Dell's rugged notebooks get slimmer and a chip upgrade

Construction workers, firefighters, or soldiers need laptops just like the rest of us, but more often than not, the primary spec they look at is durability.

Good news for them, then: Dell is refreshing its Latitude Rugged laptop line today with a focus on better portability and more power. The new 5420, 5424, and 7424 notebooks have eighth-generation Intel processors and durable builds.

To get the weight down, the entry-level 5420 ditches the optical drive (still a demand on many rugged notebooks), a PCMIA card reader (used for legacy diagnostic peripherals like firewire), and the option for multiple hard drives. However, the overall weight is just 4.9 pounds. Read more...