IBM X31 Airbag solution? does it have the motion sensor?

[sherpa]

Hello,

I have this TP X31 2672-CEG, produced cca in October 2003.
I would like to know if this NB has the Airbag APS solution or not.

From all the info I could get on the net I think that the airbag solution {motion sensor} was first built in IBM 40's series X40, T40 etc...

Do you have any more relevant info on this?

Thanks.

[gator]

The X31 does not have the sensor in it.

[Ken Fox]

There must be a circumstance where this hard drive protection system matters, however I doubt that this feature is good for much of anything for most users.

The most likely time when such a feature would be useful would be when you'd accidentally drop the laptop. 99% of the time that is going to be when the laptop is turned off and you are in motion yourself. When the laptop is turned off, the hard drive heads are parked anyway, and the sensor provides no additional safety.

The most likely scenario where (in theory) this hard drive protection system might help would be if you were strapped into an airplane seat, using your laptop, and the plane hit sudden turbulence. In my experience, air turbulence occurs most commonly during descent and upon takeoff, both of which are times when they don't allow you to use a laptop anyway. I don't know how much turbulence you'd have to experience before the hard drive heads would be damaged, but beyond a certain point you are going to be as worried about your own personal safety as you are going to be worried about the laptop.

If you don't use your laptop in airplanes or other moving vehicles, then you have to come up with a scenario when you'd use the laptop and it would be exposed to motion. For me, that would be almost never.

[andyP]

Ken Fox wrote:

If you don't use your laptop in airplanes or other moving vehicles, then you have to come up with a scenario when you'd use the laptop and it would be exposed to motion. For me, that would be almost never.

There are occasions when you're working and the dog / cat / kids / wife walk past and don't see the power adapter cable, catch it with their foot or whatever and bingo the ThinkPad has it's maiden flight. (crass punn sorry).
I've also seen people lituarally almost drop a ThinkPad onto a table instead of placing it.
I agree with you to an extent, but there are alot of people out there who haven't paid for their ThinkPad themselves they're issued it from their company - "if it crashes it's a company problem - not mine".
I've repaired ThinkPads; broken latches and hinges because it's been dropped, replaced hard drives because it's been dropped, I would estimate that about 90% of these repairs were on "company machines" and not "privately" owned.

In conclusion IMO you do have a point, if someone has paid hard earned pocket money to buy a ThinkPad they treat it respectfully, but there are employees who don't give a 5h1it - that costs companies downtime and money, any tool which may help to prevent these costs is IMO usefull.