The stripes are back! Yay!

[gator]

The red-blue-red stripes are coming back on the trackpoint buttons, yaay!

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=172

But what happens to us all T6x/R6x/X6x/Z60 owners? Are we to be left behind?

[ryengineer]

It's a good move but removing it in the first place was a pure mistake or should I say another cost cutting organized plan; which now thankfully (with the help of customers echoes) lenovo has realized.

But what happens to us all T6x/R6x/X6x/Z60 owners? Are we to be left behind?

It is very hard to predict anything but if they keep the keyboard layout, you would be able to replace the old keyboard.

[gator]

It is very hard to predict anything but if they keep the keyboard layout, you would be able to replace the old keyboard.

I need to buy it, don't I?

[qviri]

I really think the stripes thing is blown out of proportion...

[SHoTTa35]

stripes!!! yes!!

My kids will be happy when i get some oneday (they will be striped too! LOL)

[ryengineer]

I need to buy it, don't I?

Sadly yes.

As I said before it was a mistake or rather a poor decision in removing them in the first place. Red stripes were thinkpad's tradition, meant to match with the legendary red trackpoint that Hardy and his team had to convince IBM on including. Putting these stripes back is another way of lenovo's saying "Yes we admit our mistake" and only those companies succeed in business which learn from their bigger or smaller mistakes.

On a sidenote, lenovo has been thinking about changing it since a while, has been experimenting as well. Please go to lenovo website and look at this image closely.

[jamerslong]

now they need to go back to the old logo and all is good

[tfflivemb2]

The stripes coming back is AWESOME NEWS!!!

Though, my wife is like "...and?". Some people just don't understand the fever...

[snife]

Well i commented on the blog but i'll say it here too.

I really think the uproar about these stripes is a really bad move for the future of ThinkPad design - Lenovo will be very apprehensive to make any changes to the design from now on after seeing what insane backlash there has been over such a small, insignificant change.

Just look now long it look them to release a Tablet PC because of the unfair failing of the Transnote.

[lilserenity]

I do agree with some of the sensibilities in Snife's comment actually.

I can't say I have ever been a 'fervent' user of any piece of kit, I go where the good technology is that I can use and that I like. Coincidentally laptop wise I have always ended up gravitating back to IBM ThinkPads, or rather now Lenovo ThinkPads. Cracking laptops. As such, for me I'm not really too bothered about the stripes either.

That said, I think ThinkPads *do* look better with them but I wouldn't be fussed one way or another, although I would raise an eyebrow (that is to question) to a yellow ThinkPad (think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill yellow!)

The important aspect is that Lenovo will as time passes make some bold decisions though that do lead to innovation with the ThinkPad; but there will always be a large clientèle that purchase a ThinkPad in part because it is the mean matt black workhorse appearance, and to some degree I follow that as well, and for that reason Lenovo are going to stick to that, but there is a limit to what you can do to it, and it's more an evolution thing, as opposed to a stark revolution. In fact if it's not Matt Black, say they went with Alumnium a la PowerBook/MacBook Pro--would it still be a ThinkPad? There's one to ponder...

I'm no mean businesswoman, but the aesthetic (I don't see TPs as bland at all) of the ThinkPad really tunes me into thinking, this is a workhorse, a tool and not some ornament I'll polish, I'll use and use it and it'll see me through and they have. This compares with say the frottage one could say is sometimes indicative of oooh Apple perhaps

So long as they remain tough (like the 3,000 mile motorcycle trip a T23 had the misfortune of being dragged on one summer Never missed a beat.) then I'll keep using them stripes or no stripes.

And there was me thinking a special edition Zebra print ThinkPad was in the works!

Note: I'm also not an anti Apple person, again I just see beyond the Whacky Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field(TM)--Apple does have some good stuff but I also see beyond hyperbole from any company, Lenovo, IBM, Sun, Microsoft, Apple, Ubuntu/Canonical etc. etc.

[frankausmtank]

Snife, I'm with you. See #23 and #24.

Bye bye, progress.

[gator]

While there is indeed some truth in snife's comments, I do not think that this stripes thingy will cause lenovo to stand back and think twice about the all the changes they want to make. There are certain things that a thinkpad should never lose (like the trackpoint, thinklight etc), and there are aspects that needed to evolve (for ex. dual LCD latch --> single latch). The point we need to ponder on here with the "yipes stripes" is how much people associate those two little stripes with the legend of a thinkpad. They have been there on thinkpads for a long, long time and most people simply don't want them to go away. Imagine this: what will happen it they change the trackpoint color, say, to a milder shade of red? Trust me, there will be HUGE uproar, though functionally, nothing has changed. To many, the thinkpad keyboard looks "foreign" without those stripes and people don't like that.

I actually like the stripes, because they look great visually on the classic black keyboard - a subtle dash of color hinting at superior design. I am happy that they are coming back, as would most users. While I will never go the extent of saying "if the stripes don't come back, I will not buy a thinkpad" like some, I kind of feel happy that Lenovo listens to us.

This is my observation summing up the stripes phenomenon: A little stripe for Lenovo, a great leap for thinkpads!

[Magic Wonder425]

What're these stripes, just designs?

[gator]

What're these stripes, just designs?

http://stuff.silverorange.com/images/t2 ... yboard.jpg

We are referring to the red and blue "stripes" on trackpoint buttons on the older thinkpads (like in the pic above). They were removed from the T6x/X6x/R6x/X6x keyboards (see link below), and lenovo just said that they are being bought back. You can see how the keyboard looks with and with out it below:

http://www.tabletpcreview.com/assets/1963.jpg

[qviri]

there are aspects that needed to evolve (for ex. dual LCD latch --> single latch).

Was it really something that "needed" to happen? I haven't used a single-latch screen, but a double latch makes perfect sense for me - grab it with two hands and then use these two hands to open the screen to avoid stresses from flexing the lid as you may have if you used one hand.

[tomh009]

... and with the weight of the battery moved to the back on the X6 series, you still need two hands to open it up, even with the single latch.

[bill bolton]

None of the multitude of mice I have used over the years has ever had colour stripes on the buttons, and personally I can't see any partical reason why a Thinkpad needs them.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[gator]

None of the multitude of mice I have used over the years has ever had colour stripes on the buttons, and personally I can't see any partical reason why a Thinkpad needs them.

As I said before, the stripes are for aesthetic reasons only - and to associate the trackpoint buttons with the trackpoint. That is a very good reason to have them back, if not for visual appeal/maintaining the design legacy.

Was it really something that "needed" to happen? I haven't used a single-latch screen, but a double latch makes perfect sense for me - grab it with two hands and then use these two hands to open the screen to avoid stresses from flexing the lid as you may have if you used one hand.

It was something that was really needed IMHO. I have used an X31 (and still use an T23/600X with dual latches) and sometimes while opening/closing I'll open one of them fully, usually the right since I am right handled, and the other will open after a small lag. That will put more flex on the top cover than with a single hand use.

... and with the weight of the battery moved to the back on the X6 series, you still need two hands to open it up, even with the single latch.

Even after an year, I still need both hands to open my T60. The point of having a single latch IMHO was not to facilitate opening the thinkpad with a single hand, but to make sure that both latches open/close simulatanously, which was not the case before (see above paragraph).

[snife]

You guys need to eat some spinach, i have over 150 current ThinkPads and I can open them all one handed but there was no real functionalreason for the one latch change as the 'stay put' catches on the earlier systems allowed one handed opening even with 2 latches. My argument though is that if this change was introduced after Lenovo took over, I am 100% sure there would have been cries of 'Lenovo trying to save money on the second latch', 'the screen is less robust' and 'this is the beginning of the end for ThinkPads.

I've been vocal about changes i'd like to see, such as a UV Thinklight (since someone mentioned it) and the battery moved to the front like Dells, but i'm sure such changes will be unlikely to happen now. The stripes were a small, insignificant hange, they didn't remove the trackpoint or any of its' features and if I were running a business and people disliked such a small change mostly of the basis that it is simply change then I wouldn't be keen to make any changes in the future.

[tomh009]

I've been vocal about changes i'd like to see, such as a UV Thinklight (since someone mentioned it) and the battery moved to the front like Dells, but i'm sure such changes will be unlikely to happen now.

First, I think you make too much of the "unwillingness to change". More than anything, it's good for a company to listen to its customers, whether those customers are asking for a change or for the continuation of a product feature.

As for the battery, there are pros and cons to a front battery. First and foremost on the negative side, though, there is a space constraint. On the X series, for example, the front of the system is very thin, making even the fitment of a four-cell battery a challenge, and an 8-cell would provide a massive extension to the front.

[Tholek]

Personally, I've been of two minds on this since they removed them.

A. I like black with red trim, which is the TP style.

B. I also like all black.

That made me only half sorry when they removed them, and piqued my interest again in using/obtaining black trackpoint caps to totally excise the "red menace".

However, upon receiving my T61, it was a little weird to see them gone. I hadn't had a TP since my 760XD (I know, I know, but we all don't have the money to get a TP, so Sony had to keep me going) and even after all this time I expected to see red stripes in a way.

So, I'm sorta glad they are coming back. I mean, it's easier to sharpie them out if you don't like them, than to break out the wife's nail polish and try your luck with caffeinated hands.

[snife]

As for the battery, there are pros and cons to a front battery. First and foremost on the negative side, though, there is a space constraint. On the X series, for example, the front of the system is very thin, making even the fitment of a four-cell battery a challenge, and an 8-cell would provide a massive extension to the front.

Space should really be an issue (you just move everything back so nothing is using that area) and the extension for the 8 cell would be about an inch (as it is on the back, if it was made of the correct matieral then it would be comfortable as a palmrest extension, I think this will become more important once the X series moves to widescreen and the palmrest will likely be smaller. It has the added advantage that batteries these days do not product much heat so it would avoid the issues we have had with heat from components like HDD, Mini PCI Express etc being under the palmrest and would also allow many of the ports to move to the back of the system, where I think they should have remained, I cannot believe people prefer connections like VGA, power and ethernet on the sides.

You may think i am making a lot of the unwillingness to change but I know Lenovo mangement and I know how they react to things.

[Dead1nside]

Simply great news... now if only they'd keep that IBM logo on it. Heck, even just keeping it on the lid/exterior. It's just a classic.

[GomJabbar]

I agree with snife on the battery issue. I would rather see the palmrest area extended than see the current eye-sore sticking out the back. Putting more weight up front is an added benefit when opening the display. I also concur with snife's comment: "I cannot believe people prefer connections like VGA, power and ethernet on the sides." These connections are best left on the back of the notebook.

[tomh009]

You may think i am making a lot of the unwillingness to change but I know Lenovo mangement and I know how they react to things.

So ... did you ask Lenovo management contacts for a front battery location? What did they say to your suggestion?

[The Spirit of X21]

I am a fan of the stripes as well, so I'll give a little 'hooray!' for their return. That said, their absence on current ThinkPads didn't bother me enough to complain to Lenovo.

I'm no mean businesswoman, but the aesthetic (I don't see TPs as bland at all) of the ThinkPad really tunes me into thinking, this is a workhorse, a tool and not some ornament I'll polish, I'll use and use it and it'll see me through and they have. This compares with say the frottage one could say is sometimes indicative of oooh Apple perhaps

That may be true of the current laptops that Apple produces, but Steve Jobs was Interim CEO when Apple produced the 'Pismo' PowerBook G3, arguably the best combination of durability and expandability that Apple has ever produced in a portable. I do wish that Apple would design from that perspective again, at least with one model line. Until that time, I'll use a ThinkPad (unless I luck out like Ray and get a free one!)

[mattbiernat]

"I cannot believe people prefer connections like VGA, power and ethernet on the sides." These connections are best left on the back of the notebook.

people don't. consumers do. apple started that hippy pattern and lenovo is just following their footsteps. you should feel lucky that you don't have all the ports on one side of the computer

[mattbiernat]

I do wish that Apple would design from that perspective again, at least with one model line. Until that time, I'll use a ThinkPad (unless I luck out like Ray and get a free one!)

he also designed the i(hot)book.

[The Spirit of X21]

he also designed the i(hot)book.

Well, my T40 and X30 can get hot as well...

The G3 iBooks are more well known for their GPU issues than their heat, though both my G3 and G4 iBooks could get quite warm, especially under load.

[snife]

You may think i am making a lot of the unwillingness to change but I know Lenovo mangement and I know how they react to things.

So ... did you ask Lenovo management contacts for a front battery location? What did they say to your suggestion?

Unfortunately not, my lines of communication in that respect are a one-way street, I only have contacts to get things fixed, not to get things changed.

I know it was apple that started the side thing but then the other vendors picked it up before IBM did, I dont think its a deliberate thing (other than for a few USB ports and audio which are useful on the side) they are just doing what they can get away with as acceptable - i just think its easier for them as since they started doing this, it has removed the need for a separate I/O bar and has allowed for more fan outlets and the ugly sticky out battery. I disagree about it being worse all ports on one side - the X60 is ridiculous if you have power and ethernet/VGA cables coming out if different sides, i'd prefer if they came out the one side.

I like Apple products but, as i've said before, they do value form over function these days, you just have to look at the new macbook/imac keyboards to see that and I don't think businesses outwith the creative field can really get away with using a Mac.