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June 16, 2009 1:31 PM PDT

Stealth Computer boasts waterproof desktop

by Rich Brown
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We've seen plenty of ruggedized laptops, but we can't say we heard of a rugged desktop until today's announcement from Stealth Computer. According to Stealth's press release, it built the WPC-500F to the IP67/NEMA 6 standard, which means the system is certified to operate while submersed in water. Assuming the video below from Stealth's Web site is the real thing, it seems to have achieved its goal.

The base WPC-500F unit costs $1,995, and includes six custom-designed cables for power, networking, and peripherals. The core configuration includes a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 33 CPU, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a ruggedized 80GB hard drive, and no operating system. You can also add Vista, XP, Ubuntu Linux, a variety of solid-state hard drives, and other upgrades via Stealth's online configurator. If this were a normal PC we'd seriously question the hardware for the price. Given the specialized nature of the WPC-500F, you're obviously paying for more that just the computing power.

Rich Brown reviews desktops and various other components and peripherals for CNET. E-mail Rich.
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by Roger7273 June 16, 2009 9:14 PM PDT
That's awesome!! That PC will go good with my fireproof ioSafe hard drive. Check out the crazy burn video.
http://www.iosafe.com/iosafe-solo-ces-news
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by niko_osokin June 17, 2009 7:10 PM PDT
Now I can finally please my geeky mermaid girlfriend.
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by paulimusmaximus June 17, 2009 7:53 PM PDT
Geez, it's about time. My passion is scuba diving, but I'm so busy with work all the time that I never get to go. Now, I can combine the two. Does anyone know if wifi signals go through water?
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by viper396 June 22, 2009 12:10 PM PDT
"Does anyone know if wifi signals go through water? "

No. WiFi and most other radio signals do not travel far very underwater.

Only Very Low Frequencies (VLF) travel thru water but you need a massive antenna and a huge amount of transmitting power to get any range. Submarines have to go shallow just to receive a VLF signal but they cannot transmitt on VLF. They have to raise an antenna above surface to reply using normal frequencies.
by EALChilazr June 17, 2009 11:04 PM PDT
Finally my Beta fish will have it's own PC! Before, I've had to buy a new computer every time he needed to check his facebook!
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by Denebola42 June 18, 2009 1:14 AM PDT
I suppose this could come in handy if you worked at marine world....or maybe it could work well if you had some kind of fancy setup on a boat...Man... I bet Jacques Cousteau would have loved this!
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by zgreenwell June 18, 2009 10:16 AM PDT
IT'S ON A BOAT!
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by infosuperhighway June 21, 2009 5:36 AM PDT
I feel like I need to pee.
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by nikbballer214 June 21, 2009 12:21 PM PDT
Sweet this will go well in my underwater office
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by Csipa1 June 22, 2009 7:01 AM PDT
I've been using pcs since 1995 and I none of them ever got any water damage
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by June 22, 2009 7:10 AM PDT
1) ? why ?

2) really good comments (humor) and truth (Csipa1)

3) "Does anyone know if wifi signals go through water?" don't know the exact answer, but have a hypothesis: since water is an electrical conductor & also affects light, wi-fi should be able to be conducted through it (I would think POSSIBLY even amplified)

4) not sure I'd want to try a desktop under water though (the whole "water is an electrical conductor" thing)
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by viper396 June 22, 2009 12:29 PM PDT
3)..the answer is No. The very fact that water is an electrical conductor, salt water being more so, makes it a very very poor medium for transmiting radio or WiFi.
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