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ThinkPad X220 here. From late 2012 until late 2023 in service with Linux. It is still usable but finally replaced it by an X13 Gen3 AMD with Linux. The magne
by ho_schi 2y ago
ThinkPad X220 here. From late 2012 until late 2023 in service with Linux.
It is still usable but finally replaced it by an X13 Gen3 AMD with Linux. The magnesium body is a bless and feels a lot better to the skin than aluminium. The HiDPI display is the biggest upgrade. The six row keyboard is sturdy but a downgrade from the seven row keyboard. I miss the notch to open the lid.
It got worse with Gen4/5 which now have an awful hump (reverse notch) like a smartphone.
The long usage of the X220 depends on the built quality but also on the five year replacement part support. New batteries and a new palm rest (cracked during a journey). It not just quality you pay for, it is this support level. And of course more memory.
Apple still fails in this regard and barely does something when forced by the European Union. Anyway - Apple doesn’t officially support Linux therefore I cannot buy them for work.
This is the part wich saddens me, they do good work and the next MacBook will also not run fully with Linux. This kind of catchup things by hackers cannot be won - until the vendor decides you’re a valuable customer. Therefore, don’t buy them that you can run Linux. You maybe can. But these devices are made for macOS only.
But if you want to run Linux on a MacBook? Talk your politicians! And send „messages“ with your money to Apple. Like buying ThinkPads, Dells Developer Edition, Purism, System 76 and so on :)
- user_7832 2y ago> The magnesium body is a bless and feels a lot better to the skin than aluminium. Just curious, how does it feel better? My framework apparently has an aluminium lid and a magnesium base, and the mg feels “smoother” than the slightly more textured al… however my iPad is apparently aluminium too and is smooth to the touch.
- ho_schi 2y agoIt is not about smoothness. Actually the magnesium bottom feels like some high quality polymer/plastic. And it is leightweight. Therefore it doesn’t feel like metal and doesn’t transport heat/cold. Aluminum is a nice material for planes, cars or bikes but I avoid skin contact because it is uncomfortable. I guess like often it depends on how the magnesium made. Lenovo also uses for other parts high quality plastics (keyboard of course and probably the palm rest).
- bluedino 2y agoI never kept my ThinkPads around long because of the screens (which they have fixed, somewhere around the T450 timeframe. The X220/230 had that godawful 1366x768 panel. A shame when the 13" Air at the time had a 1440x900 panel, which while it wasn't amazing with the viewing angles and colors, it was light years ahead of the screen in something like a T430.
- ho_schi 2y agoThinkPads come usually with two panel options: The cheap one and the good one. Often even a third or fourth. Lenovo should only ship the good ones! If I buy a ThinkPad I want the good one. I struggled to get the HiDPI panel for the X13 and ordered it from the replacement parts. Same for the X220, I replaced the TN panel by drumroll IPS panel. Apple takes ridiculous amounts for memory or disk but you always get the good stuff with the base model. This makes it simple and reliable for customers. Except keyboards The ThinkPads always win, convex key caps, better switches and pressure/release point, travel way, better layout and a TrackPoint. In some models you can still replace it within 30 seconds (T14). With the X13 or MacBook it is a horror, requires removal of the mainboard. Not mentioning Apples failure with the TouchBar, which “feels” like the tried to save money on expensive switches by replacing them with a cheap touchscreen and selling this horrible downgrade as feature. And the infamous butterfly switches are the reason to avoid any used older MacBook (often defective).
- bluedino 2y agoThe Carbon X1 2560x1440 screen was _fantastic_.