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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."
Whoopty doo?
The on keypad volume now goes to 11 !!
If there is a big Lenovo sticker on the lid right in the middle, that looks like it's covering something up, something fruitlike, then don't buy them....they could be a few years old..
You might cringe, but at least it beats the free Opera dupe story that was originally here.
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
There should be a special punishment for people who post stories abut how something looks, and then the link has no pics of it...
that titanium is flamable ???
ok, it takes in excess of 4000C to ignite it, but with the heat those things are putting out i believe they'll soon have to recall the notebooks and replace the titanium by asbestos or ceramic compounds...
What ? Me, worry ?
Yeah, so Lenovo has a titanium top cover on their laptop, while the Powerbook had a complete casing made of titanium. (The chassis was magnesium). Of course Titanium was expensive, and had problems with holding paint and could not be effectively anodized, leading to the new aluminum Powerbooks, but hey....They were sooo cool, and even though they have not been around for a couple of years, still look better than most of the current laptop offerings from other companies.
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IBM in 1999 offered individual buyers "optional coloured covers" for laptops in Mars Red Metallic, Andromeda Green or Polaris Blue for an extra US$30. The idea did not take off.
Uh, maybe because the charged $30 extra? Also, the color names sound like they are marketed to 8 year olds. Considering who buys these things, they would have been better off with "Merger Magenta" or "Big-bonus Blue". Seriously, titanium is not that extreme.
Didn't Apple move to aluminum because the titanium interfered with WiFi reception?
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Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
... 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.
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.
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Check out this link on Apple's support site. I work with dozens of PowerBooks and iBooks and have never experienced the problem you describe unless there was a problem with the antenna.