4 ms·

Sorry if this is a bit OT, but does anyone have any experience using panasonic toughbooks? I travel fairly extensively and my MBP is basically in tatters (I hav

by phunel 16y ago

Sorry if this is a bit OT, but does anyone have any experience using panasonic toughbooks? I travel fairly extensively and my MBP is basically in tatters (I have enjoyed it immensely, but the hardware has been subpar - battery exploded, screen went dead, power plug nearly caught on fire, HD failure, etc. I've noticed the new ultralight toughbook is out, and thought this loaded with Linux might be an ideal solution. I have no problem paying premiums for tools that work (my assumption with the MBP) but also obviously don't want to buy something that doesn't return the appropriate value. Anyone with any experience with these tools?

mitchellhislop 16y ago
I have used a few different toughbooks, and have been pleased with all of them.
NateLawson 16y ago
I am a big fan of the Panasonic business series. They were originally called "Lets Note" in japan but rebranded with "toughbook" in the US as the business ultralight series. I have a Y4 currently. It is somewhat rugged, but the most important part is that it has every attribute I want: 3.5 lbs, 14" screen at 1400x1050, built-in DVD/RW, 5-7 hour battery life. The keyboard is quite nice also. Basically, I had a Macbook Air with more features in 2006. http://rdist.root.org/2008/02/07/panasonic-cf-y4-laptop-disassembly/ http://rdist.root.org/2008/02/07/panasonic-cf-y4-laptop-disa... If you want to replace the hard drive, you have to disassemble the whole thing. RAM upgrades don't require that though. I'm quite familiar with the BIOS and it's one of the better ones. It works fine with Linux and FreeBSD. They stopped making the Y series with the Y7. The replacement (F8 and F9) annoys me a little because they went to widescreen. I hate widescreen. What you want as a programmer is as many vertical rows as possible, not horizontal. The F9 is 1440x900. You gain 40 horizontal pixels but lost 150 vertical! It also has that weird handle thing but you can ignore it. I'm still happy enough with my Y4 that I haven't replaced it. It's such a good combination of build quality and firmware quality that I'm afraid of anything else.
waivej 16y ago
I know a New York Times photographer that had an unhealthy love of hers. It was so old to be laughable...but it kept going and going. It's cool to have a computer so tough you don't use a case. (and years later to be debating replacing it because new machines are faster, not because it's broken.)

by phunel 16y ago

mitchellhislop 16y ago

I have used a few different toughbooks, and have been pleased with all of them.

NateLawson 16y ago

I am a big fan of the Panasonic business series. They were originally called "Lets Note" in japan but rebranded with "toughbook" in the US as the business ultralight series. I have a Y4 currently. It is somewhat rugged, but the most important part is that it has every attribute I want: 3.5 lbs, 14" screen at 1400x1050, built-in DVD/RW, 5-7 hour battery life. The keyboard is quite nice also. Basically, I had a Macbook Air with more features in 2006. http://rdist.root.org/2008/02/07/panasonic-cf-y4-laptop-disassembly/ http://rdist.root.org/2008/02/07/panasonic-cf-y4-laptop-disa... If you want to replace the hard drive, you have to disassemble the whole thing. RAM upgrades don't require that though. I'm quite familiar with the BIOS and it's one of the better ones. It works fine with Linux and FreeBSD. They stopped making the Y series with the Y7. The replacement (F8 and F9) annoys me a little because they went to widescreen. I hate widescreen. What you want as a programmer is as many vertical rows as possible, not horizontal. The F9 is 1440x900. You gain 40 horizontal pixels but lost 150 vertical! It also has that weird handle thing but you can ignore it. I'm still happy enough with my Y4 that I haven't replaced it. It's such a good combination of build quality and firmware quality that I'm afraid of anything else.

waivej 16y ago

I know a New York Times photographer that had an unhealthy love of hers. It was so old to be laughable...but it kept going and going. It's cool to have a computer so tough you don't use a case. (and years later to be debating replacing it because new machines are faster, not because it's broken.)