Hello to everyone!

[luncheon]

DISCLAIMER: I didn't find a proper introductions subforum, so I'll just post here... Mods, please move this if you need to.

Hello to everyone!

My name is Alejandro, I'm from Argentina and I've had ThinkPads for a couple of years now. Some of them owned by myself, some of them provisioned by the company I work for (I'm a AIX/Solaris/Linux sysadmin).

Some of the stuff I've owned (or regularly used) in the past few years:

ThinkPad 700x - mine, now gone - Windows 98
ThinkPad T41 - mine, now gone - Windows XP
ThinkPad T42 - company provided - Windows XP
ThinkPad T60 - my ex owns one - Windows XP
ThinkPad T61 - company provided - Debian 7.0
ThinkPad X130e - gf owns one, not bad for the price - Windows 7

Now I'm using the company provided T430, currently running RedHat 6.1 (I'd like to go back to Debian, but we have a company-wide enforced RHEL installation so I'll have to get used to it, I guess...). It's the poverty spec model: i5 3320M, 8gb RAM, non-backlit kbd, WXGA display, 500gb HDD.

I'm quite happy with this T430, except that I miss the T61's WXGA+ 14" display (this T430 has the standard WXGA 14" display and the difference is noticeable) and keyboard (this new layout may very well be amongst the best by today's standards, but it's no 7-row keyboard)...

Anyway, I'm glad to be here and I hope I can give you guys a hand with anything Linux related.

[Temetka]

Welcome to the forums.

I hope you enjoy your stay here.

We are a pretty good natured bunch of folk. If you have tech questions, or just want to chit chat, hit us up.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome, too.
The difference between screens in the T61 and T430 is more than just the resolution.
The T61, T400 and T410 have 14.1" widescreens in 16:10 format, in either 1280x800 or 1440x900.
The T420, T430 etc. have 14.0" widescreens in lower 16:9 format, in either 1366x768 or 1600x900.
Personally I hate 16:9 screens, too wide and too low.

[luncheon]

I like 4:3 screens myself, and 16:10 used to be a nice compromise, but that's not even an option anymore.

My home desktop has two old 19" 5:4 LCD monitors that I refuse to change for newer ones precisely because almost everything is 16:9 nowadays...

[pianowizard]

My home desktop has two old 19" 5:4 LCD monitors that I refuse to change for newer ones precisely because almost everything is 16:9 nowadays...

Actually, while 20" 1600x1200 monitors have become rare, virtually all other shapes and resolutions are still widely available -- you can convince yourself of this by going to newegg.com. For example, there are still many 24" 1920x1200 monitors, and they are very popular because many of these are IPS and are quite affordable. There are plenty of 17" and 19" 1280x1024 monitors as well.

[killer]

I love 16:9 screens.

[luncheon]

Actually, while 20" 1600x1200 monitors have become rare, virtually all other shapes and resolutions are still widely available -- you can convince yourself of this by going to newegg.com. For example, there are still many 24" 1920x1200 monitors, and they are very popular because many of these are IPS and are quite affordable. There are plenty of 17" and 19" 1280x1024 monitors as well.

I am aware of that, but in Argentina we usually get the "best sellers" only, hence almost no new 4:3 monitors or brand new W-series ThinkPads for sale around here, amongst other things... I also like the 20" 5:4 ThinkVision monitor I have at work. They've been giving out newer Lenovo 16:9 models but they are crap IMHO so I'll keep the one I have thank you very much.

I love 16:9 screens.

Well most people like them, that must be why they're pretty much everywhere! I personally prefer 4:3 since it's closer to an DIN A3/A4/etc. page in landscape (plus some space for a couple of toolbars), or two DIN A3/A4 pages side-to-side in portrait, but that's just me...

[dr_st]

Interestingly, DELL still manufactures and actively sells the 2007FP 20" 1600x1200 monitors, whereas all the 20-22" 1680x1050 widescreens have been discontinued.

[pianowizard]

Interestingly, DELL still manufactures and actively sells the 2007FP 20" 1600x1200 monitors

Not only that, but the price of this monitor on Dell's web site hasn't dropped at all in the past 5 years, indicating it's probably still selling well. That is the advantage of being the only manufacturer of a certain product category (in this case a 20" 1600x1200 monitor), and is one reason why I think copying from Apple actually hurts.

[goofyGAguy]

Well most people like them, that must be why they're pretty much everywhere!

Wrong

[luncheon]

Wrong

Well I don't like 16:9 screens myself; I'm just saying that the average consumer likes them more, or maybe more accurately, the marketing departments all around the world convinced the average consumer that widescreen is better...