THE TEST OF TIME
Released in 2006, the XR-1 was General Dynamics' flagship Ultra Rugged Notebook designed for military, law enforcement and commercial use. Now a decade has passed, and the original component specs of the XR-1 have long since started faded into history...but the design still holds true. This is due to a rhobust design philosophy: from the honest materials used throughout (magnesium chassis for strength with a TPU wrap for bounce and radio - clarity) to a timeless form language which speaks of premium quality and ruggedness in the same breath.
TIME IS NOT THE ONLY TEST
One of the things that made the XR-1 such a great piece of technology was the fact that it is just as much a tool as it was tech. The physicality of the product had to undergo some of the most grueling environmental challenges imaginable - in service of creating a machine that can perform millions of calculations a second while being submerged in bleach, dropped from a helicopter, or whatever kind of insane punishment you can think of. Every micron of this enclosure is packed with shockmounted drives, seam-sealed IO, an assortment of antenna and transmissive tech (Satellite broadband, Wi-fi, bluetooth, etc) which far outstrips what one would typically expect from a computer.
Withstand up to 24 hrs of operation in -23C temperatures
...to have crazy IO ports so it can be grabbed by the RJ45 and swung like a lasso by this wild man.
...or be utterly abused for years in a variety of ways
Photo Credits go to Douglas Evans Photography - video clips from a company promo video put out by General Dynamics, I believe.
