[red rocket]

I know I would. Probably’d be willing to dish out an additional $1,500 or so for one if Apple made such a machine available.

(‘Ruggedised’ meaning hardened for potential military use, meaning one would be able to run over it with a tank, shoot bullets at it, submerge it in water, and hit it with EMPs and radiation without adverse effects.)

[peeb]

Bullshit. No 'ruggedized' laptop can take any of that. Most of them are overpriced and not much tougher than regular high end laptops.

[Simon]

No. I usually try to stay clear of any EMPs.

[shrugs*]

If I was working in a warzone and the specs were up to par, yes. Otherwise I'm happy with a proper backup schedule and replacing the notebook as necessary (especially at the +$1500 pricepoint-- enough for a replacement machine and shell for replacement parts)

[MacosNerd]

I generally don't have people, shooting at me, or dropping nuclear bombs in my vicinity so no, I don't think Id dish out more $$ for a ruggedized laptop. They have their places to be sure, but its an awfully small niche market.

[peeb]

The main failure points for laptops in harsh environments are the hard drives getting shagged from too much vibration / dust. SSDs go a long way to addressing this. If you think that you are going to be run over by a tank or exposed to an emp pulse, your laptop is the last of your worries.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by peeb 

If you think that you are going to be run over by a tank or exposed to an emp pulse, your laptop is the last of your worries.

but that's where I have my tetris high scores

[CollinG3G4]

Just get a nice hard shell case.

[red rocket]

I wasn’t particularly thinking of going into traditional war zones with the laptop (although I would like to be able to). A ruggedised Mac portable just seems to make intuitive sense to me for mobile usage.

Most people I know seem to like to keep their desktop computers in as pristine a condition as possible, but are willing to just accept the fact that the ‘design icon’ laptop they just spent several thousand dollars on is going to crack, flake, burn in, not close properly after a while, and even stop functioning altogether.

The thing is, why should the user not expect something more solid rather than something that requires constant pampering? People drop iPods all the time and expect them to continue working without too many problems. The Newton used to have a rubberised shell to protect it. Laptops by their very nature are likely to incur damage to them, and since it’s Apple we’re talking about, that effectively means the design has broken down. Like Jobs once said, ‘design is how it works’. If the laptop’s design fails to protect the æsthetic design elements from æsthetic failure through portable usage, that indicates to me that the design has failed and needs to be toughened up.

[OreoCookie]

The *books are pretty rugged. I've had a bike accident with my ProBook: my bike was fine (one scratched brake lever), my ProBook was fine (except for a small dent in the enclosure and a small dot in the display), but I had quite a few injuries.

My experience with iBooks was similar, MacBooks are (from what I hear) similarly robust. That doesn't mean they will be optically pristine after intense usage (discolorations and scratch marks, etc.).

There are some things Apple can do to improve ruggedness: Thinkpads, for example, have channels that allow spilled fluids to drain without any damage to the hardware.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

Most people I know seem to like to keep their desktop computers in as pristine a condition as possible, but are willing to just accept the fact that the ‘design icon’ laptop they just spent several thousand dollars on is going to crack, flake, burn in, not close properly after a while, and even stop functioning altogether.

Most people I know are the exact opposite. They expect their laptop computer to handle the demands of travel. I've owned laptops for many years and through all of the incarnations they've all held up well. I don't baby them, they usually end up in a backpack and either travel on the airline or is with me on a subway. I've not had a single case of it being dented, cracked, burned in etc.

The thing is, why should the user not expect something more solid rather than something that requires constant pampering? People drop iPods all the time and expect them to continue working without too many problems. The Newton used to have a rubberised shell to protect it. Laptops by their very nature are likely to incur damage to them, and since it’s Apple we’re talking about, that effectively means the design has broken down. Like Jobs once said, ‘design is how it works’. If the laptop’s design fails to protect the æsthetic design elements from æsthetic failure through portable usage, that indicates to me that the design has failed and needs to be toughened up.

Who says they don't expect a solid design. I grant you the MBP and its predecessor the PowerBook's aluminum skin is rather malleable as compared to the plastic of a MB. I think thre is a need for ruggedised laptops but for rather hostile and caustic environments not for normal business useage. To be honest I don't know too many people who would want to pay extra for such a design.

As I mentioned I know of no person Mac or PC user who does not expect a solid design and expectation that the laptop will handle the demands. I recall being at at a higher education conference in Las Vegas and the Mac users out numbered the PC users. I only saw one laptop that looked abused, the finished was scrapped/worn off. It was covered in stickers and it did not close properly. ALL of the other laptops (virtually hundreds upon hundreds) looked great.

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by Simon 

No. I usually try to stay clear of any EMPs.

lol I try to myself also

Originally Posted by CollinG3G4 

Just get a nice hard shell case.

If I really wanted "ruggedness" I would just do this. But when I think of Apple I think of "elegance" and "beauty", not hunks of machinery.
--------
But to humor the thread if I was interested in a machine that was going to be in harsh conditions. I would just go with a crappy PC. Why bother chancing an Apple?

[peeb]

It depends what you mean by harsh conditions - a hardshell case will protect in harsh transport, but if you're talking about using it in a machine shop with dust, vibration, heat etc, that's different.

[@pplejaxkz]

Originally Posted by peeb 

It depends what you mean by harsh conditions - a hardshell case will protect in harsh transport, but if you're talking about using it in a machine shop with dust, vibration, heat etc, that's different.

Very true, in those cases I would just go with a PC.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Bullshit. No 'ruggedized' laptop can take any of that. Most of them are overpriced and not much tougher than regular high end laptops.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-30 is pretty damn durable and is used by the military.

Granted, Red Rockets expectations of rugged are beyond anything possible at the moment.

[peeb]

Yes. 'Pretty durable' is not the description that springs to mind for Red Rocket's specs...

[Ted L. Nancy]

Your definition of a ruggedized laptop is one of the funnier things I've read this week.

I would buy one if it still looked cool like Apple's current lineup.

Definition of "looked cool"-- It doesn't look like a Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by CollinG3G4 

Just get a nice hard shell case.

I have a "nice hard shell case." It stops things from scratching the computer, but it doesn't stop bullets.

[peeb]

http://www.bulletproofme.com/Briefca..._Shields.shtml
?

[peeb]

It's a hard-knock life: 3 rugged notebooks take a beating

Review of three ruggedized notebooks.

Military 810 spec for rugged.
http://www.dtc.army.mil/pdf/810.pdf

[photoeditor]

I'd pay $100 extra. Thicken up the aluminum sheet metal by 50 percent. Maybe a little more internal bracing as well. Waterproof the keyboard. Yeah, I'd do it.

Besides, the extra half pound of aluminum saves you from a half pound of extra protective padding in your computer bag. A good compromise if you ask me. No more net weight but much more peace of mind.