I know these things have a dedicated fanbase and it's clear to see why (excessive engineering) but every time I use one I am baffled at some of IBM/Lenovo's decisions.
Today, I'm working on another one old enough to be from "IBM" even though the WinXP Pro COA and a label on the bottom says "Lenovo."
I'm pretty sure that the only problem this Centrino IBM Thinkpad T42 had was that the HDD wasn't fully inserted because the screw that secures it was not in place and there are two contacts that look like they are for detecting full insertion (drive disables if they lose continuity?). Whoop-dee-do, right? Well, while re-seating it I noticed that the Toshiba label on the HDD said that it was 40GB 5,400 RPM while the IBM part number/label said 5,400RPM 60GB. It was the original drive as even Toshiba's label had mentions of IBM part numbers and such. I checked and the drive really is only 40GB. I wonder what the owner actually paid for.
One thing that has always bugged me is that there is no Windows key DESPITE the keyboard having a great layout with tons of extra keys. I absolutely love the correct F-key grouping, proper 2x3 layout of INS/DEL/Home/End/PUp/PDown, dedicated offset ESC/arrowkeys, full-sized shift keys, etc, but the dedicated Pause/Break key is much less useful to me without my Win key! I can't believe so many other keyboards sacrifice all that just to fit all keys in a perfect rectangle despite all the unused space on either side of the touchpad.
When I want to see the desktop behind a window once a system or application-modal dialog box takes focus I can't unless the taskbar happens to be visible (no Win+D) for me to right-click>Show Desktop. I can't just pop up an Explorer window to check My Computer (Win+E) or do my System Info shortcuts either (Win+Break). I don't need the Back/Forward buttons they put on either side of the Up arrow key nor do I need a dedicated "Access IBM" button. I know why they keep the trackpoint around (rare fans contribute to the returning fanatical Thinkpad userbase) even with the touchpad but I can't imagine that fans forced them to keep the useless Back/Forward keys that there was never a reason for in the first place (the ALT key is always close to the arrow keys for ALT+Left/ALT+Right).
*sigh* It's too bad they never got it right despite coming so close. I'd love to own a modern version of this that gets it all right.
Today, I'm working on another one old enough to be from "IBM" even though the WinXP Pro COA and a label on the bottom says "Lenovo."
I'm pretty sure that the only problem this Centrino IBM Thinkpad T42 had was that the HDD wasn't fully inserted because the screw that secures it was not in place and there are two contacts that look like they are for detecting full insertion (drive disables if they lose continuity?). Whoop-dee-do, right? Well, while re-seating it I noticed that the Toshiba label on the HDD said that it was 40GB 5,400 RPM while the IBM part number/label said 5,400RPM 60GB. It was the original drive as even Toshiba's label had mentions of IBM part numbers and such. I checked and the drive really is only 40GB. I wonder what the owner actually paid for.
One thing that has always bugged me is that there is no Windows key DESPITE the keyboard having a great layout with tons of extra keys. I absolutely love the correct F-key grouping, proper 2x3 layout of INS/DEL/Home/End/PUp/PDown, dedicated offset ESC/arrowkeys, full-sized shift keys, etc, but the dedicated Pause/Break key is much less useful to me without my Win key! I can't believe so many other keyboards sacrifice all that just to fit all keys in a perfect rectangle despite all the unused space on either side of the touchpad.
When I want to see the desktop behind a window once a system or application-modal dialog box takes focus I can't unless the taskbar happens to be visible (no Win+D) for me to right-click>Show Desktop. I can't just pop up an Explorer window to check My Computer (Win+E) or do my System Info shortcuts either (Win+Break). I don't need the Back/Forward buttons they put on either side of the Up arrow key nor do I need a dedicated "Access IBM" button. I know why they keep the trackpoint around (rare fans contribute to the returning fanatical Thinkpad userbase) even with the touchpad but I can't imagine that fans forced them to keep the useless Back/Forward keys that there was never a reason for in the first place (the ALT key is always close to the arrow keys for ALT+Left/ALT+Right).
*sigh* It's too bad they never got it right despite coming so close. I'd love to own a modern version of this that gets it all right.