[frankthetank]

If taken care of, how many years should a notebook computer last? I've got an old dell (4years) thats about ready for the dumpster, but my newer HP does seem to be built stronger. I'm in the market for another and i'm thinking of spending a little more and buying either an IBM Thinkpad or a Fujitisu. The police cars here all have Panasonic Toughbooks which are heavy, but look very "TOUGH". I know hard drives seem to die every 3-5 years, but what about the rest of the components?

Any comments on recommendations.

Due to PO and future conditions, i want something that lasts, not junk!

I will add that i also have a internet capable PDA which should last forever if i don't step on it or drop it...although its VERY annoying surfing/posting on the internet.

[rostov]

Don't think you'd find much notebooks these days that can last, say, 20 years or so. Just like any complex tool, each part will break down slowly, and the only way you can get the complex tool going is to have many, many, spare, parts.

E.g. One of the oldest ones I have is a Dell Latitude Cpi, P2-300. It's from the year 2000, and the following spare parts I have activated (either from my inventory or from ebay) are : 3x batteries, 2x cdroms, 1x LCD, 1x motherboard, 2x 128MB PC100 ram, 2x keyboard, 2x 2.5" hdd. With PO, the ebay option is out.

Even my IBM X20 has tons of spare parts just ready for the day. I have enough to replace anything except for the total destruction of the chassis itself.

Then again, you've gotta make sure that laptop is as useful as the existence of the internet's availability to the commons...

[frankthetank]

I have a feeling that the internet could become even more important due to peoples inability (affordability?) to travel/commute. I thought having a good well made notebook would be a smart investment, along with being very frugal on power consumption (the new mobile pentiums are great).

The latitudes seem very well made, but I haven't been to impressed lately. I've read great things about the Thinkpads. Spare parts are a good idea.

[rostov]

I really do hope you can find a solution to long-term laptops as far as the internet connectivity lasts, really (Google, please stay up!!)

I was thinking : rugged laptops are only good for a few things : (1) good against impact (2) good against environmentals like high temperatures, etc. However, the biggest problem if you go the spare-parts route is this : the parts are far harder to obtain on the long run. The biggest pains would be the motherboard, LCD, screen bezels, keyboard, power adapters (unless you can use similar ones).

But no matter how rugged the laptop is (even if, say, miraculously such a model has a harddisk suspended on shocks like the HP XP1024 SAN), parts WILL FAIL despite the protection the main body offers. Harddisks (usage), LCD (lifespan), keyboard (wear and tear), RAM (usage), motherboard (usage).

It may be cheaper stockpiling spare parts instead of going for the more expensive and rare (cuz of ruggedness) notebooks which in turn equate to higher-priced replaceables.

HTH.

(And I just am considering the same factors when it comes to weapons *Sigh*)

[frankthetank]

Good points...i must agree.

I found this on LCD's

"50000 to 60000 hours, or about 40 years
running 4 hours daily"

...thats a long time...mine usually is on longer then 4 hrs a day!...so if i could get 10-15years out of a lcd i would be happy. Ive also been tempted to buy a notebook that is able to boot linux off of a USB drive. Slow, but would sure come in handy in a pinch. My HP and Dell won't boot from the USB.

thanks for the tips.