Thinkpads Forum

I have owned a few thinkpads and I really like these machines. Since having my own computer I've only ever used Linux, and I've found that this goes especially well on the thinkpads since much of the hardware there exists open drivers for.

But I've read that since Lenovo took over, the thinkpad line has gone downhill. This is not my opinion and I consider that I can't judge this for myself since I've never even touched or seen a Lenovo computer. Is this opinion well-founded? and what hardware changes have happened since then with regard to what works with open software?

wilsonsamm wrote:and what hardware changes have happened since then with regard to what works with open software?

Nothing negative of note, provided you avoid the SL/L series and the X100e.

As far as the quality is concerned: build quality, durability, and fit and finish have gone up in some areas, down in others, and stayed the same in a number of aspects. It depends on what you're comparing.

I've owned a number of Thinkpads, starting with a 600E. All of them have had Linux installed. My current T61 I've had for the last 18 months or so, running several different Linux distros. Currently it has Zenwalk 6.4, Vector 6.0, Vector 7.0alpah, Fedora 12 and Salix64 3.1.1. installed.

Hardware has been excellent. I've just had to replace the keyboard, but that is the only failure from new, and the warranty replacement was less than 24 hours. The only hardware problem with regad to Linux has been the Intel HDA sound support, but that affects pretty well all machines with that chip.

Overall quality of the T61 is every bit as good as the older IBM TPs that I've owned (600E, T23, T40, T42).

Paul.

toothandnail wrote:The only hardware problem with regad to Linux has been the Intel HDA sound support, but that affects pretty well all machines with that chip.

What problems have you had with it? I've been running Linux on a number of ThinkPads with that chipset and I've never had a problem so far.

I have Ubuntu in my X41 with no issues at all. Also my X40 was running Mint and Ubuntu with no issues at all.

toothandnail wrote:I've owned a number of Thinkpads, starting with a 600E. All of them have had Linux installed. My current T61 I've had for the last 18 months or so, running several different Linux distros. Currently it has Zenwalk 6.4, Vector 6.0, Vector 7.0alpah, Fedora 12 and Salix64 3.1.1. installed.

Hardware has been excellent. I've just had to replace the keyboard, but that is the only failure from new, and the warranty replacement was less than 24 hours. The only hardware problem with regad to Linux has been the Intel HDA sound support, but that affects pretty well all machines with that chip.

Overall quality of the T61 is every bit as good as the older IBM TPs that I've owned (600E, T23, T40, T42).

Paul.

I have Ubuntu 9.10 on my T60 and everything all the drivers are there except the DVD viewer. Other than that all is A1+++.

alofano wrote: I have Ubuntu 9.10 on my T60 and everything all the drivers are there except the DVD viewer. Other than that all is A1+++.

DVD playback doesn't require any special drivers. Last I checked, Ubuntu could handle that just fine too.

Doesn't he need to load the libdcss for DVD decryption? From what I recall it's part of the restricted / extras packages....my memory could be wrong though.

I switched from a T-23 to a T-60 this year. I dual boot my PCs. The T-23 I ran with Windows 2000 Pro and Xubuntu (and Puppy Linux on USB stick). I run Vista Ultimate, LinuxMint 9 -Gnome and LinuxMint 9 -KDE and Lucid Puppy on USB stick.

I haven't had any problems with any of the Linux distros I use on either machine. I rarely boot Windows on either system (my daughter has the T-23 now). I bought both used for well under $300 each. !'ve owned & used many expensive laptops over the years. The used T-23 was the very first one I liked, admired even. I had to replace the keyboard on the T-23 and I want to replace the T-60 keyboard. I replaced the CD\DVD soon after I got it and I run Ethernet off a card, as the personal I bought the T-60 from was not exactly honest. I still feel I got a good deal as I have about $200 in it and it came with an installed almost new high quality 15" display and almost new fast Hitachi hard drive.

I have some minor problems that I am sure I could solve but haven't bothered to try. The main one is the T-60 doesn't come out of sleep exactly right (I must bring up the security screen twice before it reactivates.

Two months ago I got an unbelievable deal on a new Thinkpad Edge, knowing many hard core Thinkpad enthusiasts do not approve of the Edge bearing the Thinkpad name. So many owners love their Edge and I am no longer a road warrior so I figured in my case the criticisms are academic.

I can see why owners tend to love this system. No, it doesn't have the ruggedness of "true" Thinkpads but the price point is much lower and the target is not corporate but home & student users. In that market, there are too many consumers who are driven by hype, looks, & are suckers for mumbo jumbo specs offered at unreal low prices. Compared to department store notebooks, I find the Edge to be better designed and built than the others. It also seems superior. I gladly trade some of the traditional Thinkpad features, which I do not need, in a strictly home PC. Besides, I nailed mine for only $399! It beats an Acer, eMachine, Gateway and some new Toshiba models any day.

My favorite Linux Distros boot & run just fine on it.

--Bruised

Temetka wrote:Doesn't he need to load the libdcss for DVD decryption? From what I recall it's part of the restricted / extras packages....my memory could be wrong though.

Yeah, you'll need libdvdcss, but you shouldn't need any special drivers.

Also, doesn't Ubuntu offer to automatically install that for you the first time you use a player that needs it? (Admittedly, I haven't used Ubuntu for DVD playback -- but I do know that it does a similar thing for codecs.)

If you pop a DVD in media player should offer to connect to the Internet and download the appropriate codec packages. I'm not on my linux box at the moment so I can't verify the exact routine but he should be able to break out the popcorn and crank up the speakers in under a few minutes.

Temetka wrote:If you pop a DVD in media player should offer to connect to the Internet and download the appropriate codec packages. I'm not on my linux box at the moment so I can't verify the exact routine but he should be able to break out the popcorn and crank up the speakers in under a few minutes.

Hmm, Ubuntu is really easy, then...wow. On Fedora, I had to install a couple extra repos, then add codec support manually. You guys and your new-fangled automation