How come most company laptops are IBM Thinkpad?

[DukeN]

Well in the last three years, I've had five notebooks in total (Two toshiba, one Acer, one LG and currently a TP T61P) - all were near or the best spec available at the time. i can say without a shadow of a doubt, the T61p is my favorite. The one I currently have has a T9300, upgraded to 3 gigs, 160GB 7200rpm, 256MB nvidia Quadro, 15.4 1680X1050 non-glarebright screen (this is my favorite res by far).

Having owned 15+ notebooks in the last 6 years or so, iI would say the TPs would be my favorites by far.

 

[SpanishFry]

to early to call OPwnage ?

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
They're not particularly fast... horribly flawed ergonomically.. design is terrible... it's not particularly light or compact... also wtf.. 1024 x 768 in this day and age...

Why? My desktop got fried and I'm using the company Thinkpad. It's terrible. Aren't these really expensive too? Why?

They're getting you guys the wrong model! It sounds like they gave you some old X series or the G series Thinkpads (or maybe a really low end T series) when they should have got you a widescreen T series instead. They're fast, reliable, built like a tank, come with high resolution screens, and are relatively thin.

I feel the same way about my Dell Latitude laptop at work, though. After using a GOOD laptop, something with a puny 1024x768 screen, cramped keyboard, and no optical drive sucks. I'm sure that the XPS series laptops are great, though!

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
They're not particularly fast... horribly flawed ergonomically.. design is terrible... it's not particularly light or compact... also wtf.. 1024 x 768 in this day and age...

Why? My desktop got fried and I'm using the company Thinkpad. It's terrible. Aren't these really expensive too? Why?

They're reliable. At my old job people had Toshibas and Sony's with superior features, but they broke easily. The IBMs were rock solid.

Also, most IBMs don't have 1024x768 resolution unless you have computer illiterate bean-counters who think that going with the lowest grade screen is a good way to save money. My 600E from 10 years ago had 1024x768. My current one is 1400x1050 or something like that.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Most of ours are Dell. I'm kind of partial to Toshiba myself.

 

[GeekDrew]

I have a Dell Latitude D830, and it's the first non-Thinkpad that I've ever used that I consider somewhat well built. Aside from my new experience w/ the D830, I love Thinkpad quality. I hated them when I was assigned a G40, at a previous office, and foolishly declared that Thinkpads suck... then I saw that it was my company that sucked, and not the Thinkpad line. They're actually awesome.

 

[SampSon]

They get business rates.

 

[Woosta]

Originally posted by: Anubis
they lack a windows key, so they fail IMO simply for that

No, it's the opposite. People using windows fail.

 

[RandomFool]

I like my t60. It's pretty durable and well made enough. My only real complain is that it overheats after 3 hours or so of gaming.

 

[Triumph]

Bought the Thinkpad T30 that I'm typing on right now almost 6 years ago. I use it daily, it has been heavily traveled around the world, and it feels as good as new. No dead pixels, no dead keys, trackball and touchpad work great, etc. It has had some flaky motherboard problems over the years for which it was returned 3 times, and IBM service was very fast. I can't stand the look and feel of other people's Dells at work. Plus I love the nipple. Best mouse idea ever.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Woosta

Originally posted by: Anubis
they lack a windows key, so they fail IMO simply for that

No, it's the opposite. People using windows fail.

the windows key can be mapped into linux.

i dont have a spare key im willing to get rid of in linux to use as a "special" key (which is what the windows key is mapped as in linux)

just when i think i could use right alt or right ctrl.... i use them :-/

/loves the T40. its a trooper.

 

[440sixpack]

I think most of the reasons they are popular have been covered. I love my T42, 3 years and still completely adequate for my needs. It's not targeted as a consumer laptop, so you won't find the flashy new video cards in them (which would be huge heat generators / battery drains anyway), so that's why flashy design and consumer features have traditionally not been available on them.

The features I love about my T42 are:
Trackpoint (I can't stand touchpads)
Keyboard - awesome solid quality, I have a Thai KB and it has the best feel I've ever used on a laptop.
Flexview SXGA+ S-IPS screen, matte, no widescreen (the one thing that disappoints me about current Thinkpads, no S-IPS, but given where the screen market is going I can't entirely blame Lenovo)
Sturdy - took a 40" tumble onto a hardwood floor, no damage.
Black - I don't like silvery or light colored devices (personal preference).
Great battery time - with a new 9 cell battery, I could get 5 hours if I needed it.

Compared to my wife's Dell D520 it's, well... no comparison.

 

[simms]

T42 at home and D630 at work. Both are great.

 

[little elvis]

Loved the T40 I had for work, it was built like a tank, never had any problems with it. For the longest time I ignored emails and phone calls from the IT department regarding upgrades, I didn't want to give the computer up. 6 months ago, IT came to my desk, forcefully took my T40, what a sad day that was, especially since they replaced it with a HP/Compaq nc6400, which has already been in for repair twice in the 6 months I've had it.

 

[JJChicken]

Isn't it lenevo now?

 

[Colt45]

T = tank

black, square, trackpoint... that about covers what I look for in a laptop

 

[rh71]

A21 and then T42 now for work... 8 years total so far. Never had a single problem... stability, reliability... what else would a company want for their workers?

/commercial

 

[markgm]

One thing I love about the eraser head mouse on Thinkpads is that it corrects itself when it detects it's drifting. I've wanted to throw HP machines out the window for not doing that.

 

[livingsacrifice]

Our work computers are the Dell Latitude line of d800-830's I couldn't imagine using the IBM thinkpads but then again I've never actually used one myself.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: Barack Obama
Isn't it lenevo now?

For the most part I guess. The new systems we get all say "Lenovo" on them. But when we call the support line for warranty hardware issues it always says "Connecting you to IBM technical support in Atlanta, Georgia." And the warranty replacement hardware all comes addressed from IBM. I'm not sure why that is.

 

[soydios]

I :heart: my ThinkPad.

 

[imthebadguy]

Originally posted by: markgm
Not only do I love them for work, I buy them as my personal systems too.

word.....my company made a switch to dell laptops.....everyone hates it

I have a T61 at home and its a freakin tank....i love it

 

[crab]

T61 here...Love it. Best laptop I've ever had.

 

[murphy55d]

I have an older P3 733(i think) Thinkpad and that thing has taken so much abuse its silly. Still running strong! I hate usng my wife's Gateway. I just can't get used to a touchpad...gimme the little red nub anyday.

 

[MaxDepth]

When I worked for IBM (the last time), my original boss got me a T42 with an extended battery. Damn, I loved that machine. Of course there was a re-org and I got a new boss, who promptly let me go as part of his cost savings measures to kiss-up to the bean counters.

The bastard also knew I had the T42 and coveted it. He sent me an email to say he sorry that he had to let me go and could I please ship him my laptop? (jerk was also a remote boss)

Teh funny part: After I got that email, I was able to swap assets through the IBM on-line corporate asset manager with my office mate, who worked for a different boss and a different department.

My boss called to say WTF was I doing, sending him an old IBM 770? (thing weighed about 9-10 pounds) I told him that was my laptop, and please reference the asset tracker to confirm that it was indeed my laptop. He was so stupid that I know he didn't check into the history which would have shown him I switched the two. I bet all he saw was the current asset listing and description.

Still. The 770, if it runs, is very solid but because of the weight, should really be considered a small desktop.


EDIT: IBM sold the desktop and laptop companies to Lenovo. (I bet the Japanese laptop developers had a very hard time accepting that they would report to a Chinese boss. If they had a job, that is.)

IBM retained the support and help desk business because IBM makes the big money from owning support contracts and leveraging their patents. They really don't manufacturing anything except big iron servers, I believe.