I recently purchased two laptops off ebay, one is a Toughbook CF-25, the other an Itronix 6250Pro. The specifications for each are listed below, for comparison.
eBay, as a Forbes magazine article once noted, is a wonderful place to buy needed equipment at below cost, both current and used. My needs for laptop computers are modest, and are outlined as follows:
1. The laptop computer must be rugged. It must survive being inside a vehicle, with normal use. This precludes commercial laptops, as they usually have... issues... with being used as coffee tables, being grabbed onto, twisted, and tilted in their mounts. Not to mention the vibration effect. In a worse case scenerio, the laptop must survive being taken out of the vehicle, sat on the trunk, and used in a snow storm.
2. The laptop must run either Windows 98SE or a modern distribution of GNU/Linux (CentOS, usually) with graphical enviornment (GNOME or IceWM). This requires at least a Pentium Processor and 32MB of RAM.
3. The laptop must provide application security. The ability to limit non-authorized program introduction is vital - I do not need someone loading Half-Life on their laptop or be found playing DOOM. Or worse, stealing the software off the laptop.
So, I came to the conclusion that the older series Toughbooks, and the older Itronix laptops, are perfect.
Here's the two model's spec sheets:
Panasonic Toughbook CF-25 (70.00 USD eBay w/ UPS Ground Shipping)
Processor: Pentium 150MHz Processor
RAM: 32MB SODIMM (EDO) (Shock Absorber Mounted)
Hard Drive: 2GB 5400 RPM (Mounted in Toughbook Polygel Caddy)
Drive Bay: Modular - Ships w/ 3.5" Floppy, CD-ROM Available (70.00 USD)
OS: Varies, Capable of Windows 98SE
Pointer: Touchpad
Resolution: SVGA (800x600) 12.1" TFT Color Screen
I/O: Serial (1), Parallel (1), VGA Out, Sound Out, Mic In, PCMCIA (16-Bit) x 3 (Type I, II, III)
Modem: Unknown (I'll find out when it gets here...)
Itronix C-X 6250 Professional (108.00 USD eBay w/ UPS Ground Shipping)
(General Specs from specific eBay Seller, every 6250 is different)
Processor: Cyrix gMx 266 (Pentium II Compatible)
RAM: 128MB Itronix SODIMM (Proprietary RAM)
Hard Drive: 6GB 5400 RPM (Mounted in PolyGel Caddy)
Drive Bay: None - No Floppy, No CDROM (I use CF to PCMCIA)
OS: Windows
Pointer: Eraser Pad + Touchscreen
Resolution: SVGA (800x600) 10.4" TFT Color Screen
I/O: Serial (1), Parallel (1), VGA Out (1), Sound Out, Mic In, Headphone Jack (Proprietary), PCMCIA (Cardbus) x 2, USB 1.1 x 1
Obviously, the Itronix 6250 Pro series seems to have more features. Its also 10 pounds, magnesium cased, and has an inch of rubber behind it. While the Toughbook was marketed to law enforcement, the Itronix was marketed to GTE for telephone field repair techs. In other words, these things were slapped on the ground, a test jack was plugged into the modem, and the GTE test software tested the line for the tech. The modem has a speakerphone, as well, for conversing using the laptop. Sears also used them. The Touchscreen is also an excellent resource, as it uses Windows 9x Pen Services, making it universal with most applications that support the mouse.
As these things arrive, and I play around with them, I'll let everyone know how they work, how well they perform during testing, and what applications I can figure out for them. Alot of folks use GPS recievers with the unit, stick it in an Itronix Vehicle Mount, and turn it into a GPS navigation system.
eBay, as a Forbes magazine article once noted, is a wonderful place to buy needed equipment at below cost, both current and used. My needs for laptop computers are modest, and are outlined as follows:
1. The laptop computer must be rugged. It must survive being inside a vehicle, with normal use. This precludes commercial laptops, as they usually have... issues... with being used as coffee tables, being grabbed onto, twisted, and tilted in their mounts. Not to mention the vibration effect. In a worse case scenerio, the laptop must survive being taken out of the vehicle, sat on the trunk, and used in a snow storm.
2. The laptop must run either Windows 98SE or a modern distribution of GNU/Linux (CentOS, usually) with graphical enviornment (GNOME or IceWM). This requires at least a Pentium Processor and 32MB of RAM.
3. The laptop must provide application security. The ability to limit non-authorized program introduction is vital - I do not need someone loading Half-Life on their laptop or be found playing DOOM. Or worse, stealing the software off the laptop.
So, I came to the conclusion that the older series Toughbooks, and the older Itronix laptops, are perfect.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-25 (70.00 USD eBay w/ UPS Ground Shipping)
Processor: Pentium 150MHz Processor
RAM: 32MB SODIMM (EDO) (Shock Absorber Mounted)
Hard Drive: 2GB 5400 RPM (Mounted in Toughbook Polygel Caddy)
Drive Bay: Modular - Ships w/ 3.5" Floppy, CD-ROM Available (70.00 USD)
OS: Varies, Capable of Windows 98SE
Pointer: Touchpad
Resolution: SVGA (800x600) 12.1" TFT Color Screen
I/O: Serial (1), Parallel (1), VGA Out, Sound Out, Mic In, PCMCIA (16-Bit) x 3 (Type I, II, III)
Modem: Unknown (I'll find out when it gets here...)
Itronix C-X 6250 Professional (108.00 USD eBay w/ UPS Ground Shipping)
(General Specs from specific eBay Seller, every 6250 is different)
Processor: Cyrix gMx 266 (Pentium II Compatible)
RAM: 128MB Itronix SODIMM (Proprietary RAM)
Hard Drive: 6GB 5400 RPM (Mounted in PolyGel Caddy)
Drive Bay: None - No Floppy, No CDROM (I use CF to PCMCIA)
OS: Windows
Pointer: Eraser Pad + Touchscreen
Resolution: SVGA (800x600) 10.4" TFT Color Screen
I/O: Serial (1), Parallel (1), VGA Out (1), Sound Out, Mic In, Headphone Jack (Proprietary), PCMCIA (Cardbus) x 2, USB 1.1 x 1
Obviously, the Itronix 6250 Pro series seems to have more features. Its also 10 pounds, magnesium cased, and has an inch of rubber behind it. While the Toughbook was marketed to law enforcement, the Itronix was marketed to GTE for telephone field repair techs. In other words, these things were slapped on the ground, a test jack was plugged into the modem, and the GTE test software tested the line for the tech. The modem has a speakerphone, as well, for conversing using the laptop. Sears also used them. The Touchscreen is also an excellent resource, as it uses Windows 9x Pen Services, making it universal with most applications that support the mouse.
As these things arrive, and I play around with them, I'll let everyone know how they work, how well they perform during testing, and what applications I can figure out for them. Alot of folks use GPS recievers with the unit, stick it in an Itronix Vehicle Mount, and turn it into a GPS navigation system.
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