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The ThinkPad Z series is the flagship AMD line of the ThinkPad brand, combining a Ryzen CPU with a Radeon GPU and a premium build. Unfortunately, the Z series a

The ThinkPad Z series is the flagship AMD line of the ThinkPad brand, combining a Ryzen CPU with a Radeon GPU and a premium build. Unfortunately, the Z series also removed the physical mouse buttons from between the keyboard and the trackpad, replacing them with a small area at the top of the trackpad marked by slightly raised lines and bumps. TrackPoint users are mostly unimpressed with the new setup, since resting your thumb on the trackpad area can accidentally trigger a click, while the physical mouse buttons required force to trigger a click. Lenovo puts TrackPoint users in the position of choosing from energy-inefficient Intel ThinkPads, AMD ThinkPads with sub-premium specs, and the high-end Z series that is handicapped by its lack of physical mouse buttons. Lenovo can do better. (No, gluing a sheet of flax to the top cover does not make up for taking away physical mouse buttons. I don't see the environmental angle either, because the flax arguably makes the aluminum cover less recyclable.)

chem83 4y ago
I get it that ergonomics is a big deal to folks, but every laptop will have its downsides. I find that people place way too much importance on the lack of physical trackpad buttons. The alternative is the XPS 13 Plus, which has not only capacitive trackpad buttons, but also capacitive Fn row, so IMO much worse. In my mind, the Gen 1 had other downsides, which I hope Gen 2 solved: no support for 2280 SSDs, no support for 5G modem (and the LTE was quickly sold out) etc. For folks who want a powerful ultrabook and don't want OSX on the MBA w/ M2, this is the best option. Gen 1 had amazing OOBE support for Linux at launch, which is something the XPS 13 Plus couldn't claim. Dell users are still struggling with webcam support, AFAIK: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=277462&p=4 https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=277462&p=4
- commoner 4y ago
  > I find that people place way too much importance on the lack of physical trackpad buttons. Mouse buttons are necessary for the use of the TrackPoint, because you need them to click and/or scroll while keeping your hands near typing position. Apple and current-generation Dell laptops do not have pointing sticks, so they do not benefit from mouse buttons the way a TrackPoint-equipped laptop does.

chem83 4y ago

I get it that ergonomics is a big deal to folks, but every laptop will have its downsides. I find that people place way too much importance on the lack of physical trackpad buttons. The alternative is the XPS 13 Plus, which has not only capacitive trackpad buttons, but also capacitive Fn row, so IMO much worse. In my mind, the Gen 1 had other downsides, which I hope Gen 2 solved: no support for 2280 SSDs, no support for 5G modem (and the LTE was quickly sold out) etc. For folks who want a powerful ultrabook and don't want OSX on the MBA w/ M2, this is the best option. Gen 1 had amazing OOBE support for Linux at launch, which is something the XPS 13 Plus couldn't claim. Dell users are still struggling with webcam support, AFAIK: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=277462&p=4 https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=277462&p=4

commoner 4y ago
> I find that people place way too much importance on the lack of physical trackpad buttons. Mouse buttons are necessary for the use of the TrackPoint, because you need them to click and/or scroll while keeping your hands near typing position. Apple and current-generation Dell laptops do not have pointing sticks, so they do not benefit from mouse buttons the way a TrackPoint-equipped laptop does.