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My favorite form factor ThinkPad was the small square x61 with the most amazing keyboard of any laptop I have every touched. My overall favorite was the x230,

by jll29 5y ago

My favorite form factor ThinkPad was the small square x61 with the most amazing keyboard of any laptop I have every touched. My overall favorite was the x230, whereas the x240 was unusable due to an erratic touch pad (the cursor would jump around while typing code). Nowadays I use an X1 at home and a MacBook (M1) at work, and the Mac wins regarding weight, speed, interoperability (WiFi, sound), battery and raw computer power, but the x1 wins with respect to keyboard, Linux support. I think the MacBook makes the better travel companion but the x1 makes the better dev machine (Linux is a "less odd" UNIX than MacOS X, speaking of paths, command names etc. memorized from varies Unices over the years). I would be keen to try out the X1 Nano, but the 1st generation is too similar to my existing box to consider an upgrade. BTW, whatever happened to the "ThinkPad Classic"?

ct0 5y ago
There was a "reboot" by a modder called the x62. He brought he specs up to a more modern era and increased the resolution. I was lucky enough to hop on the pre-built line and snag one for a good price. Add it to you watchlist on ebay because sometimes someone will post one. https://www.notebookcheck.net/X62-Laptop-Review.211598.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/X62-Laptop-Review.211598.0.htm...
major505 5y ago
I never liked the Thinkpads touch, and for some reason if I'm running my x250 in windows it just stops working after a few minutes (runs fine in linux, so ok), but in the end, I hate the concept of a trackpad and always carry a wireless mouse with me.
bouncing 5y ago
By ThinkPad Classic, you mean, the ThinkPad 25 Retro Anniversary Edition? I think it was kind of popular, but for $2,000, it just wasn't very competitive even with other ThinkPads. You were essentially paying a premium for a 7-row keyboard.
p_l 5y ago
If you mean the anniversary model, aka T25, it was T470 with "large delete" keyboard attached and configured in EC, and was done as one off anniversary model. No future plans for "classic" appear to be on the roadmap.
NoGravitas 5y ago
My daily driver is an X230. I bought my offspring an x240 a while ago, and it was terrible: the trackpoint buttons are built into the trackpad, rather than being separate physical buttons, and they're very unreliable. Thankfully, they broke the screen a few weeks ago, and we replaced it with an X270. In terms of the hackability and repairability ThinkPads are known for, it seems like the x230 was the last good one, but at least the ergonomics of the x270 are pretty good.
- amatecha 5y ago
  Yeah, I'm slowly amassing good-condition X230s... I've got two X230 and two X230T ... great machines IMO, even if they aren't perfect they're pretty close! I got a few since I know they won't last forever, but the longer I can avoid using new machines the better. Not a fan of "everything is one single tiny PCB and you can't repair anything" trend of today's systems.

by jll29 5y ago

ct0 5y ago

There was a "reboot" by a modder called the x62. He brought he specs up to a more modern era and increased the resolution. I was lucky enough to hop on the pre-built line and snag one for a good price. Add it to you watchlist on ebay because sometimes someone will post one. https://www.notebookcheck.net/X62-Laptop-Review.211598.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/X62-Laptop-Review.211598.0.htm...

major505 5y ago

I never liked the Thinkpads touch, and for some reason if I'm running my x250 in windows it just stops working after a few minutes (runs fine in linux, so ok), but in the end, I hate the concept of a trackpad and always carry a wireless mouse with me.

bouncing 5y ago

By ThinkPad Classic, you mean, the ThinkPad 25 Retro Anniversary Edition? I think it was kind of popular, but for $2,000, it just wasn't very competitive even with other ThinkPads. You were essentially paying a premium for a 7-row keyboard.

p_l 5y ago

If you mean the anniversary model, aka T25, it was T470 with "large delete" keyboard attached and configured in EC, and was done as one off anniversary model. No future plans for "classic" appear to be on the roadmap.

NoGravitas 5y ago

My daily driver is an X230. I bought my offspring an x240 a while ago, and it was terrible: the trackpoint buttons are built into the trackpad, rather than being separate physical buttons, and they're very unreliable. Thankfully, they broke the screen a few weeks ago, and we replaced it with an X270. In terms of the hackability and repairability ThinkPads are known for, it seems like the x230 was the last good one, but at least the ergonomics of the x270 are pretty good.

amatecha 5y ago
Yeah, I'm slowly amassing good-condition X230s... I've got two X230 and two X230T ... great machines IMO, even if they aren't perfect they're pretty close! I got a few since I know they won't last forever, but the longer I can avoid using new machines the better. Not a fan of "everything is one single tiny PCB and you can't repair anything" trend of today's systems.