Thinkpads Forum

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and would like your honest opinions on the following. I am a software developer and need a new laptop. I will be developing software, running IDEs, databases, web servers, etc. on this machine. As well as the other basics of browsing, watching an occasional DVD, but no gaming. This machine will be used when traveling, not a lot, but will need to be somewhat easy to carry.

I am considering the T60p, model 8744J2U. This seems like a nice setup for a standard configuration and reasonably priced.

I have read that some of you also own MacBook Pros. I have never owned a Mac, but am considering one because of the need to test web apps in Safari. Running Windows within Parallels would give me the ability to develop and test everything on one machine.

I have seen that some of you have installed OSX on a ThinkPad? How successful is that and what are the major considerations?

Thanks for your input,
Brent

I also am a software developer (Oracle) and purchased the 8744J2U. I also own a MacBook Pro. I also run Parallels and VMware on the MacBook. There are certain things that run best on the ThinkPad, and similarly on the MacBook. I would not venture to run OS X on the ThinkPad as it is a bit of a kludge. For serious cross platform development, I believe that both machines are required.
I am very happy with both machines and do not regret owning either as they are both the best of what is available in laptops. I also do no gaming, but the T60p is capable of this. I run Vista on the ThinkPad and Linux and XP Pro on the MacBook (in addition to OS X). The machines are similar in both construction quality and weight, and use them at clients locations all the time.

HTH,

Steve

I am a developer and own the 2623D7U T60. I can dual-boot with XP, but only do that for updates. I run Fedora Core 6 on it almost exclusively. It can run Doom3 with just a little pain.

I have the 9-cell battery and the UltraBay Slim battery too. I develop Ruby on Rails applications, so I have GEdit, a couple of consoles, MySQL, Apache, Webrick and other things running without stressing the machine.

I would agree that for cross-platform development you'll need both machines for accurate testing. I would like to run MacOS X on my T60, but it's not actually supported and time is scarce.

The T60's chipset includes Intel's VT technology, which should allow you to run multiple OSes at the same time. I've only started to play with this a little. Running one OS with that enabled hurt performance a little. My brain hurts if I try to imagine what Suspend means when three operating systems are running.

Chris

Thanks for the replies.

I have seen a number of posts complaining about the display quality of the T60 series in general, ie. the newer ones not having an IPS panel. What are your thoughts? Steve, how does the T60p compare to the MacBook Pro?

I used a 600X for over six years. The T60 is better. Not by a lot, though. I wouldn't do pre-press work on it as the viewing angle isn't great. It's fine for spending hours in front of for hacking code.

It's not particularly bright either. Nor is it usable outside on a sunny day unless you have a very shady spot.

My T60p WS has the LG display and it is very good. The MacBook Pro has a Samsung display, which on this model is also very good. For software development the MacBook Pro is a bit easier to read because the resolution is no quite as high as the Thinkpad, and small text is a bit easier to read after 12 hours in front of the machine. Additionally, I am no fan of Windows, but need to use it for development purposes. In a perfect world, I could use OS X all day, and the MacBok would have a trackpoint but that is not happening.

Steve

brrmax wrote:Thanks for the replies.

I have seen a number of posts complaining about the display quality of the T60 series in general, ie. the newer ones not having an IPS panel. What are your thoughts? Steve, how does the T60p compare to the MacBook Pro?

I can't find the post any longer, but how can you determine the panel manufacturer prior to purchasing? If I remember correctly, the other post mentioned something about the serial #?

Also, I have seen differing information on the length of the warranty for the 8744J2U. Most Lenovo retailers claim it is 3 years, but NewEgg lists it as just 1 year?

You need the serial number to find the parts manufacturer. The 8744-J2U has a three year warranty (at least purchased through Lenovo).

Once you have the serial number, follow this link;

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... yle=lenovo

Steve

If you absolutely have to test in Safari, then you cannot escape the Mac hardware. On the other hand, you might get by with the cheapest Mac you can get your hands on and save the real money for a ThinkPad. Everything is so virtualized these days, even within the ThinkPad drivers, that distinctions do begin to blur. There is no such thing as a vanilla machine these days, at least when it comes to high performance portables, so software developers rarely have the luxury of being able to do all their testing on a single system.

IMHO the machines discussed are all fine, but the main disadvantage to the MacBook + virtual machine approach is that the silly thing still has only one mouse button on its touchpad, forcing you to use an external mouse for serious programming work if you don't like to play triple click games.

One nice feature of the ThinkPads that many people don't realize is that the hard disk is very convenient to replace in the field. This allows you to create complete, no compromise computer configurations that you can switch in a couple of minutes for just the cost of another HD and tray.

If you had actually used a Mac recently you would know this is not true. Tapping once with two fingers on the trackpad works as a right click, or holding the control key and clicking does the same. It is quite convenient and I have never had the need for an external mouse (although I do not play games, which probably would make me need this).

Steve

claudeo wrote: IMHO the machines discussed are all fine, but the main disadvantage to the MacBook + virtual machine approach is that the silly thing still has only one mouse button on its touchpad, forcing you to use an external mouse for serious programming work if you don't like to play triple click games.