Thinkpad Design Matters

[ryengineer]

Designing a ThinkPad is like putting together a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle....

David Hill

More to the story.

[mattbiernat]

The audio ports are on the front edge of a T61 because there is no configuration that puts them in the ideal spot without making some other more significant tradeoff. The Trackpoint buttons are no longer curved beccause they won’t fit in the space remaining between the hardfile and the PCMCIA slots. The display is slightly offset in order to make room for the latest antenna aray.

- what antenna? my t60 does not have one and is doing just fine. and putting your screen off center seems like a huge cosmetic sacrifice. why not let people chose whether they want that antena or not.
- the audio ports in the front are please excuse me moranic idea. anyone who wants to attach speakers will have cable running around the front
- the trackpoint buttons used to be curved. that means you guys are doing something wrong compared to the previous company.
sorry for being so rude.

[ryengineer]

- what antenna? my t60 does not have one and is doing just fine. and putting your screen off center seems like a huge cosmetic sacrifice. why not let people chose whether they want that antena or not.

FYI, your T60 has an antenna too. The bigger question with T61 design was to fit that antenna along with the new roll cage protection and leave a room for UWB antenna in case of later 15.4'' models. I humbly encourage you to read David's second paragraph again:

Designing a ThinkPad is like putting together a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Your only hint for solving the puzzle is that it will eventually end up as a black rectangle. Hundreds of variations are tried before the final layout is decided on. I have probably heard the phrase ” we tried that, it won’t fit” more than any other designer in history. Did I mention that one of the key things we strive for is leadership in weight and dimensions? This adds to the degree of difficulty. Every gram and millimeter is painstakingly considered, argued, and analyzed. ThinkPad bloat is not tolerated. Richard Sapper once compared this exercise to packing a suitcase for a journey. The X series is for a short overnight stay and the G series was for a extended holiday. I think the analogy is spot on.

- the audio ports in the front are please excuse me moranic idea. anyone who wants to attach speakers will have cable running around the front.

Music lovers with headphones can actually enjoy this approach. Also, T61 14.1 WS case was special and different nevertheless lenovo is providing you [customer(s)] with the same old design format of phone jacks on the left hand side on T61/p standard and 15.4'' models.

- the trackpoint buttons used to be curved. that means you guys are doing something wrong compared to the previous company.
sorry for being so rude.

You can give them a break:

The Trackpoint buttons are no longer curved beccause they won’t fit in the space remaining between the hardfile and the PCMCIA slots.

[KristianJ]

- the audio ports in the front are please excuse me moranic idea. anyone who wants to attach speakers will have cable running around the front

I wouldn't be adverse to this either - the manner in which my speaker setup is at the moment, I wouldn't find front mounted ports an inconvenience at all. The issue of cabling can just as easily be solved with a Port Replicator or the T6x equivalent (which I can't remember the name of )

[acasto]

My first laptop (an old best buy brand that did surprisingly well) had the audio jack on the front, and with a thin wired 45-degree plug it wasn't that big of a deal to run it underneath the system. It was annoying though with most typical plain plugs.

[mattbiernat]

I wouldn't be adverse to this either - the manner in which my speaker setup is at the moment, I wouldn't find front mounted ports an inconvenience at all. The issue of cabling can just as easily be solved with a Port Replicator or the T6x equivalent (which I can't remember the name of )

for me it would me having a cable running either 45 degrees around or underneath the laptop. but i guess i am old fashioned.

[acasto]

I have no idea why I said 45-degrees, my left brain must have been asleep, or my coffee iv drip got clogged. I meant the plug I used was a small 90-degree one.

[kensplace]

Re the article, What is a 'hardfile' is that IBM speak for a hard drive?