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I'm not sure if you're trolling or not. Lets assume you're not.

This should do it,

It does seem like overkill to use a foam padded case, where you could just throw them on a cart. Well, assuming your office is so big that you couldn't just carry them.

The Pelican 1514 case shouts, "I've got something expensive!"

When I travel, I try not to attract attention.

Even Pelican brand protective cases, backed by the famous Pelican Products Legendary Lifetime Guarantee, are vulnerable to this! The guarantee specifically "does not cover shark bite, bear attack or damage caused by children under five."

The Pelican 0910 Memory Card Case! 8 x SD / 16 x Mini SD. And It's Sturdy.. Seriously. http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=0910

...

That might be true. I have a 2 year old.

Hmmm. Not even a Pelican Case would be guaranteed against that.

http://pelican.com/support/guarantee.php

"...This guarantee does not cover shark bite, bear attack or damage caused by children under five."

I've tried ones similar to above, and various other cases, and the airport luggage handlers somehow manage to destroy them all.

The one I swear by, and use it for my toolkit when travelling, are pelican cases (model 1500).

http://www.pelican.com/

Let me second the shout out on Pacsafe. They do really good gear - steel mesh bags that are only slightly heavier than regular bags, and which can be locked by a steel cable to objects like radiators.

Now, there's an upside, and a downside. The upside is your gear is safe from somebody just opening your door, swiping something and legging it. The downside it it screams "I HAVE SOMETHING WORTH STEALING" and nothing will survive bolt cutters. So you have to be careful: keep the fact the bag is locked to the radiator fairly discreet for a start. Don't take stupid chances.

On the lock front, I searched long and hard before setting on the Pelilock. Four digits, solid heavy brass, by the company that makes Pelican cases. These can be tricky to get in and out of the pacsafe holes, so check for a fit before buying. Otherwise, small padlocks are universally garbage as any lockpicker will tell you.

http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php

http://pelican.com/miscellaneous.php

I'd add: a monocular can be incredible useful. Cheap, small, let's you figure out if it's worth trecking across the bay to see if that cafe is open.

On the laptop front? No. If you *must* take a laptop, buy an old Thinkpad and throw Linux on it. The further you're traveling, the more that puppy is worth and the more of a boat anchor it becomes. Really, we're waiting for, say, the Apple Subnotebook or an OLPC device here. Travel with a laptop is just no good.

The other really good option for email and web access is a Palm TX and a bluetooth folding keyboard. I tried that but had serious stability issues due to a flakey keyboard driver, but that was a while ago. I've heard other people raving about the combination, however.

Pelican Cases have a good reputation, but they don't look as chick as the Halliburton. LowePro also makes some hard cases for cameras, but they don't take a computer (yet, I am sure it will very soon); they are a hardcase and a matching bag inside it.

The reality is that you don't want attention on your bag, as it might be stolen. I just recommended a person
to take the Styrofoam that came with the laptop to get to Heathrow. At least the laptop arrived in a working
condition.

I think the optimal solution is to find something that looks like regular luggage. Perhaps buying a cheap, beaten up luggage bag (garage sale?) to put the computer inside. Use duct tape and dirt for extra effect, and geek chicness.

I definately recommend a pelican as I own several. I fly often and have made many trips with over $10,000 of rifles in the 1750 rifle case. No worries from me other than lost luggage. I have seen them fall 10 feet off of a luggage belt getting loaded into the plane and at 50 pounds it is coming down hard onto that tarmac. It only ever sustanted a few scuffs from that and the contents were fine. The majority of athletes who travel with expensive firearms buy Pelican and there is a good reason for it. While I have never used the laptop cases I am sure that they are also up to the same quality.

I recently bought a Pelican case for my camera and would whole-heartedly recommend them. My only complaint is that, at least with the model I have (the 1450) there is no place to clip a shoulder strap. But at least the outside of the case can take just about anything. (I regularily used it as a chair.) I don't think you'll get much better than them.

Though I do find the restrictions on their guarantee amusing:
The guarantee does not cover shark bite, bear attack and children under five.

Not the animal the case. I use them for transporting everything, from electronics and firearms to clothing and food.

Yes, another vote for Pelican cases.

http://www.pelican.com/

if you have the cash for the flash: http://www.zerohalliburton.com/

A majority of CR123s aren't designed for contsant discharge at a relatively high rate. They are marketed to the photo market, where there are pulses of high power and long periods of very low draw. They do function at higher draws, but with reduced lifespan. This is hidden deep in the spec sheets, where the pulsed current recovery and discharge profile math is. I'm not terribly surprised that people have problems with lithium primary cells (NOT Li-po, Li-Ion, or any of the rechargable Li chemistries) in use for high current loads like the high power miniature flashlights out there like the Pelican M6 (the example cited in the second CandlePower link). The Xenon bulb version will suck the power out of a pair of CR123s in 1 hour. Calling the batteries 1300mAH (an average, according to Google), that means they're being loaded to about 1.3A each. That's a ~1C discharge rate. Most cells I found data sheets on didn't show a 1.3A discharge curve, instead showing a 1A curve or 1200mA pulse discharge measurement, using a 3s on / 7s off (30%) duty cycle. 10% can mean a lot in these cases. Odds are a lot of those cells are being used on the edge of or well past their design envelope. Beating up batteries like that can cause trouble, especially for cells that are fragile. Of course, not all are. The Energizer E2 photo lithium CR123 shows a capacity of 1.5AH and a 1000mA discharge life of 1.2 hours. It's probably the one used by Pelican to reach the rating of their flashlight, even if it looks like they did push the cells a little past their design limits.

Lithium primary cells generally do not have construction compatible with fast discharge. Often it can be gotten away with if the discharge is under 0.6C or is of a pulsed nature. Continuous discharge will kill them tho, a flaming, explosive kill.

Batteries have ever-increasing power densities, and deserve respect from designers. Just tossing 123s in is a BAD idea IMO. I was an engineer on a project where someone did just slap one in without consideration. When we put the test unit through its paces, blammo. Pulling 2A out of a 1.5A battery for 7 seconds is OK in NiCads and NiMH cells and even rechargable LiPoly prismatics if you know what you're doing. This was a dime store photo battery, and it went off like a small cannon after a few seconds.

People don't think about the design envelope for batteries as much as they should any more. It's unfortunate.

My US$0.02 as an engineer.

TDK CD-R media had a 100 year guarantee printed right on the package. I can't tell you if it was BS or not but TDK seems to take their work seriously. No rebranding, new R&D (that scratchproof coating) and pride in their work. They even have a CD-R for long term digital photo storage. I can't tell you if it is really anything special or just marketing BS, but take a look.

Any how the biggest killers are UV, heat and moisture. Stop those 3 and you should be making the most of any brand. Mabey inside a pelican case w/ desicant inside a bank safe deposite box? Ehhhh overkill, I know.

The best known brand of such is Pelican. They can protect against fairly high drops, are watertight and durable, and float pretty well... assuming you close the case after putting in the camera. However, if you visit the Everglades, remember the case does not always remain watertight after demonstrating its alligator resistance. =)

As a ... hmmm.... how does the populace brand me.... a "savage baggage handler" for an air carrier I handle those wimpy cordura backpacks/computer cases daily. TRUST ME ... If it ain't HARDSIDE it ain't guaranteed to make it. Sure, 99.9% do but.....

Granted, you plan to carry the said case/bag on board as you have been totally assured that is your right. /cough..hack..gag/ sorry... 'All overhead space is filled and that bag is too big for under the seat on this (previously unknown) express aircraft.' At that point you surrender your computer in whatever wimpy covering to ME... mwuhahahahahaa!.

Look, I'm just a guy doing the same ole job every day. I handle several hundred bags a shift. Yours is one of .. say twenty "carry-ons" to be loaded in the cargo bin. I may handle bags carefully but another ramprat may not. Also, your single precious bag has now become the cohabitant of an area that contains at least 50 other bags (average on an express jet). /friendly stewardess voice/ "Cargo can shift slightly during takeoff and landing"

Now... /me whipping out his handy sliderule.. let's figure the force of the corner of one HARDSIDE bag (could be a metal case actually) weighing in the range of 70 pounds falling from a height of 2 feet (conservative) on your SOFTSIDE computer case. Kiddies, try this experiment at home!

Sooo... I would recommend a hard side case. An old-fashioned briefcase (reinforced with foam padding) or better yet a Pelican case http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html . Ohhh yeah!! /Tim Allen: grunt grunt grunt!!/ The 1490 looks good. Yes, they're expensive but compare them to the replacement cost of your notebook.

Personally I can find very little justification for a notebook computer unless you are on-the-job/in-the-field with need to connect daily for work. Otherwise it's a toy. True, I loved my Compaq 386/25 but it passed away and I have learned that my notepad/pen/brain combo is eminently more reliable and hardy. But then again I have yet to submit to a cellphone. Does that make me a Luddite?

Jagd
:: Better to be slain by a dragon than never to have seen one at all.

I don't think they have a backpack version, but I hear Pelican cases are the best thing for carrying equipment around. A friend of mine told me she dropped a laptop down a flight of stairs in one of these things and it was fine. She also told me that during some news report video shoot, they had to throw all their recording equipment off of a boat and swim to shore because the boat was sinking, and all the equipment came out just fine because these cases are watertight and float.

Put one hard drive power supply in the Pelican case, use the other one with the hard drives to back your systems up. Even with my MP3 collection, I can still use one of these drives to back up my Macintosh and quite a bit of other stuff. Use the other drive to back up Windows and UNIX boxes, nothing fancy, mount the drive and drag entire filesystems over or tar them up and copy them over. Unmount drives from system, put into Pelican case, put Pelican case in gun safe. Backup systems as needed. I figure that if shit goes down and I need to bail on my house that I'm going to make a stop at the gun safe for a few items, so it's the natural place to put the hard drive case.

In case of bad things happening to to gun safe, retrieve weapons, passport, emergency cash and hard drives. Head out to car and head to safety. No fuss, no muss. Much easier than the idiocy that Cringely describes.

Giving the card to a six year old kid to trash is all very well, but what about a _really_ destructive force like a four year old? There's a good reason why the nearly indestructible Pelican protective cases are guaranteed against everything except shark bite, bear attack and children under five.

Many die-hards out there will undoubtedly tell you that it's not the camera; it's the photographer. Thus, a waterproof point-and-shoot will work fun. That said, it's much more of a pain in the ass to try and figure out how the point-and-shoot will react... and you don't often see those die-hard professionals using point-and-shoots, anyway.

I'm assuming that by nature of the fact that you posted this question, you're concerned with your shots coming out well, so I'll ignore the disposables for now. Your next (and in my opinion, cheapest/easiest) option would be to use a small digital camera that you already have, or buy one that you'll be able to use later. Then get a waterproof case for it. You can get these in several styles.

This one, at $45 will let you shoot while it's in the case, and is not camera-specific. This type is camera specific and is a better choice, though considerably more expensive. ($100-$400, depending on the make/model of camera.) Pelican makes a series called the "Micro Case Series", which you also might want to take a look at. They're cheaper than the ones you can use the camera in ($10-$20), but will only keep the camera waterproof when it's in them.

However, since you mentioned that you're expecting floods with little warning, the last option is probably not the best. I'd recommend the first if you're on a budget, or the second if you're not. I use the third when sailing, but I usually have fair warning before conditions arise that I'll need to watch for. It sounds like you won't.

You can also get digital cameras that are inherently waterproof, like this one, and this one. However, I'd recommend against these, because it sounds like you only need it for this trip. I'd get a camera you can use normally, and a case for situations like these.

Better yet, here's a manufacturer's link. Pelican is famous for their cases, and this one is no exception.

Go for a Pelican Box! You can even take it underwater. Can even survive a motorcycle crash... with a little luck.

The 1490 case is pretty good size, hard case. Not sure if it can hold a 17" Powerbook, but whatever is inside is pretty damn secure

If you really want rugged (and don't mind bulkyness), Pelican has a couple of boxes suited for laptops...

Pelican makes excellent protective cases. Almost unbreakable, water-tight, air-tight, dust-tight. The ones with the "pick-and-pluck" foam can be configured to fit a laptop and all accessories nice and snug. They have a few laptop-specific cases, and several general-purpose cases of all sizes/colors.

If you don't know where to find them near you, check with surveying supply shops, and electronics parts supply (the commercial type, not Radio Shack)

Dude, get a pelican waterproof case and carve out a place in the foam insert for all of your goodies. Electronic crap looks like james bond shit when it's in one of these. Plus, room for all docking stations, cradles and power supplies and a laptop and dossiers for your targets :)

Or for around $100, you could get one of these cases

I have built two splashproof computers for marine surveying on small boats. Pelican cases are what I used. You only need to seal the one or two through-case holes that you will need to run your wires.

I would post a link to some pics, but my home server can't handle the Slashdot effect.

But I've always dropped my laptops while carrying or transporting them, never while actually using them... so I went a different route.

Try getting a regular laptop, and putting it in one of the cases made by these guys (No, I don't work for them)

I've taken my laptop to all kinds of places, including some inhospitable places in the very area of the world where lots of bombs are currently being dropped; no problems. Those cases come with a lifetime warranty... they're waterproof, shock-resistant, dustproof (VERY important in the desert), and have automatic pressure relief valves for that unpressurized tactical airlift you're sometimes required to use.

They cost about 150$, but that's chump change compared to the price of a Mil-Spec computer; the money difference is much better spent upgrading the actual laptop.

YMMV, but that's the way I solved the problem.

They are airtight, water proof and in almost every sci-fi movie! Check them out.

Get a Pelican case as used by anyone who carries expensive electornics into the field includeing journalists world wide. These cases are a hard plastic shell lined with foam that you can easily cut to your needs. Find them at a camping goods shop, or better photography shop near you.

I use a Pelican Case when I ship my stuff. They are fantastic.

This won't help when you're actually using the equipment, but for storage nothing beats Pelican Cases. They are watertight, tend to float if not packed too heavily, and most come with customizable foam padding inside. They're also nearly indestructible, and come with w lifetime guarantee (doesn't cover shark bite, bear attack, or children under the age of five).

We're talking lunchbox form factor!

I say 'pseudo' laptop because I don't want to mess with batteries when pretty much all the places I'd care to use a laptop there are already electrical outlets nearby. Plus how cool would it be with an old vacuum cleaner's retractable powercord?

There are plenty of little optical mice and the Happy Hacker would certainly be adequate... but I kept getting hung up on what I have heard is the most expensive part of a laptop- the display.

Most of the 4"-8" discrete LCD modules I can find (such as these) only have standard "Yellow RCA" composite video-in.

Anyone know where small LCD modules with VGA connectors can be found?

We're talking lunchbox form factor!

I say 'pseudo' laptop because I don't want to mess with batteries when pretty much all the places I'd care to use a laptop there are already electrical outlets nearby. Plus how cool would it be with an old vacuum cleaner's retractable powercord?

There are plenty of little optical mice and the Happy Hacker would certainly be adequate... but I kept getting hung up on what I have heard is the most expensive part of a laptop- the display.

Most of the 4"-8" discrete LCD modules I can find (such as these) only have standard "Yellow RCA" composite video-in.

Anyone know where small LCD modules with VGA connectors can be found?

...They've tackled this problem before, and they have a number of requirements that kind of sync with yours....

• Portability
• Durability
• Increased ventilation(No, you're probably not overclocking, but do you want your system to hang mid-performance from a heat overload in some hot/sweaty dance club?)
• Specialty hardware requirements
• No need of a battery

Take a look here or here* for PCs built into a standard suitcase chassis.

* - If you like the base case used in this one, I think they're currently on sale at Menards (Hardware chain) for @$20. I'd go for something a LOT sturdier, personally. Take a look at Pelican's line of resin/plastic cases - They're even watertight, if you can resist knocking holes in it for your card outputs. A safe assumption would be 'Build it like it's going to be flung around by luggage handlers.'

A hard pastic case like the ones I use for rifles and cameras, but briefcase size.
My Dell I7.5k just barely fits in the thing with all but the thin top and bottom foam taken out. Add the ac adaptor, some cable, a couple of cd's and pcmcia paraphrenalia and the thing is full.
I like it 'cause it looks cool, but I'd actually recommend it to someone with a less tank-like laptop.
If your machine is a millimeter bigger than the I7500 forget about it though. The specs are available here. I notice a bigger version is listed on the "coming soon" page. I guess I bought too soon.

A hard pastic case like the ones I use for rifles and cameras, but briefcase size.
My Dell I7.5k just barely fits in the thing with all but the thin top and bottom foam taken out. Add the ac adaptor, some cable, a couple of cd's and pcmcia paraphrenalia and the thing is full.
I like it 'cause it looks cool, but I'd actually recommend it to someone with a less tank-like laptop.
If your machine is a millimeter bigger than the I7500 forget about it though. The specs are available here. I notice a bigger version is listed on the "coming soon" page. I guess I bought too soon.