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Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

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141–150 of 634 posts

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#141
I too got myself 2nd hand T480 + upgrade (for a 2nd work laptop). Mostly b/c I need the 64GB RAM. Other than that put 4TB SATA SSD + 512GB NVME in the WLAN M.2 slot, new batteries to 72Wh. May change the screen now I read this - the original really is bad. Usually I put Xubuntu LTS b/c "it just works", but may try PopOS next time. Want my laptops cheep & cheerful, don't particularly fancy thinking of/them expensive, irreplaceable and in need of complicated warranties/support.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#142

I love thinkpads but the T480 is basically objectively worse in every single aspect except price and repairability. I don’t think I can go back from all day battery and quiet CPU during high loads. I could definitely use my T450 for however long I need and know I can replace parts, but I’d rather have macs for 5 years and upgrade for another performance bump. Some things are just nicer

> ...except price and repairability. And keyboard.

And trackpoint. And running your OS of choice, free of "call home" crap if you want.

But apart from that, what did the Romans do for us?

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#143
post #96

The main reason I love my M1 is that it's cool to the touch after switching from an intel based mbp to an m1, I went from an average of 90 degrees Celsius (there was definitely an issue in the factory with thermal paste I think) to an average of 40-50 degrees Celsius. I can't imagine ever going back to an intel based laptop because of this (and in my experience, thinkpads don't run that cool for my uses with arch lin…

Haha my cat would sleep behind the 2019, not anymore with the 2021. I did prefer the 2019 design more though (thinness). When I first got the 2021 it seemed cheap/hollow to me.

It probably is a bit hollow.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#144

I've owned an upgraded T480 since they were released, run archlinux on it. It was a decent computer, but despite having upgraded the battery to the largest possible configuration and using all the tricks in the book to maximize battery life in linux - it sucked. The reality is these Intel processors are just a big inefficient hot mess. I ended up upgrading to the 14" M1 Max, and there is literally no way you can make…

T480 weighs 3.6lb vs. 3.5 for a 14" M1. I'm surprised you noticed. MBP doesn't have a trackpoint. Still can't run Linux as well, lacks USB A so still requires constant dongles despite improved port selection. I moved from a 2018 15" MBP to a P14s Gen 2 AMD. The speakers, screen, trackpad are worse. But I don't care. I'm not stuck using a horrible OS with miniscule amounts of storage to keep the price down. The machin…

Using still an ThinkPad X220 here with Archlinux. There two important things in any laptop, the built-in keyboard and the built-in screen. This is the I/O-Interface! Customers often do the mistake and doesn't invest in the best available screen. You cannot make this mistake with Apple, because they offer no options for the screen. Regarding keyboards, selecting a ThinkPad is always safe.

I had to buy the X220 from a shop, not directly from Lenovo:

    * TN-Panel -> IPS-Panel
    * ISO-Keyboard -> ANSI-Keyboard
    * Bluetooth 3.0 -> Bluetooth 4.0 LE
All with original replacement parts. I bought it because I wanted to remain the the seven row keyboard, which provides better layout/grouping. The X220 will reach it 10th year in next winter. The keyboard provides excellent tactile feedback and concave keys. Bonus, TrackPoint. The TrackPad is superfluous for me. The frame is made of polycarbonate (feels nice on skin contact) and reinforced with magnesium.

Apples keyboard doesn't provide a good feedback on press and the keys have no shape guiding the fingers. They make superiors chips through TSMC, especially the M1/M2 without any PRO/MAX which allows passive cooling. But I don't want use MacOS. And while aluminium is a nice material for cars, bikes and planes it doesn't feel good with skin contact. We don't use keyboards or mice with aluminium because it doesn't feel well. I know, the aluminium frame makes it shiny and sturdy and allows to glue in stuff (cheap) but I don't like that. I even don't like it with my smartphone.

PS: Battery replacement is a bless. Yes, built-in batteries allow for more sturdy frames but it is bad in long term. It would be enough the provide replacement batteries with a low-weight cage and screws instead of glue.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#145
> ...alt-tabbing doesn't lag (it did on my Intel-based MacBook Pro 2019), ...

Yeah, unfortunately this is by design. cmd-tab behaves different depending on how long you hold the cmd or tab key.

cmd-~ is instant, and with stage manager it switches through apps. He could've also just installed windows arm preview on the M1, or asahi

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Resorting to silly Mac user stereotypes that were barely true when they dropped in 2008 is a good way to tell people you’ve never used a Mac or been to a Starbucks in a decade.

This is the comment where I now get offended that you said that as if not using a Mac or not going to Starbucks are shameful. It's rare to see such a flame war on hn

[deleted]

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#147
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a battery that has 20h+ capacity and can be swapped with a second one to double the capacity in seconds. And which basically doubles the size and weight of the laptop.

Does that actually matter? Seriously, it's less that some of the text books I used to lug around at school.

I thought the same until I developed shoulder and back pain from carrying around too much stuff all the time. Be thankful that it still doesn't matter for you.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#148
I currently use a ThinkPad T480. I switched from a Macbook after they started using those godawful butterfly keyboards. The keyboard was my primary motivation for switching.

But apart from the keyboard, the rest of the laptop simply doesn't hold up. The battery is mediocre, the trackpad doesn't even fall in the same league. Windows is a hot mess and Ubuntu, while good for dev work, is just too user-unfriendly and filled with tiny annoyances.

I'll be switching back to the newer MacBook soon.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can replace it now.

Officially? Would be surprised as its soldered to the motherboard!

Well, you can still replace it. You just have to replace the parts attached to it as well.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#150
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take the remark more benignly. I think it's meant in an affectionate manner.

Neckbeard means a sexually creepy anti-feminist nerd. Basically someone socially awkward who is unable to connect with other humans romantically and has channeled that into a combination of hatred towards their desired sexual partners and a love of computers or other "nerdy" endeavors. Which is both weirdly specific and extremely common in both males and females. I don't think there's any way to use the term affectio…

Your proposed meaning is a more recent interpretation. Searching online I see the mysogynism angle becoming more prominent in the 2010s: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-neckbeards-have-...

here's from stackexchange from some years prior: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/3173/whats-the-non-l...

https://metatalk.metafilter.com/23545/Neckbeard-is-this-a-wo...

I've seen it used as a synonym for "unix beard". https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-06-24

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