5 ms·

Have you ever owned an IBM Thinkpad?

by mahmud 17y ago

codyrobbins 17y ago
Yes, and it didn’t pass the creak test.
- jrockway 17y ago
  Yeah, but it does pass the "accidentally spilled coffee on my keyboard test".
  - mattmaroon 17y ago
    Mine passed the "getting dropped from 3-5 feet on about 700 different occasions" test.
    - jfarmer 17y ago
      Mine passed the got-run-over-by-an-SUV test, modulo a new external keyboard and monitor.
      - nick-dap 17y ago
        Mine had a cracked motherboard because I was apparently picking it up off the table wrong, by the corner vs gently holding it on both sides, as designed. IBM initially claimed that it was water damage (6 months prior), searching online revealed a small army with the same problem as I. I still use that ThinkPad (well minus the new motherboard) on my electronics bench, but to say that its on par with the iPhone or Mac Pro in terms of quality is laughable. The whole thing looks and feels like its made out of recycled plastic. Its so ugly it looks rugged. And I still love the damn thing... go figure.
        DrSprout 17y ago
        >The whole thing looks and feels like its made out of recycled plastic. Wait, I thought that Apple was the eco-conscious company.
        asciilifeform 17y ago
        > Mine had a cracked motherboard because I was apparently picking it up off the table wrong, by the corner vs gently holding it on both sides Same as mine. Replaced with MacBook Air, without regrets.
      - jrockway 17y ago
        What vintage? I remember seeing that Lenovo added a "roll cage" to the Thinkpad line that supposedly allows it to be run over by a car. I found a 1990s Thinkpad in my desk at work. It's makes for an excellent step ladder.
  - anc2020 17y ago
    My sister's didn't. More RAM for me (and my next laptop will also be a thinkpad)!
cpach 17y ago
IBM:s ThinkPads seems really sturdy. But has the quality been maintained since Lenovo bought the ThinkPad brand?
- bokchoi 17y ago
  yes it has
api 17y ago
I can't get past the blue "ThinkVantage" key. It's like a big pimple that says "a douchebag designed this." It also has no purpose once you install a real operating system, since the software that it invokes only runs on that crummy OS they ship it with.
- tomjen3 17y ago
  You need to get over yourselves then. Thinkpads are really well made because they are not made to please some designers - they are made to be used.
  - tomjen3 17y ago
    Ok that came of way too snarky. What I was attempting to say was that Thinkpads were (I haven't used any that were made by the Chinese manufacture so I can't answer for them) made to be used and were designed to handle the hits and spills that would happen naturally over the course of such work (the keyboard had drainage, the hinges were extra enforced and it could take quite a few drops). On the other hand my iPod has already got three scratches in it. One was because my keys were in my pocket (which I do all the time with my cell, without any issues) the other when when I dropped it two feet (of my bed, and not on purpose). Sure the iPod stuff is nice, but I wouldn't rely on it for actual work.
    - api 17y ago
      I agree. I actually prefer Toughbooks for that reason. The biggest thing I dislike about Apple's hardware is that you have to treat it like a family heirloom. It is more durable than cheap PC hardware though, which is why I called it middle-of-the-road in terms of durability. But I still massively prefer the aesthetics and designs of Apple's hardware. I do not see why you couldn't design a Toughbook-type machine with sparse Apple-like aesthetics. In fact, it almost seems like it would make it easier... fewer connectors and buttons means less points for liquid entry, eliminating extra drives means fewer moving parts, etc. If I ditched Apple for Linux, I'd probably take a look at the Sony Vaios... they're pretty sparse and seem well made.
ahoyhere 17y ago
My friend's IBM Thinkpad went through 3 video cards and a motherboard before she replaced it with a MacBook Pro.
phil 17y ago
No, but I have coworkers that do. They're nice machines, but they're still a collection of plastic components, and don't have the tight tolerances and clever case design that one sees in recent MacBooks.

Have you ever owned an IBM Thinkpad?

by mahmud 17y ago

Have you ever owned an IBM Thinkpad?

codyrobbins 17y ago

Yes, and it didn’t pass the creak test.

jrockway 17y ago
Yeah, but it does pass the "accidentally spilled coffee on my keyboard test".
- mattmaroon 17y ago
  Mine passed the "getting dropped from 3-5 feet on about 700 different occasions" test.
  - jfarmer 17y ago
    Mine passed the got-run-over-by-an-SUV test, modulo a new external keyboard and monitor.
    - nick-dap 17y ago
      Mine had a cracked motherboard because I was apparently picking it up off the table wrong, by the corner vs gently holding it on both sides, as designed. IBM initially claimed that it was water damage (6 months prior), searching online revealed a small army with the same problem as I. I still use that ThinkPad (well minus the new motherboard) on my electronics bench, but to say that its on par with the iPhone or Mac Pro in terms of quality is laughable. The whole thing looks and feels like its made out of recycled plastic. Its so ugly it looks rugged. And I still love the damn thing... go figure.
      - DrSprout 17y ago
        >The whole thing looks and feels like its made out of recycled plastic. Wait, I thought that Apple was the eco-conscious company.
      - asciilifeform 17y ago
        > Mine had a cracked motherboard because I was apparently picking it up off the table wrong, by the corner vs gently holding it on both sides Same as mine. Replaced with MacBook Air, without regrets.
    - jrockway 17y ago
      What vintage? I remember seeing that Lenovo added a "roll cage" to the Thinkpad line that supposedly allows it to be run over by a car. I found a 1990s Thinkpad in my desk at work. It's makes for an excellent step ladder.
- anc2020 17y ago
  My sister's didn't. More RAM for me (and my next laptop will also be a thinkpad)!

cpach 17y ago

IBM:s ThinkPads seems really sturdy. But has the quality been maintained since Lenovo bought the ThinkPad brand?

bokchoi 17y ago
yes it has

api 17y ago

I can't get past the blue "ThinkVantage" key. It's like a big pimple that says "a douchebag designed this." It also has no purpose once you install a real operating system, since the software that it invokes only runs on that crummy OS they ship it with.

tomjen3 17y ago
You need to get over yourselves then. Thinkpads are really well made because they are not made to please some designers - they are made to be used.
- tomjen3 17y ago
  Ok that came of way too snarky. What I was attempting to say was that Thinkpads were (I haven't used any that were made by the Chinese manufacture so I can't answer for them) made to be used and were designed to handle the hits and spills that would happen naturally over the course of such work (the keyboard had drainage, the hinges were extra enforced and it could take quite a few drops). On the other hand my iPod has already got three scratches in it. One was because my keys were in my pocket (which I do all the time with my cell, without any issues) the other when when I dropped it two feet (of my bed, and not on purpose). Sure the iPod stuff is nice, but I wouldn't rely on it for actual work.
  - api 17y ago
    I agree. I actually prefer Toughbooks for that reason. The biggest thing I dislike about Apple's hardware is that you have to treat it like a family heirloom. It is more durable than cheap PC hardware though, which is why I called it middle-of-the-road in terms of durability. But I still massively prefer the aesthetics and designs of Apple's hardware. I do not see why you couldn't design a Toughbook-type machine with sparse Apple-like aesthetics. In fact, it almost seems like it would make it easier... fewer connectors and buttons means less points for liquid entry, eliminating extra drives means fewer moving parts, etc. If I ditched Apple for Linux, I'd probably take a look at the Sony Vaios... they're pretty sparse and seem well made.

ahoyhere 17y ago

My friend's IBM Thinkpad went through 3 video cards and a motherboard before she replaced it with a MacBook Pro.

phil 17y ago

No, but I have coworkers that do. They're nice machines, but they're still a collection of plastic components, and don't have the tight tolerances and clever case design that one sees in recent MacBooks.