Slashdot Mirror
Lenovo Could Remake the ThinkPad X300 With Current Technologies
MojoKid writes: The ThinkPad brand has been around for a long time; the first model was introduced by IBM way back in 1992. And although technological advances over the past two decades have lead to Lenovo ThinkPads that are lighter, much faster, and highly more cable than any model in the early 1990s could have ever imagined, there's still a clear visual link between yesteryear and today with regards to design cues. Well, apparently, Lenovo is seriously toying with the idea of making a "unique" model that would incorporate some of the strong ThinkPad language that has been erased in recent years. "Imagine a blue enter key, 7 row classic keyboard, 16:10 aspect ratio screen, multi-color ThinkPad logo, dedicated volume controls, rubberized paint, exposed screws, lots of status LEDs, and more. Think of it like stepping into a time machine and landing in 1992, but armed with today's technology." It might not be for everyone but some execs at Lenovo think there might be a market for it.
Shut up and take my money!
"have lead to Lenovo ThinkPads that are lighter, much faster, and highly more cable"
I would've thought modern Lenovo's would be highly more WiFi than cable
My first Thinkpad was the original Thinkpad 700 with DOS. I used to hit the Thinkpad, throw the Thinkpad against walls, smash the Thinkpad with my fists, and urinate on the Thinkpad. Once, a whale ate my Thinkpad and I pursued it for weeks across the ocean until it defecated the Thinkpad back out. The Thinkpad booted up to prompt on the first try after that. Is there any laptop more celebrated on Slashdot. I think not.
>> Re:Highly more cable
Do NOT Google that.
Insensitive clods.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Neat idea. But please ditch the old keyboard light. It was cute back in the 90ies, but seriously not anymore.
Individually lighted, dimable keys please. If Apple can do it, so can you.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I'd buy it if it had the old (non-chiclet) keyboard!
99.9% of customers don't care about an open source BIOS.
The trackpad is useful. The Window and Menu keys can be used with keyboard shortcut combinations. Taking away functionality that users have grown accustomed to and is expected by the OS is not a good business decision.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
when was the last time you used Linux?? Running Ubuntu Mate on a T61p right now, never skipped a beat from the moment it was install.. Compare that to my POS win7 work laptop that has been higly crappified by security and you'd choose linux everyday too.. Apple bahhh walled garden
Imagine a blue enter key, 7 row classic keyboard, 16:10 aspect ratio screen, multi-color ThinkPad
so, Imagine IBM. This won't happen, and not because of cost or market, but because Lenovo has betrayed its actual intent as a profiteering multinational. Superfish should be all the average slashdotter needs to know about this company to arrive at the inevitable conclusion that lenovo is committed to realizing a captive audience and perpetual marketing revenue stream through their hardware. The only reason superfish was stopped was because lenovo got caught, not because they cared about what you think or how you approach general purpose computing.
brand me a nihilist but commodity computing is dead. Dell, HP, and even apple all do the same marketing and targeted advertising song and dance. if its not bloatware its shady 'privacy settings' in the OS that are disabled by default. most laptops are nothing more than 20 gigs of branded content and apps store turd polishing. desktops are the literal epitome of the cheapest chinese plastic that can be extruded into peripheral and PCB form, combined with a disingenuous and underhanded disrespect for the users intelligence. restore partitions replaced media and the average consumer started getting coddled at the 4th grade level for everything from return and repairs to power user options and even system administration.
build your own. pick an OS you like that helps you do what you want, not what some think tank in a conference room whiteboarded. And as for lenovo, you can have my full size aluminum tower when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Here's a link to the actual blog post from Lenovo. At the end the author says, "If you think Lenovo should make the retro inspired ThinkPad, or have suggestions on how to make it better, please post your comments here. We're listening."
After buying some Thinkpads X230, I discovered that I can only use the mini-pci slot with cards approved by Lenovo, and included in their stupid BIOS whitelist.
I won't buy a Thinkpad again until Lenovo stops this abhorrent practice.
And please, no more excuses for this behavior.
This could never happen with an opensource BIOS.
Perhaps Lenovo, even if they don't actually build this particular widget, should think very carefully about the fact that "Hey, what if we released a product that was just like what Thinkpads were before we started fucking with them?" is the most exciting idea they've had in a long time.
That may not be fun feedback; but it's important to know your strengths; and your limits.
Please Lenovo, take my money. :-)
Seriously, this may end up a very good example of a company finally getting the message and listening to what customers want. I have been a huge ThinkPad fan for ages, even when they were made by IBM and impossible to afford unless your company bought one for you. The last three generations of ThinkPad T-series models have taken away the traditional IBM keyboard (although the replacement is still half-decent), TrackPoint buttons and LED indicators, probably in an attempt to look like a MacBook Pro. The last model (T450/550) restored the buttons on the TrackPoint, but still lacks the lower physical buttons on the touchpad.
All this time, all the traditionalists have bitterly complained and taken their money elsewhere. I'm living with the T540p now, hate the touchpad but I can't find another non-rugged laptop that can take the daily abuse it gets. (Funny note - being a product engineer for our company, I just had a meeting with a bunch of product managers last month. Each one of them had an identical MacBook Air. I hauled out my monster ThinkPad, and they said, "Heh, we need to get you a new laptop.")
It's kind of like Windows 8. Yes, _most_ people like shiny flashy things; that's why Apple products sell well. But there's another market segment that appreciates solid design and functionality. Alienating these people, who have just as much money to spend as the shiny flashy people do, is a good way to lose customers!
+1 to that.
Windows is no longer useful to the power user or developer in a corporate environment (that doesn't grok these things), just because security policy will usually demand that your computer is made to be useless, because an unrestrained computer is a powerful general purpose tool, and in most people's hands, a powerful tool is going to lead to unpleasant injuries fairly quickly.
The effort then required to work around the security so you can actually do your job gives me an acid stomach. The new fad is whitelisting, which means I have to approve of every program that I run on my machine. Including the ones I write. Even batch files.
Oh, but not new JAR files. >-<
Security theatre, makes you sick. People are making big bucks off this shite.
... it included the tank like build quality of the old ThinkPads and wasn't just a visual overhaul.
The Intellipoint controller is the single best pointing device I have ever used. Better then a mouse because there are 4 less fingers away from the keyboard. Don't even get me started on touchpads, they are so inaccurate it is laughable.
If I want to buy a laptop and want to use it regularly for a long time without having to think about buying another, I buy a Thinkpad.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
As a proud owner of Thinkpad 420 and X201, I want to say definitive YES! to this idea.
:-)
An ideal notebook will have:
1) a MATTE screen (no glassy nonsense, please!), preferably 4:3 (important for people who actually DO the job on the notebook instead watching films)
2) traditional, normal, sane keyboard (no ridiculous chicklet, please!)
3) decent computing power
4) standard power cable (like on all other Thinkpads)
5) ability to disassemble the whole thing with a screwdriver
And like other Slashdotters said, "Lenovo! Give me that X300 and take my money!!"
Key layout it's been the same for 100+ years. Can't you just memorize it? It's not that hard.
I'd say, no backlight and sturdy non-chiclet keys like they use to have.
I wish all the manufacturers (specially lenovo) stop copying Apple's 'cool' designs.
This is Thinkpad we're talking, people don't look up on classic models for the color if the Enter key, but because they were trusty machines, unbreakable, good battery life, mate high resolution displays and a very good keyboard for a laptop.