lots of problems on these forums

[allen]

i come on here and read because i'm considering a T60 purchase, and just start to feel like everyone's always running into problems, and have questions on how to fix this or that.
anyone else get that feeling?

if i got a macbook pro, there are things i really really dont like about osx, it would probably be a very dumbed down less involved computer using experience... but i get the feeling i wouldnt have to deal with all the drama.

what do you think?

allen

[marlinspike]

I think you see problems because it's an internet forum. People pretty much will only come here if they have a problem. If you spend time as I do reading photography forums, you'd think Canon cameras were the worst cameras in the world, but the reality is that they are some of the best but the people on the internet only go to the internet when they have problems and most people use Canon.

The people who work in IT told me to think Thinkpad, even though they contract with Dell (mainly because of short term budget concerns).

[dsigma6]

If you go to mac-forums.com you'll notice much of the same information that you find here. Problems with this or that, questions about what's better, etc. Every device is susceptible to problems, and I don't find ThnkPads to be any more susceptible than Macs.

ThinkPads rate high on just about every level, except price. (Buy used!)

[masterus]

Hi

IMHO you wrong..computers are machines which sometimes just fail..even ThinkPads..
You can buy MacBook Pro but one storm can distroy your laptop by buzz-electricity.

There's an adage: There're laptops and There're ThinkPads

Thanks to that forum I solved few problems I had (how to set-up this or that to gain this or that) and I helped other users
I can bet that my ThinkPad or other users' ThinkPads are much better than lot of Macs.
The most funny story is that I work in HP but in home I use ThinkPad

Regards

[dfumento]

1. Thinkpads are Windows standard and run a lot of software that Macs cannot. I'd recommend considering getting an X60(s) which is smaller than anything Apple provides.
2. They have great service at a number you can remember, 800-IBM-SERV.
3. Nice features, like drainage holes for keyboard spills, motion detection to save hard drive during a fall, easily upgradable, very sturdy construction.
4. You have this forum and its user knowledge to help you when you need it.
5. They look really cool.

[thinkfish]

Lenovo sells like 200,000 notebooks a month.

At say a 1% failure rate, you are going to have 2,000 problems per month.

That is a lot of people looking for answers to problems. Many show up here looking for solutions.

Everytime you buy an electronic device it is like rolling the dice, you may be one of the few that gets a bummer unit.

Macbooks and Thinkpads are both great hardware. My wife has a 12" Powerbook and has dropped it so many times that I think it is immortal. My sister has the same unit with same HDD, her husband dropped it once and crashed the HDD--HDD was even powered down. Go figure.

Here's a couple of reasons why I am not buying a Apple over the Thinkpad.

1. I don't like the widescreen format. I mostly read webpages and like having more vertical screen than horizontal screen.

2. The 14.1" 1400x1050 Thinkpad screen has 13% more pixels than the 15" Macbook. Do the math if you don't believe.

3. The Thinkpad has a smaller, though thicker footprint than Macbook

4. Black is less flashy than silver with a huge Apple on it. I am not a flippin advertising billboard! Same reason I don't buy North Face clothing.

5. Battery life is better on the thinkpad.

6. I like the delete key and would miss it too much

7. No right click button. yeah I know about the 2 finger deal, just give me a button.

8. Ultra Bay flexibility

9. Price difference is huge if you buy thinkpad with EPP

10. Fingerprint reader. So convenient. I loved it on my T42

11. Windows XP and Vista upgrade included in price

They are both great machines. These are simply the reasons I chose to order a T60 with Core 2 Duo 2ghz. You got to weigh the pros and cons for your situation and computing lifestyle.

[pianowizard]

1. I don't like the widescreen format. I mostly read webpages and like having more vertical screen than horizontal screen.

2. The 14.1" 1400x1050 Thinkpad screen has 13% more pixels than the 15" Macbook. Do the math if you don't believe.

I prefer widescreen, but I agree that the 15" Macbook Pro's 1440x900 is just too low for such a big screen and for this reason alone I would never buy one.

[christopher_wolf]

Also keep in mind that these forums are here primarily for support, so it is a natural magnet to people with support problems and those who need help just tweaking their system to their desired operating specs. There isn't, that much anyway, drama here or when you own a Thinkpad. The good thing is that you can really get into customizing your Thinkpad to run the way you want it to. Different operating systems, easy dual boot, widespread hardware support in multiple OSes; BSD and Linux primarily.

[nxman]

ThinkPads have less problems compared to other notebooks including your mac! but that dose not change the fact that they are man made machines! and sometimes problems happen.

[hawkbox]

Macs dont have a delete key? Well that rules out ever buying one.

[pianowizard]

Macs dont have a delete key? Well that rules out ever buying one.

They have only the backspace key.

[hawkbox]

Gah. Who uses Backspace?

[rleo25]

I'll do the figures of Thinkfish more sharply... think of an average of 1'500.000 units sold in 14 years and that 30% of those machines still be in use... hummm that's something like 6'300.000 thinkpads functioning arround the world... (and presume I'm falling short), and suppose a failure rate of just 0.5%... let's see that makes 31.500 problems to solve...

Now, think of the nature of those failures, I've seen in this forum that most of the complaints refer to minor issues that get solved by the same users or by means of some technical support. The fatal crashes or sudden equipment death surely should occur too but at the same rate a plane crashes...

It happens that we are a little paranoid and get pleasure from telling our little problems and getting them solved with the community support... (For an example see the posts on keyboard class). In the end Thinkpad is an excellent machine... best of the best...

Note: I am neither a Lenovo's shareholder nor an employee of the company...

[tfflivemb2]

And how many of those failures were related to either the hard drive, or the ram.....neither of which is IBM/Lenovo's fault....it could happen to any brand laptop.

[rkawakami]

<snip>... but i get the feeling i wouldnt have to deal with all the drama. what do you think?

I think the original comment is almost a ticket for entering into "trolling-land" but I'll respond with my experience...

I joined this board only a couple of months ago because:

1) I had something to share with other Thinkpad users (internal WiFi upgrade to a 600X)
2) I wanted to learn more about what made my Thinkpads tick
3) I like looking at problems and trying to solve them

Yes there are many people here with requests for help. The normal operating mode for people who have NO problems with their electronic equipment is to simply enjoy them. You don't see many people flocking to forums like this with unsolicited praise for their "toys" and proclaiming them to be trouble-free (except perhaps, Apple users ). But even Apple has problems with their products; no manufacturer is immune from these breakdowns. I feel more comfortable knowing that sites like this one are providing users with independent support for products that are deemed "end-of-life" by their makers. Should you experience a problem with your T60 tomorrow you could get it serviced within the warranty period. Five or six years from now, if you have a problem with your laptop, your choices are going to be: pay for factory service, junk it and buy a new one, or fix it yourself. Should you take the last option, I would hope that thinkpads.com will still be around to help out.

[NS]

I am a registered user of many forums and i have never ever come across such a forum like thinkpads.com before ever in my life.

Before i joined this forum, i was a noob or worst than a noob who only know how to open, switch on/off the thinkpad and nothing else. Now, i know how to tweak my systems, change the CCFL backlight, do lots of wonders on my thinkpads.

This is a forum NOT only for problems, but to seek solutions and interact with people from worldwide with different cultures as well. As the title stated so: Thinkpads.com SUPPORT Community.

[marlinspike]

Before i joined this forum, i was a noob or worst than a noob who only know how to open, switch on/off the thinkpad and nothing else. Now, i know how to tweak my systems, change the CCFL backlight, do lots of wonders on my thinkpads.

I wonder why there are no stickies with all the tips and tricks?

[JaneL]

I wonder why there are no stickies with all the tips and tricks?

Maybe because there's this -> http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=31

[christopher_wolf]

We had those *stickied* before?! Amazing

Really, what are the FAQs and How tos for?

[BillMorrow]

I wonder why there are no stickies with all the tips and tricks?

are you volunteering to do that work.. ?

[marlinspike]

I wonder why there are no stickies with all the tips and tricks?

Maybe because there's this -> http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=31

Um...ahem...cough...my computer must have glitching...um...surely I didn't just plain miss that like a fool.

[JaneL]

Um...ahem...cough...my computer must have glitching...um...surely I didn't just plain miss that like a fool.

[marlinspike]

I wonder why there are no stickies with all the tips and tricks?

are you volunteering to do that work.. ?

You know, if made admin I might be willing actually. It would take me some time because I wouldn't be able to devote all that much time to it each day, but I do have any idea of things to sticky (average shipping times since I've seen post with UPS ground to the east coast taking 2 days, any tips and tricks, neat things in bios, actually battery life times of various). Some things would take some searching and maybe some polls that would get deleted and made into a sticky (like for the battery life).

[christopher_wolf]

You know, if made admin I might be willing actually.

Staying on the practical side of things are we, now?

That isn't needed; you can start now with the search function and the forums!

*points towards the Search function and hands out a notepad and pencil*

If you get errors on random words, don't worry. If you get the same thread over and over again no matter what you do, don't worry. These are all problems that were documented with the older search function. Which we should document again for the heck of it. If you happen to find a thread that isn't on the forums, document it; should you happen to find a thread that doesn't exist, feel free to document that too (might have a problem making that new invisible thread though). We also might need to document the effort of trying to document things because new users could get confused. We might have to come up with a job numbering scheme for this. Preferably in hexadecimal to make it easier to understand at first glance.

Seriously, though, if you do want to help...I am working on the "Thinkpad For Dummies Book" (not the operational title of it) and could use some help for gather and organizing the content.

[JaneL]

You know, if made admin I might be willing actually.

You want to be an admin after 3 days and 24 posts to the forum?

[marlinspike]

You know, if made admin I might be willing actually.

You want to be an admin after 3 days and 24 posts to the forum?

I should have used emoticons. That first part was a joke.

[christopher_wolf]

Strange, though, how it was meant to be connected just so well with the rest of it, isn't it though?

Work and Results first, Rewards later.

[marlinspike]

Strange, though, how it was meant to be connected just so well with the rest of it, isn't it though?

Don't blame me blame my upbringing.

[dsigma6]

You know, if made admin I might be willing actually.

You want to be an admin after 3 days and 24 posts to the forum?

It was a "botched joke." By 'I' he meant 'we'...

[marlinspike]

You want to be an admin after 3 days and 24 posts to the forum?

It was a "botched joke." By 'I' he meant 'we'...

We are not amused.