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ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

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Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#91

Post by dogcow »

nrp wrote: post #50
mananaysiempre wrote: post #2

> "It's very difficult to make a seven-row keyboard anymore because of the aspect ratio of the display and the whole arrangement of the pieces on the inside," he said. "It's a decision that was not made lightly, however. I still like the seven-row keyboard and, as aspect ratios change, and they continue to change, I don't know. Maybe someday somebody will be interested in it again." The sad part is, the Framework 13…

We have 1.5mm key travel, the keyboard is replaceable, and the vast majority of our keyboard artwork options don’t have a Copilot logo.

Please offer a good TrackPoint keyboard. Please.

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#92

Post by strix_varius »

brikym wrote: post #84

I have always found thinkpads to be the most overrated laptops ever. I far prefer Macbooks in all aspects beit ergonomics, aesthetics or performance. I don't get the love for Thinkpads. Maybe it's just nostelgia clouding people's judgement because I just see something which is clunky, ugly, plastic, noisy with a crap screen and crap battery life. The keyboard is the only thing I like more, but the macbook keyboards a…

I use both daily (work/personal) and I've come to agree. My work MBP is just better than my personal Thinkpad in all respects, despite having nearly identical pricetags.

I bought it because I wanted frankly, something different than the Mbps I've had from work for 15 years, and to go Linux-first. OSX annoys me about as much as Linux does, so the software is on par, but the hardware just can't touch Apple hardware. I wish this weren't the case, but it is.

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#93

Post by wkat4242 »

elric wrote: post #48

I think optimising for thinness is a stupid goal. I get wanting to reduce weight , but volume and mass are two different metrics. Thicker laptops can have better cooling, bigger batteries, easier maintenance, a bloody ethernet port, and probably better keyboards. For some reason Lenovo has made the ThinkPad keyboard worse with every new generation. They're still better than other laptop keyboards, but my goodness the…

Ya for me that was the major selling point. My T490s still had a decent keyboard. My T14s gen 3 really sucks though. Almost no travel and very bad tactile feedback.

And these laptops are made for enterprise users who actually work on them and aren't dicking around on tiktok all day.

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#94

Post by wkat4242 »

al_borland wrote: post #51
elric wrote: post #48

I think optimising for thinness is a stupid goal. I get wanting to reduce weight , but volume and mass are two different metrics. Thicker laptops can have better cooling, bigger batteries, easier maintenance, a bloody ethernet port, and probably better keyboards. For some reason Lenovo has made the ThinkPad keyboard worse with every new generation. They're still better than other laptop keyboards, but my goodness the…

When something is large and light, the consumer view is that it is cheaply made. That's a problem when trying to sell an expensive product.

Of these laptops 95% are not going to consumers but to enterprise users so who cares what consumers think?

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#95

Post by [deleted] »

elric wrote: post #48

I think optimising for thinness is a stupid goal. I get wanting to reduce weight , but volume and mass are two different metrics. Thicker laptops can have better cooling, bigger batteries, easier maintenance, a bloody ethernet port, and probably better keyboards. For some reason Lenovo has made the ThinkPad keyboard worse with every new generation. They're still better than other laptop keyboards, but my goodness the…

[deleted]

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#96

Post by throw_m239339 »

somanyphotons wrote: post #49
elric wrote: post #48

I think optimising for thinness is a stupid goal. I get wanting to reduce weight , but volume and mass are two different metrics. Thicker laptops can have better cooling, bigger batteries, easier maintenance, a bloody ethernet port, and probably better keyboards. For some reason Lenovo has made the ThinkPad keyboard worse with every new generation. They're still better than other laptop keyboards, but my goodness the…

Thickness does change the ergonomics when typing

Thicker keys absolutely do change the ergonomics when typing.

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#98

Post by WillAdams »

dustinmr wrote: post #82
WillAdams wrote: post #4

The fibrous Trackpoint is still my absolute favourite. For folks who want more in-depth backstory, going all the way back to the beginning and the origin of the "ThinkPad" name see: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/483933.ThinkPad I really wish that there would be a true heir to the mantle, and a return to some of the original ideas, esp. the early stylus models and variants such as the TransNote --- if Lenovo wou…

I have a few of the THINK notepads that I found in my grandfather’s things after he passed away. He was an IBM employee in the 50s and 60s. I remember picking the first one up and saying out loud, “that’s where the name came from!”

Yep, that exact story is related in "A Different Shade of Blue" (pg. 104):

>At the next staff meeting, Kathy Vieth asked Wainwright to report on his progress in naming the new pen tablet. He took the small leather pad with the word _THINK_ embossed on the cover and simply tossed it onto the table. All eyes followed the little black think pad as it sailed through the eair, almost in slow motion and landed --- _PLOP_ on the conference room table.

>

>The team was very excited: everyone was talking. No one was sure whether it was Sue King, or Kathy Vieth, or Patty McHugh, or someone else who first declared, ``Denny, that's a think pad --- a tiny tablet. It's the perfect name. We'll call it a ThinkPad.''

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#99

Post by emptysongglass »

nrp wrote: post #50
mananaysiempre wrote: post #2

> "It's very difficult to make a seven-row keyboard anymore because of the aspect ratio of the display and the whole arrangement of the pieces on the inside," he said. "It's a decision that was not made lightly, however. I still like the seven-row keyboard and, as aspect ratios change, and they continue to change, I don't know. Maybe someday somebody will be interested in it again." The sad part is, the Framework 13…

We have 1.5mm key travel, the keyboard is replaceable, and the vast majority of our keyboard artwork options don’t have a Copilot logo.

But you don't have good cooling, good battery life, good standby, good speakers, or open firmware and don't appear to be interested in fixing any of these issues.

Re: ThinkPad designer David Hill on unreleased models

#100

Post by riedel »

elric wrote: post #48

I think optimising for thinness is a stupid goal. I get wanting to reduce weight , but volume and mass are two different metrics. Thicker laptops can have better cooling, bigger batteries, easier maintenance, a bloody ethernet port, and probably better keyboards. For some reason Lenovo has made the ThinkPad keyboard worse with every new generation. They're still better than other laptop keyboards, but my goodness the…

I like my Z13. Despite the non-thinkpad look, they finally did a bit of engineering together with AMD to get the cooling working again (copying from the Mac as well). It the least Thinkpad I ever had (no hardware track point buttons), but I am still quite happy (the x395 was a cooling catastrophy IMHO). However, i agree wrt repairs. I had my mainboard, my screen and my keyboard replaced, due to broken cables and switches, which ridiculous. My case is fully intact opposite to all my other think pads. The worst thing however is the firmware of the USB/charging controller with this laptop. It often does not really pre-boot with USB connecte, it often needs to be hard reset to get charging to work again,... Lenovo firmware/BIOS is a huge mess because IMHO they simply have too many models. They should offer one X and one T and make those good ones again. (Or just sell the ThinkPad brand to someone producing good keyboards for framework laptops and as external keyboars: i actually spend nights on eBay trying get an external ThinkPad Keyboard with German layout, because they seemed to have stopped production. Prices are skyrocketing: used ThinkPads are cheaper that used keyboard: tells you a lot)
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