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A Few Baaaaaad Apples
SONET writes: "Why aren't all laptops made like this? I'm always putting my lappie in my otherwise empty briefcase. Even if it's just Photoshop/GIMP vapor, I really like the idea of a more rugged shell ... and the design is exceptionally clean. I know there are ruggedized laptops for the military and the like, but they really aren't for the average consumer as I envision something like this could be. The page is in Japanese, but the images really speak for themselves." I'm assuming it's just a mockup, the nicer to be proved wrong about ;) For the Exacto knife-and-firesale crowd though, an anonymous reader whispers that "Some guy modded his G4 Cube to have a Propaganda tile mapped inside the case. Looks excellent. That it does.
Sweet design....but I think he invalidated his warranty... ;) Still would like one for myself, tho...as long as it was running OS X and not 9. :-D
Carl G. Jung
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"With one breath, with one flow, You will know Synchronicity" -La Policia
A friend of mine once had an IBM 386 that was huge, and rugged as well. That thing was a monster, in that it was barely comparable to today's "laptop." This beast had a keyboard that pulled out and it weighed a ton. It seems to me that most laptop makers are going for smaller, not bigger/more rugged. Getting a bigger laptop seems to be going the wrong direction in their eyes...
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Random, useless fact: I type in startx entirely with my left hand.
Bah, you call that rugged? Where's the waterproof keyboard and G-force ratings? Besides, a case doesn't protect hard-drives if they're not shock mounted.
Check out the Panasonic Toughbook.
Does anyone remember the Osbourne?
Kevin
"It's not the cough that carries you off, it's the coffin they carry you off in" O. Nash
Extremely cool. But if they ramp it up to mass production, they'll probably ruin it. Kind of the way they do with those very cool show cars that become lame by the time they hit the market.
InstaPundit! Ahead of the Curve Since 30 Minutes Ago
So the first thing you do is rip it out of it's case into something you built? If you're going to risk destroying a computer, why not start with cheapo x86 hardware instead? You don't even have to buy a case!
I'm assuming it's just a mockup, the nicer to be proved wrong about ;)
It seems to be a working model. There's a picture of it working here
Like sex? Read and write about it! Indecent Blogging
Why would anyone want a laptop that is more than half a foot thick and probably weighs 10-15 pounds? I want a laptop that is slim and durable and light. This thing looks like it fails miserable on two out of those requirements.
$45 per U Colocation Special
I wouldn't call that a mockup, I'd call it a mockery.
Trapped in Time... Surrounded by Evil... Low on Gas.
because there's a musical note hanging in the air.
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I am an expert in electricity. My father held the chair of applied electricity at the state prision.
The company I used to work for, Root International, sells these cases. I have one very similar to the one this gentlemen used for my laptop (thought it's just a case). They can build them to do just about anything, custom foam inserts, etc. They even sell cases just like that one for Palm Pilots, etc.
Random Musings
This is old news. For those with a historical bent, there have been rugged, nasty, heavy portable computers for a long time.
Kaypro comes to mind, and you didn't have to worry about "sad mac" errors, StuffIT files, or all that jibber-jabber.
Plus, it weighed so much, if you dropped it on anything or anyone, it was destroyed, period. Try doing that with your neat little Photoshop laptop!
"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it." -- Donald Knuth
The Apple Powerbook G4 is made out of Titanium. I have heard of stories of people running it over with their car and it still working, resulting only in screen damage. One guy did that, took it home and plugged an external monitor in and it was fully functional!
Are you envious because you coulnt pry the 1x1" badge out of your Wintel case?
i modded my 1000mhz athlon tbird into this case: (case = $35, dremel = priceless)
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I read on one of the mac news sites a while ago about this and it is actually an ibook in there, no mock up about it.
Go to a frys find a titanium and gently press on the back of the monitor while it is on. You'll see the screen deform, the titanium is so thin that just light pressure bends it, that can't be good, and definitely isn't rugged. 1/16" of titanium isn't that strong
Photos.
They don't make 'em like that because very few people want one that ruggedized - therefore you can't sell enough to make the assembly line worth running. It costs a pretty penny to make a machine that tough - and laptops already cost more than desktops to begin with. Panasonic pretty much owns the rugged nighe right now with the ToughBooks, and Dolch (are they still around?) used to make some awesomely tough luggables that could be folded away easily but weren't really laptops (they mainly ran off AC, though I think they did a laptop or two).
Most consumers want a small, light portable computer which pretty much eliminates ruggedness from the design (the current iBook and a few others being partial exceptions to the rule). You make up the difference with padding - ie, a really nice tote that provides the extra protection. It's a good enough compromise for most.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
What, are we going back to the old 1980s Compaq portables? That is ugly and nerdy. My laptop is half an inch thick, so I can carry it around by itself.
Besides, I use my laptop at home a lot (almost exclusively, since I got my wireless setup). Why would I want that ugly thing on my coffee table??
Apple's computers are slow so they have to add extra perks or else no one would buy them. I can buy an 800MHz Celeron or Duron laptop for about a grand, so why would I spend $2K on a 500MHz box??
Oh, and keep talking about the "MHz myth", whatever that is. I wrote assembly code for a G4 and and an x86 Duron, and the duron did a store/load in four clock cycles but it took the G4 five clock cycles!! Not only do x86 chips run at a faster speed, but they get more bang per cycle too!
i mean this one:
www.auburnskies.com/briefcase.jpg
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Actually, it was a sticker that said 'Best with Windows 98/NT' or some such. It came off of it's own volition, leaving behind a laptop that probably puts that piece of shite Apple to shame for ruggedness, speed, and portability. You can only wish you had a Thinkpad 240x.
Go Kathryn Thurber!
I kicked myself when I bought my iBook SE (lime green - 340MB RAM, 10 gig HD, OSX) because Apple came out with the next generation iBook soon after. I would have really liked to have the bigger screen and external display support. But after working with it for several months I was consoled. This thing is rugged and convenient! Rubberized case and a reinforced handle make it quite close to what this fellow has mocked up.
I stand firm behind my assertion that Apple makes the most durable and usable consumer grade notebooks available. OS X is still a little rough around the edges, but to have Mac classic and BSD running at the same time without major hakkij you can't beat it.
As far as I can tell, this looks like it's a working mod. It also appears, that the guy (or gal) might not have a lot of details on how he did this mod, becuase he is selling a book. (look near the bottom).
Also, the Japanese version of Mac Wire has an article about it. (But I have no idea what it says)
I did a search for "Halli Mac" on google. Apparently, the Japanese Mac-enthusiast sites are all over this. But I have no idea what they say either.
Probably just another neat case mod.
Yes, it does function, and yes, I can read Japanese.
/. incapable of doing anything but bashing Apple?
But seriously, WFT is that "Bad Apples" story title? Seems to me this is a GOOD Apple, or is
I think computer cases, laptops especially, should be made of Tupperware, it's extremely durable. My mom has Tupperware bowels dating back to the 70's and the stuff still looks brand new.
I forgot to mention, that you need to add a protective case - but hey, it's still a third the cost, and you can drop it onto concrete from 6 feet and nothing will break.
Go Kathryn Thurber!
You can buy commercially available PC architecture machines like this from Dolch.
http://www.dolch.com
The metal briefcase style fall under their "rugged laptops" category. I haven't used the laptop, but I've used the "rugged portable with slots" style case, and can vouch that it is very high quality (filtered fans, shock mounted everything, etc.).
-- Chris Caudle
Panasonics "ToughBook" series is a _tough_ notebook, made for outdoor and industrial use..
t .asp
Doesn't look too bad either..
Some features:
* Shock-restistance
* Spill-resistance
* Vibration-resistance
* Dust-restistance
* Magnesium casing
http://www.panasonic.com/computer/notebook/Defaul
Sure, neat, pretty. Practical? Not really... that'd be a complete bitch to type on unless you used an external device.
In the picture showing the guts of this machine, it looks like the airport cage is autographed and dated 2001-01-12, so I would think this mod is over 18 months old.
Someone mods their case with the Drempels look. :)
I keep my laptop in an aluminum gun/camera case. Custom carved foam. Very rugged, easy, cheap.
since it isnt' shock mounted or anything, and the titanium isn't that great of a vibration dampener, all that would happen is you'd have some intact titanium encasing your crushed computer components
Photos.
...it's efficient! One piece for case and box. I'd get one, just to have when I travel.
I wonder if any computer manufacturers, including Apple will see this site and get ideas. The designer could be richly rewarded for it.
Now if only I was an expirianced case modder...
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I think this comment discusses it.
My self contained portable Linux server... :)
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~tw/serv.jpg
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It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
I can read English. And I read the story about the potato-powered server, too. ;-)
an login now using the convenient form b
What the hell do you do for a living? Or is it that you don't use your laptop for work? At minimum, you should always have an AC adapter in there. If they could build in the AC adapter and plug, then this may prove more practical. Until then, I prefer ergonomics over the geekness of this laptop. Hell, get a Z case and a pair of hand cuffs and be done with it. A large carrying case is something that most people with a laptop need. You may be a rare exception.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
"Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good!"
what the hell is that portable screen? that is very cool!
Toughbooks rock, although the lack of a fan means that the magnesium-alloy case is USED for heat dissipation.. it can get uncomfortably warm sometimes.
If I were you, I would buy whatever car I wanted
and tell my friends to buy their own damned cars.
why should I have to drive around in a 4 mile-per-
gallon monstrosity when hockey equipment for one person
will fit in many nice little cars (*cough* Audi TT *cough*)
A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
I own the most expensive, no longer made, version of the cool alimunimum Zero-Haliburton briefcase with waterproof seals, and *dual* hinges, and pigskin lining, in anodized gold tone. It cost a lot of money in 1990 money even after haggling.
5 0-2.html and you can see lots of case designs and opinions.
It floats in water if it falls off your yacht.
and its extremely hard to break into
but Zero-Haliburton gave up and instead of going out of business or raising prices over the years to 1000 bucks they merely dropped all the functional features.
AS you saw in that link that is a modern Zero-Haliburton case with only ONE hinge. and because it is not waterproof if it falls overboard, the japanese designer gave up and built usb holes in the case (four usb ports if you study the photos.
But this stuff is old hate. Macintosh protable enthusiasts have been desinging things like this for ages.
I myself had the first alterred mac shell with two floppy disk drives inside and SCSI a year before the Mac SE shipped.
But please look at the five pages of Feb 2001 posts and pictures at http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Forum17/HTML/0016
forma and function and ease of use are some of the primary reasons mac supporters crave the mac os and the mac hardware. Not just candy coating which every johnny-come-lately device manufacturer has tried to promote after apples imacs (pagers, phones, pdas, hand held games, flashlights, etc etc)
but a REAL design better than this would use an early 1990s Zero-Haliburton case and shock mounting.
The mac lowend teen oriented ibook screen for is already four times strionger for finger resistance than the typical business lcd screen. Press on a ibook screen and notice the lcd does not deflect.
But the strongest portable keyboard apple ever made was the one found in the 6 thousand dollar Wallstreet g3 (holds three hard disks!). I onw two of those bad boys. Those older flawless g3s with scsi and infra red can be upgraded to over 500 Mhz from the original 300 from two upgrade companies for not much money.
A special version of the Dell Inspiron 7500 once shipped with a 1400 pixel wide screen. I use it every day. every other inspiron 7500 i ever saw has far less pixels.
I wish people started insisting on 1400 pixel lcds even if they do make the system weight 10 pounds (the weight of my dell).
sigh...
I have both a clamshell ibook and a new ibook. The clamshell is a tank. The battery lasts long enough that I never take a charger, so I never had a case. Just grab the computer by the handle and go. I forget how long I've owned it (it is one of the first) and it has never been damaged by being handled and carried naked.
I miss my handle on the new iBook. I understand that the display hinge precludes one, and given the choice I'll take the extra 1" the hinge gets me, but I still miss the handle.
Does there exist a service similar to
Babblefish that can translate Japanese
to English and/or other Western languages?
If anyone knows of such services, a pointer
on slashdot would be appreciated by many!
-AC
I do not own an iBook and won't be buying one, because I am perfectly happy with my 33 Mhz 68030 Pb 150, when it comes to sitting down somewhere with a machine. The fancy stuff I do on my desktop. But if I were to buy a brand new laptop I would buy either an ibook or a Titanium, because I refuse to buy anything from the probes from the Dark Side. If I would go out and buy stuff from Dell, Compaq or any other uninnovative pusher of mostly very ugly hardware, I would also pay for the Windows shit they install on it. In doing that I will supporting an evil empire that has no other goal than complete control over ALL information. Besides, as many may know, Apple machinery lasts longer and is far more easy to use. And on top of that, those Macs have all the technology you need for the coming 5 years built in: 802.11, Firewire (iLink), USB and they can run the best operating system on this planet: Mac OS X.
People as it is are bitching about the size of standard laptops, you can imagine the rancor if they were made like this.
Forget the brief case, just carry around your iMac on the stylish handle. Or if your muscles have been weakened by hundreds of hours of reading through Slashdot (or maybe your muscles were never really developed at all and only stuned by violent videogames) you could get the iBooks with their handles.
lol
it's funny because it's true
I have a friend who left his on his car only to have it fly off making a lazy right turn at 30mph. He still uses it every day with no damage other than cosmetic.
http://www.drbott.com/prod/ticase.html
http://www.drbott.com/prod/tipic.html
Yeah, it's spendy. But if you're going to get a Titanium PowerBook G4, you can afford it. We sell these at my store, they are perfect. Very rugged, space to store all your accessories, and they even have little standoff thingies so that you can prop the PowerBook up and use it right in the case. Beautiful.
Mr. Spleen
Now, what is a wedding? Well, Webster's Dictionary describes a wedding as, "The process of removing weeds from one's garden."
nope, they sell REALLY well, people just love 'em
On the details ("detail") page,
CD-RECORDER DRIVE
It has a cd-r drive for imac, CDR-I420/IM(SONY CRX510E), made by Melco.
It is very useful when I work aborad. It makes it easy to transfer large data to Windows-using clients.
POWER KEY
The power key is solid aluminium. The same for the reset key.
SPEAKER
The speaker consists of a mesh of aluminium and a ring made of solid aluminium.
TRACK PAD
The button is made of solid aluminium. It feels wonderful when you click. Also, it prevents miss-clicks.
SLEEP LAMP
I made the sleep lamp out of a solid acrylic. It flashes when the mac is sleeping. Together with the apple mark, this is important for the look.
APPLE MARK
I made this apple mark by casting graphite-colored epoxy-resin into a mould I made with silicone by taking the shape of the apple mark on a blueberry ibook.
It glows softly by the light of the LCD backlight. (put your mouse pointor on the picture --novastyli)
PORT
The USB connector, whose position is a shorcoming of an ibook, was moved to the back, beefed up to a four-port hub. Of course, all other connectors are also on the back.
AIR MAC (Mech Mushroom)
It contains an air-mac inside. It works great when I work at places near my home, such as a park or a cafe.
Troll? As the CEO of Propaganda Inc., Bowie J. Paog certainly should have creative control over the designs he creates. Damn hippy lunix-lusers think everything is free...
Casio FIVA are Easy to get in Japan, where it goes for about US$1,000. But you'll be lucky if you find it anywhere else. Why can't we get this cool stuff overseas?
Oh and by the way, first post?
Almost, only needed to be 2194383 posts earlier and you woulda gotten it.
Can't believe all the unrelated crap getting modded up today.
Anyway, some real info:
First, I read through the whole thing including his guest book (BBS link) and it looks like the real thing. He claims that his making of section will be in the August edition of Mac Life (Japanese Mac magazine). I will see if I see it on the stands before I head back to the states. Ok, just searched the web real quick and...presto:
Mac Life does have an article about this! So it is real.
Also, in the guest book section he says that he is working on a Halli Mac 2 based on the new iBook.
if you think that looks sturdy check out panasonic's toughbook.. goto panasonic's website and search for the toughbook.. that is one solid notebook..
Who makes you Sig?
I work as an Apple repair technican, and from what I can tell, yes, we have some idiot employees... some very stupid, and brain dead.
I do know, however, that there is good ones, who do a good job. I do my best to repair Apple comptuers. Sorry if you had one bad experience, though I doubt it, your just zealous on other hardware/software. Can't back it out, you are zealous.
Also, the chip that comes with the Titanium PowerBook G4's, its not soldered on. Just not very accessable. I can get it out, and replaced in about 20 minutes, including finding my stolen screwdrivers.
This guy is a freak. If your not going to speak correctly please don't talk or type.
It's a really cute idea. Consider that a friend and I were working on putting a PC-XT into a normal briefcase in 1984, and it doesn't look quite so cutting edge, though.
As it happens, the first company I started had a gig to build a portable machine which consisted of a Mac *and* a PC, sharing a keyboard, a plasma display, and hard disk, all packaged up in a Zero Halliburton briefcase with a cell phone and modem. (This was circa 1985.)
AFAIK, we were the first people who ever hooked up a Mac to a plasma display (which tended to get pretty hot with nearly all of the pixels lit), and it looked *amazing*. We'd never seen discrete pixels like that, or a 200:1 contrast ratio.
Unfortunately, the customer we did it for went broke and stuck us with a massive receivable.
One drawback to packaging a machine in a briefcase like this, is that it's really uncomfortable to use when you put it on a table.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I am the walrus
coo coo ca choo, ca coo coo ca choo
Everyday, I wait to surf to slashdot. Not for the news. Not for the information. Not even for the daily marching orders for the war against freedom.
No, I come here so that timothy, the master of the "snide aside" can tell me how to feel about an article, so I don't have to worry my pretty little head about it, much less bother to read it myself.
#ENDSARCASM
Am I the only one who notices that of all of the editors, only "timothy" cannot stop himself from making snide (or worse, offtopic) comments on every article that he posts? Where is the senior editor?
Donut
ps. To paraphrase Sideshow Bob, I am aware of the irony of using an off-topic post to decry an off-topic comment from an editor.
Ya know, they sell those drug lord metal cases for laptops. The are padded with foam and bullet proof.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
All this talk about tough books....Yea they're nice....But I'll stick to my purpose built Itronix rugged notebook. built in wireless modem, conforms to mil spec impact and moisture standards.....I love it!
- wha-choo talkin' 'bout willis?
moderators! do your job. sheesh, one time I don't have mod points to spend is wen there is something useful
Grid used to be the leader at ruggedized laptops. They've been selling them since the 1980s. They're still around, but the latest machine is a Pentium II.
Probably the nicest looking ruggedized machines.
Since the site describes everything as water-resistant in its metal case you could presumably overclock it like crazy and then use it under cold running water! (insert innuendo about what uses a PC has that you'd be needing a cold shower for here)
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
my father had a machine in the 80's called a Husky Hunter. It was ARMOURED and FIRE-PROOF, yet still fairly portable. Ran CP/M though (ouch!). Anyone else ever heard of one of those?
That was classic intercourse!
When I'm toting my laptop, I need to carry a mouse and a power cord, among other things. I need my notebooks, pens, CD's, etc... If I carry this thing, not only will it not fit in my laptop backpack which I'll STILL have to carry, but now I've also lost one of my two carry-ons allowed on the plane. If I stuff my current Dell (or iBook) into my backpack, I've got everything I need plus room to spare, and I can also carry on a toiletries bag in case I get stranded.
If you want tough, go and buy a Miltope TSC-750 or any one of the rugged laptops from Niche. Besides, according to this article in MacWorld, the iBook is pretty tough as it is.
"Come to think of it, there already are a million monkeys at a million typewriters, and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare." - Blair Houghton
The Dopester
"Yes, I'm a Karma Whore, but I'm doing it to pay my way through school."
I'm sorry, i'm having difficulty finding a Dell laptop w/ Firewire on their site. it comes stock on iBooks, that is what has sold me on them. It is hands down the best laptop in the world right now. who cares about the large screens? that's what desktops are for. I want the laptop for mobility!
Powerbook G4/1.5GHz 12", Toshiba Satellite 1135-S1554
Forget Celeron! Ew! I would never buy a Celeron machine after the nightmare experience I have had with my Dell OptiPlex GX100 at work! And in a laptop no less! Give me an iBook any day!
Powerbook G4/1.5GHz 12", Toshiba Satellite 1135-S1554
In some cases bad is good. Like, for example Michael Jackson (Bad), or James Brown (I'm Real) or a really good Motorcycle (That is one Bad HOG...). For example.
just so you know, an Airport card is now $99, and the Basestation is $299. very, very reasonable
Check this out:/ PC G-QR1S/
http://www.sony.co.jp/sd/products/Consumer/PCOM
I have seen this "case" model in Tokyo in April 2001.
No, you go & do other bloody things while the computer's humming along.
Like chatting up one of the pretty girls in human resourses.
Or buggering off down to the 'cross' (less than 10mins walk from the central business district) & scoring some smack, then you can go to the legalised injecting room to wack it up, to put you in a good mood while you killing time at work till knock off time (oh you can't beat ole Sydney town for conveniance). Or you can duck next door to the pub & have a bit of a liquid lunch.
Fuck, who wants a fast computer at work, they'l only give you more work to do.
Its much better having a slow one, so you can spend the day browsing pr0n & download MP3s while its humming away on your maths/science calculations or re-compiling or ripping video, in the background.
Try elingo.com
I dare you to carry that through airport security! ;)
I had an "i-mac clone" transparent plastic pager in 1990. I'm just wondering why everyone feels apple has a patent on transparent plastic junk.
My name is Ken Nakao. by Bjdesign from japan. This HALLI MAC is my note book pc. This mod is over 19 months old.(finish=2000.1.20) Anyway, I love HALLI MAC FAN!! :-)
Remember those old bulletproof luggable computers that Compaq built its business around? I would have killed for a 486 in a suitcase-sized case with a handle when I was in college. I didn't need to use a computer on an airplane, but I certainly needed something I could haul back and forth on weekends and during holiday breaks.
I think it's a bad mispelling of gross
not that I really want to get into this but just in case anyone every wondered, you can set up the ibook and the tibook to use tap and double tap with the trackpad, you just have to go to the trackpad control panel, just like with a windows machine if you want to change mouse settings. They just leave it off so confused first time users don't keep wondering why they seem to be mysteriously opening things.
As for the two mouse button thing, I never understood what the big deal is, if it drives you that crazy to have to hit the control button when you click on something, just spend a little money and get a mouse with all the buttons your heart desires and program the darn thing, it's not like multi-button mice aren't supported on macs for cripes sake.
Stay away from compaq, as they are awful. i have a compaq laptop, and it has broken several times.
I had a 2 inch long rod fall out of my computer, through an airvent. the floppy died, i sent it back, it died a week later, as they had not properly installed the cable. then when i sent it back, they factory wiped my harddrive. now i have to re-install linux. just because of a loose cable they wiped my harddrive. the laptop is a flaky piece of junk. it crashes and is poorly built. compaq is not a company worth buying from on there products that are comsumer based. i have no experience with them on server lines, but there towers aren't much better. one of my friends has a compaq, and i have to fix it when it breaks. it really is a pain in the butt. compaq makes poor components, proprietary and all that junk. the only good thing they did is reverse engineer the IBM bios.
The coffee god lives!