Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

I've been using a CTO T440s with Intel WiFi option the last few years, running Debian and Arch Linux. I switched the HD for a SSD when I bought the machine. Initially I was somewhat disappointed because early reviewers seem to have gotten a better panel for the IPS display option then the later models had. The keyboard is good but not great: it has been replaced within warranty because some keys came off – the tiny plastic clips on the key caps had broken off. Lenovo serviced the machine for free within 2 days, even in Northern Europe, which is way better service than the people around me with Apple hardware have ever gotten.

Apart from that the laptop has been absolutely stable and silent most of the time. I'd rate it better than average, just below the old IBM Thinkpads (e.g. T42) and Macbook Pros mostly because I wish they'd make the keyboard and trackpad feel a bit more solid like the one on a Macbook Pro. I'd step on a T42, not so much on the T440s.

While it's not perfect, I'd consider buying it again, especially as a Linux user.

To be fair, if it comes with a preinstalled version of windows you can never really be sure what is on the machine, can you?

I suspect that if a company really wanted to hide something they probably could. So unless you install windows or another OS on it yourself, you don't know what the manufacturer put on it.

I guess it would not be too hard to find in general if it shows up in the list of processes, but they could make it quite obscure and hard to find.

But yeah, I agree that this is quite an annoying move from Lenovo. The least they could do is make it opt-in instead of on by default.

I have a X260. Don't.

The keyboard is a smooth smudgefest with so-so tactile feedback (this particular point will depend on which manufacturer supplied the keyboard that ends up in your unit). The keys and trackpoint leave marks on the display when it is closed. The display bezel leaves marks on the palmrest. This is really poor engineering on basic stuff.

When I pick up the laptop by the lower left corner (hey, it's an ultraportable, why would I ever do that, right?), it immediately crashes with a garbled screen. After looking that up I found out that the HDD/SSD is under the left palmrest, and picking it up there may flex and alter the SATA connection, causing the crash. This seems to affect a random sample of users. So much for Thinkpad's vaunted "sturdy rollcage". But here's the real kicker: when I found this info on Lenovo's own forum, it was for the X230! This defect has been known for 3 generations of X-series Thinkpads, and yet they have never bothered fixing it.

Ever since they decided to move to 16:9 with horrible Low-Fi resolution (for a line of laptops meant to be for serious, professional users), I feel like Lenovo's Thinkpad group have be led with the vision and drive of a Roomba: mostly face-plants, and every actual improvement is to catch up to the competition (notable exception: hot-swapable battery). I only stick to Thinkpads because of the trackpoint and Linux compatibility, I suspect I'm not the only one.

I'm afraid I don't know of any premade options.

I've been considering building my own and have recently dropped out to start working for myself; I'm thinking, perhaps I could build one for you?

It'd depend on how soon you need it and to what spec, as I'll have to source it from scratch. If you leave some means of contacting you I will, I'm quite interested in building these things for another purpose than "I like having and making these".

No I do mean design constraints, hinged screen is one thing, a fully convertible one is another.

As far as the hinges, I had to replace the hinges on my Yoga 900 due to lose cylinders twice already under warranty.

Getting the wristband replacement as an aftermarket part hinge is well impossible.

On my Yoga 1 I've replaced the hinges myself and it never really fits like it came from the factory don't know if they do fitting but it's never 100% straight and with the amount of glue and crap they use to seal laptop with its never really like new.

Laptops with a rotating screen add complexity and have to add weight to make the laptop balance depending on the modes that the screen have to operate under.

They also have other design constraints for the keyboard and buttons which means the typing experience is often sub par due to a shallower keyboard and the screen has to be touch.

Laptops with a detachable screen as in convertibles have other issues including still blue screens (my Surface Book will still blue screen from time to time) as well as a lot more design constraints as far as what goes where in terms of hardware.

The Surface Book is probably the best designed by you still get a very top heavy laptop with a very small battery in tablet mode and problematic thermals.

If I'm buying a laptop I don't want a rotating screen, I don't want a touchscreen, and I don't want any of the crap that has to be tacked on or removed to allow it to turn into a tablet.