Recommendations of a thinkpad to a new guy to the brand

[lordmetroid]

I have been an avid fan of Dell for a long time but since both my Dell laptops have had a lifetime of exactly 4 years before they fall apart I thought I would try the thinkpad.

However I got no past experience with the brand and I am seeing that it is being ruined in front of my eyes and turned into just another generic laptop. So I was hoping for some recommendations that can. I use the laptop mainly for programming and photography during my vacations and as hobbies.

• I want a laptop that works with GNU/Linux
• I want 13 inch as I think that is the perfect size not too big and clumsy but not so small the keyboard gets cramped and screen to snug, perhaps I could extend myself to 14"
• I want it 1,5kg or less as I am traveling with only one bag, the carry-on bag
• I want it to preferably have physical mouse buttons
• I want separate Page up, Page down, Home, End, Delete and Insert keys

[jayton4]

I have been an avid fan of Dell for a long time but since both my Dell laptops have had a lifetime of exactly 4 years before they fall apart I thought I would try the thinkpad.

However I got no past experience with the brand and I am seeing that it is being ruined in front of my eyes and turned into just another generic laptop. So I was hoping for some recommendations that can. I use the laptop mainly for programming and photography during my vacations and as hobbies.

• I want a laptop that works with GNU/Linux
• I want 13 inch as I think that is the perfect size not too big and clumsy but not so small the keyboard gets cramped and screen to snug, perhaps I could extend myself to 14"
• I want it 1,5kg or less as I am traveling with only one bag, the carry-on bag
• I want it to preferably have physical mouse buttons
• I want separate Page up, Page down, Home, End, Delete and Insert keys

Welcome to the forum! I think you picked a less than optimal time to switch to the ThinkPad line. Most ThinkPads work really great with Linux, and there is a lot of support for that over at http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki. Nearly all current models, and likely all models in the near future will not have physical mouse buttons. The T430s may be worth looking at, as it is the last of the lightweight 14 inch models with physical mouse buttons. Another suggestion would be the first generation X1 Carbon.

The x230 is a nice 12.5", but only comes in low resolution (1366x768) screen and is a little heavy for its size.