole thing... This will take some experimenting to figure out the exact best method (maybe one over the base, one over the screen...), but has the advantages of:
-being extremely cheap
-easily removed/replaced
-thin/flexible/transparent enough to cover the keyboard, and even the screen with
-should filter out the worst offender category of sand/dust without seriously impeding air flow
-will also cut down on glare and reflectivity
For $1 a try, I figure it is worth mentioning...
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I was going to suggest wrapping the body (sans monitor) of the Notebook in Saran wrap but so that you can still fold it up and get to the ports/power_button. The keyboard seems to be the biggest weakness. Don't use it. Instead, get one of those cheap, flexible ones such as this and plug it into the USB:
http://www.amazon.com/Adesso-Flexible-Compact-Keyboard-AKB-220/dp/B000XYL55M [amazon.com]
The OLPC XO-1 also has such a keyboard integrated, IIRC.
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Be warned, though, the keyfeel is bloody awful. Worse than a $5 basic-plastic desktop keyboard. Worse than the worst $350 wal-mart special emachines laptop keyboard you've prayed you'd never have to use again.
There is next to no feedback, audible or tactile, so you find yourself either typing really slowly and watching for each letter to appear, or looking consta
Re:Oddball Suggestion... (Score:5, Informative)
should filter out the worst offender category of sand/dust without seriously impeding air flow
Desert dust is distinct from the grains of sand you're accustomed to. It's been worn down to nearly microscopic, is highly abrasive, very light, and nylons won't keep that kind of stuff out. And even if they could, you're obstructing the airflow to critical components which will overheat. He did mention desert correct? Deserts are (as a rule) quite hot.
You need purpose-built tools to work in that environment.
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To be pedantic, Antarctica is a desert and it's quite cold.
A fan-less computer (Score:5, Informative)
You can spend a lot of money and buy a ruggedized laptop ( panasonic toughbooks are the best known examples and they have a range of models from semi ruggedized to fully ruggedized ).
However the feature you want from the ruggedized unit is the fact that fully ruggedized laptops are setup to be fanless ( the better designed ones ). Fanless means they don't need to suck in air, which would need to be filtered, which then becomes a point of failure.
So for example most netbooks for example run an atom cpu that just needs a heatsink and no fan. That then eliminates the point of failure of the fan sucking in dust. There are desktop choices that are the same, underclocked or low power cpu's that don't produce enough heat to need more then a heatsink so can run fanless.
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Heat Sunks wont be very effective in a desert nvironment where the ambient air temp is hitting 50 C. Even an atom would need a fan in the desert
At that temp the operator dies anyway (Score:3, Interesting)
Heat Sunks wont be very effective in a desert nvironment where the ambient air temp is hitting 50 C. Even an atom would need a fan in the desert
Sorry, I've spent time in the Sahara desert, and it doesn't usually get that hot there - if it did the people retreat to someplace cooler. At 50 C (122 F) all the people will be dead, so there won't be anyone to worry about heatsinks or fans.
There are heat pump devices, such as Peltier effect devices which with a large heatsink can keep things pretty cool even in the (fictional) temperature you mentioned. I have a project at work that's using Pelter devices to keep an electronic device similar in size and
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Where I live it can hit 122F (with almost no humidity), and it doesn't kill anyone (unless they're stupid). We usually get a month or so of highs at 115F with occasional spikes higher. Drink enough water and stay out of the direct sun and it's perfectly survivable.
And you get used to it... one summer day I was working outside, and thinking what a nice pleasant day it was!! then I went back to the house and checked the thermometer: 118F.
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I assume not being stupid means staying in the shade, possibly with a fan or even air conditioning. Which means your laptop also has these benefits.
Where on earth do you live? Unless it's North Africa or the Middle East, I think you're mistaken. These are the only places that regularly get that hot -- and the heat regularly kills people who can't get out of it.
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Delhi and other places in the northern Indian plains regularly hit 45 in the shade so if you are out in a construction site it definitely hits 50. If you dont believe right now its March and its already 39 C. People function by wearing loose long sleeved clothes, hats and wrapping handkerchiefs soaked in water around the back of their necks but water would not be a good solution for a laptop.
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A while back I looked up the records and average temps for various cities in the Sahara, and was surprised to learn that even tho the Sahara's *average* temperature is higher, its extremes are not as hot as in the depths of the SoCal deserts.
[goes off, finds handy C=F convertor at http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm%5D [noaa.gov] I see that 50C is 122F. Is Delhi humid or dry? Here it's so dry that if you don't vaseline your eyeballs at night, you wake up with raisins.
My thermometer (which always matches the local NOAA
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California desert. And it gets somewhat hotter over by Ridgecrest and in Death Valley than it does here. Here's the weather station that's in the same microclimate as my place, if you feel an urge to check us out during high summer -- http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=lox&sid=KWJF&num=168&raw=0&dbn=m [noaa.gov] or http://tinyurl.com/y9pda7q [tinyurl.com] -- I am often outdoors during the heat of the day, tho I don't stand around in the sun any longer than I have to. But I don't have to bring a compu
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Pretty darn hot -- but still way below 122. We're talking temperature where the laptop actually is.
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Maybe you are, but I got the impression the inquiry was for outdoor use! Tho I doubt high air temperature is nearly the hazard that dust is, as the ultimate killer in those environments.
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Yes, and if the temperature outside is 120 degrees, staying outside will kill you.
server and netbook (Score:2)
My Dell XPS survived a year in Kuwait & Afghan (Score:4, Interesting)
Blow it out frequently with a can of air & it should do pretty good.
Software + hardware based suggestion (Score:3, Interesting)
Software suggestion: Embrace cloud computing for all your data needs (assuming you have a good internet connection.) This will remove the problem of having to change hardware and replicate settings all the time.
Hardware suggestion: Cheap netbooks that can be resold to unsuspecting people in the desert :)
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But there are lots of calories.
Cyber clean (Score:2)
Regardless of what you get, invest in a bunch of cyber clean and clean out your notebook regularly.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/b88d/ [thinkgeek.com]
Itronix Duo-Touch II (Score:3, Informative)
I carried a Itronix Duo-Touch II for a few months during field-work. It is a very robust tablet and is pretty much everything-proof (other than driving over it with a truck).
http://www.gd-itronix.com/index.cfm?page=Products:Duo-Touch_II [gd-itronix.com]
It is pricey as Itronix was purchased by General Dynamics but is mil rated.
Forget the hardware! (Score:2)
I don't have any suggestions on the hardware but how often do you plan to swap out your lungs or is there a medical procedure to flush out the grit?
I think people are over looking the obvious choice (Score:3, Funny)
If you are in the middle east you should consider native technologies.
The abacus of course.
The beads on most modern abici are designed to last hundreds of years.
New leaders? (Score:4, Informative)
so I'm presuming that there are new industry leaders
Not really...It's a tough nut to crack, so the market leaders in the ruggedized notebook sector tend to get there and say there. As others have said, your best (& costliest) options are Panasonic and Itronix (General Dynamics).
OLPC (Score:5, Informative)
http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/index.shtml [laptop.org]
http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml [laptop.org]
There is a lightweight version of Windows they can run if you can't make it with "Sugar". You can find them on eBay.
AMREL Rocky (Score:5, Informative)
Check out the Panasonic Tuffbook line of products (Score:2)
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I've encountered the same problem... (Score:2)
I'll do the beta test (Score:2)
Buy many copies (Score:2)
The people who work there already have this figured out, as you say, by replacing hardware every 6 to 12 months. So, buy identical copies of an inexpensive flash-based laptop and swap the drive each time you lose a chassis. Blowing out the chassis with compressed air frequently should help. If you're in an industrial setting, compressed air should be easy to come by, otherwise, a filling station should have some) frequently should help.
I'd worry more about my lungs in an environment like that, though. Y
Macbooks (Score:2)
I'd go and grab one or more MacBooks. Rugedised gear makes Apple pricing look dead cheap and the mac has a couple of other features which will be helpful, depending on how long you are out there.
1. You can easily port your data, setting and user profile to another Mac, even onto the net. This gets you back in the field quickly if anything goes wrong.
2. Macs are designed to have few holes or obtrusions.
3. They are relatively easy to take apart and when you have the keyboard area is dead easy to clean as is t
Dell Latitude E6400 XFR Ruggedized (Score:2, Interesting)
I work offshore and was going through laptops quite regularly but all that changed when I picked up the XFR laptop. They are very sturdy but are much lighter than the tough book PC's which I also find kind of outdated.
They come in both touch and non-touch screen laptops with 14.1 or 12.1 inch screens. Some of the best features I have found about these laptops are the fact that they have VGA out, SSD hard drives, ability to charge your cell phone (or other USB devices) while the laptop is turned off and it
Built for truly rough conditions (Score:2, Informative)
Use fanless computer designed for industrial autom (Score:2, Informative)
Fanless computers for industrial automation, for example the ones made by Advantech can take LOTS of abuse. They work at coke battery plant, steel plant, sintering plant, ... places that can be at least as hostile as a desert.
A nice example is here:
http://www.advantech.com/eAutomation/fanless-box-pcs/Default.aspx [advantech.com]
Not worth it (Score:3, Insightful)
Panasonic make some very nice tough laptops, there are also a few other makers around that claim they make tough laptops.
However my advice is don't bother. The cost of a low end panasonic toughbook is over 6 times the cost of a good spec thinkpad. The toughbook is unlikely to last 6 times longer and even if it does it's going to be obsolete by that time. Unless your life depends on that one laptop working right now just buy good quality ( not acer ) decent spec laptops and replace either the whole laptop or parts as needed.
You need good and tested backups in any case as even the best laptop could get stolen.
Re: (Score:2)
then laminate it.
Will you please post the video of this process on Youtube?
Re:get a small netbook... (Score:4, Funny)
Can't. He laminated his camera and glued the lens cover shut...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I was thinking along the same lines. You have three basic issues in the desert:
1) exposed vents / heat. it has to be able to stay cool and either have a filter on the vents or no vents
Doesn't the iPad lack vents? Otherwise you almost need to screen/filter them in. Could be tricky. Someone may make a laptop case for a specific model or models of laptop that have a filter over the vent locations? Camera could be a problem for the ipad. (you can get them removed, and apple can offer the service iirc)
2) e
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
He may care about waterproof if he intends to be in contact with it... I destroyed a Thinkpad by using it on my lap in the tropics during the dry season... it didn't get wet from weather but from my legs sweating in the heat of day and heat from laptop. It seeped in and corroded the hell out of the machine.
Re: (Score:2)
But this is a dry heat!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I tried that once with my cellphone? It did seal it very well.
Except the plastic ended up squashing all the buttons, including the power button, which turned it off. I tried letting a little air in, but then you couldn't hear or be heard. It was a nice try, but failed.