Rubber Button on IBM T30

[Bulldozer2003]

First off, here is a picture of said button.

I've done a few google searches and some sites proclaim it as a cusion for the hard drive if the laptop is set down hard on a flat surface. Considering that it does not protrude very far beyond the legs of the laptop and is only in the center, I want the 10 cents IBM spent building it back.
However, when I feel around on the button (ok no jokes about its resemblance to a certain piece of female anatomy) it feels like there is a momentary switch inside of the button. Its only feelable (new word?) if you squeeze the button from the sides.

Could this be a possible security feature that costs extra or was never utilized? For instance, if the laptop is picked up from the table, it makes a real loud noise, phones home, or shuts down immediately.
If not, anyone know a hardware hack to do such a thing?

 

[Eureka]

Well, if it is to cushion the hard drive, it's probably a sensor... if it thinks the laptop is going down too fast, it'll save the files on the hard drive or something.

Norm

 

[Aisengard]

Well, saving won't help, since it'd be on the hard drive, right? A jolt to the harddrive....it probably shuts down the drive in some way and protects it, I think I saw an IBM article that described this technology.

 

[V00D00]

well seeing as how the name of the picture is "hddshock02.gif" it must have something to do with shock and the hard drive, so maybe it does have something to do with preventing... oh say.... shock?

 

[Bulldozer2003]

Well to actually protect the hard drive it would need to spin the hard disk down. I don't think it can spin down the drive and lock the heads in the few milliseconds it takes for the laptop to fall the 2-3 mm difference between the button bottom and the legs. It also does not do that much to slow down the laptop. It does help a little bit, but why but a button and switch there? All they'd need to do is put softer compressable legs on the laptop instead of the current ones that have the softness of a pencil eraser.

 

[WackyDan]

Here's the reality of that little nipple on the botton of your t30.

It doesn't have a switch embedded in it.... It truly is just a rubber bumper/nipple/-whatever you call it. Call it a gimmick... It does work, though I would question how much it really benefits you or the system.

IBM put it there to prevent perfectly parallel collisions with a flat surface. One of the worst possible impacts is a perfectly "square" impact with any surface - in regard to hard drive failure at any rate. There is still a hardware based shock absorber inside the T-30 itself as well.

They didn't start installing the Hard drive active protection system which does park the drives heads until they came out with the T41.