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My girlfriend runs her pet behavior business from a Thinkpad X230, it have taken a lot of drops so the next upgrade is to replace the shell, but I've kept it cl

My girlfriend runs her pet behavior business from a Thinkpad X230, it have taken a lot of drops so the next upgrade is to replace the shell, but I've kept it clean, tightened the screws a couple of times and replaced the keyboard when some keys fell off. It's a workhorse and it just keeps going, she really likes the form factor. In the beginning she didn't like the trackpoint, but now it's the only thing she uses.

zibzab 5y ago
pro tip: you can also have it as an external keyboard. https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/keyboards-and-mice/keyboards/4y40x49493 https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/keyb... I first thought it would feel cramped but it turns out its work out better than full size keyboard if you are switching back and forth between laptop and desktop.
- dfox 5y ago
  The Lenovo generation of external UltraNav keyboard has one huge desing issue: the cable is conneted by USB micro B and thus it is not question of if, but when it will break. I thought about just soldering the cable directly into it, but there dose not seem to be a way to non-destructively disassemble the keyboard.
  - zibzab 5y ago
    There is a Bluetooth version too.
- eliasmacpherson 5y ago
  There's a whole cottage industry springing up around these. https://popey.com/blog/2020/12/keyboards-old-and-new/ https://popey.com/blog/2020/12/keyboards-old-and-new/ In future I might pair one with a thinkcentre nano, e-ink or touchscreen and a big lithium battery.
- flyinghamster 5y ago
  Unicomp also offered a Model M-style keyboard with a trackpoint, but it's unavailable right now due to part shortages. I kind of regret not getting one the last time I shopped for a keyboard, but if they show up again, I'll probably pull the trigger. https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro
  - cb321 5y ago
    Sadly, only a 2-button pointing device. :-)
  - NoGravitas 5y ago
    You might like the Shinobi keyboard from TEX Electronics? It's a mechanical keyboard in the format of an old-style ThinkPad keyboard. https://tex.com.tw/products/shinobi?variant=16969883648090 https://tex.com.tw/products/shinobi?variant=16969883648090
    - nh2 5y ago
      I bought the Shinobi. It is excellent, especially for ThinkPad and TrackPoint lovers. Before the Shinobi, I used the Lenovo external Thinkpad keyboard [1] (old model, SK-8855), which is now extremely unavailable. I also have the X220 and 6 (!) replacement keyboard inlays -- they fit into both the X220, and the SK-8855. I bought that many to have a lifetime supply of quality keyboards in case they become unavailable (which they now are), but I always wished somebody would go and make an infinitely-repairable, mechanic external ThinkPad keyboard replacement independent of Lenovo's whims. Then TEX did exactly that. Also, the maker of the device, Justin Wu, is super responsive via email and answered all my technical questions. Now the only thing I need is frame.work to team up with TEX to bring such keyboards to laptops. I already lobbied for that here: https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be-available/178/43 https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be... Maybe you can help me lobby :) [1] What it looks like: https://picclick.de/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Keyboard-SK-8855-282899305085.html https://picclick.de/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Keyboard-SK-8855-2828993...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
RealityVoid 5y ago
Mine seems to have just bit the dust. It boots to grub but then whenever some OS or bootable media tries going up the whole system resets. Memtest runs just fine though. Would love to have some system utility that boots and indexes the HW and tells me what is wrong, or some way to step through the Linux init process. Would be a fun way to learn about the underlying bring up process and also diagnose the issue. Probably not worth the effort considering how little monetary value my x230 has.
CTOSian 5y ago
>tightened the screws a couple of times you may use a thread lock adhesive, make sure is the "blue" type ( can be easily removed) not the "red" one.

zibzab 5y ago

pro tip: you can also have it as an external keyboard. https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/keyboards-and-mice/keyboards/4y40x49493 https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/keyb... I first thought it would feel cramped but it turns out its work out better than full size keyboard if you are switching back and forth between laptop and desktop.

dfox 5y ago
The Lenovo generation of external UltraNav keyboard has one huge desing issue: the cable is conneted by USB micro B and thus it is not question of if, but when it will break. I thought about just soldering the cable directly into it, but there dose not seem to be a way to non-destructively disassemble the keyboard.
- zibzab 5y ago
  There is a Bluetooth version too.
eliasmacpherson 5y ago
There's a whole cottage industry springing up around these. https://popey.com/blog/2020/12/keyboards-old-and-new/ https://popey.com/blog/2020/12/keyboards-old-and-new/ In future I might pair one with a thinkcentre nano, e-ink or touchscreen and a big lithium battery.
flyinghamster 5y ago
Unicomp also offered a Model M-style keyboard with a trackpoint, but it's unavailable right now due to part shortages. I kind of regret not getting one the last time I shopped for a keyboard, but if they show up again, I'll probably pull the trigger. https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro
- cb321 5y ago
  Sadly, only a 2-button pointing device. :-)
- NoGravitas 5y ago
  You might like the Shinobi keyboard from TEX Electronics? It's a mechanical keyboard in the format of an old-style ThinkPad keyboard. https://tex.com.tw/products/shinobi?variant=16969883648090 https://tex.com.tw/products/shinobi?variant=16969883648090
  - nh2 5y ago
    I bought the Shinobi. It is excellent, especially for ThinkPad and TrackPoint lovers. Before the Shinobi, I used the Lenovo external Thinkpad keyboard [1] (old model, SK-8855), which is now extremely unavailable. I also have the X220 and 6 (!) replacement keyboard inlays -- they fit into both the X220, and the SK-8855. I bought that many to have a lifetime supply of quality keyboards in case they become unavailable (which they now are), but I always wished somebody would go and make an infinitely-repairable, mechanic external ThinkPad keyboard replacement independent of Lenovo's whims. Then TEX did exactly that. Also, the maker of the device, Justin Wu, is super responsive via email and answered all my technical questions. Now the only thing I need is frame.work to team up with TEX to bring such keyboards to laptops. I already lobbied for that here: https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be-available/178/43 https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be... Maybe you can help me lobby :) [1] What it looks like: https://picclick.de/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Keyboard-SK-8855-282899305085.html https://picclick.de/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Keyboard-SK-8855-2828993...

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

RealityVoid 5y ago

Mine seems to have just bit the dust. It boots to grub but then whenever some OS or bootable media tries going up the whole system resets. Memtest runs just fine though. Would love to have some system utility that boots and indexes the HW and tells me what is wrong, or some way to step through the Linux init process. Would be a fun way to learn about the underlying bring up process and also diagnose the issue. Probably not worth the effort considering how little monetary value my x230 has.

CTOSian 5y ago

>tightened the screws a couple of times you may use a thread lock adhesive, make sure is the "blue" type ( can be easily removed) not the "red" one.