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IBM Thinkpads now in Titanium
Darksoftnet writes "Lenovo (who now owns IBM's PC business), has introduced a new shade to the Thinkpad range with the launch of a Z-Series laptop that comes both in a "classic black" case
or a "special-edition" brushed titanium cover."
There should be a special punishment for people who post stories abut how something looks, and then the link has no pics of it...
And they all wanna be Apple.
So there is a different color thinkpad, and this is newsworthy? Not even a picture of the thing in the article. Nothing a can of spray paint wouldn't be able to do.
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I wouldn't mind having one of these, though. I have an iBook myself, my girlfriend has had an iBook and now has a ThinkPad, and a friend used to have a TiBook and now has a ThinkPad. All of us actually prefer the Apple hardware, which is queiter, lighter, runs longer on a battery, and has a proper CPU architecture, and (used to?) look better.
Of course, it depends on what's most important to you. A ThinkPad can run Windows, is generally faster (depending on the application), costs less on initial purchase, and has an internal wireless network adapter that is supported by Linux (I use a supported USB one with my iBook).
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Why in the world would you assume that? Lenovo didn't purchase the power pc line or even any machines that use it. They bought the line to get the thinkpad which is a damn good corporate laptop and thats about it. What about the purchase made you think that PPC or linux was Lenovos focus? Lenovo is just another Wintel Vendor, albeit one with a good laptop product.
... because it heralds the first noticeable change in the Thinkpad line since it was sold. Thinkpads have a reputation the workplace for reliability, performance and build quality; the corporate standard (usually HP) pales in comparison. Unlike the HP line, Thinkpads don't 'squeak' when you lean your hands on them, don't get too hot, don't make loud fan noises, don't crash mysteriously, and don't have their case colour rub off over time. A new titanium casing could be a disaster if it starts to rub off like it does on other makes of laptop because that will turn high-end corporate customers off in droves because it will be taken as emblematic of what will happen to the inside of the IBM laptop.
;)
I know, sounds like a little thing, but the solid case is a mark of quality that Lenovo can't afford to lose.
PS I love my Thinkpad
And what in God's name made you think that? They bought a division that makes laptops, running windows on intel chips. They're currently making laptops that run windows on intel chips. This should not be surprising They're in the business to make money, and linux/PPC isn't it.
Not to mention they didn't buy IBM's linux and PPC businesses.
They are doing things IBM would never have done with the Thinkpad line, but it's still a business - and I have to imagine customer demand for linux/PPC laptops is, outside of the /. market, quite low.
Why?! ThinkPads are perfectly good machines as they are; possibly the only PC laptops that don't plain suck in one way or another. Ever since IBM sold the line, I've been afraid the new owner would screw it up somehow.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
When are they going to come up with ideas that truly make your laptop better. Sure titanium is stronger than plastic, but I bet it costs a lot more. If it doesn't you're getting gipped on the plastic version. I want a laptop with better battery life. They have made advancements in batteries, but these have been trumped by making chips and drives that require more power. Where's my 10 hour laptop? and I mean 10 hours while actually doing real work on the laptop.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
whereas that's a nice color and everything, what's inside is what matters. I've always really respected IBM because contrary to what everyone else did, they always stuck with quality of design. They never had the fastest processors. They kept the insides simple, only what you need and no more. Now Lenovo is adding all sorts of connectors, buttons, shortcuts, changing the keyboards, basically fucking everything up. I just hope I can raise enough money to get an IBM T42p before they're not made by IBM any more. The T series is the best laptop that has and will ever be made. The very fact that IBM saw it as unprofitable is indicative of its supreme quality.
No Lenovo, bad move. Instead of distancing yourself from IBM you should spend the 5 years you have been granted in worship of the IBM design, understanding every little piece and reasoning that went into every corner and design. Only when you fully understand their genius, then can you try to duplicate and move the products in a worthy direction. Otherwise, you're going to drive the whole thing into the ground. Dell and HP already have you beat on the "do-it-all" laptops. You're never going to win there. The only thing you have is quality. Once you ruin that, you're fucked. And from your new buttons and architecture changes, it looks like you like getting fucked.
Slashdot is pioneering a new type of advertising that actually is disguised to appear as if it's actually useful information or "news". I like to call it "info-tising"! It's been used on our TV news broadcasts in smaller, more subtle ways for years, but Slashdot takes it to a new level, whereas they just barely try to conceal the advertisement.
One of the stated reasons for the x86 changeover is because of power consumption, and it's not because of the P4 architecture but because of PM and what will replace P4. While it is good compute-wise, the G4 is hobbled by a slow bus (167MHz vs 400MHz and higher) and smaller cache 512k vs. (1MB and 2MB), and really can't compete well.
I'm not really buying the battery life claims as people report longer battery life with Centrino laptops. Apple laptops aren't nearly the performance leaders they should be either, because it is held back.