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Laptops in rigs
Our dept is thinking of adding laptops to some of our rigs. What types of computers are being used and how well do they hold up to abuse?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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I've never had one, but I understand the Toughbook is pretty rugged: http://panasonic.com.au/products/category.cfm?objectID=2482
Alternativly, an iPad may be the way to go.
Before you do this, you should ask yourself what purpose it would serve. Is it going to replace your mapbooks? Maybe it could take the place of your pre-plan books or haz-mat documentation? I would strongly advise borrowing or renting one for a month or two to see if they actually provide the benefits you are looking for.
I will add that in all my years, I've never had a map book hang up on booting, suffered a drive fault in a pre-plan book, or had the batteries in a compass go flat. (you can probably tell I'm a big fan of analog technology)
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Amundsen on
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I would never replace an actual mapbook, I dont have faith in technology. I do think they (computers) have their place in the fire service. I find they could help with pre plans, mapping, and on site searches and reporting. I know some about the toughbooks, especially their high price.
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For pre-planning and "walking around" type applications where you are taking notes on the fly, you should consider an iPad. A laptop for note-takeing is impractical if you don't have a place to sit down and work on it.
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Permalink Reply by Forsaken Firefighter on
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The Toughbook rocks!!!! My buddy had one in Iraq and the thing stopped a .762 round and it still lodged in it and it works fine.... Not to mention they hold up in the desert and are said to be water resistant as well.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on
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They may be good for things like writing up reports and things like that but electronics fail all the time. And they are expensive. Pen and paper are much cheaper to replace. I could see having a laptop at the station or even a toughbook on a truck, as long as it is located out of the way of the driver so as not to be a distraction to the driver. But then you run into vol. companies who sometimes only roll with one person in the truck. Then a laptop would be a hazard I'd rather not have.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure the cops suffer all the time with those pesky technology problems with their hard mounted lap tops. It's 2010 folks, accept the technology, it's part of the new world order. How else is the UN going to know what you are up to? Sheesh!
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Permalink Reply by Marc on
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Toughbooks.
look into them. they are amazing. and durable. expensive, but f'in amazing in everyway
these thing are amazing. At a brush fire call and a cheif dropped one off the side of a cliff, we saw it roll for like 500 feet hitting everything...and when we got it, it was still working fine.
The ones we use can be taken out of the Chief/officer vehicles.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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Panasonic Toughbooks work well and never die. Hope we never have a wreck, though. I don't want "Toughbook" forever imprinted on my face! Besides, I can't find the air horn now... =-(
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Toughbook, hands down.
I'm not crazy about the touch screen, but overall, we haven't had a single problem. If mounted correctly, and locked in, the only way they may become an issue in a collision is, if the mount itself breaks.
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Permalink Reply by EngineLadder on
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Laptops are nice we have them in baltimore on companys and medics. Its nice when your on a company because the laptop get the run before the station gong goes off so some times you get a lil heads up when a box alarm is coming out. On the medic there nice because it has the CAD on it and you can see what other medics are ducking runs plus it gives you all the important info. Also cuts down on radio transsmistions as there are buttons for enrout, at location, to hospital, at hospital, on radio, and in quarters
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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Pretty much everything I was going to say. Big thing I like is that it cuts down on the radio traffic. Never have to get on to say any of that.
We have two in most of our engines and one in most trucks. The second one is used just for patient care reports. The other is the main one with the run information and the responding buttons.
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