4 ms·

> Thin, light, very portable, USB ports on each side, headphone jack and an external monitor port (in this case, thunderbolt). Welcome to ~2004 in IBM ThinkPad

> Thin, light, very portable, USB ports on each side, headphone jack and an external monitor port (in this case, thunderbolt). Welcome to ~2004 in IBM ThinkPad X-series land, IBM "solved the laptop form factor" ~4 years prior to Apple's Air. And even before that Sony's PCG-Z505 delivered most of this in a robust and lightweight magnesium package.

alliao 6y ago
you've reminded me of my lovely Panasonic Let's Note W series, thank you
Retric 6y ago
I liked the ~2004 Thinkpad’s, but sadly they had crap battery life by today’s standards. You could install larger batteries and swap them out if they started to degrade, but most people just treated them as needing to be plugged in 24/7.
nonford150 6y ago
The Z was the ultimate - traveled everywhere with it. If it only could be updated a bit...
ianai 6y ago
To some non-trivial amount, many laptops wind up being just a desktop with the lid closed 100% of the time in someone's office. It's the size of the commercial industry that makes manufacturers have little reason to actually make good laptops for laptop use.
- akulbe 6y ago
  Came here to say this. I've been working from home for ~6 years now. My work laptop sits vertical in a stand, and is wholly connected to external devices. I switched back to a desktop machine for my personal machine. It sits in a tray that's mounted on the underside of my desk.
rsync 6y ago
"Welcome to ~2004 in IBM ThinkPad X-series land, IBM "solved the laptop form factor" ~4 years prior to Apple's Air." No. What goes without saying in my original comment was the fact that the MBA has an aluminum unibody. Aluminum (or other metal) unibody cases represented a major step forward in aesthetics, substance and durability. I don't care how interesting the thinkpads are (and they are interesting) - I am not going backwards to plastic.
- dingaling 6y ago
  > I am not going backwards to plastic. And yet the aviation industry, obsessed with lightness and durability, is eliminating aluminium in favour of plastics with each successive generation.
- pengaru 6y ago
  In case you're unaware, many ThinkPads use magnesium alloys quite extensively and just use plastic in areas like the keyboard keys and palmrest. The X220 I'm typing this on is built like a tank, and I'm quite appreciative the palmrest and keyboard keys at least aren't a thermally conductive metal like the rest of the machine. Doesn't your MBA use plastic keys as well?
- jasdine817 6y ago
  The magnesium alloy ThinkPads and some Dells use is far more durable than aluminium because it's harder so doesn't bend on impact. It's also less likely to scratch. I've seen countless scratched Macbooks over the years. Plus unibody designs mean the whole laptop body needs to be replaced if there is damage instead of just replacing a single panel. High end Dell laptops are almost modular in comparison.

alliao 6y ago

you've reminded me of my lovely Panasonic Let's Note W series, thank you

Retric 6y ago

I liked the ~2004 Thinkpad’s, but sadly they had crap battery life by today’s standards. You could install larger batteries and swap them out if they started to degrade, but most people just treated them as needing to be plugged in 24/7.

nonford150 6y ago

The Z was the ultimate - traveled everywhere with it. If it only could be updated a bit...

ianai 6y ago

To some non-trivial amount, many laptops wind up being just a desktop with the lid closed 100% of the time in someone's office. It's the size of the commercial industry that makes manufacturers have little reason to actually make good laptops for laptop use.

akulbe 6y ago
Came here to say this. I've been working from home for ~6 years now. My work laptop sits vertical in a stand, and is wholly connected to external devices. I switched back to a desktop machine for my personal machine. It sits in a tray that's mounted on the underside of my desk.

rsync 6y ago

"Welcome to ~2004 in IBM ThinkPad X-series land, IBM "solved the laptop form factor" ~4 years prior to Apple's Air." No. What goes without saying in my original comment was the fact that the MBA has an aluminum unibody. Aluminum (or other metal) unibody cases represented a major step forward in aesthetics, substance and durability. I don't care how interesting the thinkpads are (and they are interesting) - I am not going backwards to plastic.

dingaling 6y ago
> I am not going backwards to plastic. And yet the aviation industry, obsessed with lightness and durability, is eliminating aluminium in favour of plastics with each successive generation.
pengaru 6y ago
In case you're unaware, many ThinkPads use magnesium alloys quite extensively and just use plastic in areas like the keyboard keys and palmrest. The X220 I'm typing this on is built like a tank, and I'm quite appreciative the palmrest and keyboard keys at least aren't a thermally conductive metal like the rest of the machine. Doesn't your MBA use plastic keys as well?
jasdine817 6y ago
The magnesium alloy ThinkPads and some Dells use is far more durable than aluminium because it's harder so doesn't bend on impact. It's also less likely to scratch. I've seen countless scratched Macbooks over the years. Plus unibody designs mean the whole laptop body needs to be replaced if there is damage instead of just replacing a single panel. High end Dell laptops are almost modular in comparison.