3 ms·

I've encountered a few of these over the years. On the one hand, they are impressively rugged. And easy to repair. But the ones I have laid hands on had terribl

I've encountered a few of these over the years. On the one hand, they are impressively rugged. And easy to repair. But the ones I have laid hands on had terrible displays, terrible keyboards, and terrible touchpads. And this was back when ALL laptop keyboards and touchpads where far inferior to what they are now. I'm sure some use them because they like the aesthetic, it would not be most people's first choice as a daily driver.

jedberg 2y ago
> I'm sure some use them because they like the aesthetic, it would not be most people's first choice as a daily driver. Almost anyone who uses one does it because they work in an environment where nothing else would survive. Construction sites, mining, dusty or wet places, etc.
- InitialLastName 2y ago
  There's a niche group of people (particularly electronics distributor FAEs for some reason) who have them for the same reason many people own F150s: because they like to look like they work in that sort of environment.
  - jedberg 2y ago
    Fascinating. I've never run into anyone with a vanity toughbook, but I can totally believe this.
    - masklinn 2y ago
      Never run into vanity fully rugged either. I’ve met people who used business rugged as daily drivers, they’re somewhat less hostile and still rather nice: spill proof, hotswap battery, handle and strap, not as solid as the fully rugged but lighter and better looking. Still expensive as hell new.
      - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
        There's another lower level of ruggedness, school / student laptops, Dell has a line of them; they're cheap ish and have a rubberized edge. Doesn't really matter if a student closes their laptop hard with a pen in it though (the hinge sheared straight off) or they use it as a punching bag though.
    - farhaven 2y ago
      I have a CF-33 that I got used for about 600€ (plus something like 120€ for a replacement battery). I use it as my "outdoor/garden/workshop" laptop that I can display CAD drawings on and stuff like that without worrying about getting wood splinters in it, or as a juke box/internet lookup-thing/spreadsheet when I work on a semi truck I sometimes drive (not for work though, purely for fun). It does also double as my backup laptop in case the XPS13 I use for freelancing ever falls off the table or something, but I don't really see that happening anytime soon. Granted, most of this I could just as well do with an old T-series Thinkpad, but there's something to having a carrying handle on the thing and being able to pull it off its keyboard base. Also, COM ports.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- anonzzzies 2y ago
  I used to have one to take to the local bar where I sat doing emergency sysadmin and software fixes; especially later in the evening, people would accidentally knock a pint over it and I didn't care at all. I often had clients call at 4 am when everyone could barely stand but I had to fix a down server. Good times.
swatcoder 2y ago
> I'm sure some use them because they like the aesthetic, it would not be most people's first choice as a daily driver. Aesthetic? Durability and ruggedness are the distinguishing feature for these, and there are many people not working in offices who have that as a requirement for their "daily drivers". Sure, some people might enjoy the aesthetic for its own sake, but that's not going to play much part of the product strategy.
- apricot 2y ago
  I'm not gonna lie. Opening a massive Toughbook in a classroom full of puny Macbook Air and other ultrabooks felt GREAT, and worth lugging the 8-pound behemoth in my book bag. Plus, free rucking workout.

jedberg 2y ago

> I'm sure some use them because they like the aesthetic, it would not be most people's first choice as a daily driver. Almost anyone who uses one does it because they work in an environment where nothing else would survive. Construction sites, mining, dusty or wet places, etc.

InitialLastName 2y ago
There's a niche group of people (particularly electronics distributor FAEs for some reason) who have them for the same reason many people own F150s: because they like to look like they work in that sort of environment.
- jedberg 2y ago
  Fascinating. I've never run into anyone with a vanity toughbook, but I can totally believe this.
  - masklinn 2y ago
    Never run into vanity fully rugged either. I’ve met people who used business rugged as daily drivers, they’re somewhat less hostile and still rather nice: spill proof, hotswap battery, handle and strap, not as solid as the fully rugged but lighter and better looking. Still expensive as hell new.
    - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
      There's another lower level of ruggedness, school / student laptops, Dell has a line of them; they're cheap ish and have a rubberized edge. Doesn't really matter if a student closes their laptop hard with a pen in it though (the hinge sheared straight off) or they use it as a punching bag though.
  - farhaven 2y ago
    I have a CF-33 that I got used for about 600€ (plus something like 120€ for a replacement battery). I use it as my "outdoor/garden/workshop" laptop that I can display CAD drawings on and stuff like that without worrying about getting wood splinters in it, or as a juke box/internet lookup-thing/spreadsheet when I work on a semi truck I sometimes drive (not for work though, purely for fun). It does also double as my backup laptop in case the XPS13 I use for freelancing ever falls off the table or something, but I don't really see that happening anytime soon. Granted, most of this I could just as well do with an old T-series Thinkpad, but there's something to having a carrying handle on the thing and being able to pull it off its keyboard base. Also, COM ports.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
anonzzzies 2y ago
I used to have one to take to the local bar where I sat doing emergency sysadmin and software fixes; especially later in the evening, people would accidentally knock a pint over it and I didn't care at all. I often had clients call at 4 am when everyone could barely stand but I had to fix a down server. Good times.

swatcoder 2y ago

> I'm sure some use them because they like the aesthetic, it would not be most people's first choice as a daily driver. Aesthetic? Durability and ruggedness are the distinguishing feature for these, and there are many people not working in offices who have that as a requirement for their "daily drivers". Sure, some people might enjoy the aesthetic for its own sake, but that's not going to play much part of the product strategy.

apricot 2y ago
I'm not gonna lie. Opening a massive Toughbook in a classroom full of puny Macbook Air and other ultrabooks felt GREAT, and worth lugging the 8-pound behemoth in my book bag. Plus, free rucking workout.