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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.
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
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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
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."
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.
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.
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
Don't be a moron. The PowerBook G4 is very fragile. I own one. I've had it since February 2001 and I always treat it with kid gloves. So far, I've smashed the screen latch by simply picking it up with one hand instead of two, I've ripped off all four rubber feet by dragging it a little ways across a tabletop, and I've nearly ruined the screen by grabbing it too hard. The PowerBook G4 is so flimsy that you can cause a short on the motherboard by lifting the machine in a particular way, and if you pinch the right side of the machine while a CD or DVD is spinning, you'll scratch the disc.
Check out the cool Ti bike stuff at Litespeed
Ti is nice, but there is nothing necessarily indestructable about it.
P.S. If you really ran a TiBook over with a car, it would be completely destroyed. You can flex the screen a scary amount by hand. (not that x86 laptops are any different).
However, the price/performance ratio is still horrible. Let's say a G4 tower really is twice as fast as a Pentium IV 1.4ghz. The Pentium IV is half the price! So it still has double the cost-effectiveness. Athlon is even better.
Apple would have to market the G4 as "four times as fast" to make them price competitive.
You're right. Thank you for completely ignoring the topic at hand and validating my statement.
The price difference is awfully huge if your only reason for buying one is to be "unique". If that's all you care about buy a $30 PC case and paint 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.
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.
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.
Example - G4 733mhz is as fast as a Pentium IV 1.5ghz. Sounds great, right? Except that the G4 tower STARTS at $1799! You can buy an 'equivalent' speed Dell for 1/2 the price.
My point is that even if you accept the fact that Apple's are twice as fast per Mhz, you cannot ignore the fact that they are still more expensive to get an equivalent machine.
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.
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.
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."
As an owner who's opened mine (had to install airport) the biggest problem with the design is lack of sufficient insulation between the cover and the motherboard. For some reason, my machine leaked electricity to the cover for a while. :)
The main body of the machine is very very sturdy but unfortunately only cover the outer edge of the machine, not the bottom.
A friend dropped his machine rather spectacularly and broke the screen and the titanium frame. Everything else survived but he had to pay $$$ to get the broken parts replaced.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
I dare you to carry that through airport security! ;)
$199 AUD is roughly equivalent to $99 USD.
The Inspiron 8000/8100 ships with FireWire built in. I don't know why they don't hype it more, it's not obvious.