Re: [Thinkpad] Future of ThinkPads, and should I buy one while I still can?

WOW, small novel..!
you must be a writer.. :-)

to be concise, take your time, select a thinkpad model that you feel will
fill the bill and then order it..
the PC div. sale will not conclude for several months so you have time..
the particular model you should get depends on your intended use, but from
your comments i would look at the T42p 15 inch display model..

IRT 770ED..
this was a bit of a fluky model..
and
the paint coming off the palmrest is nothing new..
but it has served you for 6 years..? more or less..?!
so, give it a small job to do, like a server or filewall or reciepe machine
in the kitchen and get a new thinkpad..
and be assured that ibm will service whatever carry's an ibm logo and is
still under warranty AND will continue to provide bug fixes and driver
updates..

one more thing..
the T42 series IS suported by linux..

****************
Happy Trails,
Bill Morrow
bill at thinkpads dot com
http://forum.thinkpads.com
http://www.thinkpads.com
http://billmorrow.com
(from whitesands6)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Edwards" <mje@foxall.com.au>
To: "ThinkPad" <thinkpad@stderr.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 1:34 PM
Subject: [Thinkpad] Future of ThinkPads,and should I buy one while I still
can?

> I *won't* buy into the possible racist debate going on here about the
> Chinese takeover of the ThinkPad brand; but it does seem fair enough to
ask
> questions about the future of ThinkPads under such a big change. (It's
not the
> Chinese factor that prompts these thoughts, but rather just the factor of
a very
> big corporate change.) Maybe I'm biased towards the I.B.M. status quo,
but I
> feel a sense of loss at this development.
>
> This is oddly relevent to me at the moment, because I have also made
a
> change that could, strictly speaking, question my legitimacy to be on this
list.
> I think I once commented before that, due to disk space problems, I was
going to
> be forced to get a new computer fairly quickly, without doing a lot of
research
> to choose exactly the most suitable model, which could have taken me weeks
or
> months. I also decided to take the opportunity to change to the Linux
system,
> since I hate Windows, and had been thinking of moving away from it for a
few
> years. (Please don't take that as starting an O.S. war - I just said that
to
> explain my change to Linux.)
> Well, I got the new computer just a few days ago, and, although I do
have a
> brother who works with Linux professionally who can help me, I still know
> practically nothing except a few basic commands. My brother was able to
get a
> special deal on a laptop, so that effectively provided an immediate
solution to
> an urgent problem, and eliminated the need for research by eliminating the
> choice of computer. What I have is a brand I'd never heard of before
called
> Medion, model no. "MIM2020 Notebook PC (8050IM)". Under the deal with my
> brother, I had a choice of only two Medion models, which he can get
relatively
> cheaply for his work.
> And I'm already beginning to regret this, and regard this computer as
only
> a short-term measure. The screen is extremely good, noticeably better
than that
> on the 770ED I am moving away from, although I'm not sure I like the
wide-screen
> format it has. The resolution is about equal to the old 770ED, allowing
for the
> different screen aspect ratio, but in a new computer I would have hoped
for a
> higher-per-square-inch resolution. (The 770ED screen resolution was ahead
of
> its time at the time I bought it, but apparently that same resolution on
the
> Medion is only quite respectable and middle-of-the road now, not ahead.)
> But, worst of all, I just cannot live with the touchpad it has, and I
find
> it almost impossible to drag text any distance without the highlighting
being
> dropped on the way. And the touchpad keeps clicking things at almost the
merest
> touch (of the touchpad itself, that is, not the button, which is sometimes
too
> *un*responsive), so I keep starting all sorts of things I didn't mean to,
just
> because I moved the cursor over them. Using it feels like trying to walk
on
> eggs without breaking them.
> It appears from what I've read that most laptop users prefer the
touchpad
> to the trackpoint, and that I.B.M. is almost the only company who still
includes
> trackpoints on their laptops - but I have to say I find the trackpoint so
much
> easier. I'm a touch typist, so I like the fact that it is right there in
the
> keyboard. (I hate conventional mice, too, because using one requires me
to
> repeatedly waste time by moving my right hand several inches from the
keyboard
> to the mouse, or back again.)
> The keyboard feels spongy compared to the I.B.M., and certain keys
like the
> space-bar don't always respond to a normal touch, and I often have to make
sure
> to press it harder. I don't think it's a good keyboard for touch-typing;
but
> this is something I wasn't likely to find out until I'd had it for a few
days.
> And I also like the geneal style and quality of ThinkPads, although I
have
> to say I've been very unhappy with my 770ED, because the screen has uneven
> blotchy patches and a number of bad pixels, and the rubbery paint in front
of
> the keyboard has peeled off badly, making it look extemely shabby. For a
while
> this did put me off ThinkPads, and I intended to choose another brand for
my new
> computer; but I am now rethinking that, and wondering whether perhaps
there are
> current ThinkPad models which are far better than my 770ED has proved to
be.
>
> So the news about the Chinese takeover of ThinkPads does make me feel
> appehensive about the future of ThinkPads, and comes at a sensitive time
in my
> own computing life. I don't want to be unfair to the new Chinese company,
but
> it seems natural to wonder whether such a drastic change will be
detrimental to
> the ThinkPad brand, even if the name is kept. Perhaps I just have
emotional
> feelings about it, but ThinkPads just won't feel the same now, not being
made,
> or at least designed, by I.B.M.; they have always seemed quintessentially
I.B.M.
> to me. And it makes me realize that I am rather fonder of ThinkPads,
after all,
> than I had come to think recently.
> I am therefore thinking that, even though I've just bought a Medion,
maybe
> I should go out straight away and buy an I.B.M. ThinkPad - while I still
can!
> Can anyone offer an opinion on whether I should do this quickly, if I want
to at
> all? Will ThinkPads disappear soon, or at least change from the style and
> quality we are now used to - or will this corporate change take time to
have
> effect, and will ThinkPads remain quite unchanged for some time?
> If this could possibly be my last opportunity to get a real ThinkPad,
> perhaps I ought to go and get it soon.
>
> Trouble is, I've quite lost track of the various models, and don't
know
> where to go. Because I would want it to last as long as possible, and
keep up
> with changes in software for as many years as possible, I would probably
give
> preference to a very powerful, high-end model. I can't afford to upgrade
every
> year or two, so when I am forced to do it, I want to do it properly. If
it's
> bigger and thicker, that doesn't matter - it doesn't have to be the
slim-line
> type, since features and quality are more important to me than lightness
and
> slimness for easy carrying - and I'm prepared to pay well for a good one,
too:
> longevity of useful life is a more important consideration.
> I could use the Medion short-term, to organize my current space
problems,
> then migrate to the new ThinkPad. (It has to be able to run Linux, since
at the
> moment I am not considering going back to Windows.)
> Some people mentioned the T40 (I think) earlier as the ultimate
ThinkPad -
> would this be still so, or have things moved on since then?
>
> This possibly is a question where I should R.T.F.M. - but I don't
know
> which manual to read. There is so much information available that I end
up
> being totally confused by it, and I'm not very adept in hardware issues of
this
> sort.
> If this question is too R.T.F.M. to get direct answers here, could
someone
> please at least direct me to the manual to go and read? Would the I.B.M.
site
> give information in a way that would suit my level of not-very-advanced
> knowledge. Due to personal pressures, I haven't kept up with these
matters as
> much as I might have done; so I probably don't know the sources that I
should.
> I'd be grateful if anyone could suggest models that might suit my
needs. A
> high screen resolution would be a strong factor that I would favour; and I
would
> also like (if possible) to avoid any ThinkPads that have that rubberized
surface
> that peels off after a year or two. (I think sweat from one's hands is
what
> causes this, despite my repeated hand-washing to try to keep the computer
> clean.)
> I'm not sure if ThinkPads still include floppy drives: this would be
useful
> to me, although I could accept an externally-connected floppy drive. (The
> Medion doesn't have a floppy drive, which I find quite inconvenient, so
I'm
> going to have to buy an external floppy anyway - it has to be a U.S.B. one
for
> the Medion, I'm told.)
> I would be grateful for any opinions or suggestions on this. I don't
know
> how long ThinkPads as we know them will last, with this corporate change -
but I
> somehow feel an urgency to get a ThinkPad, all of a sudden, even if it's
only
> weeks after I got a Medion.
> Thanks. (I had been wondering whether I should unsubscribe from this
list,
> if I was moving away from ThinkPads; but I don't think I will, after all -
I may
> yet be coming back again.)
>
> Regards,
> Michael Edwards
>
> (all of a sudden longing to return to the
> ThinkPad fold again!).
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Thinkpad@stderr.org
> http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad

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Received on Thu Dec 9 20:46:55 2004