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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:24 am Post subject: General Dynamics GoBook MR-1

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/12/general-dynamics-gobook-mr-1-gets-official/

I had hands on the pre production version earlier today, and I'm in love. (Gotta love government tech expos btw, if only I had a blank check today...) Psst. Someone tell onefast1 his son needs one.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:41 am Post subject:

wow... a laptop that can survive my brothers' handling... but dang... over 4 large for it?... pocketbook says no in no uncertain terms.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:43 am Post subject:

Hmm...I've always found the GoBooks to be rather ugly. As much as I hate to say it, I prefer the Toughbooks. The CF-19 comes with the Core Duo (GoBook will only have a Core Solo?), and can be had with the rubberized keyboard for under $4000. Not really seeing the benefit of the GoBook over the Toughbook (other than if you like the way it looks better).

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:52 am Post subject:

how bout a rugged book instead? Very Happy

come and git it!

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:51 am Post subject:

I once had a GRiD laptop... that thing was built tough... but the battery was toasted (so bad that it melted the case... but that was the charging part, mainly the coils on that PCB) still not as tough as the gobook, but I think it was tougher than the toughbook. The toughbooks are only semi-rugged... it looks like the gobooks can be drug through mud and semi-submerged and still be running... I could be mistaken though.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:24 am Post subject:

Slymer wrote:
I once had a GRiD laptop... that thing was built tough... but the battery was toasted (so bad that it melted the case... but that was the charging part, mainly the coils on that PCB) still not as tough as the gobook, but I think it was tougher than the toughbook. The toughbooks are only semi-rugged... it looks like the gobooks can be drug through mud and semi-submerged and still be running... I could be mistaken though.

What model Toughbook did you have? The CF-28/29/30/18/19 are all fully rugged. The CF-72/73/74/50/51/52 are semi-rugged. The one I mentioned above (CF-19) is fully rugged. Trust me, they can take a beating. The 29/30 are made to be able to withstand things such as being run over by trucks and stuff.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:26 am Post subject:

I was referring to the one that I saw in a commercial that showed some lady walking into a meeting and drop sliding it onto the table... not sure what model that was... but the one I was referring to was the CF-Y5 and I'm not talking from experience, I was remembering an article written about it in reg hardware:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/20/cf-y5_toughbook/

after looking at the entire line... I can see the fully rugged ones look about as appealing to the eyes as the gobooks do... but then they aren't built for looks. The toughbooks do have a better price point though.

I'd only seen the business tough and semi rugged models advertised. Guess the fully rugged aren't real volume units... though if I end up with kids that don't respect technology, I may invest in a fully rugged beast just to protect the investment.

*goes and re-seats his memory since it appears to not be working right*

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:47 am Post subject:

Slymer wrote:
I was referring to the one that I saw in a commercial that showed some lady walking into a meeting and drop sliding it onto the table... not sure what model that was... but the one I was referring to was the CF-Y5 and I'm not talking from experience, I was remembering an article written about it in reg hardware:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/20/cf-y5_toughbook/

after looking at the entire line... I can see the fully rugged ones look about as appealing to the eyes as the gobooks do... but then they aren't built for looks. The toughbooks do have a better price point though.

I'd only seen the business tough and semi rugged models advertised. Guess the fully rugged aren't real volume units... though if I end up with kids that don't respect technology, I may invest in a fully rugged beast just to protect the investment.

*goes and re-seats his memory since it appears to not be working right*

Ahh...yeah the W- and Y-series notebooks are very fragile. They are more built for aesthetic value than durability. I wouldn't really recommend one of those unless you just have a lot of money to throw away.

The business tough line has a few gems, and they are able to withstand quite a bit. The 70-series (CF-74 is the latest) are all magnesium-alloy, and can still take a beating. The 50-series is a bit less rugged than the 70-series, but has better hardware (you can get a CF-51 with a 2.0 CoreDuo, 4G RAM, 256M Vram, 1600x1200 native resolution for right around $3000). IMHO, the 50-series doesn't look as nice as the 70-series though.

The 73 is still my favourite as far as looks, plus you can't get a touchscreen on the 50-series, while the 70-series has had touchscreens from the get-go (you could order some 73s without touchscreens for a while, but the 74s have them standard).

As for the fully rugged ones, those are mainly used by the armed forces, and as mobile units in emergency vehicles.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:51 pm Post subject:

sully_51 wrote:
As for the fully rugged ones, those are mainly used by the armed forces, and as mobile units in emergency vehicles.

and some telecom field supervisors... and some oil field foremen... amoung other harsh environment uses. (one uncle works for verizon along with his son and they reported that to me, another uncle works as a contractor for oil drilling sites telling them how to do it right and some of the company men use these things)

they are nice toys... I just don't have the money or reason to get one. I take too good of care of my stuff and I don't travel enough to require someone else to handle my stuff... I would still like one though Very Happy

DSTG_II wrote:

Slymer wrote:

Slymer wrote:

sully_51 wrote: