My new T60P in one word: stunning

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zephyr · #1 Post by **zephyr** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:15 am

I recently received my new T60p (15" 1600x1200, 2Ghz CPU, V5200 video card, 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200 RPM drive). I never thought I could love a piece of magnesium and silicon as much as I love this thing.

My T60p is built like a tank. The dual-core CPU is blazingly fast with 2GB of RAM. I've done Photoshopping, run VMWare with Kubuntu Linux inside, watched a DVD; I don't think there's anything I can't do with this. The screen is gorgeous and bright. There is a single green stuck pixel though (I'll save the natural question for another thread). The touchpad is amazingly accurate.

It is extremely cool to the touch. Note that I had bought and returned two Macbook Pros, which were absolute scorchers. Those puppies were running near 90 celcius when plugged into AC. My T60p gets warm underneath when running on AC, and by warm I mean "warm like blowing warm breath onto the back of your hand" kind of warm, not "I'm going to fry a freaking egg on this Macbook Pro" kind of warm. I've used two different programs to monitor the temperature, and the CPU never got above 55 celcius.

The fingerprint reader is, IMHO, absolutely worthless. It takes me at least 3-4 swipes to get through; usually the error is "too short", which probably means I didn't show enough skin. For goodness' sake, I could have typed my password in the time I swiped 3 or 4 times. Also, when my computer wakes up from standby mode, the fingerprint software doesn't even recognise that I'm swiping (no reaction is given by the software), so I have to bring up the password dialog box.

Other than the fingerprinting nonsense and the stuck pixel (which is kind of driving me nuts), this machine is just stunning. I can't imagine even needing to ever own a desktop anymore.

intelbrain · #2 Post by **intelbrain** » Sun May 21, 2006 1:15 pm

is that the 2623DDU? my finger reader is cool, i have a boot on password (it makes me feel important

). You have swipe slowly and start at least at the join of your finger. Mine works perfectly everytime. However, there is not much use for it besides that.

Kel Ghu · #3 Post by **Kel Ghu** » Sun May 21, 2006 1:24 pm

Mine works perfectly too. I love it. Though I use only for power-on, hardrive and windows password. Three passwords with only one finger sweep.

sergeycentral · #4 Post by **sergeycentral** » Sun May 21, 2006 1:36 pm

I only wish that I would not have to spesify a password and just use the figer reader, becuase having both is redundant. but then again, what if it breaks / or cant read ur fingers anymore.

#5 Post by **archer6** » Sun May 21, 2006 1:46 pm

zephyr wrote:I recently received my new T60p (15" 1600x1200, 2Ghz CPU, V5200 video card, 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200 RPM drive). I never thought I could love a piece of magnesium and silicon as much as I love this thing.

Yes in the final analysis, I too really like my new 60 series ThinkPads.

zephyr wrote:The fingerprint reader is, IMHO, absolutely worthless.

I have the exact same experience as you, with the fingerprint reader. So this time around I was very careful to choose a model that did not have the fingerprint reader or the Verizon EVDO, as I have no need for either of these and didn't wish to pay for them.

However, I did learn something after spending much time trying to get the fingerprint reader (on my T43) to work. It does seem to depend how dry your skin is, or how "legible" your fingerprint is. In my office the majority (over 40 people) using the fingerprint readers have no trouble whatsoever.

Ironically I just had my passport renewed and "they" had a hard time getting prints from me.

bessel · #6 Post by **bessel** » Sun May 21, 2006 2:22 pm

The redundancy is important. Imagine what if one day you cut your index finger badly and have to get it bandaged... Just kidding

#7 Post by **archer6** » Sun May 21, 2006 2:34 pm

bessel wrote:The redundancy is important. Imagine what if one day you cut your index finger badly and have to get it bandaged... Just kidding

10 Points for the humor

Thanks!
Archer6

sergeycentral · #8 Post by **sergeycentral** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:10 pm

haha yes that could very well happen..
thats why you can scan all 10 fingers in for backup..
i dont even want to imagine how one would loose all of them!

so with the password/finger reader combo I look at it this way..
I will have to make a complex password, preferable a complex paraphrase for boot/supervisor/hd protection and create a finger print for the reader.. then discard remembering the complex paraphrase? and just use the finger reader? wouldnt writing the paraphase on paper or saving it on the internet somewhere still comprimise security? futhermore, and this is where the greatest security problem lies within the reader, is that finger prints could be edited with the thinkvantage software... the only way this is protected is with the windows password, which are easily crackable if under 8 characters. so now you need to remember another long complex password somewhere... or do you just discard keeping these passwords and just rely on the finger reader?

#9 Post by **archer6** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:43 pm

sergeycentral wrote:or do you just discard keeping these passwords and just rely on the finger reader?

Here's the method I use: Go into the bios setup and create a bootup password, and a hard drive password. That simple. I have used this method for years and it's very secure.

Even if someone steals your laptop, removes the hard drive and installs it in another Thinkpad they cannot boot it up and get to your data. I really don't mind typing in a password vs. swiping a finger over the reader. Especially since in my case the reader cannot read my prints. That's not a problem with the reader just my fingerprint pattern.

NightStorm · #10 Post by **NightStorm** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:54 pm

zephyr wrote:The fingerprint reader is, IMHO, absolutely worthless. It takes me at least 3-4 swipes to get through; usually the error is "too short", which probably means I didn't show enough skin. For goodness' sake, I could have typed my password in the time I swiped 3 or 4 times. Also, when my computer wakes up from standby mode, the fingerprint software doesn't even recognise that I'm swiping (no reaction is given by the software), so I have to bring up the password dialog box.

True enough, it was fun to play with for a while but its failure rate is so high as to make it an annoyance. Many, many times I can swipe my finger across it, trying various speeds, lengths, and pressures, and it does not even react, seemingly seeing nothing at all.

bessel · #11 Post by **bessel** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:02 pm

You have to press it through hard enough. My fingerprint reader worked every time after I figured out how. Well it was a cool thing to show off to your friends, but not any more since everyone around me started to get a Thinkpad themselves.

NJRonbo · #12 Post by **NJRonbo** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:36 am

Count me in as another T60 owner who has had
nothing but problems with the fingerprint reader.

john 86 · #13 Post by **john 86** » Tue May 23, 2006 7:50 am

Try keeping your finger flat. Not raised as shown on the Thinkad video. This gives me a 95% sucess rate.
Cheers John

christopher_wolf · #14 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:14 pm

Also, and I know this will sound strange but it has some effect, try moving to different areas and then trying it again. I have noticed that there are certain areas where the FPR will not pick up my fingerprint, and others where, no matter how sloppily I do it, it always gets picked up...So there is some variation to how well it can read the fingerprint versus the surroundings.

astro · #15 Post by **astro** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:05 pm

There is a guy at work, with a very new T43, whose FPR works fine at work, but does nothing at home(?). He thinks it is because of the flourescent lighting at work.

OTOH, the FPR on my T60 has been just perfect.

christopher_wolf · #16 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:11 pm

astro wrote:There is a guy at work, with a very new T43, whose FPR works fine at work, but does nothing at home(?). He thinks it is because of the flourescent lighting at work.

OTOH, the FPR on my T60 has been just perfect.

For me, My FPR has worked in 95% of the places I have used my T43; for some reason, it seems to like fluorescent lights better. Lighting doesn't, per se, have any direct effect on it, but the fluorescents are going at 60Hz, perhaps there is a filter in the FPR that is specially tuned to block out 60Hz? I don't know...I do know that incandescent lighting has no effect on it. Lighting shouldn't because it uses fringe capacitance to track the location of the ridges and valleys in the fingerprint. So it has to be something else...

MIB · #17 Post by **MIB** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:10 pm

mine FPR works perfectly.. but the bigger problem is, I couldn't really use it much other than start up login, I was imagining I can use the FPR to login to website etc before I got the machine..Now I am pretty much give up the idea.

rasta · #18 Post by **rasta** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:20 pm

no problems here w/ the FPR, get the odd time error, mainly when hands are not completely dry. Now i can have a really complicated passwords no one can remember (not even myself) and unlock the computer w/ the FPR. very handy i would say. also not worried anymore if i loose (lets hope not) my laptop. The data will be save, the laptop will end up worthless, unless the mainboard and hard drive are changed.

astro · #19 Post by **astro** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:20 pm

MIB wrote:mine FPR works perfectly.. but the bigger problem is, I couldn't really use it much other than start up login, I was imagining I can use the FPR to login to website etc before I got the machine..Now I am pretty much give up the idea.

What's the problem? I thought you could do this?

I have to admit that I haven't tried it yet, but at the very least the keyboard shortcuts to launch the Password Manager are annoying me because Ctrl-Shift-B is supposed to bring up Adblock on Firefox...

MIB · #20 Post by **MIB** » Tue May 23, 2006 10:16 pm

astro wrote:
MIB wrote:mine FPR works perfectly.. but the bigger problem is, I couldn't really use it much other than start up login, I was imagining I can use the FPR to login to website etc before I got the machine..Now I am pretty much give up the idea.
What's the problem? I thought you could do this?

I have to admit that I haven't tried it yet, but at the very least the keyboard shortcuts to launch the Password Manager are annoying me because Ctrl-Shift-B is supposed to bring up Adblock on Firefox...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=24845

if you finger out how to use it please do let me know,

My new T60P in one word: stunning

My new T60P in one word: stunning

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