So tempted...(IBM Thinkpad)

[aircooled]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

A20's A30's and some T series

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Entity
Now the real question: do I need SXGA? I haven't seen what 1400x1050 looks like on a small screen, but I've got great vision. Maybe I'll just live with the 1024x768, since I'm not sure SXGA+ is worth another $300.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Rob

Personally 1024x768 drives me NUTS! I have an old IBM X20 lappy I use as a beater and that is the one thing I hate about it.

And my eyesight ain't what it used to be (still 20/20 but having trouble focusing close up).

1400x1050 is PERFECT in my opinion. 1600x1200 is too much. But 1400x1050 is perfect.

 

[Amused]

Wow, it didn't take long for some FUD to hit this thread, did it?

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Entity
Now the real question: do I need SXGA? I haven't seen what 1400x1050 looks like on a small screen, but I've got great vision. Maybe I'll just live with the 1024x768, since I'm not sure SXGA+ is worth another $300.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Rob

Personally 1024x768 drives me NUTS! I have an old IBM X20 lappy I use as a beater and that is the one thing I hate about it.

And my eyesight ain't what it used to be (still 20/20 but having trouble focusing close up).

1400x1050 is PERFECT in my opinion. 1600x1200 is too much. But 1400x1050 is perfect.

The other problem, of course, being $$$. We're still in the beginning phases with this business so we're keeping costs as low as possible.

Rob

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Picked up a T40 for a co-worker. Awesome machine. Only complaint is the lack of windows key. Grrrr....I use that key extensively on a laptop...but for some reason IBM doesn't put on on there.

IBM has a program that gives you a virtual windows key using the Fn key. Have you tried it?

That's cool. Just found it on their site. Never new it existed. Thanks for the heads up!

link ? Search term ? Tried to no avail...

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Picked up a T40 for a co-worker. Awesome machine. Only complaint is the lack of windows key. Grrrr....I use that key extensively on a laptop...but for some reason IBM doesn't put on on there.

IBM has a program that gives you a virtual windows key using the Fn key. Have you tried it?

That's cool. Just found it on their site. Never new it existed. Thanks for the heads up!

link ? Search term ? Tried to no avail...

http://www-306.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-44185.html

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

It's going in for repair of a fairly minor issue (CDRom randomly disappears occasionally), and I really do beat on the thing, so I expect it. I've got nothing but positive things to say overall about both their service and quality, after owning a Toshiba in the past.

Rob

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

It's going in for repair of a fairly minor issue (CDRom randomly disappears occasionally), and I really do beat on the thing, so I expect it. I've got nothing but positive things to say overall about both their service and quality, after owning a Toshiba in the past.

Rob

Whew..if I had owned a toshiba previously, I'd be ecstatic about IBMs too!

 

[vi edit]

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

Which Dell's have you been buying? I've been quite underwhelmed with the Inspiron 1200's and 600m's I've received. Dell's build quality has gone to hell on the physical construction of their laptops. The trackpads are pathetic at best and the machines are made out of chintzy plastic that bends and stretches with very little pressue applied to them. I've was horrified at the gaps in trim and flimsy palmrests of the the 600m that I had.

 

[aircooled]

Thinkpad POST error codes.
Just keep the top four in memory..... (it says T series, but they are the same for most thinkpads)

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

It's going in for repair of a fairly minor issue (CDRom randomly disappears occasionally), and I really do beat on the thing, so I expect it. I've got nothing but positive things to say overall about both their service and quality, after owning a Toshiba in the past.

Rob

Whew..if I had owned a toshiba previously, I'd be ecstatic about IBMs too!

Hehe. Well, at my former job the Dell's we had (600m's mainly), while they were nice and light, just never felt like solid pieces of work. We had simple stuff break on them all the time, but never anything catastrophic. Given what my IBM's been through (including falling 4' to the floor once), I'm very happy with it.

Rob

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: aircooled
Thinkpad POST error codes.
Just keep the top four in memory..... (it says T series, but they are the same for most thinkpads)

Uh, thanks?

Like I said, I've had worse luck with every other laptop company I've dealt with.

To the rest of you who provided links, etc., thanks. I'll probably be ordering a T40 tonight.

Rob

 

[alembic5]

My company as well has been purchasing T and R40's for our laptops. We probably have about 150 or so in use. I think its an OK machine... great keyboard, good screen, nice feature set. My problems with them: Docking stations. We are constantly overwhelmed with docking station issues. Doesn't recognise ergro keyboards. Mouse won't work. Machine won't power up. Crazy things... and all the problems are ever so slightly different. Price! These things are rediculously expensive. We are switching to the Dell latitude series due primarily to this fact. Our standard spec T41 (P-M 1.6, 512 mb, wireless G, SXGA+, R9 video, 30 GB, etc.) is coming in with a price of around $2450. WITHOUT docking station. AND they only guarantee 9 month product lifespan. Dell? The exact same spec latitude with same warranty (and a local rep...) comes in at just under $1800... with docking station! It has taken IBM up to a month to fill an order of 15 T40's. That kind of delay has cost us many hours of productivity. Do I like the IBM? Sure, so long as it is undocked. Quiet, cool, good battery life... good build quality. But when I can save $800 per unit with docking station by going with Dell, Not too much choice in it for us. Just my 2 cents...

 

[aircooled]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
Thinkpad POST error codes.
Just keep the top four in memory..... (it says T series, but they are the same for most thinkpads)

Uh, thanks?

Like I said, I've had worse luck with every other laptop company I've dealt with.

To the rest of you who provided links, etc., thanks. I'll probably be ordering a T40 tonight.

Rob

Your original post asked for reasons why you "shouldn't buy the laptop". I'm just given my opinions based on factual usage of thinkpads in production.. For $1,800 you have alot of options.

 

[RichieZ]

that model (t41) costs $1,745.10 w/ the ibm employee discount, plus you get a free system battery. but you do have to pay tax tho, but no shipping. And its not open box.

so figuring 6% tax, i could get it for you for
$1849.7 w/ an extra system battery

re: t40 vs t41, its the same except the t41 is suppsoed to have a firmer keyboard and they have APS (active protection system) which will stop the HD if you drop it or something, but people have reported it causing problems with the HD

 

[vi edit]

Yeh, the docking station I bought for one users T40 is a piece of crap. Not happy with that at all. Paid $250 for the damn thing only to have to buy another power adapter because IBM is too damn cheap to bundle one in with the docking station. :|

Bah!

And like you said, lots of stuff doesn't work on it - speakers won't work when plugged into it, the RJ-11 connection won't work. The MS natural keyboard the user has won't work when there's a PS/2 mouse plugged in as well. It isn't a graceful process at all to actually dock the laptop. More of a "Hope and Push" method where you hope you have the thing lined up because there are no guides on the laptop to tell you if you are lined up to the docking port on the bottom.

Ect.

Dell has FAR superior docking stations. But I'm not fond of the new ones they put out. The old ones for the Inspiron 8000's and 4000's were VERY nice. Sturdy, reliable, and reasonably priced.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

It's going in for repair of a fairly minor issue (CDRom randomly disappears occasionally), and I really do beat on the thing, so I expect it. I've got nothing but positive things to say overall about both their service and quality, after owning a Toshiba in the past.

Rob

Whew..if I had owned a toshiba previously, I'd be ecstatic about IBMs too!

Hehe. Well, at my former job the Dell's we had (600m's mainly), while they were nice and light, just never felt like solid pieces of work. We had simple stuff break on them all the time, but never anything catastrophic. Given what my IBM's been through (including falling 4' to the floor once), I'm very happy with it.

Rob

We don't purchase Inspirons (nor Dimensions for desktops). We do purchase lots of Latitude X300s, D500s, D400s, and C400s.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: Amused
Wow, it didn't take long for some FUD to hit this thread, did it?

FUD? As in Elmer?

 

[manly]

How about a PowerBook?

 

[MuffD]

I just contacted this guy myself the other day but he seems to have removed the listing on Ebay. My wife wants one now too after I got a T40 a few weeks ago.

 

[Rufio]

I don't know if this is allowed, but I work for authorized reseller of all the hardware/software manufacturers.

I can try and get you guys some nice pricing on the stuff you want.

PM me if you'd like.

 

[ViperSSD]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: werk

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: aircooled
I know I am in the minority her, but I will never buy another Thinkpad, and I do not recommend them to anyone.

We (my company) have well over a 50% failure rate on the 18 or so Thinkpads we bought. Not just a "bad batch" either, we bought them in small batches at different times from differnt vendors (some direct from IBM). The mainboards had to be replaced. I've got a dead one in the shop right now that needs it's 2nd mainboard replacement. Most of the time these laptops just stay chained to the users desk so there are not being hammered on. This ratio of "duds" and IBM's lack of interest in discussing the issue with us has changed our company's IT policy of purchasing new Thinkpads.

What series did you buy? My R32 is still going strong, and I beat on it ruthlessly.

Rob

Didn't you just say that it's going in for repairs???

Anyways, I begrudgingly agree with aircooled. I've been sending clients' Thinkpads in for repairs left and right. Mostly video card or motherboard issues. I used to be a big fan of Thinkpads, but I've stuck to purchasing Dells now.

It's going in for repair of a fairly minor issue (CDRom randomly disappears occasionally), and I really do beat on the thing, so I expect it. I've got nothing but positive things to say overall about both their service and quality, after owning a Toshiba in the past.

Rob

Whew..if I had owned a toshiba previously, I'd be ecstatic about IBMs too!

Hehe. Well, at my former job the Dell's we had (600m's mainly), while they were nice and light, just never felt like solid pieces of work. We had simple stuff break on them all the time, but never anything catastrophic. Given what my IBM's been through (including falling 4' to the floor once), I'm very happy with it.

Rob

I've never been a fan of Compal's build quality.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: manly
How about a PowerBook?

they look too good for business

 

[Koing]

The IBM's look great.

I have a Sony R600 tiny at 1.67kg but has 12" screen and runs 1024x768.

1400x1050 would be WELL WORTH the extra space imo. Coding with more space and windows is MUCH better. Having to design with less space is a pain in dreamweaver or any app.

I am spoiled with my 23" 1920x1200 lcd at home

Koing