Rugged notebooks put the ?hard? in hardware

Rugged notebooks put the ‘hard’ in hardware

Read the whole thing: http://www.gcn.com/print/21_15/18963-1.html

I created a pdf version of that site and have attached it for archival purposes.

 

Good article!

 

I often wonder how water resistant Toughbooks are.

 

Resistant enough that I used mine in the rain twice.

The "What the hell are you doing?" factor was worth it.

 

Like, directly in the rain, right down on the KB? Do have the rubber type KB or the "regular" kind?

 

Rubber keyboard, and directly in the rain.

Not suggested behaviour, but it was fun to try.

 

Is the rubber keyboard super difficult to type on?

 

For me... Yes. Very. It trims my WPM down from 90-110 to 20-30.

But the ability to spill beverages (not beer, I'm not an alcohol abuser! ) is worth it. Especially since I don't use it to type on often.

 

That seems like a dramatic difference in typing speeds. But I am concerned with salt water intrusion since I boat on the Texas Gulf coast. I use a marine mapping program on my 29 for navigation. Every once in a while Mother Nature decides to dump copious amounts of water over everything on the boat.

I totally agree that spilling beer or any alcohol is alcohol abuse.

 

I have the rubber keyboard and don't find it that hard at all. The 'feel' is different which gives you the impression that you have to type harder, but I don't find that to be true practically. I get the same WPM on a rubber keyboard that I was getting on a normal keyboard. I guess it's just a preference thing. You will have to try it out for a couple of weeks to see if it works for you.

Correct me if I am wrong, but are not all the keyboards water resistant anyways? I thought that was part of the selling point of toughbooks. At least if I look at the normal keyboard, beneath the keys, it appears to be rubber coated in some way as if to protect it from spills, etc...

 

I can tell you from the work I've had to do on my Mk3, that the "regular" keyboard IS somewhat spill resistant; it was obvious that something got spilled in it (Enough to crust up & cake the bed under the KB with yellow-brown crunchies... its NOT coffee, but I'm not sure WHAT it IS) & it still works. I don't know that it didn't perhaps stop working while the spill was fresh and just happens to work now that it's all dried out; I suspect strongly that may be why it got decommissioned.

I do know that whatever it was is at least mildly caustic, as the aluminum KB baseplate and areas of the casting that weren't black-coated and around the screws were pitted & oxidized - enough I needed to get after them with pick & wirebrush to be able to get the connector cover plates to seal tight again.

I'd suggest that with either type of KB (As the rubber KB also has an aluminum baseplate like the regular KB) are probably subject to etching/pitting if salt spray were to get between KB & case and allowed to stay there as obviously happened with my Mk3.

mnem
Hmmm... Got a grounded case and a sheet of plastic with charged wires running through it... why NOT add a little electrolyte to this mix and make things REALLY interesting?

 

Mnem,
Is there anyway to seal things where that wouldn't be an issue?

 

Ya, a ziplock bag works wonders.... YELLOW AND BLUE MAKE GREEN!!!

 

It appears the designers DID provide drainage holes in the KB bed to allow water to escape out the sides of the laptop. This would work perfectly fine for exposure to rain, as the design parameters call for; but caustic liquids I think are another story.

As for sealing the KB, I really don't think so - there are channels cast into the case for wiring for optional equipment and at the top side the KB butts against the hinge cover plate, which is essentially open in a dozen places to the keyboard bed underneath. It COULD be done with RTV sealant; but it would be pretty visible and would make disassembly a B!TCH!...

mnem<~~~ TinkerDwagon*

 

*Hands Pappy a nice fresh slapping trout to go after Doobi*

mnem<~~~ STILL Looking for a few good fish*

 

Mnem,
That distilled potato juice is getting to you.

 

*Runs and Hides from the Trout Slapping Old Guy; but quickly loses his breath from years of smoking and eating fast food!! Finally just gives up and takes the little Nemo hit in the face*

 

The old guy is so tired from all of the activity and witty repartee, that he is going to bed.

Besides, Toughbook is going to sign on and bust us all!

 

GNC reviews a lot of toughbooks as well as other rugged laptops. They have some interesting case stories also. They are one of the few people who really test out the rugged features in many different areas because i guess the federal government buys so many of them that they allow the destruction of test units.

 

General Nutrition Center reviews laptops now? Man, they're EXPANDING...

mnem
The key to survival in these turbulent times: DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY...

 

Typo...but their reviews are good