Rugged Laptop/Tablet Suggestions, 2010 Version?

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."

Comments

EliteBook

[brad-x]

I've been using the HP EliteBook 8540w and it's been hard to destroy. I ran an HP demo unit through the mill too (dropped it from six feet on all corners, etc) - it's rated for military use, and I'm pretty sure it's one step below the ruggedized laptops you can get with armor plating.

Good Luck

[Anonymous Coward]

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

[Anonymous Coward]

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

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Whether netbook or notebook, you'll probably want an SSD(hard drives have filters; but SSDs don't even breathe air). If you get some common, cheap model, (ideally with a an easily accessible drive location, not one of the epic deconstruction project ones), you should be able to just pop the SSD out of the dead unit and pop it in to the new one, boot and go. No real "migrating" or "adjusting" involved. You'll still want backups, of course, because SSDs can and do die; but, as long as your hardware stays the same, the only "migrating" you should have to do is a simple disk swap.

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.

Re:Use a disposable laptop

[sadtrev]

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.

Re:Use a disposable laptop

[hoggoth]

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 will figure out, when you boot, what drivers it needs to use. Your application settings are portable and as a bonus they get backed up when you back up your user's data.

On Windows it is a huge time wasting chore to try to move your applications to a new computer. You basically can't and have to reinstall all of them. And forget about moving the Operating System. You can't.

Panasonic Toughbook

[Nimey]

They've got units that are rated for such harsh environments. They're not cheap, though.

Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

FWIW, I just spent a few weeks in the Moroccan Sahara and most of the natives who had laptops, had a Macbook

Re:Apple

[duk242]

It took one really good dust storm to fill my poor MacBook up with Dust (in Australia). Mind you, Apple repaired it under warranty because it was overheating, it's all good now.

Re:get a small netbook...

[v1]

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) exposed keyboard - you could use a keyboard cover, and use some rubber cement, doublestick tape whatever to seal around the edges. keeping the trackpad button clean could be challenging. Most laptops support trackpad clicking anyway so you may not need the button to stay working.

3) exposed ports - I don't think this is going to be an easy one without a ruggedized design. Good packing tape over any ports you're not using for starters.

It doesn't look like the poster is concerned about a drop-proof machine, he's just trying to keep the sand and dust out of it, so most ruggedized designs are overkill for protection (I don't think "waterproof" is on his list!) and will be underpowered as a result due to cooling issues.

As far as "more usb ports" goes, get a hub. Most net books are only going to have 1 or 2 usb ports anyway, and hubs are cheap to replace. I'd expect usb ports to wear out quickly though in a sandy/gritty environment.

get canned air and warranty

[InsertWittyNameHere]

I work in the construction industry and instruct our guys that work on site to blast the openings of their laptops/computers with canned air at least once a month.

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

[Great Big Bird]

When in Rome, Do as the Romans do.

Re:Rome

[chill]

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.

Re:Rome

[alexx]

Be fair, we rarely crucify the natives.

Rugged Notebooks

[Island Admin]

A quick google came up with the following website: http://www.ruggednotebooks.com/
They have notebooks with sealed keyboards, low reflectivity (especially greate for the desert conditions :) ).

Field notebooks

[juventasone]

There are models that meet MIL-STD-810. Have you seen any of these tried in your environment? Some of them have already been mentioned such as the Panasonic Toughbooks and HP Elitebooks.

Re:Field notebooks

[Anonymous Coward]

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

[mprindle]

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_

Re:Field notebooks

[Telecommando]

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.

Re:Field notebooks

[bananaendian]

There are models that meet MIL-STD-810.

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 chosen and tailored for the particular application in order to produce relevant data for the engineering process. There is no certifying authority to give you a badge of approval if you pass some test, as there are no standard test facilities for these tests either!

Compare this to for example the IP Code which has specific descriptions and limits on what a device has to withstand in order to be specified in the IP class. Further more there are independent test companies with the standardized test facilities to give you a certificate that the device can indeed withstand environmental conditions equivalent to a specific IP class.

Further more no actual product could 'comply' with all the test methods in the 810 standard. With anything with more functionality than a metal brick one would have to limit the test methods and parameters for it to survive them. Consequently a manufacturer would have to specify which methods and what parameters and test configurations were used in order for anyone to deduce if the product might survive some environmental condition.

The truth is, most products that have MIL-STD-810 slapped on them have never been tested - merely 'designed to meet' some arbitrary interpretation of the standard ... The funny thing is, Panasonic Toughbooks have indeed been tested extensively - there are cool videos of the tests on their website - but those tests are IP Class tests which they have to perform.

Dell Outlet

[copponex]

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

Re:Dell Outlet

[Anonymous Coward]

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/business/semiconductor/news/downloads/RuggedizedDellXFRwithSSD_LG.jpg ) but the pointing stick cap comes off way too easily, it takes a blink of an eye to eject the SSD and there's nothing you can do against that even though you bought the laptop with a security cable lock... sorry, I meant: it takes a blink of an eye to eject the SSD *if* the two pieces of duct tapes put together that Dell wants you to pull in order to get the drive out haven't torn off yet (took us 3 times), after that you will need pliers!

Oh, and... well, you probably won't believe me but: that laptop did not even last a week (it never gets past the BIOS progress bar), even though we tried to be gentle with the testing, for example dropping it from 30cm high instead of 1m as Dell advertises.

So, to me it looks like Dell thought they could compete in the rugged laptop market when the SSDs came out: the XFR series look just like they took a Latitude, put an SSD inside and rubber bands outside, nothing more. That's why they're half as cheap as the other rugged laptops.

In our case, we'll stick with the Panasonic's.

Re:Dell Outlet

[MrScary]

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.

Re:dust filter bags

[tomhudson]

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.

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.

SSD not spinny disk

[olddoc]

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.

Oddball Suggestion...

[jjoelc]

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...

Re:Oddball Suggestion...

[girlintraining]

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.

Re:Oddball Suggestion...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Those silicone keyboards are, indeed, substantially resistant to dust, modest exposure to any fluid that isn't a nasty solvent, and so forth.

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 constantly at the keyboard, or really mashing on it. The keys also sort of "roll" under your fingers. Normal keys travel up and down. These ones can tilt and slither sideways just a little bit. Really, really, annoying. Unless either logistics or budget are very tight constraints, I'd just get a crate of basic plastic cheapies and swap them when they die.

A fan-less computer

[Kozmik]

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.

My Dell XPS survived a year in Kuwait & Afghan

[Fallon]

I've got a now 3ish year old Dell XPS M1710 laptop that survived living in Afghanistan for a year, Kuwait for a year & now a year or so back here in Colorado. Not light, but it did good as my gaming rig. I was in decent quality buildings for being down range, but pretty crappy & unsealed by U.S. standards. I've gone through 3-4ish power bricks for it, but I blame crappy generator power for that. And when the power bricks died, the laptop would only operate in reduced power mode (throttle CPU & not charge the battery), but would still run the laptop. Not bad for bouncing between 110v & 220v power of very dubious quality.

Blow it out frequently with a can of air & it should do pretty good.

Software + hardware based suggestion

[middlemen]

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 :)

Re:get a small netbook...

[AndGodSed]

Can't. He laminated his camera and glued the lens cover shut...

Re:iPad is still better.

[brad-x]

I doubt the iPad is going to be sturdy or rugged by any stretch of the imagination.

Re:get a small netbook...

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Itronix Duo-Touch II

[Tisha_AH]

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

It is pricey as Itronix was purchased by General Dynamics but is mil rated.

Re:iPad is still better.

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

It certainly won't be explicitly "rugged" in any serious way, nor will there be any warranty express or implied, concerning dropping it; but it wouldn't at all surprise me if it ends up being pretty durable against ingress of sand purely as a side effect of Apple's aesthetic preferences.

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).

I think people are over looking the obvious choice

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

The iPad comment was a joke..

[Fussen]

The iPad comment was a joke and it is just not built for the outside. It's barely meant for a kitchen with a tile floor.

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

New leaders?

[CohibaVancouver]

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).

Re:iPad is still better.

[mellon]

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 swap in another one. You can always repair the crapped-up one in your copious free time, but it's good to have spares.

On a similar note, if you need more power, it sounds like HP is coming out with a tablet soon. It would have the same advantages, although you'd probably want to order it with an SSD rather than a spinning hard drive. It would also run windows, so if you're locked in to that solution it might be a better choice for you.

Having said that, I've been working with Macs in a desert environment for a long time, and the worst that's ever happened to me is that the keyboard got squeaky after a while. I don't know if that's because the mac keyboard is better, or I'm better at protecting it, or we don't have as much airborne dust as you do. Probably the latter, in which case my advice might not help that much.

out of your box solutions including OS X

[arete]

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

[BobPaul]

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.

OLPC

[FreeBSD evangelist]

The One Laptop Per Child program (I have an original XO) builds for that exact environment.

http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/index.shtml
http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml

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

[JungleBoy]

I use an AMREL Rocky notebook in my field work. Hop out of the helicopter and toss it on the rocks while you unload other gear. Rain? No problem. Dust? No problem, it's completely sealed. The bottom is actually a finned heat sink bonded to the CPU. Since it has no fans/vents, it is a bit under-clocked. But it's awesome. http://www.amrel.com/rugged-computers/default.asp

At that temp the operator dies anyway

[name_already_taken]

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 power dissipation to an external hard drive down around 80 F in a 130 F environment.

Re:At that temp the operator dies anyway

[Reziac]

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.

Re:The clean and cold fridge.

[Reziac]

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.

Fine sand? Try pet dust!

[mcrbids]

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 trouble keeping brand new computers running much more than a few months!

After some consideration, I realized that the trick for the computer was in the air - the air, otherwise needed to cool the computer, carried the dust that just did the computers in. Most computer ventilation systems create *negative* pressure - air "sucks in" every possible crack, bringing dust with it. After getting clearance for a "non-standard solution", (they were DESPERATE!) here's what I came up with:

1) Normal desktop computers. There were three of them, connected by a LAN.

2) I removed the power supplies and reversed the fans (which normally blow outward) so that they blew inward.

3) I got a bunch of HEPA air filters, 3 large, flat boxes, duct tape, and some dryer hose.

I cut large, square holes on two sides of the box and duct-taped the hepa air filters so that they sealed over the holes. Then, I cut a hole on the small side for the dryer hose, and sealed the dryer hose to the back of the power supply on the computer. If I remember correctly, I put a cheap 6" fan in the bottom of the box to help blow air into the dryer hose, and sealed the box.

This forced clean air into the computer, creating a *positive* air pressure of clean air inside the computer. This worked to push dush and silt out of the computer, and even worked to protect otherwise sensitive parts like the CD/DVD ROM drive. After 6 months, the computers were all working at 100% and they were happy! The solution was cheap, effective, and reliable.

While I solved their problem with a bit of redneck engineering, you could probably use/modify a personal air filtration system from the likes of Sears or x-Mart.

Dell Latitude E6400 XFR Ruggedized

[j0uSt]

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 comes with a 3G SIM card slot for mobile broadband built in.

Just my 2 cents.

Built for truly rough conditions

[tonycole]

Hi you might consider buying one of the computers made by X2 Computers. An English outfit who specialise in making laptops for Firemen, Police men and the military, so their computers are tough, and obviously dust proof too. Having lived in Beijing, where the Gobi desert sent huge sand storm to us, I iknow what you mean about desert dust, it kills machines! Anyhow, here is their URL.. have a look, and good luck. www.x2mc.co.uk/website1

Re:The clean and cold fridge.

[tomhudson]

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!

Use fanless computer designed for industrial autom

[stasike]

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

Not worth it

[1s44c]

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.

Desert tech workspace. Minimise dust in gear tips.

[qwerty8ytrewq]

I suggest: 1. control the environment eg, seal the windows, fit a door closer. 2. get a hard airtight case for when you travel. pelican, kincrome, storm etc... this is when your lappy gets really dusty and hammered most. even cheap tupperware is better than a soft bag. 3. backup store your data elsewhere (2X swapping usb mass store or cloud) data on a laptop does not really exist unless it is backed up. 4. get component based. (eg a small brain, separate DVD, keyboard, memory store, display etc. not so portable, but you can replace bits easy. 5. copy the locals. you live in a remote desert area, reliability is very very very expensive because all the tech is operating at the extremem edge of its design spec. heat, dust, etc... I run a digital music and media studio in the central desert of Australia with about 15 different computers, emacs, mac minis, PC towers, macbook pro, PC laptops, Imacs, printers, scanners etc. (Wilurarra Creative). The red dust is fine and worse, conductive from Ferrous oxides. I have been here for 3 years. I fitted a hydraulic door closer the the front door to cut dust made a HUGE difference. also, seal any draft leaks (duct tape, sealant, whatever). sounds dumb, but mopping the floor of your workspace may help keep dust down.

Re:iPad is still better.

[scdeimos]

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 for whatever reason it sees fit.

Want proof? Apple blocks iPhone security software; Apple Removes Wi-Fi Finders From App Store; Apple Bans Sexy Apps, Developers Upset; Apple Bans Jailbreakers From The App Store; Apple Censors Dalai Lama iPhone Apps in China; Commodore 64 Runs Again On The iPhone (after Apple pulled it from the App Store until the developer changed it); Apple Kills Google Voice Apps On The iPhone; and my favourite, because it shows Apple's double-standards, Licensed C64 Emulator Rejected From App Store, because Apple claims Emulators are against its SDK agreement, but still allows Sega game emulators.

I can't help but wonder how long it will be before Apple rejects the Opera browser from the iPhone, because "it duplicates existing iPhone functionality" (Safari) which is also one of the SDK agreement clauses, and its reason for blocking the Google Voice apps.

Re:iPad is still better.

[MikeFM]

You can always remote connect to a system and run anything you want. Or jailbreak your iPhone. Or sign up as a developer. Many options exist but everyone complaining is to lazy to bother. A device that doesn't suck in it's default configuration is just beyond some people to understand. The kind of people that buy a discount HDTV from walmart and are surprised that it has a bad picture and sound and dies two weeks after the warranty expires.

If I felt like it I could probably get OpenOffice running on my iPod, the Mac version could probably be adapted pretty easily, but what would be the point? Installing every app you ever saw on a device is a bad measurement of how useful that device is.

Duplicate functionality is confusing to consumers. If you want more options then take 5 minutes to jailbreak your device or pay $100 to be a developer and you can compile and run whatever you want. Android is a mess because they allow anyone and everyone to do whatever the freak they want and it ends in a confusing, and bad, consumer experience. If you aren't smart enough to jailbreak your iPhone or compile a program then you shouldn't be running those apps anyway. The PC concept sucks because it is confusing and degrades into chaos quickly. I've seen grown men break down crying because of their Windows experience. I can't say I've ever seen anyone cry because they couldn't use OpenOffice or Opera on their iPhone.