Some misc. replies to this thread:
What to take to college:
slashdot.org I bought my T23 for the express purpose of three years of undergraduate work. If you're in the habit of falling off bikes, etc., you might want to consider a more disposable solution.
Carrying case: besides padding, it is important not to place pressure on the lid such that the LCD is marred by the keyboard/trackpoint. I cut a rectangle out of an unused plastic shower enclosure for added protection. Targus makes good stuff: In a professional leather case, the CLN5 is nice, but I wouldn't pay the asking price; I got a deal on EBay.
Amazon I also have a Targus backpack from
compgeeks. The notebook slot is (kinda thinly) padded on five sides and the straps are mainly constructed of polyester instead of nylon, but the carry handle is nice and I like the back pocket for storing the AC adapter without worrying about placing pressure on the T23. Worth the price, the 10% coupon codes apply; $6 FedEx ground to Seattle, 285 in stock.
I also like my
Eagle Creek computer vault. Bigger than it needs to be for the T23, it fits fine in an REI Bookpacker Plus pack. There are often coupon codes around for ebags.com (a site I really like).
By default, SpeedStep is in effect when the T23 is plugged in without the battery (WTF?) In control panel, power options, SpeedStep tab: I set "Plugged In" to Maximum Performance.
Memory: I'd consider 256MB a good working minimum for WinXP with OfficeXP. I don't know of any notebooks currently in production that still use PC133, so I wouldn't expect the price of the SODIMMs to decrease any time soon. 512MB total is plenty for me (I have Win2k installed), but I just bought a 512MB module "because": I've always had to retire computers because they lacked memory size before they lacked CPU speed.
Kingston works fine for me.
I've bought batteries off EBay, the full equivalent of what came with the machine. If they're gray-market, am I supposed to feel guilty?
The "Ultrabay 2000" is great; you can get a second battery in there (not quite as big as the regular one). I had a couple of 2.5" drives laying around, so I bought
a pair of these. They only hold the drive by the connector, so it's not a good "on the go" solution, unfortunately. Easy to boot from the 2nd HDD, though.
For backup of the stuff you're working on, I highly recommend USB pen drives (also called flash drives). The USB slots are vertical, so try to get a narrow pen drive. (I got a 16MB Pingtec off EBay that just fits: Samsung memory, OTi controller, "dual bootable".) The T23 can boot off of a USB floppy or CD, but not USB HDD.
Norton Ghost 2003 has drivers for the Intel PRO/100 (wired) ethernet; works great for backing up to a desktop.
IBM.com ThinkPad forum (posts are deleted after a couple months, unfortunately).
I set the trackpoint sensitivity to "Light Touch" (control panel, mouse).
Per the official IBM forum reply: there is no problem leaving the battery installed while working on AC power, and batteries should be drawn down to the 3% level at least once a month and then recharged. I guess LiIon batteries aren't supposed to suffer from "memory effect" but I treat them as if they do.
The biggest negative to this deal, and it applies to all makes: The industry standards for a "good" LCD are terrible. IBM will not take back a display until it has 8 or 9 bad pixels. My screen was perfect until I took it across town and back; now I have an always-on white speck. So even if you inspect the unit you're buying, the screen may not stay perfect.
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