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I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

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Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#401

Post by p2t2p »

cobaltoxide wrote: post #344
emptybottle wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's hilarious to me is that Apple considers their own computers of this era to be "vintage" No joke, that's the real term https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 "About vintage products. -- Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago." Well, not much has changed on the intel side in that timeframe. My 2013 laptop is still getting OS updates a…

Planned obsolescence is Apple's bread and butter.

This is a blatant lie that is so tiresome. How long is life of an average Android phone? How long do they supply updates? Google’s is 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security updates, IIRC. Apple supplies updates to 5 years phones rutinely and in lots of cases even longer. They now even provide a way for you, a private person, to just get tools and parts necessary to do certain DIY repairs/replacements. Quit your bullshit.

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#402

Post by paulsmal »

openplatypus wrote: post #178
archi42 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on your needs(!), you can just use the laptop as a frontend for a much more powerful machine. I did that for a while with a Sandy Bridge (core i7-2xxx gen) dual socket server in the basement, and it did work quite well. No matter if I was at home or somewhere else - but for dev work ssh into the Linux host OS was enough for me, with an occasional RDP into a Windows VM.

I considered this option with NoMachine and in-house power-machine or cloud workstation. In a way make sense, but ultimately, I decided against because: Security – having open port to workstation makes me scared; bugs/0-days are discovered every day; Quality Internet Connection – less tricky as most access would be local LAN, but I am certain that few times I need it remotely to fix a production issue, something will…

Steam remote play or moonlight/sunshine [0] working great for me in setup like this.

[0] https://github.com/loki-47-6F-64/sunshine

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#403

Post by idealmedtech »

pdimitar wrote: post #385
idealmedtech wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The physical setup is very simple: just the laptop wired through miniDP to the TV, laptop sits behind the TV on a little wardrobe and has its screen turned off. I have various handbraked movies (not for distribution, only my personal usage) and shows that I view in VLC, plus a gigabit Ethernet connection that is more than enough for HD streaming. I keep it simple, just have a standard desktop install of Arch with Pla…

Same reasoning here, my back is not well and even though I am starting physiotherapy in a few days, I am looking for a setup I can actively practice from a couch-like position. Even bought a very nice and sturdy (and comfy) folding bed. And will soon order a lap desk. Makes me a bit salty because the Steelcase Gesture is an absolutely EXCELLENT chair and I paid a lot for it but... health is more important. Hopefully…

The best DE is the one that YOU like, I was an avid XFCE user for many many years! Good luck resolving your back problems, it's a long journey.

here's a (temporary) image of this very setup: https://i.imgur.com/YBRlvkF.jpg

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#405

Post by pdimitar »

idealmedtech wrote: post #403
pdimitar wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reasoning here, my back is not well and even though I am starting physiotherapy in a few days, I am looking for a setup I can actively practice from a couch-like position. Even bought a very nice and sturdy (and comfy) folding bed. And will soon order a lap desk. Makes me a bit salty because the Steelcase Gesture is an absolutely EXCELLENT chair and I paid a lot for it but... health is more important. Hopefully…

The best DE is the one that YOU like, I was an avid XFCE user for many many years! Good luck resolving your back problems, it's a long journey. here's a (temporary) image of this very setup: https://i.imgur.com/YBRlvkF.jpg

Heh, what a (1) lovely and a (2) meta comment, love it! Thanks a bunch for making me smile. :)

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#406

Post by javchz »

salamandersauce wrote: post #150
zhdc1 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The display it's bad You can retrofit a 1080p lcd with a controller board and a little effort. > M1 Macbooks are probably the best cost-benefit laptop out there for a lot of people (battery, display, cpu power), and I kinda want to try one. But I don't feel comfortable voting with my wallet for Apple's practices, especially with how hostile they have been with the "right to repair" movement. I'm not a particular fa…

Faster hardware maybe but I think the ThinkPad has other benefits, like being easy to repair and upgrade. I'm extremely frustrated at my 2018 MBP, I stupidly went with the cheaper 256GB option and really wish I could just pop in a 1TB drive. Plus once the honeymoon period with macOS ended I'm now essentially stuck with an operating system I've grown to hate as support for Linux is dismal even with the latest kernel 3…

Intel Macbooks are one of the worst out there. Apple designed a heatsink that it's not capable of handling the heat. I want to try an M1 too, but for repairability, I think framework laptops are the closest things we have to old thinkpads in that regard.

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#407

Post by dredmorbius »

sundvor wrote: post #156
Shakahs wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The upgrades aren’t even substantial. The CPU, RAM, and fan are all original parts. You could’ve ordered this exact configuration from Lenovo. The only deviation from stock is the AC WiFi upgrade. I daily drive a T530, it was max spec already so I haven’t changed anything. It has more than enough power to do software dev.

I see you also follow my rule: When buying a laptop, always buy top spec. My laptop is an OG X1 Carbon i7/8/256. I can't upgrade it easily, but I'm actually happy with it for my purposes. My main driver is a Ryzen desktop though, that's a proper beast.

Displays are hardest to upgrade and provide one of the most critical aspects of usability. Maximise display capabilities if possible.

RAM is easily replaced and only gets cheaper with time. Buy with sufficient RAM, and max that out a few years in.

CPU overall tends to have fairly minimal impacts on overall performance within the range offered in a given set of options, and there's often a sharp uptick in price for a small performance boost at the higher end. I'll usually downgrade slightly for savings.

Storage can be replace readily over system life and often should be. Get what you need initially but plan on an update later. SSD or fusion drives are optimal.

Depending on your OS, WiFi reliability often precludes raw performance. For Linux, go with well-supported options. (I don't drive Windows.)

I've never put a premium on graphics performance. If it plays videos and displays xterms, it's good enough for me. YMMV. I prefer open source drivers.

Overall power draw and batterylife are also considerations, and again dropping from peak specs may actually deliver advantages here. Alternatively, you'll find yourself buying capabilities that neither your battery nor thermal management can deliver consistently.

Maxxing out spec is going to cost quite a bit. Buying last season's maxxed-out spec will often provide significan savings, as may buying this season's somewhat-below-peak specs per my guidelines above.

This is based on a few decades of not chasing performance extremes and with a fair tolerance of sufficient performance. Ironically it's raw Web browser performance that seems to be the most critical element of desktop satisfaction these days.

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#408

Post by LinearEntropy »

vxNsr wrote: post #282
300bps wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t notice any. I also don’t use RDP - for Amazon Workspaces I use their app that utilizes the PCoIP protocol. Other than that my last job was working at one of the largest banks in the United States. We were 100% virtual desktop since 2014. My current employer just switched to about 95% virtual desktop. Nobody ever complains about latency. I think it’s a given that literally everyone will switch to this method a…

Everyone I know who works in VDI complains about latency. My wife’s whole company uses virtual desktops, and anytime she’s working from and I look over her shoulder I shudder, it’s incredibly noticeable.

I completely agree with this. I recently started a new role that requires me to run 2 separate VDIs. The latency is incredibly frustrating. How people have been working like this for years I do not know. Beyond the latency the resource allocation is far too low. Things just take so much longer to run and Microsoft Teams grinds to a halt if anything else is happening.

Ive been told when my managed device arrives I will no longer need to use either VDI, but if that's not the case I am very seriously considering moving onto another role despite being only ~2 months in.

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#409

Post by tfandango »

xxs wrote: post #68
bjarneh wrote: post #43

After upgrading the display, CPU, disk, RAM, fan, battery it's a bit click-baity to say you've gone back to a 2012 ThinkPad - but interesting read non the less. What surprised me the most is that Lenovo ships something as annoying as a loud fan (easily replaceable even for a home tinkerer). Of course they save a few pennies per laptop; but no laptop can ever be good if it's noisy. That was one of the main reasons why…

"upgrading the display, CPU, disk, RAM, fan, battery it's a bit click-baity to say you've gone back to a 2012 ThinkPad - but interesting read non the less." That's the good part - it's possible, and it's serviceable. My spouse uses a 10y (almost 11y) laptop, it has pretty much everything changed & upgraded. CPU, RAM, keyboard, CD->SSD, HDD->SSD, battery, fan, wifi 801.1 b/g -> ac+bluetooth. The discrete GPU is not re…

Might just be the current supply chain woes but I have a relatively recent X1 Yoga (Gen 1) and the fan went out. Had to buy a Chinese one on ebay to replace it since Lenovo did not have the part anymore. I kind of expected it to be easy to acquire an official part but they told me to look on ebay. The Chinese one works fine though.

Re: I went back to using a ThinkPad from 2012

#410

Post by unixhero »

pdimitar wrote: post #290
unixhero wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well of course you fixed your arch install in a matter of an hour, you're a Haskell developer.

Anecdote: I use Manjaro on my home server and on a laptop and it's rock-solid. Not sure why people look down on Arch, I only had good experiences and I'm very far from a seasoned sysadmin.

I don't look down on Arch at all. I came from the yesteryears of using Slackware Linux. It was a lot of work. I learnt a lot of course. But I won't do that again. Arch is much much more modern and elegant, but still requires some handholding. The Arch Wiki is a pearl. I tried Manjaro and was mightily impressed, it was a breeze. I might go back to that on a multi boot machine. Cheers.
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