does anyone remember thinkpads

Submitted by twovests in just_post

God I remember 5 years ago, having a Lenovo Thinkpad with Linux installed was just Normal for being a CS or programmer kid who was engrossed in ~hacker culture~. If you saw someone with a Thinkpad, you could just engage them in conversation about their .vimrc or whatever.

Then Superfish blew up in 2015 and Lenovo's reputation plummeted. Context: Lenovo added malware at the firmware level to all their computers, such that you could not remove it by re-installing.

As an undergrad (and now grad) student in a CS program, their prominence dropped to 0 as people slowly replaced their laptops with Dells and other non-Lenovo-laptops.

I just can't get over how they destroyed their long-earned reputation and how much of a long lasting impact it had. I saw a Thinkpad again yestserday was my roommate was clearing out old shit.

Fuckoing Amazing.

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emma wrote

Oh yeah, I remember the Thinkpad.

I got an X270 back in 2017 and got to experience, in no particular order, the joys of:

  • Crashing during a firmware update on day 1 with the stock OS install, then having to use another computer to figure out there's a tiny reset hole on the bottom because holding the button for 5 seconds didn't work.

  • Keys having weakened clips and popping off after 5 months of use.

  • Clit^H^H^H^HNi^H^HTrackPoint™ drift.

  • Not being able to type because the Windows drivers stop key inputs while the TrackPoint™ drift is happening, and it's very difficult to get it to stop.

  • Sudden shutdowns with "musical" error codes you need an app on your phone to decode. Really.

  • Touchpad literally disintegrating beneath my fingers from day one. Tiny balls of microplastic just rubbing off for every stroke of the finger. Look up "thinkpad touchpad" on Google Images, and you'll see how prevalent this problem is.

  • If you used the click latch on the touchpad, the cursor could suddenly jump to somewhere else, causing a misclick.

  • Creaking in the chassis to the point people were staring at me while using it.

I avoided the Dell XPS because the camera points towards your nostrils, but in hindsight that would probably have been the better choice.

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flabberghaster wrote

Hmm I still have one that I got in like 2018 and I really like it. It's only had problems when someone (definitely not me stop looking at me) spilled beer all over the keyboard.

First thing I did when I got it was wipe it and install Linux on it and it's been great.

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hollyhoppet wrote

this is odd i have a thinkpad E595 (i'm using literally right now) and tbh i think it's the best built laptop i've ever had, excepting maybe my 2012 mackbook pro that lasted nigh on eight years of heavy use

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devtesla wrote

superfish never made it to thinkpads, only lenovo's cheaper laptops, but yea it was so bad

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bea wrote

I have two ThinkPads with me right now and I love them both. I'm typing this on a Gen1 X1 Carbon and to my right is my E495. Both run Linux of course (Void and temporary Fedora/Windows dual boot).

After years of use the X1's keyboard has one missing and one broken key and the fan tends to start making a weird noise when I move it but that's why I have the second one to replace it at some point.

I honestly don't think I could use any other laptop because for me the keyboard, its layout, and touchpad button placement are essential. I got really addicted to using PgUp/PgDown above the Left/Right arrow keys for switching workspaces and browser tabs with one hand. I also like that the Up/Down arrows aren't half the height of the other keys, I hate when laptop manufacturers do that. They're still smaller but just the right size.

Really the keyboard and the physical mouse buttons above the touchpad are the main reason why I got a second ThinkPad and not something else.

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cat wrote

I Will Accept Having Firmware Malware In Exchange For The Nipple. (this is your biyearly cat post)

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