[ltp] Searching for an old IBM warhorse

[Alex Deucher]

On 2/5/06, FeRD <ferdnyc@gmail.com> wrote:
> Torsten Wagner wrote:
> > Could you tell me which IBM notebook is in your opinion the warhorse
> > until know. I do not mean which one is the fastest or newest.
> > I'm searching for the one which seems to be the most stable and
> > reliable one. Which model still works after years of extensive use for
> > example by your sales representatives (In my opinion the worst
> > scenario for a notebook ;) )?
> That's actually a great question, unfortunately also a tricky one to
> answer. A lot of the response is subjective in nature... and I'll come
> out and admit for the group that not all of our feelings on the subject
> are completely rational. Unfortunately, you're asking a group of "fans"
> of the ThinkPad line in general, and we may not be the best to answer.
>
> Case in point? You mentioned the T23's hinge-torque frame problems --
> the whole T20 series suffers from the same problem. My T22's
> right-corner frame has spread so much that the keyboard has started to
> pop up through the space created by the cracking and erosion of the
> plastic outer shell. In addition, I'm currently preparing to order a
> replacement power supply from Targus, because the IBM original that's
> currently powering it is so "touchy" I can't actually move the computer
> anywhere for fear it'll never power up again. Finally, "something" is
> going on with the RAM slots on the underside of the laptop, to the point
> where the system doesn't detect the 128MB module I have in the second
> slot reliably. Every time I cold-boot the machine, during POST I have to
> press my fingers VERY firmly against the metal cover right over (under?)
> the plastic casing for the RAM slots' pins, or it only detects 256MB of
> RAM instead of my full 384MB. (After POST, the machine is fine, so
> apparently it's just a detection pin that's flaky.)
>
> Why do I mention all this? Because, despite all those problems, I
> absolutely love the little thing. Buying it used a year and a half ago
> was the best laptop purchase I could possibly have made with the limited
> funds available to me. To be honest I fell in lust with the 1400x1050
> screen as soon as I saw it, and the lack of 3D support and the
> crappiness of the S3 video chipset in general have done nothing to deter
> me. I'm just not a "3D guy". The keyboard is comfortable (I've found


Savage 3D and dualhead are supported with xorg 6.9/7.0/cvs.  It's been
supoprted in xorg cvs for over a year now.

Alex

> ThinkPad keyboards to be about the only laptop keyboards I can stand to
> use), I've eliminated virtually all hangs, freezes, or crashes running
> Fedora Core 4 (with the help of a very large community of online
> enthusiasts; special nod as always to Matthias Hensler for his
> rock-solid kernel builds), and the machine is just plain GOOD despite
> the quirks I've mentioned. Once I learned my way around those quirks the
> basic _reliability_ of the box has always wowed me. Sure, the memory
> slot is flaky, but it's flaky the same way every time! I know that
> sounds insane, because it is. Lock me up, I still think the thing's great=
.
>
> So, basically, you're asking for a sermon /from/ the converted. :)  Hope
> you get some good answers, because I know I'm not qualified to answer
> your question. I'm in love, and love is definitely blind. ;)
>
> -FeRD
>
>
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