4 ms·

I would argue that the best PC laptops are the old IBM ThinkPads. The best PC laptop in production, I'm not sure. The Panasonic Toughbooks are pretty nice for t

by jrcii 11y ago

I would argue that the best PC laptops are the old IBM ThinkPads. The best PC laptop in production, I'm not sure. The Panasonic Toughbooks are pretty nice for their purpose.

rayiner 11y ago
At a certain point the ThinkPad keyboard fetishization has to take a back seat to the awful screens and miserable touchpads, no?
- basch 11y ago
  or other nice laptops could offer optional trackpoints, so they are usable.
- a3n 11y ago
  I'm sitting on the couch right now with my employer's ThinkPad. The touchpad is disabled, as on any laptop I use. I detest even a single touchpad caused accident, and I actually like the fine control I get with a mouse. My couch, desk or thigh is my mouse pad.
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    I detest RSSI I get from mice
    - a3n 11y ago
      Funny, I've been using a mouse since the eighties. Not at all minimizing your RSSI issues. I've often thought that the reason I don't have RSSI and shoulder issues (which one can get using a mouse) is that I amp the acceleration (or whatever the term is) up all the way. I use a small mouse (currently a wireless logitech, thanks Doug) and I can move my pointer quickly and precisely across the entire screen while keeping the outside pad of my lower hand (near the wrist) resting on the desk (or couch at the moment). I move the mouse entirely with my fingers, no wrist or shoulder movement at all. If you watched my hand moving the mouse, and took the mouse out from under it, it would like like I was gently scratching the desk/couch. The downside is that when someone else walks up to my machine to show me something they get vertigo when they first move the mouse.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  I agree on the touchpads, but I like Thinkpad screens. Give me a nice 1080p matte finish any day over the ultra-glossy high resolution screens that make everything tiny, burn through battery, and look terrible in bright sunlight. With the extended battery and bay battery (no slice battery) I was seeing over 14 hours of real world wireless usage (inc. fullscreen video) on my 14" Thinkpad. The Thinkpad is a workhorse, not a toy.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    The 1080p IPS screen on my T450s is a blurry piece of crap with awful backlight bleed in comparison to the screen on my rMBP. I can at least control my room lighting to avoid glare--I can't do anything about the low-resolution hazy text on the 1080p matte screen. For a workhorse machine--I stare at text all day--that clarity is priceless.
    - reirob 11y ago
      Is your screen glossy that reflects the lights around? I am asking, because I am also using a T450s, with matt a 1920x1080 screen. It's the best screen I ever had. I can work with any ambient light, does not reflect, it is not as sensitive to viewing angle as the screens that I had before and has very lively colours. I absolutely love this machine. Maybe we don't have the same screens, i.e. there are different models?
  - Bud 11y ago
    Not to mention that 1080p is the WRONG #$%#@^#$ ASPECT RATIO for any real computer work. It's wrong for anything other than watching movies, and has no advantages even for that.
- agumonkey 11y ago
  You're right, the default LCD are abysmal, although Lenovo tried to improve the situation a bit. Many models have IPS options. Also many thinkpad heads have moderate or more modding skills and swapping parts is very common. Beside, keyboard aren't everything, these laptops are sturdy. Most laptops are flimsy and fail early. I own lots of 2005-2009 models that are impeccable. Finally, 2nd hand Thinkpads are cheap, You can find a decent one for as much as a raspberrypi2 kit.
- pierre_massat 11y ago
  Agreed. And you know, since they're not available anymore, we can start looking at what's actually available.

by jrcii 11y ago

I would argue that the best PC laptops are the old IBM ThinkPads. The best PC laptop in production, I'm not sure. The Panasonic Toughbooks are pretty nice for their purpose.

rayiner 11y ago

At a certain point the ThinkPad keyboard fetishization has to take a back seat to the awful screens and miserable touchpads, no?

basch 11y ago
or other nice laptops could offer optional trackpoints, so they are usable.
a3n 11y ago
I'm sitting on the couch right now with my employer's ThinkPad. The touchpad is disabled, as on any laptop I use. I detest even a single touchpad caused accident, and I actually like the fine control I get with a mouse. My couch, desk or thigh is my mouse pad.
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  I detest RSSI I get from mice
  - a3n 11y ago
    Funny, I've been using a mouse since the eighties. Not at all minimizing your RSSI issues. I've often thought that the reason I don't have RSSI and shoulder issues (which one can get using a mouse) is that I amp the acceleration (or whatever the term is) up all the way. I use a small mouse (currently a wireless logitech, thanks Doug) and I can move my pointer quickly and precisely across the entire screen while keeping the outside pad of my lower hand (near the wrist) resting on the desk (or couch at the moment). I move the mouse entirely with my fingers, no wrist or shoulder movement at all. If you watched my hand moving the mouse, and took the mouse out from under it, it would like like I was gently scratching the desk/couch. The downside is that when someone else walks up to my machine to show me something they get vertigo when they first move the mouse.
Someone1234 11y ago
I agree on the touchpads, but I like Thinkpad screens. Give me a nice 1080p matte finish any day over the ultra-glossy high resolution screens that make everything tiny, burn through battery, and look terrible in bright sunlight. With the extended battery and bay battery (no slice battery) I was seeing over 14 hours of real world wireless usage (inc. fullscreen video) on my 14" Thinkpad. The Thinkpad is a workhorse, not a toy.
- rayiner 11y ago
  The 1080p IPS screen on my T450s is a blurry piece of crap with awful backlight bleed in comparison to the screen on my rMBP. I can at least control my room lighting to avoid glare--I can't do anything about the low-resolution hazy text on the 1080p matte screen. For a workhorse machine--I stare at text all day--that clarity is priceless.
  - reirob 11y ago
    Is your screen glossy that reflects the lights around? I am asking, because I am also using a T450s, with matt a 1920x1080 screen. It's the best screen I ever had. I can work with any ambient light, does not reflect, it is not as sensitive to viewing angle as the screens that I had before and has very lively colours. I absolutely love this machine. Maybe we don't have the same screens, i.e. there are different models?
- Bud 11y ago
  Not to mention that 1080p is the WRONG #$%#@^#$ ASPECT RATIO for any real computer work. It's wrong for anything other than watching movies, and has no advantages even for that.
agumonkey 11y ago
You're right, the default LCD are abysmal, although Lenovo tried to improve the situation a bit. Many models have IPS options. Also many thinkpad heads have moderate or more modding skills and swapping parts is very common. Beside, keyboard aren't everything, these laptops are sturdy. Most laptops are flimsy and fail early. I own lots of 2005-2009 models that are impeccable. Finally, 2nd hand Thinkpads are cheap, You can find a decent one for as much as a raspberrypi2 kit.
pierre_massat 11y ago
Agreed. And you know, since they're not available anymore, we can start looking at what's actually available.