I am an ophthalmologist, and my work in public health brings me into remote places, where weather conditions are extreme and the availability of appropriate working tools is a necessity.

When I started mapping trachoma, a contagious blinding disease that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, I decided that I needed to do the job in the field rather then collecting tons of paper in the bush and doing the data entry and analysis later on at home. So, I took my ThinkPad^® 760, installed the mapping software, connected a GPS and went out working.

I was amazed and surprised by how reliable my ThinkPad 760 has been so far, even if it is a little old and bulky. I kept the ThinkPad in a standard notebook backpack with some foam pads and put it in a garbage bag to protect it from rain. During my travels, it fell down from the top of our 4-wheel drive, where it had been placed with the rest of the luggage, after a hard jump. The drop was a remarkable one, and everyone was surprised to see it still working. It also resisted the vibration of the "toule ondule" in the Sahara Desert, survived a bath in the Niger River during a canoe rollover (the canoe was well packed, however), and it always boots to work without a blink.

My ThinkPad notebook always travels with me in my backpack. It contains all my work, all my data from 16 countries, and is my best and only working tool.

Ah, I forgot to tell you, I can get access to the Internet (to send and receive data and emails) from all the countries I work in, from Senegal to Cambodia. It has been the best buy of my life. It is becoming outdated, but if a day comes when my budget will allow, I'll buy a ThinkPad notebook again.

Silvio
Switzerland

This may not be a typical user experience; individual experiences may differ.