4 ms·

Not sure, I think this is a bit daft from a marketing POV. It was an iconic, recognizable differentiator, and is the sort of thing that makes people tell the st

by sho_hn 2y ago

Not sure, I think this is a bit daft from a marketing POV. It was an iconic, recognizable differentiator, and is the sort of thing that makes people tell the story of your brand. Other brands would kill to have a legacy, especially in a space where the product is otherwise largely interchangable and just passes through whatever the latest Intel/AMD product is. It's like Mercedes deciding not to remind you of the Gullwing every 5 minutes anymore. If I was working at Dell, I would be flabbergasted at my competitor just throwing away one of their little advantages. Lenovo already has other brands catering to folks who don't identify with the ThinkPad brand identity and aesthetic (e.g. the Yoga devices, where some of the premium models have been legit svelte and gorgeous; I bought my mom in law a swanky Yoga with an OLED and it's more lovely than anything Apple).

lordofgibbons 2y ago
They're still keeping the trackpoint in all of their existing models. This is just for a new thinkpad model.
mmooss 2y ago
> It was an iconic, recognizable differentiator, and is the sort of thing that makes people tell the story of your brand. Other brands would kill to have a legacy, especially in a space where the product is otherwise largely interchangable ... > If I was working at Dell, I would be flabbergasted at my competitor just throwing away one of their little advantages. That was my thinking. Why would you give away what distinguishes you and gives you an identity - one with an American, Western connection - and become just another laptop company? Why buy Lenovo now? I read a story about Apple when they fired Steve Jobs. The new management did what everyone had been pushing for years: License the OS to other manufacturers, and start shifting to PC-compatible hardware. Pretty soon, Macs went from a single physical unit with a handle on top for carrying, to a CPU box and separate CRT monitor, available from multiple brands. But then why buy a Mac, with it's broadly incompatible OS and higher price? The marketing genius of the crowds was, of course, incompetent. When Steve Jobs came back he killed the licensing of the OS and immediately put out a fun, high-design, single-unit cheap desktop computer. Edit: On the other hand, maybe Lenovo is smart. There can be a big controversy, lots of people talking about Lenovo, and then they can go back and forth a bit and finally put back the trackpoint.
mrandish 2y ago
> I think this is a bit daft from a marketing POV. I agree. It's dumb and seemingly incomprehensible but I finally understood why it happens after seeing it occur inside a large company with a long-successful product line with well-known signature traits. When a product and it's major features are successful enough to last literally decades, they outlive the careers of product managers, designers and marketers. Over time new people come in and work their up into positions of influence. Many times they are there because they appreciate (or even revere) the product, but they're also anxious to put their own mark on the legacy. This isn't just self-centered, they often view their role as bearing the responsibility to guide the legendary product's journey into the future. At the same time, they didn't inherit complete knowledge of all the reasons why things got the way they are or all the things which were tried in the past. There's also the ever-present ambient need in any organization to "do things" significant enough to justify their, now senior, role along with promotions and bonuses. It's ultimately just a combination of common human behavior in the context of large, long-lasting organizations. I see it so many places in the tech I use daily - Windows is a good example as is Firefox. The current product managers and designers seem to always be removing or fucking up some lower profile but essential feature a subset of users rely on that had been good for a decade or more. Of course, understanding it doesn't excuse that it's dumb and shouldn't happen.

by sho_hn 2y ago

lordofgibbons 2y ago

They're still keeping the trackpoint in all of their existing models. This is just for a new thinkpad model.

mmooss 2y ago

> It was an iconic, recognizable differentiator, and is the sort of thing that makes people tell the story of your brand. Other brands would kill to have a legacy, especially in a space where the product is otherwise largely interchangable ... > If I was working at Dell, I would be flabbergasted at my competitor just throwing away one of their little advantages. That was my thinking. Why would you give away what distinguishes you and gives you an identity - one with an American, Western connection - and become just another laptop company? Why buy Lenovo now? I read a story about Apple when they fired Steve Jobs. The new management did what everyone had been pushing for years: License the OS to other manufacturers, and start shifting to PC-compatible hardware. Pretty soon, Macs went from a single physical unit with a handle on top for carrying, to a CPU box and separate CRT monitor, available from multiple brands. But then why buy a Mac, with it's broadly incompatible OS and higher price? The marketing genius of the crowds was, of course, incompetent. When Steve Jobs came back he killed the licensing of the OS and immediately put out a fun, high-design, single-unit cheap desktop computer. Edit: On the other hand, maybe Lenovo is smart. There can be a big controversy, lots of people talking about Lenovo, and then they can go back and forth a bit and finally put back the trackpoint.

mrandish 2y ago

> I think this is a bit daft from a marketing POV. I agree. It's dumb and seemingly incomprehensible but I finally understood why it happens after seeing it occur inside a large company with a long-successful product line with well-known signature traits. When a product and it's major features are successful enough to last literally decades, they outlive the careers of product managers, designers and marketers. Over time new people come in and work their up into positions of influence. Many times they are there because they appreciate (or even revere) the product, but they're also anxious to put their own mark on the legacy. This isn't just self-centered, they often view their role as bearing the responsibility to guide the legendary product's journey into the future. At the same time, they didn't inherit complete knowledge of all the reasons why things got the way they are or all the things which were tried in the past. There's also the ever-present ambient need in any organization to "do things" significant enough to justify their, now senior, role along with promotions and bonuses. It's ultimately just a combination of common human behavior in the context of large, long-lasting organizations. I see it so many places in the tech I use daily - Windows is a good example as is Firefox. The current product managers and designers seem to always be removing or fucking up some lower profile but essential feature a subset of users rely on that had been good for a decade or more. Of course, understanding it doesn't excuse that it's dumb and shouldn't happen.