Notebook question

[giguana]

Are Mac's the only notebooks with a built in webcam? My bro's goin to iraq and he wants as little hardware to carry as possible. I can't seem to find a windows based notebook that has a built-in webcam. Please help.

 

[Ken90630]

An acquaintance of mine just bought an HP notebook with a built-in Webcam. I'm pretty sure it's one of the two models shown on this page.

Note that the Web cam is listed as "optional," but my friend bought hers at a store (I don't remember which one), so it's not like you have to order it from HP to get one with a cam. It's kinda heavy, but it's a beautiful laptop.

BTW, you might have him look into Panasonic "Tough Books." They're laptops built to be used in rough environments. I have no idea if any have built-in cams, though.

Wish your bro good luck in Iraq for me. I admire the hell out of what our troops are trying to do over there, not to mention their courage and bravery. It takes a man's man to do that job. :beer:

 

[giguana]

Much appreciated Ken. Thanks for the well wishes and advice.

 

[Matthias99]

If the equipment is (literally) being taken into a warzone, reliability might be a real concern.

I can second the Toughbooks as being built like tanks. Heavy, though, and I don't think any have integrated cameras (but maybe they have new models I don't know about.)

IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads are also quite rugged (and heavy) in my experience.

I think Sony has some models with cameras integrated. Not sure how they'd hold up in the field, though.

Edit: the Sony VGN-SZ440/470/480 all have built-in cameras and microphones. example

More editing: The Thinkpad Z-Series has an optional builtin camera. It doesn't look like any of the Toughbooks have a camera option.

Best of luck to your brother, by the way.

 

[Ken90630]

Originally posted by: giguana
Much appreciated Ken. Thanks for the well wishes and advice.

No prob. BTW, Matthias99's mention of the Thinkpads being rugged reminded me of something. There are some laptops that have shock-resistant hard drive mechanisms. If I'm not mistaken, the way they work is they have some sort of sensor that detects rapid movement (like when it's been dropped and is heading for the floor), which results in the HD's read/write head being instantly moved away from the platter and into a 'safe' spot. Or something like that, anyway.

I think some of the IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads used to have this feature, and I think I saw a magazine ad for some Toshibas awhile back that also had it. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of the laptop world, however, so I don't know which brands/models have it today. But in a combat zone, having a shock-resistant HD mechanism could be a big plus. Just mentioning it as something to maybe consider. (I'd guess that the Panasonic Toughbooks prolly have it, but I haven't checked.)

EDIT: A laptop with a plastic screen rather than a glass one might also be a good idea in a combat zone. Again, just something to maybe consider.

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