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Afraid not. I got a job in Uni at a store that refurbished laptops and as a perk we could take a handful to learn about / disassemble every week, on the conditi

Afraid not. I got a job in Uni at a store that refurbished laptops and as a perk we could take a handful to learn about / disassemble every week, on the condition they came back. Later I would provision units for medium sized companies and also developed an expensive habit of buying up every other model on ebay. It's great to have had experience with so many designs but in retrospect I should've just bought one every 3-4 years and stuck with it. I just never could be satisfied with a design but to be fair back then most had serious shortcomings I guess today I tend to over focus on the laptop as an end where others see it more as a means. Probably won't ever be satisfied until I sit down and design my own. But the MBA 15 is very nice. Too nice. "manufactured with precision to the micron and delivered to your door straight from the factory in Shenzhen"

SwiftyBug 2y ago
So, after trying every laptop possible you chose the Thinkpad as your go-to for work? Why is that? I ask because I've been considering moving off from a Mac and I'm shopping for the best replacement.
- mingus88 2y ago
  Not OP but old thinkpads are usually at the top of the list for good cheap Linux machines They are durable and ubiquitous no-nonsense work machines. I just picked one up for $300 and can do all the dev work I need
  - SwiftyBug 2y ago
    Old as in used or as in a few generations old?
    - mingus88 2y ago
      Both, I picked up an eBay certified refurbished Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen for $325 The keyboard has that obvious wear on the home row from lots of use but it’s been rock solid
- underlogic 2y ago
  There's a few reasons. Thinkpads are reliable and durable. Built around a magnesium alloy "rollcage". They are modular, upgradeable and simple to service and there's a detailed hardware maintenance manual for every model online. There are often a good selection of ports and the keyboards are quite a pleasure to use although not a fan of the latest keycap refresh. I run the latest Ubuntu LTS and for almost all models every device runs out of the box. You can get a pretty decent machine for 300-500 on ebay but selecting the correct configuration is key. One area Thinkpads fall short since the Lenovo purchase is the screen quality. But the Pantone 4K option is pretty nice if you can find one. I like the T and P series and dislike the E. X is Ok if you have to carry it everywhere especially for network technicians. But Thinkpads generally aren't light and the battery life can be hit and miss. It's nice there are Xeon options but I'd expect the Intel signature hairdryer whirr on load. Most Thinkpads are quiet enough though. It's a good budget option, excellent value. A tool I think everyone should have kicking around. What you find as a technician is that manufacturers have very different ideas about how to engineer a laptop. The worst of the worst was the Dell Latitude series which looked like it was put together with lego and superglue. I've never seen cost optimization to that degree, perhaps to their credit.

SwiftyBug 2y ago

So, after trying every laptop possible you chose the Thinkpad as your go-to for work? Why is that? I ask because I've been considering moving off from a Mac and I'm shopping for the best replacement.

mingus88 2y ago
Not OP but old thinkpads are usually at the top of the list for good cheap Linux machines They are durable and ubiquitous no-nonsense work machines. I just picked one up for $300 and can do all the dev work I need
- SwiftyBug 2y ago
  Old as in used or as in a few generations old?
  - mingus88 2y ago
    Both, I picked up an eBay certified refurbished Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen for $325 The keyboard has that obvious wear on the home row from lots of use but it’s been rock solid
underlogic 2y ago
There's a few reasons. Thinkpads are reliable and durable. Built around a magnesium alloy "rollcage". They are modular, upgradeable and simple to service and there's a detailed hardware maintenance manual for every model online. There are often a good selection of ports and the keyboards are quite a pleasure to use although not a fan of the latest keycap refresh. I run the latest Ubuntu LTS and for almost all models every device runs out of the box. You can get a pretty decent machine for 300-500 on ebay but selecting the correct configuration is key. One area Thinkpads fall short since the Lenovo purchase is the screen quality. But the Pantone 4K option is pretty nice if you can find one. I like the T and P series and dislike the E. X is Ok if you have to carry it everywhere especially for network technicians. But Thinkpads generally aren't light and the battery life can be hit and miss. It's nice there are Xeon options but I'd expect the Intel signature hairdryer whirr on load. Most Thinkpads are quiet enough though. It's a good budget option, excellent value. A tool I think everyone should have kicking around. What you find as a technician is that manufacturers have very different ideas about how to engineer a laptop. The worst of the worst was the Dell Latitude series which looked like it was put together with lego and superglue. I've never seen cost optimization to that degree, perhaps to their credit.