Tips When Checking In Your Laptop at the Airport
Travelling by air with a laptop computer has never been more complicated. These days, with the spate of terrorist threats, electronic devices are being banned by some airlines and airports from being hand-carried. And this includes laptops, which are traditionally hand-carried, as it’s a known fact that checked-in luggage is usually handled harshly. In other words, you can expect your laptop to be thrown around and dropped along with your luggage.
Lockergnome has some tips in giving your laptop a better chance at surviving this treatment.
In light of today’s airline scares, laptop computers need to be checked with baggage - at least for the immediate future. For those traveling on business or who need to carry a laptop, it could be a scary thought to trust such fragile equipment (that stores all critical data) with complete strangers.
The tips, apparently sent in by Ontrack Data Recovery (who will help you recover your precious data in the event your laptop dies with all those bumps and bruises) include the following:
- Backing up important files
- Creating copies of important documents or files on portable media such as CDs and flash drives
- Securing your laptop’s hard drive and software (BIOS and OS)
- Enclosing your laptop in protective material and in-between clothes
Now I’m wondering if airlines or travel agents would insure laptops that are checked-in. After all, it’s not the passenger’s fault that he/she cannot bring the machine carry-on. If I were the airport or airline officials, I would allow laptops onboard, but the batteries and other power sources would have to be stowed in checked-in luggage. I think this is a better compromise rather than have the entire thing checked in.
If the security risk would be the possibility of using the gadget for communications, then removing the power source would be one good way to mitigate or minimize this risk.
Now, as for the laptop being another type of threat, remember anything can be used as a weapon. Even batteries wrapped inside a sock can serve as a mace of sorts. So can a canned drink wrapped in a shirt or blanket. Books can be deadly, especially if they’re hardbound. I don’t see the airlines banning socks, shirts and books anytime soon.
Of course, you can always get yourself a Panasonic Toughbook. Now let’s see that sturdy little machine in action!
Panasonic Toughbook CF-74
Laptop Magazine has a review up on the Panasonic Toughbook CF-74, a semi-rugged system, that does not look like one.
Just as you wouldn’t wear cowboy boots to a black-tie ball, you would probably never carry a rugged notebook into a mahogany-paneled boardroom. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 is an exception. This semi-rugged sytem is made for highly mobile people who are tired of replacing less-durable notebooks but want something that still looks, acts, and runs like a mainstream machine.
In fact, except for the sturdy handle that forms this model’s front panel, you would probably never know that this is a rugged notebook, semi or not.
Earning an editor’s choice badge, you know this machine is going to be good, tie in the 4.5 out of 5 rating and the fact that the only negative they list is a heavy AC adapter with three-prong AC plug, and you have a solid buy for those looking for a machine that can take a bit more of a beating without looking like and ugly lump.
If you don’t need something semi-rugged but want similar features otherwise, then the 13″ MacBook would be your best bet, and for half of the cost. You can get the 13″ MacBook through here.
Panasonic CF-18 Toughbook Review
Pocket-lint reviews the Panasonic CF-18 Toughbook, a tablet that can handle being dropped in mud.
The armoured-body measures 271mm wide, by 216mm long by 49mm deep and weighs in at 2.1kg. To keep the weight down, the outer shell is constructed from a magnesium alloy, 20 times harder that standard ABS plastic.
All the standard ports are sealed with rubber-bung style plugs to prevent the dust and moisture from the outside, getting inside. The larger doors, that cover the 6.5hour battery, PCMCIA and SD slots and removable hard drive have a locking mechanisms that would sub-mariners envious and extra work has gone into the construction of the high stress areas of the tablets screen hinge and main release catch, both looking like they’ve been designed with roadies in mind.
In the end they gave the CF-18 a reasonable seven out of ten. If you need a specialized machine such as this, you might not have a choice, but be warned that the price is high, it lacks an optical drive, has a compressed keyboard configuration, and has some unresponsive tablet function buttons.
Panasonic Toughbook CF-74
Designtechnica is talking about the upcoming release of the Toughbook CF-74 from Panasonic.
The new Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 will have a starting price of $2,999 and should be available in April.
The Toughbook CF-74, said Panasonic, is built with a magnesium alloy case, integrated handle, spill-resistant keyboard, daylight-readable 13.3” screen and battery life of approximately seven hours. Features, depending upon the configuration, can include the Intel Core Duo Processor T2400, an 80GB shock-mounted hard drive, SDRAM (DDR2) expandable to 4GB, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, a DVD-ROM/CD-R/RW combo drive, Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Network Connection and finger print scanner.
The magnesium case, integrated handle and spill resistant keyboard is great. The seven hour battery life is even better. The 13.3 inch screen is a little small, but readable. The cost is just what kills it for me, as I don’t see how most people are going to be able to afford such a pricetag.
Panasonic Toughbook CF-74
Pocket-lint has the details on a new offering from Panasonic, the Toughbook CF-74.
New security features, include an optional finger print scanner and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM v.1.2) security chip to help protect sensitive information while the system itself offers the new Intel Core Duo Processor T2400, an 80GB shock-mounted HDD and a standard 512MB SDRAM, which is expandable to 4,096MB.
What really amazes me is the battery life, quoted at between seven and eight hours. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 will be generally available in April in the US starting at an estimated street price of $2,999.00.
Panasonic Toughbook W4 Review
Laptop Magazine reviews the Toughbook W4, and ultraportable machine that should stand up to most day-to-day abuse.
The deep texture of the lid not only creates a cool, unique look, but it also adds strength, protecting the display from any force applied to the top of the Toughbook W4. Other ruggedized features include a removable, shock-mounted 40GB hard drive, a locking optical drive latch, sealed modem and Ethernet jacks, and a strong, yet lightweight magnesium-alloy shell.
Aesthetically, we like the placement of the lid’s hinge at the front bottom of the screen, which causes the display to recede slightly behind the base as you open it. This creates a lower profile ideal for a coach class seat tray. The subtly ridged texture of the palm rest is a nice touch, but the circular touchpad takes some getting used to.
I personally don’t like that the optical drive is positioned to open up inside the laptop, as I like being able to switch CD’s even when the lid is closed. That is not an option for the W4, which you’d need to open the machine to switch disks.
In the end they give the machine a 4 out of a possible 5, and the one they tested is worth a not so light on the pocket-book $2,149 USD.
Panasonic ToughBook CF-W4 Review
Trusted Reviews takes a look at the ToughBook CF-W4 from Panasonic, and it earns itself an 8 out of 10 in their review scale.
If the ToughBook CF-29 is the Land Rover Defender of rugged notebooks, then the CF-W4 would have to be the Ferrari F430. The CF-W4 is s semi-rugged notebook, so it’s not as big, heavy and tough as its big brother. Instead it’s far thinner, lighter and sleeker, just like an F430. Of course just like the F430, the CF-W4 can’t take as many knocks as its more robust sibling, but that’s not to say that it can’t withstand the trials of life as a notebook computer.
Being a semi-rugged notebook, the CF-W4 can’t survive a drop of one metre like the CF-29 and CF-18. However, Panasonic will guarantee that it can withstand a drop of 30cm, which is more than you’ll get with most other notebooks. The great thing is that Panasonic hasn’t had to make the CF-W4 any larger or heavier to make it that little bit more robust. The CF-W4 can also withstand up to 100kg of pressure - so you could stack things on top of it, or use it as a seat cushion if you really wanted to.
While I like some of the features of the notebook, I am not really impressed with how they integrated the DVD/cd-rw combo drive, as a hatch that opens upwards. This worries me a bit on the durability of the drive, but I guess something like that will only become apparent later on in the machines life.
New Line of Panasonic Toughbooks
Panasonic has expanded it’s line of “Toughbook” notebooks with the CF-29 and CF-18.
The display has a brightness of 500cd, or approximately 1.5 times brighter than the previous line of Toughbooks. The LCD has Anti Reflection adjusting which makes it possible to view the display even under direct sunlight.
All the joints are sealed with silicon rubber to prevent water and dust from getting inside. And the rubberized casing helps absorb shock and damage from falls.
The “CF-29LW1AXS” has a 13.3″ 1,024×768 (XGA) display. The “CF-18″ has a 10.4″ rotating display. Common features are Intel 915 GMS chipset, 256 MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, battery life of up to 8 hours, Windows XP Professional and Wi-Fi.
The “CF-29LW1AXS” measures 302×273x63.5mm and weighs 3.69 kg and the CF-18 measures 271×216x49mm and weighs 2.1 kg. They will be avaialble in Japan on October 26.
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