This. The only things that will actually use a modern CPU to near its full extent are computationally intensive tasks like rendering, encoding HD video or other stuff now normal person ever does on their home computer. OK, Starcraft 2 is pretty taxing on a single core, and Battlefield 3 64-player uses a fair bit of CPU... but other than that?
If I were you I'd focus on power usage - replace those Phenoms with Ivy Bridge Celeron dualcores with IGP and drop your machines' power consumption down to a quarter of what they're currently using.
Of course it makes sense - you bought a Windows 8 machine because your mother needed a new machine, and you have no problem installing Linux on it.
The sales that are slipping through PC makers' fingers are the "Oh, my old laptop with the factory Win7 install still works perfectly well, but I'm in the mood for something new that's slimmer/lighter/has better battery life." When faced with the prospect of upgrading to a new machine and having Windows 8 on it (and actually wanting to use Windows), it's a pretty easy decision to just stick with what you already have.
I bought a Windows 8 machine myself, so I'm actually a traitor in that respect, but I needed a full-blown Windows tablet with decent battery life for OneNote, and Windows 8 Atom tablets are the only option so far...
However, users rarely interact with the OS of devices such as routers. If the only thing you ever see is a web interface on the router, are you really using its OS?
TVs or Blu-Ray players may qualify, Android devices certainly do, but kitchen appliances, GPS units, networking hardware...? Meh.
LOL. You know, even Intel integrated graphics from 2 generations ago (as in Penryn Core2Duos!) were able to output 2560x1600 via DisplayPort, and they run perfectly smooth in web and office - including hardware video acceleration. FullHD video is absolutely not a problem.
You should really read up on this stuff (or even better: try it out yourself) before spouting off stuff like this.
The problem isn't that the thing I'm searching for isn't at the top, but that you need to manually switch to the settings search before control panel applets and settings panels will even show up at all.
Unless you want to launch a control panel applet or some other setting. What was "start-button, type, enter" on Windows 7 is now "start-button, type, search for mouse pointer, locate settings button, click, enter".
That's a completely separate issue though - your old tube amp (I've owned a few, so I can understand where you're coming from) and the tape recorders are anything but transparent. Technically, they're horribly bad at audio reproduction, because they change the sound significantly. In the audio chain, you could think of a tube amp or tape recorder as the equivalent of an effect pedal. There's no reason you couldn't record the single tracks on tape and then transfer to digital....
I've read that 24bit is essential for maintaining SNR during recording, mixing and mastering, even if the end product will be mixed down to 16 bit... but even then I haven't been able to tell the difference (I have "enthusiast" recording equipment though - nothing high end).
Long story short, I like CDs and FLAC in 16bit/44.1kHz.:)
Hmmm, I actually quite like the screen (I have exactly the same LCD panel in my T520) - did you get stuck with one of the low-res options by any chance? The 1080p panel is actually pretty good if you can look past the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Nobody knows that for sure except Lenovo employees. However, going on past experience, the changes from these "prototype" machines usually do make it into the main Thinkpad lines after a generation or two - see the chiclet keyboards with 6-row layout:(
Lossless with high res scans of the booklet, with perfect tags and the ability to redownload if all my hard drives and backups die at once? Definitely worth a few bucks imo.
Pirated versions are a bit hit and miss in these regards... I tend to use them for a first listen before purchasing the real deal, although Spotify has pretty much taken over for that.
The issue here is your selection of half-working Linux distros. 2009 Thinkpads run perfectly well with Windows, and Lenovo's driver support (especially power management) is actually pretty good. Yes, the screens desperately need upgrading (although tbh, they've gotten better - the 1080p Thinkpad screen I'm typing this on is fantastic, but just a little bit low-res these days), but other than that, your post screams user-error.
1. Soldered CPU 2. Soldered RAM 3. Proprietary non-user-replaceable SSD 4. Fundamentally broken 6-row keyboard layout (Prominently features print-screen button WTF???) 5. Mediocre screen resolution and no upgrade options 6. No Ultrabay 7. Short-ass battery life (only ~45Wh battery capacity)
Compare that to a traditional 14" Thinkpad from the era before 6-row chiclet keyboards:
1. Socketed, swappable CPU 2. User-swappable RAM 3. User-replaceable HDD/SSD of your choice 4. Full desktop-style keyboard layout with separated F-Key blocks and the Del/Home/End block 5. Same mediocre screen resolution (this is the one spot where they didn't screw themselves) 6. Ultrabay for an additional hard drive 7. 94Wh batteries if you don't mind a bit of extra weight
So yeah... "Thinkpad series hasn't changed one bit" my ass...
It's not even the chiclets that are annoying (the "backboard" is actually nice and stiff which makes for a nice typing feel), but rather the 6-row layout they switched to... it's no longer a desktop keyboard condensed into a laptop form factor, but rather just a cheapo laptop keyboard like everyone else offers.:(
How are you faring with the 6-row keyboard layout on the W530 and T530? I used a T430 for about half an hour and was ready to throw it at the wall afterwards... stupid stupid stupid stupid. Why would they take away F-key spacing and the Del/Home/End block?
The T431s is likely to be the T430s's next-gen replacement. So no, they probably won't still be making the T430s.
I'm hoping these features (or rather lack thereof) won't be making it into the mainstream T series (replacements for the T530 and T430), but tbh, when they switched those over to the 6-row chiclet keyboards, they became almost unusable... the only thing that would keep me using a Thinkpad with a non-standard keyboard layout is the fact that no other manufacturer offers laptop keyboards with standard desktop-style layouts any more either:(
It's not only the quality. They're killing off all the features that make me want to keep using a Thinkpad.
1. The 7-row full keyboard layout with the Delete/Home/End island and separated blocks of F-keys 2. The trackpoint buttons 3. A way to keep the lid closed unless I decide I manually want to unlatch and open it (the latch-hooks are being or rather have been removed on most models) 4. Big swappable batteries - I'm typing this on a machine with a 94Wh 9-cell that gives me about 12 hours of battery life. The devices they've shown so far with integrated batteries are all 40-50Wh 5. Easily swappable RAM and hard drives with multiple places to actually stick hard drives so you can use two or three at once
And through all this, they still haven't added any decently high display resolutions. Yes, I"m typing this on a 15.6" Thinkpad T520 with a 1920x1080 screen, but tbh at this screen size I'm yearning for 2560x1440 at 100% Windows scaling...
I've actually been looking into getting a 13" MBP Retina and running Windows on it, but unfortunately all the Mac users I ask either say "Just use OSX" or have no idea what kind of battery life I can expect in Windows... and tbh, 7 hours (the "wireless web" runtime in OSX) is cutting it a bit close already:(. And then there's the price - I'm running my Thinkpad with a 256GB SSD as the system drive and a 1TB hard disk as the data drive... I'll need to get at least the 768GB SSD option on the MBP:(
But what're the alternatives? Dell? Much crappier driver support than Lenovo, better on-site support, much much much worse input devices... What do I do when my T520 (I'm planning on upgrading it to a dual core i7 when the i3 I bought it with for thermal reasons starts to become too slow) is too slow to keep me happy? I think I'm fucked, tbh... I'll probably be clinging to this T520 until the mainboard dies or the backlight expires...
Is it possible that you use rather few applications? Maybe you're one of those people who only needs a terminal or a browser window to be happy...?
I usually have a ton of stuff open at once, split over multiple virtual desktops, and if I have to jump through hoops to switch between programs or get them tiled properly (quickly and efficiently!) my productivity goes down the tubes... that's what makes it so important to have a window manager that works exactly the way I want it to.
I haven't found a Linux DE that does this the way I want it to yet, btw. - I'm currently on Win7 with Winsplit Revolution, Allsnap and Dexpot. Mint with Cinnamon looks nice, but I haven't explored tiling options there yet...
"We had to install Windows XP on some newer Lenovo systems, for temporary project. It worked surprisingly well. These were Sandy Bridge Core i5 systems, with Intel graphics, and Realtek NICs. We were able to get graphics, sound, and network all working without a problem. It wasn't as easy as setting up Windows 7, which they were designed for, but it worked. While these are exactly latest hardware, they're not all that old."
That's because Lenovo provides driver support back to XP (and even Win2K for some) for all enterprise products up to and including the Ivy Bridge generation (i.e. Thinkpad T/X/W *30), and possibly even Haswell when that arrives. Drivers and so on are all available on their support site.
People who use other hardware may not be so lucky... getting decent battery life on a laptop without proper driver support is difficult, for instance. Or getting certain IO features (special hotkeys and so on) working... it's less of a problem on desktops, but on mobile devices, it can be a real PITA...
Why would you go to a LAN party without internet access? I haven't been to one for years, but even back in the day (like 5+ years ago) we always had interenet access so we could play things like CS on 32 player servers and such...
It's even worse the other way around - I have no interest in single player and main as Terran, so I've spent 40€ on widow mines, pre-siegeable siege tanks and the medevac boost...:(
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This. The only things that will actually use a modern CPU to near its full extent are computationally intensive tasks like rendering, encoding HD video or other stuff now normal person ever does on their home computer. OK, Starcraft 2 is pretty taxing on a single core, and Battlefield 3 64-player uses a fair bit of CPU... but other than that?
If I were you I'd focus on power usage - replace those Phenoms with Ivy Bridge Celeron dualcores with IGP and drop your machines' power consumption down to a quarter of what they're currently using.
Of course it makes sense - you bought a Windows 8 machine because your mother needed a new machine, and you have no problem installing Linux on it.
The sales that are slipping through PC makers' fingers are the "Oh, my old laptop with the factory Win7 install still works perfectly well, but I'm in the mood for something new that's slimmer/lighter/has better battery life." When faced with the prospect of upgrading to a new machine and having Windows 8 on it (and actually wanting to use Windows), it's a pretty easy decision to just stick with what you already have.
I bought a Windows 8 machine myself, so I'm actually a traitor in that respect, but I needed a full-blown Windows tablet with decent battery life for OneNote, and Windows 8 Atom tablets are the only option so far...
However, users rarely interact with the OS of devices such as routers. If the only thing you ever see is a web interface on the router, are you really using its OS?
TVs or Blu-Ray players may qualify, Android devices certainly do, but kitchen appliances, GPS units, networking hardware...? Meh.
LOL. You know, even Intel integrated graphics from 2 generations ago (as in Penryn Core2Duos!) were able to output 2560x1600 via DisplayPort, and they run perfectly smooth in web and office - including hardware video acceleration. FullHD video is absolutely not a problem.
You should really read up on this stuff (or even better: try it out yourself) before spouting off stuff like this.
Bullshit. 1280x1700 for the browser, 1280x1700 for the office program you're currently using... no more need for dual monitors ;)
I do the same thing on 1920x1080... split screen is a godsend when you don't have multiple monitors (which is generally difficult on a laptop). :)
The problem isn't that the thing I'm searching for isn't at the top, but that you need to manually switch to the settings search before control panel applets and settings panels will even show up at all.
Unless you want to launch a control panel applet or some other setting. What was "start-button, type, enter" on Windows 7 is now "start-button, type, search for mouse pointer, locate settings button, click, enter".
It's for office and internet, not gaming.
That's a completely separate issue though - your old tube amp (I've owned a few, so I can understand where you're coming from) and the tape recorders are anything but transparent. Technically, they're horribly bad at audio reproduction, because they change the sound significantly. In the audio chain, you could think of a tube amp or tape recorder as the equivalent of an effect pedal. There's no reason you couldn't record the single tracks on tape and then transfer to digital....
I've read that 24bit is essential for maintaining SNR during recording, mixing and mastering, even if the end product will be mixed down to 16 bit... but even then I haven't been able to tell the difference (I have "enthusiast" recording equipment though - nothing high end).
Long story short, I like CDs and FLAC in 16bit/44.1kHz. :)
Uh... I thought the Retina devices no longer had optical drives?
Hmmm, I actually quite like the screen (I have exactly the same LCD panel in my T520) - did you get stuck with one of the low-res options by any chance? The 1080p panel is actually pretty good if you can look past the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Nobody knows that for sure except Lenovo employees. However, going on past experience, the changes from these "prototype" machines usually do make it into the main Thinkpad lines after a generation or two - see the chiclet keyboards with 6-row layout :(
Lossless with high res scans of the booklet, with perfect tags and the ability to redownload if all my hard drives and backups die at once? Definitely worth a few bucks imo.
Pirated versions are a bit hit and miss in these regards... I tend to use them for a first listen before purchasing the real deal, although Spotify has pretty much taken over for that.
The issue here is your selection of half-working Linux distros. 2009 Thinkpads run perfectly well with Windows, and Lenovo's driver support (especially power management) is actually pretty good. Yes, the screens desperately need upgrading (although tbh, they've gotten better - the 1080p Thinkpad screen I'm typing this on is fantastic, but just a little bit low-res these days), but other than that, your post screams user-error.
Let's stick with your X1 Carbon for a moment:
1. Soldered CPU
2. Soldered RAM
3. Proprietary non-user-replaceable SSD
4. Fundamentally broken 6-row keyboard layout (Prominently features print-screen button WTF???)
5. Mediocre screen resolution and no upgrade options
6. No Ultrabay
7. Short-ass battery life (only ~45Wh battery capacity)
Compare that to a traditional 14" Thinkpad from the era before 6-row chiclet keyboards:
1. Socketed, swappable CPU
2. User-swappable RAM
3. User-replaceable HDD/SSD of your choice
4. Full desktop-style keyboard layout with separated F-Key blocks and the Del/Home/End block
5. Same mediocre screen resolution (this is the one spot where they didn't screw themselves)
6. Ultrabay for an additional hard drive
7. 94Wh batteries if you don't mind a bit of extra weight
So yeah... "Thinkpad series hasn't changed one bit" my ass...
It's not even the chiclets that are annoying (the "backboard" is actually nice and stiff which makes for a nice typing feel), but rather the 6-row layout they switched to... it's no longer a desktop keyboard condensed into a laptop form factor, but rather just a cheapo laptop keyboard like everyone else offers. :(
How are you faring with the 6-row keyboard layout on the W530 and T530? I used a T430 for about half an hour and was ready to throw it at the wall afterwards... stupid stupid stupid stupid. Why would they take away F-key spacing and the Del/Home/End block?
The T431s is likely to be the T430s's next-gen replacement. So no, they probably won't still be making the T430s.
I'm hoping these features (or rather lack thereof) won't be making it into the mainstream T series (replacements for the T530 and T430), but tbh, when they switched those over to the 6-row chiclet keyboards, they became almost unusable... the only thing that would keep me using a Thinkpad with a non-standard keyboard layout is the fact that no other manufacturer offers laptop keyboards with standard desktop-style layouts any more either :(
Good God I hope my T520 doesn't die on me :(
It's not only the quality. They're killing off all the features that make me want to keep using a Thinkpad.
1. The 7-row full keyboard layout with the Delete/Home/End island and separated blocks of F-keys
2. The trackpoint buttons
3. A way to keep the lid closed unless I decide I manually want to unlatch and open it (the latch-hooks are being or rather have been removed on most models)
4. Big swappable batteries - I'm typing this on a machine with a 94Wh 9-cell that gives me about 12 hours of battery life. The devices they've shown so far with integrated batteries are all 40-50Wh
5. Easily swappable RAM and hard drives with multiple places to actually stick hard drives so you can use two or three at once
And through all this, they still haven't added any decently high display resolutions. Yes, I"m typing this on a 15.6" Thinkpad T520 with a 1920x1080 screen, but tbh at this screen size I'm yearning for 2560x1440 at 100% Windows scaling...
I've actually been looking into getting a 13" MBP Retina and running Windows on it, but unfortunately all the Mac users I ask either say "Just use OSX" or have no idea what kind of battery life I can expect in Windows... and tbh, 7 hours (the "wireless web" runtime in OSX) is cutting it a bit close already :(. And then there's the price - I'm running my Thinkpad with a 256GB SSD as the system drive and a 1TB hard disk as the data drive... I'll need to get at least the 768GB SSD option on the MBP :(
But what're the alternatives? Dell? Much crappier driver support than Lenovo, better on-site support, much much much worse input devices... What do I do when my T520 (I'm planning on upgrading it to a dual core i7 when the i3 I bought it with for thermal reasons starts to become too slow) is too slow to keep me happy? I think I'm fucked, tbh... I'll probably be clinging to this T520 until the mainboard dies or the backlight expires...
Is it possible that you use rather few applications? Maybe you're one of those people who only needs a terminal or a browser window to be happy...?
I usually have a ton of stuff open at once, split over multiple virtual desktops, and if I have to jump through hoops to switch between programs or get them tiled properly (quickly and efficiently!) my productivity goes down the tubes... that's what makes it so important to have a window manager that works exactly the way I want it to.
I haven't found a Linux DE that does this the way I want it to yet, btw. - I'm currently on Win7 with Winsplit Revolution, Allsnap and Dexpot. Mint with Cinnamon looks nice, but I haven't explored tiling options there yet...
"We had to install Windows XP on some newer Lenovo systems, for temporary project. It worked surprisingly well. These were Sandy Bridge Core i5 systems, with Intel graphics, and Realtek NICs. We were able to get graphics, sound, and network all working without a problem. It wasn't as easy as setting up Windows 7, which they were designed for, but it worked. While these are exactly latest hardware, they're not all that old."
That's because Lenovo provides driver support back to XP (and even Win2K for some) for all enterprise products up to and including the Ivy Bridge generation (i.e. Thinkpad T/X/W *30), and possibly even Haswell when that arrives. Drivers and so on are all available on their support site.
People who use other hardware may not be so lucky... getting decent battery life on a laptop without proper driver support is difficult, for instance. Or getting certain IO features (special hotkeys and so on) working... it's less of a problem on desktops, but on mobile devices, it can be a real PITA...
True... Much easier to get away after dropping on a mineral line now :-)
Why would you go to a LAN party without internet access? I haven't been to one for years, but even back in the day (like 5+ years ago) we always had interenet access so we could play things like CS on 32 player servers and such...
We don't all live in the outback...
It's even worse the other way around - I have no interest in single player and main as Terran, so I've spent 40€ on widow mines, pre-siegeable siege tanks and the medevac boost... :(