Use a fire hose as a mouse? Dell can do it

Ruggedised products are built to survive all manner of extreme environments and indignities.

But CRN has just spotted one that seems to have a rather unique user interface.

You can see it in the video below, which features a Dell test lab wherein one of its rugged laptops is being hosed down, vigorously, to ensure it can survive a torrent of water.

And survive it does, admirably.

But at the seven second mark in the video, something weird happens: as the jet of water passes over the laptop’s trackpad, something pops up on screen that looks an awful lot like a right-click menu.

Play the vid below to check that out.

If our analysis is correct, Dell has proven two things:

• You can swap your mouse for a hose, albeit under limited circumstances;
• Its laptops really are nicely rugged.

If you’ve managed to use a computer with a similarly unlikely input device, feel free to let us know in the Disqus comments field below, or ping editors@techpartner.news.