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Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

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Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#251

Post by nunez »

TobbenTM wrote: post #8

And one of the most awesome things about Thinkpads not mentioned; you can get every (most?) replacement part directly from Lenovo. You can actually look up the part number in the service manual, order it, and replace it yourself. For nerds like us, this is sooo nice sometimes, when you just wanna get it fixed quickly, from the comfort of your own home.

This is definitely a hold over from the IBM Thinkpad days. I used this service once to replace the CD-ROM module for my old Thinkpad 760LD. Fun times!

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#252

Post by mwambua »

ronjouch wrote: post #202
mangecoeur wrote: post #190

As an ex-linux user and current mac user, I'm still frustrated by linux laptop hardware support. Ethernet ports that need to be re-plugged, suspend-to-disk not working... lots of glitches things that were already annoying 6-7 years ago but now are hard to justify compared with the polish you can expect from other systems. I could never go back from my macbook because I need everything to just work - no glitchy touchp…

FUD. I do use the features you are mentioning, but encounter none of the issues. Thinkpad + Arch user. We Linux users need to realize we are an island, and it's our duty to: - Either Linux-QA-check on our own / as a community the hardware we're buying before we buy, because the constructor isn't doing it (it's doing it for the actively supported OS, Windows). - Or buy {System76 / Thinkpad}, and get {a lot of / some}…

+1 Thinkpad+Fedora user here... things have never been better.

I'd also try out an XPS-13 if I could afford it; but my $300 second-hand x230 works like a charm for now.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#253

Post by jhasse »

dorfsmay wrote: post #182
sandGorgon wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is FUD. reduced battery has nothing to do with a convertible form factor. You are talking about the display resolution perhaps - QHD displays are obviously more power hungry than FHD. But then again, most people want "Retina". Software has largely matured for hotswap. Fedora 25 with kernel 4.9 is brilliant on a convertible. Windows has had it for decades. We already use the cheaper yoga and Dell inspiron convert…

Touchscreens do use more power than equivalent regular screen.

As the OP suggested to wait for a few months for the new XPS 13 I thought this was about "touchscreen" vs "touchscreen + 360° hinge".

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#254

Post by lisivka »

mangecoeur wrote: post #190

As an ex-linux user and current mac user, I'm still frustrated by linux laptop hardware support. Ethernet ports that need to be re-plugged, suspend-to-disk not working... lots of glitches things that were already annoying 6-7 years ago but now are hard to justify compared with the polish you can expect from other systems. I could never go back from my macbook because I need everything to just work - no glitchy touchp…

I had none of problem stated above for years. I use/used Acer/Dell/HP/Medion notebooks with Fedora Linux.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#255

Post by stewbrew »

mangecoeur wrote: post #190

As an ex-linux user and current mac user, I'm still frustrated by linux laptop hardware support. Ethernet ports that need to be re-plugged, suspend-to-disk not working... lots of glitches things that were already annoying 6-7 years ago but now are hard to justify compared with the polish you can expect from other systems. I could never go back from my macbook because I need everything to just work - no glitchy touchp…

I'm running linux on my laptops for decades and experienced none of the problems you mentioned. Everything works flawlessly. If you plan to run linux on your laptop, you will have to research first how well the computer is supported. You can't install MacOS (or even Windows) on just any computer neither.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#256

Post by keldaris »

stephengillie wrote: post #244
keldaris wrote: post #207

I'm still using an ancient Thinkpad T400 I bought when they first came out (2007, I think?), and I still love it. Despite heavy use, everything works perfectly and the case could probably last for decades. Doing normal dev work on Arch Linux (everything from low level C++ to Python/Julia, but no web stuff) is pleasant despite the dated CPU. Every time I look at reviews of "modern" laptops or try a friend's machine (A…

I've used a T400 as my kitchen laptop for years, and recently put Win10 on it. I put my SSD in it, back with Win8. The laptop still works great, and it's my main PowerShell workstation - it's where I wrote my Arkdata player tracker static site. (Yes, I wrote it while standing in my kitchen.) The market is the same, really. What you're seeing is the end of Moore's law, with 10 year old laptops still being effective co…

When I said the market has regressed, I wasn't referring to the slowing advances in CPU performance, etc. Normally, such a slowdown would enable manufacturers to focus on creating better cases, improve peripherals, etc. Instead, the obsession with thinness and design fads has led to worse usability, much worse keyboards, fewer ports, etc., and maintainability is virtually gone as a concept.

Obviously, this is largely a matter of preference and I understand that many users care more about thin shiny things than robust cases or high feedback keyboards. That's fine. The issue is that the market segment that the classic Thinkpads used to fill is completely gone now and those users, however few, are stranded.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#258

Post by ziotom78 »

mangecoeur wrote: post #190

As an ex-linux user and current mac user, I'm still frustrated by linux laptop hardware support. Ethernet ports that need to be re-plugged, suspend-to-disk not working... lots of glitches things that were already annoying 6-7 years ago but now are hard to justify compared with the polish you can expect from other systems. I could never go back from my macbook because I need everything to just work - no glitchy touchp…

I'm probably the only one around here that went from Mac to Linux... I decided to do this after a number of frustrating problems with hardware: ethernet port not working [1] and a severely swollen battery (although I followed all the advices to prevent this) which was not covered by the warranty "because of the laptop's serial number".

I decided to buy a Lenovo E540 a couple of years ago, on which I run Linux Mint: I like KDE's awesome interface add much add I liked Mac OS X's. I wouldn't ever go back...

[1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5687308?tstart=0

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#259

Post by driverdan »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #246
keldaris wrote: post #207

I'm still using an ancient Thinkpad T400 I bought when they first came out (2007, I think?), and I still love it. Despite heavy use, everything works perfectly and the case could probably last for decades. Doing normal dev work on Arch Linux (everything from low level C++ to Python/Julia, but no web stuff) is pleasant despite the dated CPU. Every time I look at reviews of "modern" laptops or try a friend's machine (A…

I keep buying refurbished T420 laptops; even though my employer provided T450, I cannot switch to keyboard without standard Insert/Delete/Home/End set - not to mention losing the Ultrabay flexibility etc. T420 was the pinacle of the Thinkpads for me; T530 was a meh, T540 is the only time I've seen co-workers genuinely slam their laptops (removal of touchpad buttons etc). T450 brought touchpad buttons and some separat…

> I cannot switch to keyboard without standard Insert/Delete/Home/End set

Learn the alternative shortcut keys. You can keep your hands closer to / on the home row instead of reaching across the keyboard.

> not to mention losing the Ultrabay flexibility

How often do you swap drives? I haven't used optical media for 5+ years.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad T460 – A Good Linux Laptop for Development

#260

Post by peatmoss »

_lbaq wrote: post #157
vegardx wrote: post #151

It would be so much easier to love my Thinkpad T460s if it wasn't for the touchpad. Coming to Thinkpad and Linux after many years as a Mac-user this was almost a deal breaker for me. The palm detection in synaptic driver is laughable. People installing Linux on the new Macbook Pros are going to have a blast with that gigantic touchpad. And I don't even think it's just a driver problem, as the touchpad can register a…

Learn to use the trackpoint instead and disable the touchpad.

More than a decade ago I worked in a shop that was all Thinkpads, and I thought I'd never understand the trackpoint users. Then my wife got an x140e for some light-duty work a couple years ago, and somehow the trackpoint (maybe due to my xmonad use) just clicked. Now I love it.

As an aside the x140e is about the cheapest Linux laptop money can buy. It's built like a tank for school kids, and has nothing exotic inside. You can replace the HDD with an SSD, and upgrade the RAM (shared video / system RAM) up to 32GB I hear. It's not a particularly speedy machine, but it runs well enough, and the price is right.

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