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The IBM Thinkpad was probably the most well known laptop brand for 10-15 years. Even now I would guess people still equate “Thinkpad” with IBM even though they
by bluedevil2k 5y ago
The IBM Thinkpad was probably the most well known laptop brand for 10-15 years. Even now I would guess people still equate “Thinkpad” with IBM even though they sold it off to Lenovo 15 years ago.
- twiddling 5y agoAs an IBMer at the time, I remember having conversations about how that decision would ultimately doom IBM to irrelevance since it would remove IBM entirely from the consumer market...
- bluedevil2k 5y agoDon’t forget they sold the tiny HDD division to Hitachi (I believe) in like 1999 or 2000, which went on to earn billions from the iPod. Not a lot of good business decisions coming out of IBM.
- to11mtm 5y agoBut... one sometimes has to ask -whether- it would have happened if they didn't sell it off. I feel like any deal involving IBM at that level would involve some absurd amount of bureaucracy, even back then.
- cptnapalm 5y agoDespite not having one, I was mystified by such the obviously terrible idea of selling off the daily "I love my IBM" from who knows how many tech people's lives.