Are Netbooks affected by weather conditions?

Okay, so I don't plan on using my netbook outside in the middle of a thunderstorm, but I was wondering if any of the hardward inside the computer could be affected by humidity or extreme heat. My husband and I are taking a RTW trip, and we are likely to use quite a few non-airconditioned buses, etc.

Any advice?

Any piece of electronics is prone to failure when exposed to extreme heat, humidity, and the abuse that goes along with traveling. How prone to failure they are is a matter of some debate. I'd make sure I brought along a good case for the netbook that can absorb some punishment.

Consider getting one of these portable cooling fans:

http://edge2.dealsdirect.net/images/pro ... 00x600.jpg

This is the one I have on my desk at home as where I'm at the air-con is a worthless piece of brown foamy excrement.

About the only thing I want to bring along with me on my next trip is an Ipod touch and a little camera for taking snapshots. I can get all the net features I need in a wifi spot for dropping quick messages and checking email.

That's with being able to watch movies as well.

I always stock up on silica packets that come with things like shoes and other random goods. I have access to bulk quantities of the little packets so I can't really point you in a direction to find them easily, but I believe you can buy larger packets.



I drop a few of these in every compartment of my camera bag, and toss some in with my computer. If you're going to seal electronics into any sort of waterproof plastic case, you'll want desiccant in there to keep the moisture down. The only thing worse than a damp iPod, is a damp iPod sealed in plastic.

You could always try going into a shoe store and asking if they could hold some aside for you.

Now that is a good idea.

awesome. i work in a shoe shop... gonna bring loads home tomorrow after work.

Another thing to worry about are high altitudes. If you are above 10,000 feet and the device has a hardrive there is a decent chance its going to break.

10,000 feet is pretty high — I couldn't imagine logging in from that altitude! Interesting though, found this online here.

My home is on the 7000' foot line in Colorado. Never had any issues with hard drives due to altitude (either mean sea level or pressure altitude) since I moved here in 1995. Recall a weekend spent in Breckenridge, CO, MSL 9800' two years ago. Numerous laptops (it was a large gathering) both Apple and others in place - no issues there either. I do think you are safe.

Kate and Dan wrote:10,000 feet is pretty high — I couldn't imagine logging in from that altitude! Interesting though, found this online here.

It's pretty high if you're used to living at sea level, but keep in mind that there are MANY places, some of which you may encounter on your travels, that are at 10k or higher.

Cusco, Peru is 10,800something, to name one off the top of my head. The city is full of internet cafes spinning conventional hard drives. I have no idea about their failure rate and I didn't have a reason to ask while I was there.

Googling "hard drive altitude" brings up some interesting reading.

Huh, my netbook borked in Puno... I wasn't aware of the altitude problems on hard drives and couldn't figure out what had happened.

This bears more research.

Wow, guys! I never thought about the altitude having an affect. Hopefully we'll have somewhere to leave them if we do any mountain climbing. Strangely enough, I love my new netbook, but I bought it with the assumption that I'd be parting with it somewhere along the trip. The little thing sure is peppy, but I'm not ruling out the fact that it may break or get stolen. Thanks for the great info.!

I finally ordered my replacement drive last night. After more research, it seems pretty certain that it's the altitude and frequent elevation changes that affected it. I think the hardware actually needs to acclimatize just like we do.

I covered my netbook in stickers to make it look a little cheaper. I know a computer is still a computer, and I carry it with the awareness that I could lose or break it, but making it look older makes me feel more comfortable about leaving it in my room when I'm out.

Electronic items always should always be protected from water, unless they are designed to handle it.

Hmm all I can say is my ACER that I bought in Antigua Guatemala & I have carried in my shoulder bag (also from Guatemala) with no special protection
has survived all conditions from Greenland through the heat of India to 10 days of altitude over 12,000 ft in Tibet with no ill effects. Only problem I had was when at an internet cafe in Myanmar they programed something in it so I could connect that prevented Internet Explorer to connect elsewhere (however Firefox still worked), that required it to be reinstalled here in Bangkok, cost $6.00.