Gizmodo: damage

Hideous Rusted Camera is Ugly Like a Fox

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:45:00 EDT

This decrepit-looking camera is actually disguised in preparation for a trip overseas: It's intentionally damaged and taped up on the surface, but is actually in perfect working order to mislead potential thieves. Clever! [MAKE]

Microsoft Sues DHL Over Xbox-Busting Train Crash

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Microsoft is suing delivery service DHL for their refusal to compensate the boys in Redmond for the destruction of over 21,000 Xboxes in a Texas train derailment. The consoles were due for Hong Kong when the train, carrying two large containers of Xboxes, went off the tracks, sustaining a substantial amount of water and impact damage and, interestingly, "pilfering." Microsoft is seeking $2 million in compensation for DHL's negligence. That the phrase "fiery train wreck" is missing from the report makes me think it wasn't as exciting as it could've been. Imagine the headlines! [PC World]

Kids Are Tearing Apart The OLPC Laptop's Keyboard Rather Easily

Jason Chen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:20:00 EDT

You'd think a laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project would, I don't know, account for the fact that it's being used by a child? A child that likes to tear crap apart? Stuff like keyboards? No? Which is why people are seeing keyboards being ripped up rubber piece by rubber piece. A few of the commenters in the forums (no doubt just regular folks buying them for their kids) say that their units were developing rips within days. If this is happening in the relatively safe conditions in the US, how are these laptops going to fare in the harsh conditions they were supposedly designed for? [Laptop.org]

Schadenfreude: iPhone Dropped 1 Second After Opening

Jason Chen — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:00:07 EDT

What would you do if you opened up your iPhone box and dropped your precious phone before you could even look at it? We'd cry like a toddler that got kicked in the nuts, but Shawn is a braver man than we could ever be. Good on you for keeping a straight face, Shawn.

Thanks Ray!

iPhone Stress Test: Scratching and Dropping

Jason Chen — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:20:04 EDT

PCWorld is sadistic. To simulate a couple months of usage (read: damage), they threw an iPhone into a plastic bag with a set of keys and jiggled it around like crazy. They then rubbed the two together next to a table, to simulate when you'd go and rub your crotch next to a table—what, you don't do that?

In addition, they went and dropped the phone on carpet, tile and the concrete. The iPhone pulled through with barely any scratches thanks to the keys and just a little bit of scuffing on metal edges thanks to the concrete.

We cringed at all the tests, but this should give you a semi-accurate view of how the iPhone does after a couple months abuse.

iPhone Stress Tests [PCWorld via PCWorld]

Dell Bundles LoJack Anti-Theft Service With Inspiron Laptops

Jason Chen — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:00:04 EST

The word on the street is that laptops get stolen. A lot. That's why Dell's announcing that customers who buy their Accidental Damage plan (CompleteCare) with their laptops will receive a Computrace LoJack system as well. Bundled with select Inspiron notebooks, this laptop-LoJack allows the company to track down and recover your computer.

Plus, with their Accidental Damage plan, they'll fix all the wear-and-tear incurred when your laptop was stolen as well. Sounds like a good plan if you're always out and about, flaunting your laptop like some kind of hussy. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Dell]