Let’s forget about the durability features for the moment. The laptop actually has an RS-232 port. You just can’t find those on laptops anymore, and unfortunately, “In this market there’s so much serial equipment still used,” says Ace principal John Samborski.

At EHX, Ace is showing the laptop taking a shower. “Obviously you wouldn’t want to put it in water, but you can spill drinks on it,” says Samborski. Liquid drains through the computer, so the Durabook also will hold up “if you leave it in your pickup truck in Florida,” he says. (He doesn’t recommend the Sahara, however, since sand isn’t so good for the PC.)

There’s a shock-mounted hard drive and the Durabook apparently has passed the “military drop test,” according to Samborski. Users can lock the optical drive so it doesn’t accidentally pop open on impact.

The Durabook comes in three screen sizes starting at 14.1 inches. “Everything can be tailored to the customer’s request,” says Samborski, whose company does not sell to consumers directly. Units start at a mere $1,000.

At EHX, Ace is also showing a variety of Vista PCs optimized for media Center, including CableCard-ready machines, and the LMS300 with a built-in amplifier.

Optical drive lock ensures your disk won’t pop out on impact.

LMS300 with built-in amplification