Manufacturer /
Protection
What It Does
Model
System
Toshiba / Tecra
EasyGuard
Uses active motion sensing to park the
hard-drive head if the laptop falls. Other
protective features include a spillproof
keyboard tray.
Dell / Latitude
StrikeZone
Uses a passive system that surrounds the
hard-drive bay with rubber shock
absorbers to dampen motion.
HP / Compaq
Basic design (no
Mounts the hard drive directly to the
catchy name here!) frame so the frame dissipates some of
the shock of being dropped, bounced, or
vibrated.
When you're shopping for a laptop, you would do well to place Dell Latitude,
Toshiba Tecra, HP Compaq, and IBM (Lenovo) ThinkPad laptops near the top
of your shopping list. Each of these manufacturers offers a measure of protec-
tion for the hard drive that goes beyond (in some cases, far beyond) the pro-
tection afforded by the outer shell of the laptop itself.
Another laptop line at which you might want to look closely is manufactured
by TwinHead and sold under the Durabook brand. The model N15RI, for exam-
ple, features a magnesium case with rubber protection surrounding both the
LCD screen and hard disk drive. The keyboard and touchpad are also spill-
resistant. You can get more information at http://usa·twinhead·com.
You may also want to check out Laptops For Dummies (Wiley Publishing, Inc.)
for more valuable information about what to consider, and what to ignore,
when purchasing a laptop.
Keeping Life Compact with a PDA
The original purpose of the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), also known as a
handheld or palmtop, was simply PIM (Personal Information Management).
I've always been just a little bit jealous of people who found it necessary to
carry a PDA around with them. They always seem to live such full and inter-
esting lives. I mean, just ask someone who owns one to join you for lunch, or
even coffee. The very first thing your friend does is whip out a PDA to check
that busy schedule. After this consultation comes the overcommitted response.
Chapter 3: Gearing Up
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