I think I have made the statement that I was on a “Quest” to be able to run and operate an office on a computer, and upon a contract made a three year commitment to doing just that. Prior to this, I had already had a Commercial Driver’s License for three calendar years; but needed to always leave the truck and take time down to regain my confidence in driving in the Commercial world. With every Company I left, there was that moment of packing it all in. Honestly, I never tried to be a 48 State Commercial Driver, and only fate forced its hand on me.

      It wouldn’t be until just before the contract, and while doing a dedicated contract with another company that I realized, I needed to roam, and face any and all seasonal and weather conditions to make my quest a real goal. But there was more doubt from the beginning. In a sense, I always had a computer onboard, and was always building a reason to work with it, but like in previous blogs, there was endurance issues, and not knowing what would or wouldn’t work throughout any given time frame. My oldest computer (recently disposed of) was a Toshiba Satellite. It also was about seven years old when I started this in 2006. The first real issue was the aging hard drive (the old 3.5” Hard Drive), that made me learn that it could not run continuously, while the truck was hitting every bump and hole in the road.

      The next notebook was the DV 2200 (my very favorite, which I need to get another). It is here where the title of the Blog comes into play. I was working for a Refrigerated Trucking outfit, and ran mostly the East region of the Country. My initial worries was the heat and humidity; especially in its last living days, I was in Louisiana, in the beginning months of Summer, 2008. Much to my surprise, it was how I handled the machine, and not the dry heat that would end its operation. When I would again be in between companies, I made time to pull it apart (geek that I am), and found out that the plastic casing was strong and durable, but the aluminum braces inside (two of them)  were broke in half. Those braces were also designed to be part of the circuit board, and was used like grounding planes for various connecting areas of the circuit board. Losing that machine was so hardening to me, because of its size, speed, and functionality.

      I was back to repairing the Toshiba Satellite, and using it in between stops, and storing it in a computer case. It probably would have been the only computer I had, but those batteries were always needing to be replaced every eighteen months, and in those battery life span, the older it got, the more current it draws to be charged, meaning that when it was hooked to an inverter, it was pulling that much more current from the truck batteries. I had to plan my time on how long I could use it when the truck was not running. Still, it was the best machine to date, that held up to the working lifestyles of commercial trucking.

Rethinking my Office Operation

      There is no such thing a a useless computer. You just have to find the best purpose it can serve and be a benefit to you.

      I purchased the very first HP Mini netbook! It was the problem solver to all my durability issues. But like anything else, it had its own Pro’s and Con’s. The net books processors speed was slower. Which also meant that multi tasking gave it a slower performance. But because of the price, I came to realize that I could purchase three, for the price of the satellite I bought back in 1999 or 2000. The prices of today’s Toshibas are now about $600.00, but for just about $1000.00 I now had three separate machines (uh, doing the job of one Toshiba). I had to rethink how this was going to work. Based on the processor speed, one would be strictly dedicated to running my gps mapping program, which tracks where I go anytime the truck rolls. This turned out to be an EMachine Netbook, and much to my surprise, it continues to record the everyday movement to my truck (I am surprised, because I never upgraded the memory card…yet). It also became the main roll of my phone calls, now through the Skype Program. And, since it has a smaller hard drive in it, the machine takes on every bounce of the roadway.

      The original HP Mini would later be replaced with its newer version, the Mini 210-1010NR. This has now been my “main Office”, and the first and only mini with a memory upgrade (so far). This HP holds all my spreadsheet workbooks that cover every recorded loads, Submitted paperwork, Income and Expenses, all my Email. It started out as the roll of PC to Phone calls, but the EMachine seems to handle it much better. Way to go guys! Getting back to the HP Mini, it also is my File service, where all my completed loads are scanned to a file and stored in respective folders. It has been the only computer that has run my Driver’s Daily Log Program, coming up to my third year. This is the main office! Only recently has it showed signs of needing a slight repair, where the screen goes white, but that just might be a dirty contact switch for when you raise and lower the screen and lid.

      The Dell Inspiron Mini was the last machine purchased, in the fall of 2011. With the EMachine constantly running when the truck runs, and the HP Mini holding every business and financial purpose of being and Independent Contractor/ Sole Proprietor, the Dell mini, running the reliable Windows XP, and an atom possessor was just not to manage any of the other machines operation. But that was not why it was purchased. It was to become the entertainment portion of the business (and personally, it works the best when running videos). Giving the role and purpose of the Dell Mini lead to building up a routine for Blogging, and it holds all the picture and video files (both work related and personal), needed from finding a damaged trailer, and even snapshot files taken of the OBC messages. It really has limits to call it my studio, especially when using the Adobe Premier Elements 2.0 program, but the Microsoft Movie maker will do while on the road. In Adobe’s defense, the Premier was truly made for desktop operation and use, but that old Toshiba Satellite was the next best thing!

      Finally, there is the backups of files onto DVD, and the use of the DVD player. It is a toss between using the EMachine, and the Dell. The HP has its own purpose. I personally favor the EMachine.

      Three mini computers? Well, I have written about having redundancy on board. And, even though each machine is different with its own key characteristics, they can be used in replacement of the other; for as long as I stay patient. Temporary fix, until the main machine and its roles can be repaired and replaced. The next point is, the truck doesn’t always roll. DVD backups are only done monthly, and I cannot afford a library of action movies in these economic times. My point is, through any given day, only two computers may be on, not all three. For the most part, only one can be used at a time, so in theory, only one is running at any real given time. The whole idea is extending the life. No need to blog on the EMachine. It needs to only run when the truck is rolling, or for that emergency telephone call. If I’ am blogging, I am not working, and the HP mini needs to only be used for that next load call, income and expense recodring, scale records, and the next line on my log.

Getting back to the plastic story

      I also have two Epson printers onboard. The older, and more reliable Stylus C62 should be all I need…but the stores don’t always have that ink cartridge. The only reason why I bought the Epson NX 125. Of course, for $30.00, it also can scan, and sometime down the road, will fax. It was also a value for the scanner. I still rely on the old Cannon LIDE 30 portable scanner (the oldest accessory onboard). Having that redundancy and backup does come handy.

      So, am I ready to change the title of the blog? Hardly. Yes, I only mentioned the DV 2200 that now rests in a garage in Pennsylvania (in pieces). But that newer Epson NX 125, currently my main printer, has finally shown wear from the travels of the truck. To be fair, even the Canon (12 year old Canon!), is starting to skip on its old rubber belt. It seems that when it comes to the Epson NX 125 scanner operation, it won’t retract evenly for the next scan, and I had to learn to scan on it by tilting it on its side, so gravity would help the scanning photo eye return to its starting point evenly. Why not get it fixed? It was $30.00. How much to take it to a shop? Don’t ask. I found a way to use it, and in this rough environment, it will do just fine…for $30.00.

      Plastic seems to be the most amazing point to this story, because although some trim may break, or a cover may crack, the plastic casing to all these devices have shown its durability. With every device, care needs to become the users goal, whether storing everything in a case, or at least keeping it stored flat and out of the sun, these devices do hold up. The DV 2200 was in a backpack, and the backpack was dropped, and thus the metal supports inside cracked from shock. The Satellite had an eight year old Hard Drive in it, and after it was replaced, it held its own. The disposal of my most “prized possession” was from the need to lighten the inventory, should the contract fall apart. I kept that Hard Drive from it. 12 year ownership of a laptop. I did get my monies worth over time. It was a good machine. The final decision was based on those batteries, and the power it draws when plugged into an inverter. Three mini machines now replace it. My only regret was, there was nothing wrong with it. It was just time to move on.

      So, never underestimate something built inside a plastic casing, instead, know that care has to be your only concern, when it come to keeping it in good working order. Never store it in a back pack; make the investment, and get a decent computer carry case. Use the case to store the computer whenever it is not in use. As a truck driver, keep the printers, scanners, and other devices out of the sun. It will develop some kind of structural change. Use some kind of rubber matting underneath the printer and scanner, to absorb some shock from the bumps in the road.  Bottom line, its not the plastic that will be defective; its the care and operation, solely the responsibility of the user.

      To end this on a point, this blog was written in the summer of 2012. Make an investment in an external laptop fan, to sit your device on top of. This can be found at Best Buy, and sometimes even at a target or Wal-Mart. It doesn’t keep the plastic casing cool. It does provide more forced air to keep the processor cool; and, it doubles as a table for you lap. As far as these plastic casings; truly, an amazing manufacturing purpose that goes without being recognized!