eBay. Just make sure the item description doesn't have the words "compatible" or "similar" in it - many of the resellers will send you a display that's compatible (i.e. will work in the same laptops) with the one listed in the title... the ones that state you'll explicitly receive the listed screen are usually 10-20€ more expensive, but mine were always brand new, with manufacturer-stickering and even original Lenovo FRU stickers on 'em...
Hmmm, not having run pirated Windows since the days of ME, I have to ask: Are you entirely sure the unlicensed copy is exactly the same? No restrictions in terms of support/updates and so on? I know certain hotfixes require that Genuine Advantage scheme, but I'm assuming there are ways around that.
" But hey, it makes Facebook and Word look pretty!"
For most users, that's probably the point. I know I'd rather be viewing Slashdot with twice or 4x as many pixels... mmm, 3840x2160 on a 15.6" laptop display... I think I'm about to start drooling.
Replacing a T or W series display (without the lid, antennas and so on) is very simple... no need to replace the entire display. I'm typing this from an Core i3 based T520 with the FullHD display, and it's awesome... not to mention costing about half as much as a machine configured with the 1080p screen from the get-go and running 80C max at full load (as opposed to 95-99C on Core iX models with turbo boost). If you want the high-end screen in a low-end model (for price, power consumption or thermal reasons), replacing the screen yourself is the way to go... just make sure you buy the right one:)
"Ultimately, even on desktop PCs, expansion capabilities really don't get people too far.... Sure, you can upgrade processors -- until AMD or Intel goes and changes the design of the socket and pin layout. Then you're just as stuck as the next guy with his CPU soldered onto the motherboard. Same issue with RAM. Most machines only provide between 2 and 4 DIMM sockets, with a motherboard chipset unable to map/use more than a certain amount of memory. So what usually happens? The RAM upgrade becomes a nice thing to have initially, for the folks who tried to go cheap on the initial system purchase and selected less RAM than was optimal to save a few bucks. They get the chance to "buy now and pay later" to put the RAM in that probably should have really been there from the start. But down the road? You wind up saying "Gee... I'd like to upgrade this PC to 16GB of RAM but the board only supports 8. Oh well....""
Actually, the big difference in RAM and hard drives is price - configuring the machine with 16 or 32GB of RAM at purchase is usually quite a bit more expensive than just buying top-of-the-line RAM and installing it yourself. Same goes for hard drives/SSDs, and it's even worse there because there are very tangible differences between different hard drive and SSD models, so it often makes sense to get a specific drive (which usually won't be available in the configurator:p)...
Actually, (and I say this as a long time Thinkpad user) the new keyboard is _better_ in terms of typing feel... harder backplate, nice travel, less flex. If it weren't for the layout, I might consider upgrading from my T520...
Using Onenote with Thinkpad X series tablet PCs myself at the moment... and it's awesome. Syncs with Skydrive absolutely seamlessly (open the same document on as many devices as you want at the same time, and they all update each other - reliably and without errors), and provides great pen input. Sorry for sounding like a shilll, but it's the only adequate replacement I've found for pen and paper so far. My productivity has gone through the roof since I switched to OneNote instead of pen+paper, and my back pain from dragging around huge piles of dead tree has pretty much disappeared. Hell, I carry a 15" Thinkpad in addition to my tablet PC (each with AC adapters and a 9 cell slice for the T520) and it's still completely painless compared to all the books and binders full of paper I used to carry around:)
At the moment, I'm hoping I'll be able to replace my X Series tablets with a Surface Pro - 6+ hours of usable battery life in a much thinner package.
How exactly do you set up the keyboard when you want to work (physically)? I used to have one too, but it was too flimsy to use on my lap with the phone on it (there was a flip-out cradle of sorts built in - seemed to be made for much smaller, lighter phones though), making a laptop the better choice for when I was out and about... I always saw the appeal of having a full-sized keyboard in your pocket, but finding a place that would actually allow me to use it (and prop up the phone so that I could actually see what I was typing) was difficult. A laptop, on the other hand, I could use on, well, my lap:p
I'm down to carrying around a Galaxy Nexus and a Thinkpad everywhere these days, so it's a choice of either using the touchscreen (which sucks) or the real deal - I _would_ like a way to type properly on the Galaxy Nexus, though... any suggestions?
So that you can properly automate functions on the phone itself - many scripting apps can access root-restricted parts of Android, and are therefore quite a bit more flexible when the device is rooted. As a simple example, just take a look at GScript.
Yes, but this isn't an example of overthinking - he wants to invest a few hours of his time into saving hundreds of hours later down the line - that's a good thing.:)
Just downloaded and tried out the PDF editing: No thanks - every second PDF has a screwed up layout in Word 2013... and every fifth one or so doesn't even open - you're just presented with a cryptic error message.
"Personally, I'm sick and tired of small theaters only offering you the 3D version of a given movie."
The article seems to be accurate though - after months of offering blockbusters only in 3D, our local theater is offering 'em up in all their 2D glory again... I"m so overjoyed that I'll actually be there tonight, spending way too much money on an uncomfortable seat, bad sound, overpriced popcorn and warm-ish beer watching that new Spiderman movie:)
Heheh, same here, except I built mine half a year ago for $50 and scavenged parts. Even HD video encoding is fast enough on that thiing... why bother upgrading? More money left over for machines I actually use constantly, like laptops.
Actually, there's a big difference. One shows running tasks and allows you to open or close ("dismiss") them. The other just shows you which apps you've most recently launched... makes a big difference for the way I use Android.
Which apps don't show up in the ICS task switcher? I haven't noticed any so far:)
They are fundamentally different, and recently opened apps was broken in that some apps (like GMail) didn't show up unless they were opened directly from the home screen - if you opened GMail by clicking on a new mail notification, it wouldn't show up in recently opened apps. This was fixed when they switched to the task switcher...
No matter which method you prefer though - don't you think the function is important enough to deserve a dedicated button? I know I do...
If I remember correctly, the issue was that app developers were hiding vital functions behind the menu button, and there was no way to know whether the menu button actually worked on certain screens. Take the Android WiFi settings as a prime example - to enter the advanced WiFi settings, you had to press Menu and then Advanced, even though there was no indication to the user, and there is no menu as such (i.e. the menu button does nothing) in any of the other Android settings dialogs - how is the user supposed to know that he can access a whole other dialog by pressing Menu and hitting "Advanced"? The only way to find out (unless someone tells you) is to go through every single screen of a new app and press the menu button on each one, to see if a different menu pops up somewhere - and this really was the case on MANY Android apps... you'd get access to an entirely different menu from screen A than from screen B, and certain settings would only be available by pressing menu when already in the settings dialog - very confusing for end users.
I do agree that they should have kept the menu button in the same place though. Maybe just make the backlight (on devices where applicable) only light up when there's actually a menu available... and a better icon would have been nice... but tbh - I don't think I could have thought up a better one...
The absolute funniest is pedestrian navigation using the built in compass - every time a car drives by (massive metal object), the screen rotates a little. We're going to need a better system...
Agree about the menu button, disagree about the multi tasking button. It's absolutely necessary if you want to move from one app to another _without_ going to your home screen, opening the app drawer and then scrolling to the other app. If you need to switch back and forth a few times, you'll be pulling your hair out by the time you're done...
... the user who initially complained admitted that a buddy of his had tried to repair the phone after it had come in contact with an unknown amount of water... and of course, he promptly retracted his complaint.
What a jackass.
For everyone else: DON'T PUT YOUR FUCKING PHONE IN THE MICROWAVE.
"The $300 shitty computer can run pretty much anything you want to put on it. How many tablets and smartphones out there will even allow you to put any software you want on your device? Cheering on the post-PC era, with all the locked bootloaders and apps being pulled and features being removed after the device has already been sold via mandatory updates, seems a little short-sighted to me. I'll welcome the post-PC era when all the tablet and smartphone manufacturers aren't raping consumers for every penny they possibly can while deliberately degrading the experience of their previous devices to force users to throw their device into a drawer and buy a new one just to run the newest Angry Birds."
So... you'll welcome the post-PC era when tablets and smartphones are PCs?:D
LOL Wut? The PCs have been pretty much ahead of the curve compared to Apple on everything but shiny. Frankly intel is pushing Ultrabooks not because Apple made the air, but because the average laptop goes for $400 and they know their new core chips can't be sold on machines with THAT low of a margin which is why they are trying to push a market where they can sell i5s and i7s.
Frankly Apple has NEVER been ahead of the curve, they are a brand, like Prada and Nike. You look at even the machines Apple releases on their refresh and you can get machines that very same day that have MOAR power, MOAR memory, MOAR speed, and cost less. the ONLY thing that sells Apple is the brand, because it'll never be hip to carry a Dell or an HP, that's all.
Just a little bit delusional, aren't you?
Hate Apple all you want, but they deliver a very cohesive package when it comes to laptops, all-in one desktops and smartphone, and it's an experience that non-Slashdotters can actually have without calling a tech geek to set it up for them.
As for never being ahead of the curve - that's just bullshit. Have you SEEN a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air in person? Or an iMac? They're quite impressive haptically and performance-wise, ESPECIALLY when compared to "regular" Windows machines (the type of thing you'd buy at a big-box electronics store) running a crapware-laden manufacturer image... even more so if you don't compare them with an Ultrabook or other brand new notebook, but rather with Windows machines that were on the market when the 11.6 & 13" MBAs came out. Have you seen ANY new developments in the Windows laptop or Android smartphone world over the last few years that weren't at least "inspired" by Apple? I know I"m glad that my Galaxy Nexus and my Thinkpad work the way they do, but I have no problem admitting that many of the features were pioneered by Apple.
Yes, Apple products are often used by people more concerned with style than substance... but that shouldn't change your opinion of the actual products. I wouldn't give up my Thinkpads and custom-built desktops for any Apple device (mainly because I can do things with my machines that no Apple machine can do), but given the choice between a modern Ultrabook or a MacBook, I don't think I'd go with the Ultrabook - and I'm a die-hard Windows user.
Slashdot Mirror
eBay. Just make sure the item description doesn't have the words "compatible" or "similar" in it - many of the resellers will send you a display that's compatible (i.e. will work in the same laptops) with the one listed in the title... the ones that state you'll explicitly receive the listed screen are usually 10-20€ more expensive, but mine were always brand new, with manufacturer-stickering and even original Lenovo FRU stickers on 'em...
This one (German, but you should get the picture) is the FullHD 95%gamut screen that comes with the high-end T and W series models: http://www.ebay.de/itm/220887046677?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Pretty much plug and play.... :)
Hmmm, not having run pirated Windows since the days of ME, I have to ask: Are you entirely sure the unlicensed copy is exactly the same? No restrictions in terms of support/updates and so on? I know certain hotfixes require that Genuine Advantage scheme, but I'm assuming there are ways around that.
" But hey, it makes Facebook and Word look pretty!"
For most users, that's probably the point. I know I'd rather be viewing Slashdot with twice or 4x as many pixels... mmm, 3840x2160 on a 15.6" laptop display... I think I'm about to start drooling.
Replacing a T or W series display (without the lid, antennas and so on) is very simple... no need to replace the entire display. I'm typing this from an Core i3 based T520 with the FullHD display, and it's awesome... not to mention costing about half as much as a machine configured with the 1080p screen from the get-go and running 80C max at full load (as opposed to 95-99C on Core iX models with turbo boost). If you want the high-end screen in a low-end model (for price, power consumption or thermal reasons), replacing the screen yourself is the way to go... just make sure you buy the right one :)
"Ultimately, even on desktop PCs, expansion capabilities really don't get people too far.... Sure, you can upgrade processors -- until AMD or Intel goes and changes the design of the socket and pin layout. Then you're just as stuck as the next guy with his CPU soldered onto the motherboard. Same issue with RAM. Most machines only provide between 2 and 4 DIMM sockets, with a motherboard chipset unable to map/use more than a certain amount of memory. So what usually happens? The RAM upgrade becomes a nice thing to have initially, for the folks who tried to go cheap on the initial system purchase and selected less RAM than was optimal to save a few bucks. They get the chance to "buy now and pay later" to put the RAM in that probably should have really been there from the start. But down the road? You wind up saying "Gee... I'd like to upgrade this PC to 16GB of RAM but the board only supports 8. Oh well....""
Actually, the big difference in RAM and hard drives is price - configuring the machine with 16 or 32GB of RAM at purchase is usually quite a bit more expensive than just buying top-of-the-line RAM and installing it yourself. Same goes for hard drives/SSDs, and it's even worse there because there are very tangible differences between different hard drive and SSD models, so it often makes sense to get a specific drive (which usually won't be available in the configurator :p)...
Actually, (and I say this as a long time Thinkpad user) the new keyboard is _better_ in terms of typing feel... harder backplate, nice travel, less flex. If it weren't for the layout, I might consider upgrading from my T520...
Of course it has an LED backlit screen - CCFL backlit screens haven't been sold in laptops for years.
Using Onenote with Thinkpad X series tablet PCs myself at the moment... and it's awesome. Syncs with Skydrive absolutely seamlessly (open the same document on as many devices as you want at the same time, and they all update each other - reliably and without errors), and provides great pen input. Sorry for sounding like a shilll, but it's the only adequate replacement I've found for pen and paper so far. My productivity has gone through the roof since I switched to OneNote instead of pen+paper, and my back pain from dragging around huge piles of dead tree has pretty much disappeared. Hell, I carry a 15" Thinkpad in addition to my tablet PC (each with AC adapters and a 9 cell slice for the T520) and it's still completely painless compared to all the books and binders full of paper I used to carry around :)
At the moment, I'm hoping I'll be able to replace my X Series tablets with a Surface Pro - 6+ hours of usable battery life in a much thinner package.
How exactly do you set up the keyboard when you want to work (physically)? I used to have one too, but it was too flimsy to use on my lap with the phone on it (there was a flip-out cradle of sorts built in - seemed to be made for much smaller, lighter phones though), making a laptop the better choice for when I was out and about... I always saw the appeal of having a full-sized keyboard in your pocket, but finding a place that would actually allow me to use it (and prop up the phone so that I could actually see what I was typing) was difficult. A laptop, on the other hand, I could use on, well, my lap :p
I'm down to carrying around a Galaxy Nexus and a Thinkpad everywhere these days, so it's a choice of either using the touchscreen (which sucks) or the real deal - I _would_ like a way to type properly on the Galaxy Nexus, though... any suggestions?
So that you can properly automate functions on the phone itself - many scripting apps can access root-restricted parts of Android, and are therefore quite a bit more flexible when the device is rooted. As a simple example, just take a look at GScript.
Yes, but this isn't an example of overthinking - he wants to invest a few hours of his time into saving hundreds of hours later down the line - that's a good thing. :)
Just downloaded and tried out the PDF editing: No thanks - every second PDF has a screwed up layout in Word 2013... and every fifth one or so doesn't even open - you're just presented with a cryptic error message.
I'll stick with 2010, thanks...
"Personally, I'm sick and tired of small theaters only offering you the 3D version of a given movie."
The article seems to be accurate though - after months of offering blockbusters only in 3D, our local theater is offering 'em up in all their 2D glory again... I"m so overjoyed that I'll actually be there tonight, spending way too much money on an uncomfortable seat, bad sound, overpriced popcorn and warm-ish beer watching that new Spiderman movie :)
Heheh, same here, except I built mine half a year ago for $50 and scavenged parts. Even HD video encoding is fast enough on that thiing... why bother upgrading? More money left over for machines I actually use constantly, like laptops.
Oh, so it's more of an app bug, then?
Because the issue in Gingerbread and earlier was rather widespread when opening apps from their notifications.
Actually, there's a big difference. One shows running tasks and allows you to open or close ("dismiss") them. The other just shows you which apps you've most recently launched... makes a big difference for the way I use Android.
Which apps don't show up in the ICS task switcher? I haven't noticed any so far :)
Task switcher != Recently opened apps
They are fundamentally different, and recently opened apps was broken in that some apps (like GMail) didn't show up unless they were opened directly from the home screen - if you opened GMail by clicking on a new mail notification, it wouldn't show up in recently opened apps. This was fixed when they switched to the task switcher...
No matter which method you prefer though - don't you think the function is important enough to deserve a dedicated button? I know I do...
If I remember correctly, the issue was that app developers were hiding vital functions behind the menu button, and there was no way to know whether the menu button actually worked on certain screens. Take the Android WiFi settings as a prime example - to enter the advanced WiFi settings, you had to press Menu and then Advanced, even though there was no indication to the user, and there is no menu as such (i.e. the menu button does nothing) in any of the other Android settings dialogs - how is the user supposed to know that he can access a whole other dialog by pressing Menu and hitting "Advanced"? The only way to find out (unless someone tells you) is to go through every single screen of a new app and press the menu button on each one, to see if a different menu pops up somewhere - and this really was the case on MANY Android apps... you'd get access to an entirely different menu from screen A than from screen B, and certain settings would only be available by pressing menu when already in the settings dialog - very confusing for end users.
I do agree that they should have kept the menu button in the same place though. Maybe just make the backlight (on devices where applicable) only light up when there's actually a menu available... and a better icon would have been nice... but tbh - I don't think I could have thought up a better one...
The absolute funniest is pedestrian navigation using the built in compass - every time a car drives by (massive metal object), the screen rotates a little. We're going to need a better system...
Agree about the menu button, disagree about the multi tasking button. It's absolutely necessary if you want to move from one app to another _without_ going to your home screen, opening the app drawer and then scrolling to the other app. If you need to switch back and forth a few times, you'll be pulling your hair out by the time you're done...
... the user who initially complained admitted that a buddy of his had tried to repair the phone after it had come in contact with an unknown amount of water... and of course, he promptly retracted his complaint.
What a jackass.
For everyone else: DON'T PUT YOUR FUCKING PHONE IN THE MICROWAVE.
"The $300 shitty computer can run pretty much anything you want to put on it. How many tablets and smartphones out there will even allow you to put any software you want on your device? Cheering on the post-PC era, with all the locked bootloaders and apps being pulled and features being removed after the device has already been sold via mandatory updates, seems a little short-sighted to me. I'll welcome the post-PC era when all the tablet and smartphone manufacturers aren't raping consumers for every penny they possibly can while deliberately degrading the experience of their previous devices to force users to throw their device into a drawer and buy a new one just to run the newest Angry Birds."
So... you'll welcome the post-PC era when tablets and smartphones are PCs? :D
And yes, I agree with you 100% :)
LOL Wut? The PCs have been pretty much ahead of the curve compared to Apple on everything but shiny. Frankly intel is pushing Ultrabooks not because Apple made the air, but because the average laptop goes for $400 and they know their new core chips can't be sold on machines with THAT low of a margin which is why they are trying to push a market where they can sell i5s and i7s.
Frankly Apple has NEVER been ahead of the curve, they are a brand, like Prada and Nike. You look at even the machines Apple releases on their refresh and you can get machines that very same day that have MOAR power, MOAR memory, MOAR speed, and cost less. the ONLY thing that sells Apple is the brand, because it'll never be hip to carry a Dell or an HP, that's all.
Just a little bit delusional, aren't you?
Hate Apple all you want, but they deliver a very cohesive package when it comes to laptops, all-in one desktops and smartphone, and it's an experience that non-Slashdotters can actually have without calling a tech geek to set it up for them.
As for never being ahead of the curve - that's just bullshit. Have you SEEN a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air in person? Or an iMac? They're quite impressive haptically and performance-wise, ESPECIALLY when compared to "regular" Windows machines (the type of thing you'd buy at a big-box electronics store) running a crapware-laden manufacturer image... even more so if you don't compare them with an Ultrabook or other brand new notebook, but rather with Windows machines that were on the market when the 11.6 & 13" MBAs came out. Have you seen ANY new developments in the Windows laptop or Android smartphone world over the last few years that weren't at least "inspired" by Apple? I know I"m glad that my Galaxy Nexus and my Thinkpad work the way they do, but I have no problem admitting that many of the features were pioneered by Apple.
Yes, Apple products are often used by people more concerned with style than substance... but that shouldn't change your opinion of the actual products. I wouldn't give up my Thinkpads and custom-built desktops for any Apple device (mainly because I can do things with my machines that no Apple machine can do), but given the choice between a modern Ultrabook or a MacBook, I don't think I'd go with the Ultrabook - and I'm a die-hard Windows user.
Yes. This is the one that end users will notice immediately...
And also that huge touchscreen table project of theirs from a while back...