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The T430 was the machine that hooked me on to ThinkPads almost 20 years ago. Having tried many newer models since then, including the X1 Extreme I use for work

by imiric 5y ago

The T430 was the machine that hooked me on to ThinkPads almost 20 years ago. Having tried many newer models since then, including the X1 Extreme I use for work nowadays, I agree that they just don't make them as they used to. Ever since the Lenovo acquisition in particular, quality has gone down substantially, to the point where they don't feel special at all, and are on par with other Chinese mass produced brands. For the exorbitant prices it still retails for, you'd think that coil whine wouldn't be an issue, and that TrackPoint drift would be fixed after all these years.

_shantaram 5y ago
> you'd think that coil whine wouldn't be an issue, and that TrackPoint drift would be fixed after all these years. To be fair, trackpoint drift (atleast as I understand it) is a byproduct of the technology, ie the trackpoint driver constantly recalibrating itself. I agree with you that the quality has gone down drastically though - I miss my X220t still after upgrading to a T480 last year. I've had my keyboard replaced twice under warranty and the third one is exhibiting the same issues now that the other two did (backspace key keeps popping out).
- imiric 5y ago
  > To be fair, trackpoint drift (atleast as I understand it) is a byproduct of the technology, ie the trackpoint driver constantly recalibrating itself. Possibly. It would be interesting to know if other implementations (some HP laptops, UHK, etc.) have the same issue. I haven't used it on any other hardware besides the USB ThinkPad keyboard, but it's disappointing that little to no investment was done in R&D to perfect the technology over the years and avoid this very common issue. Unsurprising though given the overall drop in quality since Lenovo took over.
imiric 5y ago
> The T430 was the machine that hooked me on to ThinkPads almost 20 years ago. Ah, I misremembered... It was actually the T42. The T430 was still a pretty good machine.

by imiric 5y ago

_shantaram 5y ago

> you'd think that coil whine wouldn't be an issue, and that TrackPoint drift would be fixed after all these years. To be fair, trackpoint drift (atleast as I understand it) is a byproduct of the technology, ie the trackpoint driver constantly recalibrating itself. I agree with you that the quality has gone down drastically though - I miss my X220t still after upgrading to a T480 last year. I've had my keyboard replaced twice under warranty and the third one is exhibiting the same issues now that the other two did (backspace key keeps popping out).

imiric 5y ago
> To be fair, trackpoint drift (atleast as I understand it) is a byproduct of the technology, ie the trackpoint driver constantly recalibrating itself. Possibly. It would be interesting to know if other implementations (some HP laptops, UHK, etc.) have the same issue. I haven't used it on any other hardware besides the USB ThinkPad keyboard, but it's disappointing that little to no investment was done in R&D to perfect the technology over the years and avoid this very common issue. Unsurprising though given the overall drop in quality since Lenovo took over.

imiric 5y ago

> The T430 was the machine that hooked me on to ThinkPads almost 20 years ago. Ah, I misremembered... It was actually the T42. The T430 was still a pretty good machine.