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Lenovo Switches To Windows 10 Signature Edition Image For Its Future ThinkPad Laptops (mspoweruser.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Ahead of tradeshow CES 2017, Lenovo today announced major changes coming to its ThinkPad lineup of laptops and PCs. First, Lenovo has decided to ship 2017 ThinkPad models with Microsoft's Signature Edition Windows 10 right out of the box. So, users don't have to worry about bloatware anymore. Signature Edition PCs are clean, fast and protected. The second big announcement is that Lenovo is now offering optional Intel Optane 3D drives on select ThinkPad models. Due to the small capacity, initial Optane M.2 drives will be used for caching in the ThinkPad T470p, L470, L570, T470, and T570. Third, Lenovo is moving to the Microsoft Precision TouchPad drivers for consistent touchpad experience across ThinkPad devices. The Windows Precision Touchpad drivers provide high precision pointer input and gesture functionality.
Lenovo didn't like that all those third-party shovel-ware apps were getting in the way of their own spyware.
That's great no bloatware. What about the spyware for the Chinese government data collection?
Sounds wonderful, as long as I can insert a USB stick to boot from and install Mint on the laptop, which is the first thing I do to any computer I get.
MY OTHER COMMENTS
Now, the question is, is this going to be take two of the same BS they tried to pull, using proprietary drivers and disabling boot to other devices, in order to force users to use windows 10 and eliminate the ability to boot off of another OS, and failing that, to even see the hdd due to said drivers not being available under linux?
Yeah... That's exactly my idea of any Windows version.
Sorry, but Windows will never again be taken seriously. It's the same crap as every other shitty "cloud solution".
Spearfish and so called drivers that are really malware software that keep re-installing themselves through the Windows Store puts Lenovo in my DO NOT BUY list.
http://saveie6.com/
I bought a T440s a couple of years ago direct at a bargain price and it's been fantastic. As good as any ThinkPad I've used over the past almost 25 years including the T20, 600 series, 760 XL, 755 and 701. Probably a few others.
My Thinkpad P50 from this year already came with the Windows 10 Signature Edition, so I don't think this is actually new at all.
I can still dual boot this to linux.... right??
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
That may be true with the IdeaPad and other consumer level laptops from Lenovo. I challenge you to point out a better laptop on the market today than a ThinkPad. I just replaced my X201 with an X260 - only because I needed more RAM than my X201 could address, it still runs fine - and the X260 is faster, more reliable, lighter, and less expensive than the MacBook Pros that my colleagues opted for instead.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I just got an update of some Lenovo software crap on my thinkpad, and I'm not impressed.
First my laptop started to flash a Window while I was using it, and the CPU fan started to spin. I took a look in the task manager and saw that some kind of installer was running. I think the update was likely triggered by not having opt out of "Critical Update" in Lenovo Companion, except the updates do not show in installed updates.
The update ended up failing a little at first with a cryptic error message about a unspecified file that was not found. After a first reboot I got the same error popup. After several reboot and crazy CPU load for huge amount of time things started to be more in order, but now the CPU load is still notably higher at computer startup, after the logon.
Their new architecture with Lenovo Settings and Lenovo Companion is pure utter CRAP. You can get several dozen of Lenovo.Modern.ImControler.PluginHost processes, each using between 10MB and 20MB of RAM... Some of those process are also deferred spawn at startup or logon and consume non trivial amount of CPU, making the CPU fan spin a few times during a minute or a few minutes.
I then just launched Lenovo Settings and was greeted (after a huge load time) by a message asking for permission to install tools with cryptic names. That message is modal. It has no X button. The only button it have is OK... WTF? After clicking on it, after a while I was told I had to reboot my computer. WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK??? A few other reboot latter of my shutdown took forever (but eventually succeeded)
One of the stupid thing it installed was the "active protection" shit. This computer only has an SSD, so JUST GO TO THE FUCKIN HELL! And then die there in a "while true" loop, because the uninstaller is not listed anymore in "Program and Features". I nonetheless managed to find the uninstall command by searching in the registry, and to my horror the uninstaller informed me that part of this insane excrement was even loaded in explorer - one more reason to get rid of it.
I've removed "Lenovo Companion" but I'm hesitant to remove the "Lenovo Settings" and then the low level deps, because I'm not sure there is any other way than "Lenovo Settings" to control the "Dolby" sound option. So yeah Lenovo == spyware, broken and utterly bloated software using hundreds of MB to display 3 button, modal windows that make no sense, uninstallable crap, and so over.
I'm not sure if they will *REALLY* switch to signature edition, or if they will insist on their modern app slow and bloated craps like "Lenovo Settings". If they keep it, I'll not buy their laptops anymore. Laptop builder usually just don't know how to make software, and I don't understand why they continue to try to do so. 300MB of RAM and worse boot time to display a few dozen of on/off switch, most of them being already built-in in the OS, is even worse than unacceptable: the engineers who accepted to produce than shit should be euthanized.
Just buy a Surface Book; MS is way less likely to try to taint Windows...
To make their devices even cleaner, faster and most protected they could get rid of Win10 completely.
Now Im not saying they should install Linux instead, but while they are already looking for a decent OS to replace Windows... why not.
I think companies will still build their own image or use the Windows 10 provisioning tools to slice and dice the image deployed by the factory, but for Lenovo's laptops this makes sense. ThinkPad professional series users (T and P series) are paying a lot of money for their machines compared to the $300 consumer junk at the low end of the line. I'm just about to replace my T540p and the prices are super-high, almost Apple level margin. It should be noted that you do get what you pay for - ThinkPad users are pretty loyal customers and the laptops have a certain "anti-hipster" all-business look and feel.
I think all PC manufacturers should adopt this approach. Leave the bloatware for the consumer models...after all, everyone needs 3 firewall and antivirus applications running on home machines. Ever since Windows 7, Microsoft has been working with the vendors to build more of the software controls into the OS for various hardware components, reducing the need for buggy vendor applications to do things like control volume and brightness. (One of the worst things about building a hybrid desktop-laptop disk image for PCs is managing the multiple post-OS installations of vendor packages that are required to control things.)
This just makes good sense. It gets Lenovo some good press to put the bloatware security debacle behind them, and sets the tone for other manufacturers. After all, aren't PCs dying? Doesn't everyone use business apps on a 9" tablet screen? In that market, people who need PCs are going to pay specialty prices to get a quality product.
I didn't close my laptop backpack and my T430 fell out of it in a mall onto a hard tile floor. It bounced several times. No damage whatsoever, not even a chip. Compare that to a macbook, I dropped the same laptop on one from half a height once and it actually dented the keyboard surface of the case. I can't imagine what a drop from that height would do to a macbook. It certainly wouldn't look the same.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
You can avoid unexpected Windows 10 updates by setting the network connections to be "metered connections".
Windows will then avoid downloading updates in the background because it thinks you are paying a lot for the bytes.
Google "windows 10 metered connection"
We are talking about ThinPads here, not the garbage Lenovo sells at Walmart.
bios fake raid on the m2 cards used for caching?
Some windows only driver?
Even at 128GB I want to use the pci-e storage as an real boot disk and have apps and other data on an 2th disk.
T440s .....As good as any ThinkPad I've used over the past almost 25
LIAR, just look at that touchpad
at least they somewhat listen and fixed it back to normal with T450
Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
The T450 was a step in the right direction, now if only they would put the function and volume keys back where they belong....
My Dell has precision touchpad with Microsoft drivers. They suck in my opinion, just ask many who have complained about them with Dell's XPS line. I have a Inspiron and frankly the lack of customization is scary and you cannot install anything else if you don't like it. I end up using a mouse now because the touchpad lacks so much in precision.
I bought three Lenovos four years ago. Two Z570 and a G580, all with 4GB RAM and spinning rust. All still performing perfectly. Reinstall software is a push-button process (used once so far). Couldn't be happier.
I come here for the love
You don't need a touchpad when it has touchpoint. Much more accurate and no need to take your hands away from the keyboard.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
What the hell is Windows 10 Signature Edition? Is it a special SKU for Lenovo or do they mean just a plain vanilla Windows 10 Home installation?
I love how PCs without the pre-installed shitware are marketed by Lenovo as "clean, fast and protected".
What does that tell you about the PCs that don't come with the Signature Edition of Windows? Does that mean they're "dirty, slow, and vulnerable"?
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
I didn't close my laptop backpack and my T430 fell out of it in a mall onto a hard tile floor. It bounced several times. No damage whatsoever, not even a chip. Compare that to a macbook, I dropped the same laptop on one from half a height once and it actually dented the keyboard surface of the case. I can't imagine what a drop from that height would do to a macbook. It certainly wouldn't look the same.
Yeah, and you're getting one hour battery life from your new MacBook Pro, too, without providing a scintilla of evidence "because you're too busy". Yet you seem to have time to follow and respond to multiple Slashdot threads, including this one.
You sir are both a liar and a poser.
And I sincerely doubt you are a Developer as you alluded to yesterday by claiming you were "down to one hour of battery life after 50 charge cycles, running only Firefox and 'standard Development tools'." Yet you couldn't be bothered to look at Activity Monitor's "Energy" tab to see if something had inserted a big ol' fat drinking-straw into your MBP's battery, because "Apples are supposed to 'Just Work'."
Riiiiight...
So this just means that Lenovo is not embedding their spyware and malware directly into the hardware somewhere, and no longer need to install it through windows? gotcha.
Oh my god I have a stalker. I never thought this would happen in a million years. I take it as an absolute complement sir.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Not everyone is foolish enough to use a touchpad.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
We are talking about ThinPads here, not the garbage Lenovo sells at Walmart.
Yes, I am talking about a ThinkPad.
Incidentally, did you think Lenovo Settings has a shitty version for non-ThinkPad and a "good" one for ThinkPad? Because seeing the disaster the "good" one is, I wouldn't want to be within 1000000000km of shitty ones...
That is the problem, the touchpad in the 440 removed the trackpoint buttons, so if you want to use the trackpoint, even with the touchpad disabled it will respond to clicks, as it's needed for the trackpoint! Totally idiotic design!
With thousands of people reading Slashdot, it is completely unsurprising that someone would remember your name in connection with a comment they read earlier if the topic happened to be one that the person has an interest in. Just because somebody happens to remember a comment that you made before doesn't mean that you're being "stalked." Get over yourself.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
But this isn't just someone who has remembered a past comment, this is a person who took the time out of his day to seek out another one of my comments just so that he/she could respond. As a person who values his time, I an honored.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
So, users don't have to worry about bloatware anymore
ha ha ha .
or 'get office' or 'xbox live'.
or system notifications that your version of office is out of date?
because that is the signature of Windows 10...
Yep, my T450s is terrific. My history doesn't go back as far as yours, but my T450s has a better fit and finish than my T40 I bought new back in the day, the keyboard is just as nice (ok, except I do miss the 7th row), and I guess only time will tell if it proves as durable as that machine. It's certainly less creaky.
And my experience? On a laptop? If I CARED about sound quality, I'd not be using LAPTOP speakers, so I wouldn't personally care about dolby configuration at all. The sooner that the advanced features (dolby surround control etc) are built into W10 so there's no need for and 3rd party crap, the better.
I'm so glad my computer came with W7 pre-loaded, W8 disks and when I upgraded to W10, all the HP crap was blown away.
My disclosures before I get started - I'm a Thinkpad fanboy, sorry.
But look, what GP is saying is not that out of the world. I've dropped Thinkpads onto hard surfaces several times - they usually just bounce. One time a hinge broke, admittedly (but that was after 9 years of use...). Is this all that surprising given that most Thinkpads are tested to do this?
Everyone knows the aluminium shell of the macbook is fairly soft, and dropping in onto a hard surface leaves a floor-shaped mould on the laptop.
As long as they put back all the indicator LEDs and physical kill switches they removed in the last versions. I'll wipe Windows off anyway.
Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
except for the windows part!
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletins.aspx
Never thought I'd buy a Dell exact same words here, till I read about the XPS13, etc. then I stumbled upon this guy selling E6400's by the c***load for $99 apiece. Windows7 is ignored because I installed from a live USB.
Will return to Thinkpads that don't force Windows on me. It has been a while that the Windows Key was missing from Thinkpad keyboards. I may be with Dell for a spell... ...and today's captcha is exorcism
And you know that ... how?
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
The touchpoint was and is one of IBM and Lenovo's biggest mistakes! I remove the cap, so I don't notice that its there, and I can't inadvertently move the mouse pointer while typing. Yes, I have tried using them, they are nothing but a huge pain in the ass! I bet 99.99% of users that got an IBM laptop without a touchpad and just a trackpoint went and got themselves a mouse of some kind!
That is the problem, the touchpad in the 440 removed the trackpoint buttons, so if you want to use the trackpoint, even with the touchpad disabled it will respond to clicks, as it's needed for the trackpoint! Totally idiotic design!
And based on whether you use the trackpoint or the touchpad, the simulated buttons move to the top, or bottom of the touchpad respectively.
I avoid having to click the actual clickpad. Using 2-finger tap to right click reduced a lot of pain, though right click-drag actions seem painful as the cursor moves off the target while clicking.
By far the worst computer pointing device I've ever used.
The computer also only has 2 fucking USB ports even though the case has room for more (wireless mouse + USB VPN token = no more ports). And the keyboard is missing half the keys, and the function keys default to auxiliary functions (brightness, wireless, etc) which is fucking annoying when you direct someone to use a keyboard shortcut in an application and the wireless disables instead.
I have an L440 and its not bad, but it did come with that nutty touchpad. for $40 more, I could (and did) buy a direct replacement that had 3 real buttons. problem is, drivers for it are 'strange' and I can only access mine in a dumber mode. I never found the right win7 driver for that replaced pad. so it was actually a step backwards and while it kind of works and does look better (grin), its still not as good as if it came that way.
I have a t420is that is great. last of the real keyboards, had good port assortment and a useable 3button touchpad. since it was a current model, thru today, I only had to replace the dud fan/heatsink, and that was a $20 part from ebay and about 2 hours of time to get the tech ref manual and undo about 100 screws to get to it (sigh). after that, its good as new and good for another few years.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
From https://blogs.windows.com/wind... : "starting with Build 14942, we’ve changed this [active hour] range for PCs on Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions to 18 hours."
Ah, "consumer" vs "business" computers. I wonder whether this even makes sense.
I've had half a dozen ThinkPads, IBM and Lenovo, over the years. My current one is from 2009. I've dropped all of them multiple times - just something that happens when you work in a lot of different environments, with cords strewn around and whatnot. I knocked the latest one over onto a hard floor again just a couple of days ago, which probably makes at least two dozen times it's taken such a tumble (while running).
The only problem I've had with this one is dust and cat hair collecting in the vents to the point where it overheats. One IBM ThinkPad needed its CPU fan replaced after a few years. Another had the drive fail catastrophically, but that's more Hitachi's fault (it was a Death^WTravelStar). One eventually developed an occasional RAM failure; never tracked that down to RAM or motherboard.
On the whole, though, they've been very tough and reliable.