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I agree that all your points are far more important than whatever image is pre-loaded. At the very least a laptop designed for developers ought to keep the Ins

I agree that all your points are far more important than whatever image is pre-loaded. At the very least a laptop designed for developers ought to keep the Insert/Home/PageUp + Delete/End/PageDown cluster in the normal formation, like Thinkpads do. We are typists before we are programmers, and software is something we do have control over. Dell should be fretting over the things we don't have the ability to change on a lark.

protomyth 15y ago
At least they centered the touchpad and set the keyboard so I can touch type from a center position (no numeric keypad).
- redthrowaway 15y ago
  Lack of numpad is a matter of personal preference. I love it and use it almost exclusively, so lack of one is a big deal for me.
  - protomyth 15y ago
    My problem with a numpad on a laptop is where I center myself. If you center on on the keyboard so you aren't typing "side-ways" then the numpad means you're head is tilted to center of screen or you're looking directly at the left of the screen.
tammer 15y ago
Like thinkpads did... the ivy bridge models soon to be announced use a new layout. While the chicklet keyboards are largely an improvement (I've tried an E420 for a few moments and love the wider spacing), losing that row will take some getting used to.
- commandar 15y ago
  I think I must be the only person out there that can't stand chiclet keyboards. One of the many reasons I'm interested in the upcoming Vizio thin+light notebooks is because they're not using chiclets.
  - wyclif 15y ago
    Yes, the old-school ThinkPad keyboards were the best you could get on a laptop. Chiclet keyboards are made for non-touch typists, the kind of people who need to hunt and peck with big fat fingers. My fave keyboard is my Unicomp Linux model, with the Caps Lock and Ctrl keys swapped...but best of all, with positive keyclick and actual mechanical switches under each key instead of dopey, squishy foam like what you get with modern, cheap keyboards.
    - bandy 15y ago
      When I got my T61 after three plus years of using netbooks, my fingers were very happy to use that keyboard. After I got the ultranav set up, disabling the damn trackpad, I was a very happy camper, indeed. Years had passed since I'd retired my 770ED, and I'd forgotten just how good it was.
    - kamechan 15y ago
      I thought this for a while as well, but I wouldn't put it past manufacturers to have done some comprehensive testing before just moving to island-style keyboards. I prefer the thinkpad keyboards myself and use a mechanical keyboard on my desktop (one which I consider to have the best tactile feedback available: a Topre Realforce). However, as a dvorak touch-typist I was curious to find out just how well different keyboards performed, so a while back I did a 1 minute random word test on each and got (approximately) the following results: #1) Topre Realforce: ~110wpm random, ~140wpm non-random #2) White macbook (island style): ~98wpm random , ~120wpm non-random #3) Thinkpad T420: ~90wpm random, ~110wpm non-random I used this site to do the comparisons: http://speedtest.10fastfingers.com/ http://speedtest.10fastfingers.com/ Would be interested to see what other people get.
      - sliverstorm 15y ago
        The last time I remember this discussed, I believe the main points in favor of chiclet keyboards were: - looks stylish - very cheap to manufacture Obviously the manufacturers wouldn't switch arbitrarily, but I wouldn't be surprised if those two reasons alone weren't enough to drive the switch.
- ineedtosleep 15y ago
  Oh dear. Was hoping you're wrong, but it seems you're right...at least for the X series. I'm still hoping that the T series will continue with a normal keyboard, especially since my T61 is near EOL for me.
DennisP 15y ago
That may be a requirement for developers who don't use Vim. I can't remember the last time I used any of those keys.

protomyth 15y ago

At least they centered the touchpad and set the keyboard so I can touch type from a center position (no numeric keypad).

redthrowaway 15y ago
Lack of numpad is a matter of personal preference. I love it and use it almost exclusively, so lack of one is a big deal for me.
- protomyth 15y ago
  My problem with a numpad on a laptop is where I center myself. If you center on on the keyboard so you aren't typing "side-ways" then the numpad means you're head is tilted to center of screen or you're looking directly at the left of the screen.

tammer 15y ago

Like thinkpads did... the ivy bridge models soon to be announced use a new layout. While the chicklet keyboards are largely an improvement (I've tried an E420 for a few moments and love the wider spacing), losing that row will take some getting used to.

commandar 15y ago
I think I must be the only person out there that can't stand chiclet keyboards. One of the many reasons I'm interested in the upcoming Vizio thin+light notebooks is because they're not using chiclets.
- wyclif 15y ago
  Yes, the old-school ThinkPad keyboards were the best you could get on a laptop. Chiclet keyboards are made for non-touch typists, the kind of people who need to hunt and peck with big fat fingers. My fave keyboard is my Unicomp Linux model, with the Caps Lock and Ctrl keys swapped...but best of all, with positive keyclick and actual mechanical switches under each key instead of dopey, squishy foam like what you get with modern, cheap keyboards.
  - bandy 15y ago
    When I got my T61 after three plus years of using netbooks, my fingers were very happy to use that keyboard. After I got the ultranav set up, disabling the damn trackpad, I was a very happy camper, indeed. Years had passed since I'd retired my 770ED, and I'd forgotten just how good it was.
  - kamechan 15y ago
    I thought this for a while as well, but I wouldn't put it past manufacturers to have done some comprehensive testing before just moving to island-style keyboards. I prefer the thinkpad keyboards myself and use a mechanical keyboard on my desktop (one which I consider to have the best tactile feedback available: a Topre Realforce). However, as a dvorak touch-typist I was curious to find out just how well different keyboards performed, so a while back I did a 1 minute random word test on each and got (approximately) the following results: #1) Topre Realforce: ~110wpm random, ~140wpm non-random #2) White macbook (island style): ~98wpm random , ~120wpm non-random #3) Thinkpad T420: ~90wpm random, ~110wpm non-random I used this site to do the comparisons: http://speedtest.10fastfingers.com/ http://speedtest.10fastfingers.com/ Would be interested to see what other people get.
    - sliverstorm 15y ago
      The last time I remember this discussed, I believe the main points in favor of chiclet keyboards were: - looks stylish - very cheap to manufacture Obviously the manufacturers wouldn't switch arbitrarily, but I wouldn't be surprised if those two reasons alone weren't enough to drive the switch.
ineedtosleep 15y ago
Oh dear. Was hoping you're wrong, but it seems you're right...at least for the X series. I'm still hoping that the T series will continue with a normal keyboard, especially since my T61 is near EOL for me.

DennisP 15y ago

That may be a requirement for developers who don't use Vim. I can't remember the last time I used any of those keys.