Hummer Roughneck Computer Tool Review

By Mark Clement November 3, 2006/—There are tools, and there are tools. Some we use to build, others to manage our business. For contractors, both need to be tough. "Ruggedized" notebook computers are designed to absorb shock and temperature extremes and promise extreme durability, so I tried to kill one and see if that's true or marketing hoo-ha from the manufacturer. Enter for your chance to win professional-grade tools and products! The Unit. The Hummer laptop (yes, like the trucks) is a laptop made by Itronix, a company specializing in computing solutions for heavy industry, law enforcement and the military. The Hummer passes Mil-Spec (Military Specification) 810F for extreme temperature and impact resistance. The Test. I spent 16 weeks with the new Hummer computing on site, in the office and traveling. I dropped, flopped and roughed up the machine in ways that'd send my office laptop to the IT ICU. For a look under the hood, I handed it off to my IT ace Mike Blankemeyer. If you speak IT, you can read his comments below. Drop Zone. Every computer I've owned runs poorly without periodic shutdowns. To see how skittish the Hummer was (or wasn't), I left it on for days. Then, with it still on, I tossed it in my crew cab and drove between sites. Once there, I continued working as if the machine had never moved from my desk. Sweet.   1 | 2 | 3 | 4  NEXT