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How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

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Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#131

Post by dejawu »

SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #20
ilamont wrote: post #5

I had the 701c "butterfly" described in the article. My previous laptop had been a no-name 486 brick with a black and white screen that I bought at a Taiwanese electronics mall for ~$2000. It was barely portable. The 701c, by comparison, was small and durable, had a nice screen, a faster modem, and easily fit into my daypack. I bought it used for about $800 in 1996 and carried it with me throughout Southeast Asia and…

My Dad had the 701c when I was a kid. When it broke (completely dead, some kind of motherboard / PSU failure) he gave it to me to "fix" so I dismantled it to see how the keyboard worked and then just threw everything in the bin. It still keeps me awake occasionally. :(

I bought one on eBay a couple years ago! Managed to get it to boot a couple times (still even had the previous owner's data on it), but then it stopped working. When I started taking it apart I found the plastic was so old and brittle it would fall apart if I just barely flexed it. I disassembled it into its components and put them all in a box which is in a closet somewhere. Someday, I'll find a way to adapt the keyboard to make it work with modern hardware and use it in some sort of cyberdeck-like custom build [0].

[0] https://imgur.com/a/h2kR0Gs

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#132

Post by noir_lord »

jschwartzi wrote: post #96
noir_lord wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much of the floor did you have to replace though?

I would guess that the downstairs neighbors were upset to come home to a hole in the ceiling and a laptop stuck halfway through their coffee table.

Halfway? I didn't know they made a lightweight version of that model.

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#133

Post by acct1771 »

ajford wrote: post #51
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to hear about your machine, I hope it gets better soon! The X1s are well built, though. I have the first-gen one and it still works just fine, dual booting Fedora (24? I think) and Win7. The one thing that ever broke was the square power plug. Not because it's square, but it did break- and then it took me a week of phone calls very patiently speaking to Lenovo reps until I convinced them that my accidental dama…

My one issue with the first-gen X1 is that they used an obscure SSD type (I'm betting it's a Betamax/VHS issue), which meant sourcing a replacement SSD when mine started to die was a pain. In the end, I decided that it wasn't worth the risk & cost (either source an OEM drive in limited size for high cost or an expensive adapter from unknown sources and a quality drive). I ended up buying a T460 and am quite happy wit…

Exact same issue. Trying all the SSDs on the shelf, and "What the hell port is this?!"

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#134

Post by Fnoord »

_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #115
modernerd wrote: post #28

It's pretty amazing what you can put them through too. As a MacBook owner Lenovo's dust tests have me wincing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hazDhYq8YOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO5LGICeOuk And the waterproofing is kind of incredible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig3xI8dUdm0&t=1650s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdcutSxmn0 Now that they make a solid, thin, repairable, upgradeable 15" laptop for creativ…

I've seen reports of people successfully Hackintoshing Thinkpads, so you wouldn't necessarily have to ditch macOS (though there are better options for Thinkpads anyway, IMO).

Back in those days, ThinkWiki was an excellent resource. Not sure nowadays?

I ran Mac OS X (as it was called back then) on my ThinkPad R61 back in the days (2008 or so?). Everything worked, but I did have to replace the Intel WiFi with an Atheros one and fiddle with all kind of options (it is likely easier these days). One or the other supported packet injection. Mac OS X (I think it was 10.6 or 10.7?) did boot a bit slower than 'Linux' though (probably ran Ubuntu with GNOME 2 back in those days; with a more lightweight WM/DE it'd have been even quicker).

The TrackPoint is one of those amazing tools I miss on a Mac. However, the Magic Trackpad 2 works on Linux and Windows. See this HN discussion [1] for details. Together with a HHKB with BT I have an excellent keyboard and pointer device supporting BT and USB. I even have carry bags to protect both devices.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18273559

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#135

Post by ce4 »

syntaxing wrote: post #26
ce4 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people are a bit crazy and love the X220 enough to attempt a FullHD mod (with custom hardware and rerouting of the external eDP signal/lane internally). Not for the X220T though. A kit was for sale here: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=122640 Edit: better wording

You can buy an upgrade kit using the same Sharp screen from the Dell XPS series for the X220/X230. The best bet is to go through a TaoBao agent and buy it from nb51 directly.

I own an X220. any hint how not to fail when attempting this? I.e. some english writeup that is usable with instructions et al. All the stuff seems to be in chinese only :-/

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#136

Post by [deleted] »

philippnagel wrote: post #58
ce4 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people are a bit crazy and love the X220 enough to attempt a FullHD mod (with custom hardware and rerouting of the external eDP signal/lane internally). Not for the X220T though. A kit was for sale here: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=122640 Edit: better wording

I still have one of these in storage. I did upgrade to an older T-series model before trying to install it. Feel free to email me if you want to have it in exchange for shipping costs (located in Germany).

[deleted]

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#137

Post by _emacsomancer_ »

Fnoord wrote: post #134
_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen reports of people successfully Hackintoshing Thinkpads, so you wouldn't necessarily have to ditch macOS (though there are better options for Thinkpads anyway, IMO).

Back in those days, ThinkWiki was an excellent resource. Not sure nowadays? I ran Mac OS X (as it was called back then) on my ThinkPad R61 back in the days (2008 or so?). Everything worked, but I did have to replace the Intel WiFi with an Atheros one and fiddle with all kind of options (it is likely easier these days). One or the other supported packet injection. Mac OS X (I think it was 10.6 or 10.7?) did boot a bit…

The ThinkWiki still seems to be a good source of information, though pretty much everything 'just works' on ThinkPads under Linux. I'm not sure it has information on Hackintoshing, but I've seen detailed instructions elsewhere[1], though I've never tried it.

I seem to be incapable of using Touchpads/Trackpads properly without getting frustrated. It was only after I 'discovered' ThinkPads that I was able to use a laptop as a device that sat on top my lap (rather than having to have somewhere I could use a mouse). Whenever I have to try to use a colleague's Mac laptop, I feel like a clumsy idiot trying to use the touchpad.

[1] E.g. http://x220.mcdonnelltech.com/

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#138

Post by _emacsomancer_ »

thomasko wrote: post #120
_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've looked longingly at 51nb's X210. It probably could be put into an X200 chassis rather than an X201, I imagine, which would be ideal (I wouldn't really want the touchpad). I can't justify the cost right now though, sadly.

You can easily put a palm rest without touchpad in the X201, those parts are pretty cheap on ebay.

Is the presence/absence touchpad the only significance difference in the chassis between the X200 and X201? (I've never owned an X201.)

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#139

Post by ajford »

organsnyder wrote: post #64
rainhacker wrote: post #53

Any recommendations of Thinkpad model to buy in 2018 ? I can wait if anything promising is coming in 2019.

For me, the "vanilla" T-series is the best compromise for weight, build quality, and repairability. My personal laptop is a T480, and it's an excellent machine. Very portable, screamingly fast, very good screen (I have the high-res IPS variant). If you want a bit more premium feel and lighter weight, the Txxxs (e.g. T480s) is a bit thinner than the regular T-series, and feels a bit sturdier (so I've heard, anyways; m…

What OS do you run on it? I have a (personal) T460, but I'm looking to get a new work laptop, and I'm considering trying to swing a T480. I've had great results running Ubuntu 18.04 on my T460, but last I looked, the T480 was having some compatibility issues.

Re: How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)

#140

Post by Fnoord »

_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #137
Fnoord wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back in those days, ThinkWiki was an excellent resource. Not sure nowadays? I ran Mac OS X (as it was called back then) on my ThinkPad R61 back in the days (2008 or so?). Everything worked, but I did have to replace the Intel WiFi with an Atheros one and fiddle with all kind of options (it is likely easier these days). One or the other supported packet injection. Mac OS X (I think it was 10.6 or 10.7?) did boot a bit…

The ThinkWiki still seems to be a good source of information, though pretty much everything 'just works' on ThinkPads under Linux. I'm not sure it has information on Hackintoshing, but I've seen detailed instructions elsewhere[1], though I've never tried it. I seem to be incapable of using Touchpads/Trackpads properly without getting frustrated. It was only after I 'discovered' ThinkPads that I was able to use a lapt…

The newer Macbook Pro's (Macbook's as well AFAIK) contain a larger touchpad. Apart from the horrible butterfly keyboard (that was before breadcrumbgate or whatever it was called; the noise alone, horrible!) I ended up mistakenly touch it numerous times and if it sits on your lap I suppose you could end up touching the trackpad mistakenly at that point because it sits very close near the edge (small 'bezel'?).

The Apple Magic Trackpad 2 however is the same size as the trackpad on older MB(P)s, and it has Bluetooth and USB (lightning). You can put it on the left side of your keyboard or laptop if you wish to, just like you'd put your mouse. I cannot compare it to Apple Magic Mouse though; but I can say I had a wired Apple mouse (one button) which I used with a Mac Pro G5. Not my cup.

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