School is either out, or almost out, today for many students; and for some, a summer break couldn’t come soon enough. But such a sense of urgency for one college student led to a break of a different kind recently.
Branndon Nesspor, a Finance major at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey, was leaving school and talking on the phone with an employer when he set his Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 on the roof of his car to unlock the vehicle. He then pulled out of the parking lot onto the main road and “heard something smack the pavement and slide.”
Luckily for him, even though it wasn’t part of our Dell Latitude Rugged line of laptops, it’s still engineered and tested for reliability.
“I pulled to the side and saw my laptop in the road, on the opposite side of the lane,” Nesspor explained to me via Twitter. “I couldn't turn around to pick it up right away because an SUV was coming. I let it pass and boom it ran it over it with the front left and back left tire.”
Here’s what he saw once he was able to safely grab and open it:
“I picked it up and literally started to cry lol,” Nesspor direct messaged. “I was so upset with myself that I did something so stupid! I just purchased this laptop a few months ago and I use it for college only! I was relieved that it worked still. Just the touch screen doesn’t work and the glass is all cracked.”
Aside from a knick at the corner, the outside of the chassis barely shows the torture it endured. No skid marks left behind.
Now here’s where I should probably insert some “your results may vary” type of disclaimer. We do not suggest you try this yourself. While we do test an Inspiron laptop’s base and lid more than 25,000 times to ensure the parts inside are well protected, we do not specifically design them to withstand being run over by a sport utility vehicle. Nesspor’s story is not typical and he was very lucky that the inner mechanics of the system weren’t impacted.
We do know that you can’t anticipate every mishap that could befall your systems, though, and offer an Accidental Damage Service plan. (Something the parents buying for their students should especially give consideration.)
Here’s hoping that you won’t ever need it, and that all our student customers out there enjoy a fun and safe summer break.