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.

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.

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.

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..

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.

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: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.

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.

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).

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.

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