The Dell Precision M4700 laptop, while generally dependable, has a woeful quirk in its construction that’s caused a good share of frustration for yours truly.

The Mini-SD card slot is located on the left side of the laptop, situated just millimetres above the slot-loading optical combo drive.

Many a time, I’ve grabbed a card off my desk, blindly reached around the side of the chassis, and inadvertently popped the card right into that slot-loading drive.

Crap. Reach for a paperclip, or a credit card or a key or something like that. Hope that it doesn’t get hauled into the drive as well, while we’re at it.

It’s probably happened a half-dozen times in the last year.

I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t keep making the same mistake over and over.

What’s that whole saying about a chain only being as strong as its weakest link?