Thinkpads Forum

So I ordered a x60 Tablet Edition for school (Thanks RealBlackStuff for recommendation). Here are the specifications:

General Specifications:
Processor : Intel CORE 2 DUO 1.5GHz CPU (L7400 / Low-Voltage)
Hard Drive: 80GB
Memory: 2GB (2048MB) RAM
Screen / Display: 12.1" SXGA+ (Resolution 1400 x 1050)
WiFi: Integrated Intel Wireless 802.11a/b/g
Fingerprint Reader

It has no operating system install, but I am a Linux guy so that's not really an issue
Couple questions though, for you ThinkPad guys (in which I have no experience);

1. Will Ubuntu Studio run well on this laptop? I am choosing Studio because I do want to get into digital sketching and drawing, and this distribution comes LOADED with creative stuff. I also want to dip into audio stuff perhaps.

2. Where is a good supplier for batteries? I am looking for two types of batteries perhaps:
a. One that can last 6+ hours if possible?
b. One that is FLUSH with the rest of the body.

3. For artists: Is there any reason to "upgrade" the stylus to a Wacom branded version?

4. Fingerprint Reader: Will it work to unlock Ubuntu Studio or another distribution (Looking at Linux Mint as secondary)?

5. Hard-Drive Size: I know it probably has a 2.5" hard drive, but because of my recent Chromebook investigations, I learned the hard way there exists 9mm and 7mm versions.

6. What purpose do the "docks" I see with other ThinkPads serve? Is there a dock for the X60T?

7. Is there any way to put a second hard drive in this model? I have seen others where there is a hard drive caddy where the CD/DVD Drive should be..? I may want to have an SSD for the operating system and an HDD for files.

Any sort of information website about this model (troubleshooting, etc)? That just answers questions would be a good thing to have.

Hmm... I started with two questions and managed to draw up 5 more.

Thanks in advance fellas!

1) Linux gurus chime in, please
2) check our Market forum
3) Stylus users please chime in
4) see 1)
5) any 9mm or 7mm/2.5" SATA drive (HD or SSD) will fit
6) the dock has an UltrabaySlim slot for either a CD/DVD drive, a 2nd hard disk using an adapter caddy, or a second battery
....There are extra ports on the dock (USB, Serial, Parallel, etc.)
....There is an X60T specific dock, which is different from a regular non-tablet X60 dock (not interchangeable!)
7) see 6)

Get the HMM (manual) here: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-66749

2.
There are 8-cell and 4-cell batteries for the X60/61T. The 8-cell protrudes out of the back, and the 4-cell is pretty much flush.
I can get 4 hours of battery life out of my 8-cell under Windows 7 with wifi on and max brightness. I'm not sure whether it's possible to get 6 hours out of a single battery.
Additionally, you can put an Ultrabay battery into the Ultrabase.

3.
Not all Wacom stylii will work with the "Penabled" digitizers on tablet PCs. You will have to look specifically for a "Penabled" stylus, ones designed for the old-generation serial tablets, or ones marketed for other Wacom tablet PCs.
For the past couple of years there were a lot of Axiotron Modbook stylii for sale on eBay. They come in two flavors, the standard pen and the studio pen. The studio pen is generally considered one of the best penabled stylii available. However, they don't seem to be available anymore.
Search around, especially on forum.tabletpcreview.com, for your options.

4.
You can install fingerprint-gui from a PPA, which enables you to log in and authorize sudo using your fingerprint. However, when I tried it on Ubuntu 12.04 with the default login manager (lightdm), it broke password login, so I could only log in with fingerprint.

5.
9.5mm drives will fit fine.

7.
There's an UltraBay Slim slot in the UltraBase where you can put a second HDD / optical drive / battery.
I haven't seen any successful reports of putting a second SATA drive in the machine itself. What you could do to expand storage, however, is to install a MR04 or MR15 in the WWAN slot (if you have one) and put SD cards in there.

7) as long as you format the 2nd Ultrabay hard drive as an extended drive with logical partition(s) and put no OS on it (i.e. use it only for storage), you should be fine.
Or if you want to put an OS on the 2nd drive, make sure the OS on your main HD is the same or older generation Windows.
Don't know how that goes with Linux.

There's also the base battery, or "slab" battery that connects to the docking station connector. It's a 4cell and gives ~2-3 hours in addition to the main battery. It does make the laptop a bit thicker though.

Wow awesome responses guys! Thanks so much!

As for the linux stuff, I'll just wait until it gets here. No telling if either of the linux pitfalls will happen (sound or wifi not working).

Question on HDD: I do have a 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD laying around. Will the performance notably increase over using a HDD?

ATXZerg wrote: Question on HDD: I do have a 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD laying around. Will the performance notably increase over using a HDD?

Yes.

Alrighty... might have to invest in a bigger one then... because I realized I need to install Windows XP Tablet Edition, Photoshop CS5, Corel X5, and Microsoft Office Plus... hmmm.


*Edit* I found a local craigslist deal.. a Toshiba SSD (256gb) for $125. Possibly good deal or kinda meh? Gonna email him and see what's up.

Going to buy it for $100 from the guy. Not a bad price I believe.

This is the model number:
THNSNC256GBSJ