[ltp] Re: Anyone played with an X240 yet?

[Alan Wood]

I was at the SoCal linux expo (SCALE) all day.  I've been going for many 
years.  I took note to see what laptops people were using.  It used to be 
overwhelmingly thinkpads with maybe 10% macbooks and assorted other Acers 
and the like.
According to the usage data I saw on wifi connections today, 48% of 
associations came from Apple products (eyeballing laptops I would have 
thought it higher).  Many people were on android tablets and phones
(including me).  Thinkpads were still easily the most popular PC laptops 
but I did not see a single Haswell model.

I think there is a fundemental flaw in this reply:
"A: Not sure. Seems the current mainstream trend is touch, gestures, 
ultra-thin.  Hard mouse button seems a little out of date."
which is that essentially everyone out there is trying to copy Apple.  I 
mean I'm all for some low cost clones but not everyone out there wants a 
macbook.  and if all manufacturers follow "trends" regardless of whether or 
not they actually provide a better experience then laptops become fashion, 
with all the fickleness and nonsense associated with it.  Apple is good at 
fashion, Lenovo is not going to win that battle, stop fighting it.  Sony 
used to make laptops like Apple's, now they don't make laptops...

It doesn't even make any sense to me.  If someone is looking for a device 
primarily for playing videos or doing "gestures" then they probably don't 
even need a full laptop.  If I'm looking at a laptop it's because I:
a.  really need a keyboard
b.  really need a strong CPU
and therefore see it as a place where I can accomplish all the things I 
can't already do on my phone.  The thinkpad had been uniquely great at 
providing that platform.  My hands always stay in home row.  I would show 
off to people how easy it was to replace a hard drive (one screw!) and 
compare that with a macbook (17 screws in 4 different varieties -- back 
when you could even do it at all).

maybe someone at Lenovo needs to re-watch Gladwell's talk on spaghetti 
sauce (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIiAAhUeR6Y) and realize that not 
everyone wants the same universal crap everyone else is selling.
Hopefully our "small" group of people (who tend to have a hugely 
disproportionate affect on the buying decisions of companies) can still 
have laptops the way we like them.
-alan