A Hidden Threat To Handhelds

Logic Bomb writes: "An article from the San Francisco Chronicle focuses on a lawsuit against Palm, but talks about a larger issue: static and handheld computers. Basically, as computing equipment becomes smaller and more likely to be carried around, major damage from static becomes a serious threat. As the blurb at the end of the article says, it takes 3500 volts for a human to feel a shock, but only 200 to potentially scramble a microchip." We already mentioned the lawsuit, but this has more information about the supposed risks to your motherboard.

Comments

Re:ESD isn't a joke - but everyone thinks it is

[spyro]

Err. you dont have to plug your device in to get a ground. thats not what the straps are for.

if you connect your strap to a case and DONT plug it in, that is fine. the strap is there to allow you and the case to be at the same potential. As long as this is the case, you will NOT zap anything.

Simply holding the case whilst manipulating components is enough to protect them as you insert them.

In fact, hooking the case to mains ground is asking for MORE failures, as the harware you pick up is likely NOT to be at ground potential, so you will still zap it even then.