Thinkpad T400 on the International Space Station

[TonyJZX]

This cap is from the very recent PBS doco about Scott Kelly.

http://az648995.vo.msecnd.net/devices/2 ... 24x682.jpg

Nice to see that they have upgraded from A31s and whatever.

I guess its a T400, I mean I wouldnt trust a Nvidia powered T61 in space.... I mean I wouldnt trust it down here.

[TPFanatic]

The narrow screen bezels and smaller touchpad seem to indicate it's a 15.4" T61.

If it's an intel graphics normal T61 it's easily understandable why it's still alive. Maybe the Nvidia chips perform better in space. Or NASA has a bunch of virgin T61ps waiting to replace the casualties.

[bit_twiddler]

posted back in 2014, but probably hasn't changed much:

http://gizmodo.com/how-astronauts-use-l ... 1654962539

[brchan]

That is a 15.4" T61. The 'Thinkpad T-series' palmrest logo gives it away. I think these are the most recent thinkpads on the ISS.

[Olwe]

Hey I was just about to post a new thread on this: ISS seems to be solid Thinkpad-land. Anyone know more details? Wikipedia says they're IBM A31 and Lenovo T61p apparently running Linux! (Jaw drops in amazement.) I'm doing a T430, X201, and a few T61 on Ubuntu myself, but to know I'm in such brilliant, high company is amazing!

[jaspen-meyer]

This showes a T61p:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ikouWcXhd0&t=1m50s

[rkawakami]

@Olwe: There's several threads here that refer to Thinkpads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). You can find them using the Search tool at the top of the page and specifying at least the term "ISS" (without quotes) in the search box.

[jdk]

As is noted here, the Thinkpads on the ISS are about to be a thing of the past. NASA will be replacing the antiquated T61s with 15" HP Zbooks.

Also saw a post from OMGUbuntu that Ubuntu is the operating system used on the ISS. If you want to have an ISS-inspired workstation these days, get a ZBook and load Ubuntu LTS on it.

So yeah, end of an era and all that.

[brchan]

The ISS switched all their remaining windows machines to linux in the latter half of 2013 for security and reliability over XP. Debian 6 is actually the most commonly run distro, in addition to redhat, scientific, and ubuntu, etc.

With the current state Thinkpads, I don't blame the ISS for switching over to HP. They were probably also turned off by the nvidia gpu defect that likely affected their T61p models. However, I am not sure what modifications or special testing laptops go through when they will be in space.

[micrex22]

The ISS switched all their remaining windows machines to linux in the latter half of 2013 for security and reliability over XP. Debian 6 is actually the most commonly run distro, in addition to redhat, scientific, and ubuntu, etc.

With the current state Thinkpads, I don't blame the ISS for switching over to HP. They were probably also turned off by the nvidia gpu defect that likely affected their T61p models. However, I am not sure what modifications or special testing laptops go through when they will be in space.

If an nVidia bugged T61 can pass, I'm sure there are not many restrictions.

A lot of businesses are switching to HP, even within our own client base that traditionally bought ThinkPads: so it's not surprising the ISS is as well (although their primary motive may be to use 'American' OEMs, which is moot since they all come from the same factory in foxconn and use the same ICs). Maybe LENOVO will wake up some day, but the damage is largely done.

[rambo47]

When ThinkPads were made by IBM, there was a NASA/IBM "US-made" connection. Once a Chinese company bought the ThinkPad division from Big Blue the only way they would keep their role as primary supplier of pc's was to destroy the competition in both quality and price. That didn't happen. And Lenovo's faux pas with the Superfish malware may have been the final nail in their coffin. Even if Superfish was only loaded on a limited number of units, their reputation took a big hit. Folks seriously questioned Lenovo's judgement and ethics.

There are some good laptops out there made by other companies, but I don't know if we'll ever again see anything like the heyday of the IBM ThinkPad. Hey - if we're all so addicted they must have some something right!

[micrex22]

When ThinkPads were made by IBM, there was a NASA/IBM "US-made" connection. Once a Chinese company bought the ThinkPad division from Big Blue the only way they would keep their role as primary supplier of pc's was to destroy the competition in both quality and price. That didn't happen. And Lenovo's faux pas with the Superfish malware may have been the final nail in their coffin. Even if Superfish was only loaded on a limited number of units, their reputation took a big hit. Folks seriously questioned Lenovo's judgement and ethics.

There are some good laptops out there made by other companies, but I don't know if we'll ever again see anything like the heyday of the IBM ThinkPad. Hey - if we're all so addicted they must have some something right!

If a ThinkPad doesn't say 'IBM' on it, it lacks the corporate culture that fostered the principles that made it what it was. There's no way LENOVO is going to adopt IBM's mentality so even with a "retro" ThinkPad it's going to be a disaster. The fact that LENOVO is arrogant enough to call the T4x/T6x features 'retro' is proof enough. What's retro is their "new" primitive 6-row keyboard that early ThinkPads sported, NOT the advanced T4x/T6x 7 row keyboard!

[Norway Pad]

When ThinkPads were made by IBM, there was a NASA/IBM "US-made" connection...

I also suspect that the US-made connection in the IBM days, made the IBM Thinkpad the only logical choice. IBM was such an integral part of US business back in the glory days, that it wasn't just some pc-manufacturer. It was an institution, a supplier of complete systems. I don't know, but you would suspect that IBM mainframes and specialized equipment from IBM also powered NASA's ground infrastructure. Even if the older Thinkpad units probably also had their flaws, it was probably accepted and a part of the game.

[FryPpy]

May be OT but....
Have seen SciFi movie Life and the ISS in the near future... ISS becomes bigger. More bigger screens and computers embedded in hull panels... and only one notebook. I think it is Thinkpad but with 6 row keyboard and strange ultranav. I think it is one from 430 or 530 series.