Radtech Screensavr's make you look dorky and anal retentive.

[thinkpadhk]

Hey all.

I just got a T42 about a month ago and should be receiving my 14" powersleeve and radtech screensavr today. I got a light-hearted question for everyone.

Aren't you embarassed of looking like a total anal freak when you open your laptop and out pops this protective cloth? I already baby my laptop as it is, and I probably look like a total geek the way I pamper my T42 when I take it out of it's bag and handle it so gently.

Any thoughts about this? Comments? Stories?

[taphil]

Is there even a need for it? On my T41, the only marks I get on the screen is the occasional imprint of the trackpoint nubbin. Otherwise, the keys never touch the screen.

The ThinkPad is not a Powerbook! I've seen Powerbooks with imprints of the entire bottom or top half of the keyboard (from Shift to Shift, A to Enter) on the LCD, which made the screen cloth necessary. And I mean that literally. You could actually see squares printed on the screen for each key.

[thinkpadhk]

I actually never even knew these screensavrz things even existed until I came to this site. Now I'm all paranoid, and ordered one a couple of days back. But they seem so [censored] geeky. I can see myself at the bookstore opening my laptop and pulling out what looks like a keyboard dust cover. Talk about anal.

[DavidNZ]

i'm actually not terribly concerned whether people think i'm a geek or not. My wife's opinion is pretty much all that matters. When she saw my Screensaver, she did say "Geek", so.... what was my point again?

[DeMoZ]

Well I know what you mean I have the radtech and its pretty geeky to me, I haven´t been showing it off anyways... but I was in this meeting the other day and there was this guy next to me with a plain old ACER putting his cloth between the keyboard and the screen on his machine...
made me feel better about protecting my T42 (but not less geeky)
Just get the [censored] thing and use it and try not to mind other peoples opinions...

[k3vb0t]

Personally, I don't like what others think of me determine my purchases. I'm going to protect my $1700 investment, thanks.

[kjarrett]

Interesting question.

I could care less what anyone says/thinks/feels/believes.

-kj-

[Elhabash]

I got some other microfiber cloth and cut it to the right proportions. It's lime green and I cut it with my Leatherman's scissors. It looks rather shaggy.

In the end this might be a good strategy to avoid looking geeky?

I started to use it when I saw a friend's Powerbook display who didnt, it was a shocking thing to see... And then I saw the grease marks on my display from the Trackpoint.

[LumberJack]

I think that a microfibre cloth is a great idea, not only for protecting the screen but for cleaning.

Ive seen Radtech and Shaggymacs around? Any feedback as to what you guys think works best?

LJ

[lfeagan]

Everyone I know who has a Powerbook, and at a University that is a LOT of people [[censored] liberal arts types hehehe, lol], has a Radtech or some other screen protector. The only people who I don't see having them are "other brand" notebook users. I should note that the Apple users tend to be better dressed and take better care of their gear (and themselves) in general. So, no, I would not say using one in any way makes you seem like anything other than a user who respects and cherishes the tool that a fine notebook like the Thinkpad is.

[DavidNZ]

plain old ACER putting his cloth between the keyboard and the screen on his machine...

isn't that kind of like putting a car cover over a Dodge K-car?

[RCube]

I think it is too much trouble to take it off and put it back on everytime you use the tp. Anybody know a t4x's lcd getting damaged by the keyboard? If not, I think it is really a waste of time.

One of the main reasons why I bought a thinkpad is so I don't have to baby it all the time! If thats not what I wanted...I would have bought a powerbook. haha :p

[Plinkerton]

I think pulling out a computer in a coffee shop is geeeky enough. Walking around with a notebook in your backpack, because you "never know when you'll need a computer!!!" already gets you judged a certain way. If nothing else, you will be judged a computer entusiast.

Spending 2 grand on a computer, and then having a scratched up screen from whatever could happen is bad enough. I will use this in front of the ladies, and anyone else who wants to think I'm a geek.

I'd rather be viewed as a nerd, than have to stare at a goddam scratch every time I use my computer.

I'm not even a geek. I don't look like a geek or anything. But, I do love computers, video games, etc. I'm a geek at heart.

I love my Screensaver. It works great to keep the screen clean anyway. Where else would I keep it, when it fits so perfectly between the keyboard and screen?

[taphil]

Spending 2 grand on a computer, and then having a scratched up screen from whatever could happen is bad enough.

When and how will anyone ever get a scratch on the screen when the ThinkPad is closed? It's not a crappy laptop or Apple, and a cloth doesn't do anything when damage can actually happen (ie, lcd is open). I still don't get it.

[Elhabash]

It's a good idea to have a "safe" screen wiper with you anyways, in case the display gets dirty. Why not store it between the keyboard and the screen then?

[kjarrett]

When and how will anyone ever get a scratch on the screen when the ThinkPad is closed? It's not a crappy laptop or Apple, and a cloth doesn't do anything when damage can actually happen (ie, lcd is open). I still don't get it.

Many times, pressure on the reverse of the lid will force the trackpoint cap, and/or keyboard, to make marks on the LCD. Look at any old laptop, chances are you'll see those marks. It's especially bad for people like me who prefer the "cat's tonuge" trackpoint cap, they eat nicely into the screen if you're not careful...

-kj-

[jtheun]

So here is the next question: Where do you put it when you open your laptop? I just started using one a week ago, and when I take it off, I find that I don't really have a place to put it. I carefully fold it up and then place it in my bag, but then I forget to put it back when I shut down!

[kjarrett]

I just sit it next to the computer.

[rocketman]

Does IBM ship the T42 with anything between the display and the keyboard? Apple ships the Powerbooks with a thin foam sheet.

[Leon]

no

[k3vb0t]

So here is the next question: Where do you put it when you open your laptop? I just started using one a week ago, and when I take it off, I find that I don't really have a place to put it. I carefully fold it up and then place it in my bag, but then I forget to put it back when I shut down!

I lay it on my leg in cramped spaces... impossible to forget there.

Or I lay it next to the laptop. I generally forget to put it on initially, but remember as I start to close the lid.

[thinkpadhk]

Interesting responses.

I like to see how people are using their laptops in their everyday lives.

[ian]

[quote="taphil
When and how will anyone ever get a scratch on the screen when the ThinkPad is closed? It's not a crappy laptop or Apple, and a cloth doesn't do anything when damage can actually happen (ie, lcd is open). I still don't get it.[/quote]

Thank G** for that - there IS someone sane out there - thanx taphil (I only wish I'd said that...)

[ian]

Interesting responses.

I like to see how people are using their laptops in their everyday lives.

I use my Thinkpad everyday - the IT guy where I work (me!) gave me an HP to use and it's crap so I use my own machine - you know, the one I paid for with MY money.

I take it to work with me in the morning, it gets turned on (possibly cos it's so close to my secretary) and stays on till the evening when I bring it home (the laptop, not the secretary, sadly)

I USE the laptop all day, and most of the evening - I don't have anything protecting the screen, the keys, the hard disk, the battery or the CMOS battery - perhaps I'm old-fashioned but I rather thought I'd bought this unit to use, and I'm right out of convenient pedestals to put it on...

The CWU is possibly not the fastest, most battery efficient, lightest laptop ever - but it's what I ordered, and it does everything JUST as I'd expected (which is more than can be said for my secretary)

[JaneL]

I'm with Ian. I own a 600X that has enough frequent flyer miles to go around the world several times. It's been lugged around in a very flimsy backpack that frequently was also stuffed with clothing, books, etc. I never bothered to do anything to protect the screen, and there are no marks on it. Same thing with my T23. The T40 that I have from work now goes everywhere I do stuffed in a bag along with anything else I may need - no screen marks.

I don't doubt that there are TPs out there that have suffered damage to their screens from the keyboard or TrackPoint, but I don't think they're in the majority. Don't be afraid to use your ThinkPad - it's an appliance.

[thinkpadhk]

I think that last quote sums up exactly the best way you should think about your thinkpad.

I was getting way too anal and protective about my thinkpad that I would actually just leave it at home sometimes because I was afraid I would "ruin" it. Now what is the point of that? The whole reason I got the laptop is so I can lug it around everywhere I go. It's a tool of convenience. And at a certain point, all those protective measures makes it inconvenient.

[taphil]

I take my laptop back and forth between work/school/lab (all on campus) and home 5 days a week. It gets shoved into a Marware bag (http://www.marware.com/SportFolio.html) that doesn't offer too much protection from pressure put between the bag, which then goes into my backpack (http://www.ebags.com/jansport/right_pac ... modelid=12) with folders and sometimes books, and then I walk to the bus stop. It takes about a month of this routine before I notice the trackpoint print on my LCD, but nothing water and a soft cloth can't remove. The LCD and inside of the laptop is still immaculate after a full year of use. The bottom of the outside is also still pristine, despite placing the laptop on lecture hall desks that are not big enough to actually put the laptop on using its 4 rubber feet. The top has no deep scratches or gashes, but there are surface scratches that can seen at an angle with reflection of light.

My old Toshiba Tecra 8100 didn't look as good after less use.

[Plinkerton]

I don't think it's a matter of considering your TP anything else than a tool. Mine is for use, and I could care less about surface scratches. The outside of it is supposed to get beaten up. I realized that the screen will probably not be scratched, but if it's something I have to look at every time I use my computer, I'd rather take the extra 5 seconds it takes to throw a cloth between the screen and keyboard, and be confident that when it goes into my backpack, pushed on by my heavy textbooks, that all is fine.

This thing is definitely an appliance/tool etc for me, but it is a 2000 dollar tool, that I want to stay in the best condition it can, as I plan to have it for many years.

Does it take extra time to put it into a sleeve before my backpack? Yes, but I'm not going to just throw it in my backpack against dirt and books and what not, even though it may not actually hurt the computer. It's the same thing with the screen protector.

I tend to try and not skateboard around campus either, when I have my TP in my backpack. That can be a huge inconvenience at times, as it almost doubles my daily campus commuting, but I'd rather take the extra time, then risk my TP breaking my fall when I inevitably eat sh*t.

For me, it's just the whole "ounce of prevention" thing.

[DuckRyder]

i'm actually not terribly concerned whether people think i'm a geek or not. My wife's opinion is pretty much all that matters.

Amen!