3 ms·

If only they had a non-chiclet keyboard... I guess I have to wait till retro ThinkPad :-(

by bitL 11y ago

creshal 11y ago
That's very likely still going to have a chiclet keyboard – they didn't ask for user preferences on it –, but it will at least have a proper seven-row layout. Personally, I don't mind the chiclets – the mechanic is the same as in the old keyboards – as long as the layout gets fixed…
- bitL 11y ago
  I guess I'll have to 3D print custom keys then...
- kawsper 11y ago
  Do you know if they are going to change the touchpad? I tried all the touchpads on the current Thinkpad generation in a store, and I was so disappointed that we chose to buy something else.
  - creshal 11y ago
    No idea. Half my Thinkpads don't have touchpads, the other half have it disabled via BIOS, so I wouldn't care either way…
  - chao- 11y ago
    For me the biggest issue is the lack of discrete buttons for the touchpad. I felt betrayed when Lenovo finally went the way of the "clickpad", which is the only name I have heard for the style of touchpad where the whole pad's plane depresses to click. I can't be the only one who: 1. Doesn't like tap-to-click on touchpads. 2. Prefers two discrete, easy-to-feel buttons over awkward clickable regions in the bottom corners.
odiroot 11y ago
Why? For me and any others chiclet keyboard (especially ThinkPad style) is a lot nicer than older "touching" sloped keys.
- bitL 11y ago
  Yes, for you. For me, definitely not. I am getting close to RSI when using any chiclet keyboard besides MBP that somehow made it fairly acceptable but still inferior to original ThinkPad. The rest, like newer ThinkPads, ASUS, Dell, Toshiba etc. are just plain awful, I feel pain in my wrists after ~20 minutes of using them. And a lot of touch typists complain about chiclet keyboards as well. Flatness everywhere is getting absurd recently. Yes, chiclet keyboards look often better (well, it's the opposite with ThinkPad actually, they IMO look much worse than their original keyboard) but I prefer ergonomy to aesthetics when creating algorithms - the last thing I want is to feel pain in my wrists during a creative phase of coding when I need to write, delete, rewrite and refactor a lot of code, seriously. Also, as a pianist I can notice subtle differences in the quality of keyboards. There is also one rule when playing on a piano - once you feel pain, you stop, you do something wrong or the instrument is not suitable for you and you'll injure yourself unless something is changed.
  - odiroot 11y ago
    I meant exactly ergonomy, not the looks. For my fingers ThinkPad's chiclet keyboard is a lot better than both MBP's and old IBM keyboards. I guess to each their own.
  - doktrin 11y ago
    That's interesting. Most people who I've seen share their opinion on this matter prefer the newer Lenovo keyboards to that of MBPs. Laptopmag also put out a fairly detailed comparison of Lenovo's "old" and "new" keyboards, with the newer island chiclet keys coming out on top, including on measures of audible and tactile feedback : http://blog.laptopmag.com/thinkpad-type-off-is-lenovos-new-island-style-keyboard-better-or-worse http://blog.laptopmag.com/thinkpad-type-off-is-lenovos-new-i...

If only they had a non-chiclet keyboard... I guess I have to wait till retro ThinkPad :-(

by bitL 11y ago

If only they had a non-chiclet keyboard... I guess I have to wait till retro ThinkPad :-(

That's very likely still going to have a chiclet keyboard – they didn't ask for user preferences on it –, but it will at least have a proper seven-row layout. Personally, I don't mind the chiclets – the mechanic is the same as in the old keyboards – as long as the layout gets fixed…

bitL 11y ago
I guess I'll have to 3D print custom keys then...
kawsper 11y ago
Do you know if they are going to change the touchpad? I tried all the touchpads on the current Thinkpad generation in a store, and I was so disappointed that we chose to buy something else.
- creshal 11y ago
  No idea. Half my Thinkpads don't have touchpads, the other half have it disabled via BIOS, so I wouldn't care either way…
- chao- 11y ago
  For me the biggest issue is the lack of discrete buttons for the touchpad. I felt betrayed when Lenovo finally went the way of the "clickpad", which is the only name I have heard for the style of touchpad where the whole pad's plane depresses to click. I can't be the only one who: 1. Doesn't like tap-to-click on touchpads. 2. Prefers two discrete, easy-to-feel buttons over awkward clickable regions in the bottom corners.

odiroot 11y ago

Why? For me and any others chiclet keyboard (especially ThinkPad style) is a lot nicer than older "touching" sloped keys.

bitL 11y ago
Yes, for you. For me, definitely not. I am getting close to RSI when using any chiclet keyboard besides MBP that somehow made it fairly acceptable but still inferior to original ThinkPad. The rest, like newer ThinkPads, ASUS, Dell, Toshiba etc. are just plain awful, I feel pain in my wrists after ~20 minutes of using them. And a lot of touch typists complain about chiclet keyboards as well. Flatness everywhere is getting absurd recently. Yes, chiclet keyboards look often better (well, it's the opposite with ThinkPad actually, they IMO look much worse than their original keyboard) but I prefer ergonomy to aesthetics when creating algorithms - the last thing I want is to feel pain in my wrists during a creative phase of coding when I need to write, delete, rewrite and refactor a lot of code, seriously. Also, as a pianist I can notice subtle differences in the quality of keyboards. There is also one rule when playing on a piano - once you feel pain, you stop, you do something wrong or the instrument is not suitable for you and you'll injure yourself unless something is changed.
- odiroot 11y ago
  I meant exactly ergonomy, not the looks. For my fingers ThinkPad's chiclet keyboard is a lot better than both MBP's and old IBM keyboards. I guess to each their own.
- doktrin 11y ago
  That's interesting. Most people who I've seen share their opinion on this matter prefer the newer Lenovo keyboards to that of MBPs. Laptopmag also put out a fairly detailed comparison of Lenovo's "old" and "new" keyboards, with the newer island chiclet keys coming out on top, including on measures of audible and tactile feedback : http://blog.laptopmag.com/thinkpad-type-off-is-lenovos-new-island-style-keyboard-better-or-worse http://blog.laptopmag.com/thinkpad-type-off-is-lenovos-new-i...