T43 REVIEW

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asiafish · #31 Post by **asiafish** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:01 pm

No Windows key for me, thank you very much. Heck, I'd even prefer to lose the touchpad and the silly blue keys on the newer models and go back to the clean look of the old T20 for the new models.

One of the things that keeps me fom upgrading is that I just really like the look and feel of my T22 better than any of the new models. Still, performance marches on.

DJL · #32 Post by **DJL** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:49 am

Does anyone know if the new T43 is thinker then T42, I was looking at specifications on ibm web site and it appears so...

I've bought a T42 because of this reason, maybe i made a mistake

Tsuioku · #33 Post by **Tsuioku** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:24 am

The windows key doesn't bug me that much.. Guess I'm not a l33t user..
I rarely use the search function or run dialog... heck.. I don't even use IE...

I guess the main shortcut I used was win+m... to minimize all windows... and maybe win+L...

My only beef is that I wish they would swap the Fn and Ctrl keys..
After using my TP for a bit, I often hit the win key on my pc (and vice versa)
Nothing major though...

Steve007 · #34 Post by **Steve007** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:15 am

DJL wrote:Does anyone know if the new T43 is thinker then T42, I was looking at specifications on ibm web site and it appears so...

I've bought a T42 because of this reason, maybe i made a mistake

What mistake??

TarzanBoy · #35 Post by **TarzanBoy** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:19 am

Are you guys nuts? Why would anyone in their right mind want a windows key? Niether my desktop nor laptop keyboards have a windows key... which isn't a coincidence.

All those keys do is bring up the start menu when trying to play a computer game. Annoying. I'd like to punch whoever decided to include them on 90% of the keyboards out there in the face. It can be tough to track down keyboards that do NOT have this key. (for the most part pre win98 keyboards don't have them)

ehsu · #36 Post by **ehsu** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:42 pm

I want a windows key because I use all those functions frequently and they are really useful.

Winkey + D (Back to Desktop),
Winkey + E (Win Explorer),
Winkey + L (Logon Screen),
Winkey + R (Run command),
Winkey + F (Search).

I don't mind where the winkey is located (Toshiba even places it at the top right corner of the keyboard). But I guess I can try to live without one.

It's nice to see Fingerprint Reader is now a standard feature.

DJL · #37 Post by **DJL** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:47 pm

It should have read the T43 is thicker then T42. I was wondering if anyone could confirm this. I checked on IBM website and it indicates the T43 is thicker then T42... I purchased the T42 due to this assumed fact.

Steve007 wrote:
DJL wrote:Does anyone know if the new T43 is thinker then T42, I was looking at specifications on ibm web site and it appears so...

I've bought a T42 because of this reason, maybe i made a mistake
What mistake??

dfumento · #38 Post by **dfumento** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:14 pm

DJL wrote:It should have read the T43 is thicker then T42. I was wondering if anyone could confirm this. I checked on IBM website and it indicates the T43 is thicker then T42... I purchased the T42 due to this assumed fact.

Steve007 wrote: What mistake??

If you compare 14" to 14" and 15" to 15" I believe they are the same thickness. You can't pay too much attention to the specs on the website unless you look in the tabook (you can find the link on the FAQ in my signature).

#39 Post by **JaneL** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:26 pm

>I don't mind where the winkey is located (Toshiba even places it at the top right corner of the keyboard). But I guess I can try to live without one.
>

There are a number of solutions that have been discussed already for this. One of them is item #14 in the FAQ.

Kenn · #40 Post by **Kenn** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:22 am

TarzanBoy wrote:Are you guys nuts? Why would anyone in their right mind want a windows key? Niether my desktop nor laptop keyboards have a windows key... which isn't a coincidence.

All those keys do is bring up the start menu when trying to play a computer game. Annoying. I'd like to punch whoever decided to include them on 90% of the keyboards out there in the face. It can be tough to track down keyboards that do NOT have this key. (for the most part pre win98 keyboards don't have them)

That's what I used to think - when I was really into gaming, I popped the windows key off of my keyboards to keep it from switching out of the game

I have to admit that nowadays I don't play many games, so most of my time is spent on the desktop. However, I'm much faster productively now than before, because I've learned to embrace hotkeys, and typing [win-r, calc] or notepad or ipconfig or cmd is faster tlhan dragging a cursor to desktop or quicklaunch icon to do the same task. It also saves me from having a horde of launch icons for common tasks.

As long as you're not gaming, the windows key is a very power-user tool, and anyone who uses it for more than just "popping up the start menu" can tell you.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if it were a hotkey-only button, and didn't open the start menu at all (which is totally annoying even on the desktop).

xtypestereotype · #41 Post by **xtypestereotype** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:09 pm

asiafish wrote:No Windows key for me, thank you very much. Heck, I'd even prefer to lose the touchpad and the silly blue keys on the newer models and go back to the clean look of the old T20 for the new models.

One of the things that keeps me fom upgrading is that I just really like the look and feel of my T22 better than any of the new models. Still, performance marches on.

You can buy a palm rest with no touchpad for the T4x series...

And no Windows key for me too...
I think the only time I have ever used it was by accident...

I respect those who find it useful but I think of it only as Microsoft's attempt to stick the Windows logo on every keyboard on this planet... And I must admit they have been quite sucessful...

Daniel · #42 Post by **Daniel** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:39 am

I just wish the ctrl key was in a different location. I don't mind not having the windows key because it's remapped to the right alt key. However, with the ctrl key being there, I tend to get frustrated when using something other than my thinkpad.

zelchenko · #43 Post by **zelchenko** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 6:54 am

As long as I can remap another key (like right-Alt or one of those web navigation keys) I have no problem with the absence of a predefined Windows key. That said, I use Win-D, Win-R, and Win-E all the time.

New Thinkpad Owner T42 2379-DXU

Previous Models Possessed (assigned by employers): T21, T23

Kenn · #44 Post by **Kenn** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:43 am

Yep, I eventually settled on web-forward. I tried right-ctrl, right-alt, and right-shift before, but I kept changing them after realizing I used all of those keys for photoshop. As long as something easily-reachable lets me trigger the hotkeys i need!

benz · #45 Post by **benz** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:34 pm

Look people, its pretty freakin simple to make a Windows key on your Thinkpad. Use the Keyboard Customizer utility to remap the right Alt. Then, download Winkey (http://www.download.com/3000-2344-91362 ... ag=lst-0-1) and put it in your startup folder. You can then have a hotkey for any application, folder, command, etc you want. I have almost used up all of the letters on the keyboard. This is great for stuff I use all the time, here's part of my setup:

Win + I = Internet Explorer
Win + O = Outlook
Win + P = Winamp
Win + K = Picasa
etc, etc,...not to mention you can use Winkey to change the default windows mappings to whatever you want.

trikster2 · #46 Post by **trikster2** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:17 pm

Disappointed that the main review thread for the T43 has deginerated into a winkey discussion. Hasn't thinkpads.com already been through this 1000 times?

How about some real input from T43 users on things that make the T43 different? Important things like screen, PCIe gigE performance, ethercards, X300 "performance"?

Thanks!

zelchenko · #47 Post by **zelchenko** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:32 pm

Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but I suspect that it's premature to get impressions from many T43 "users", as there are very few people with the connections to already possess the product. Keep searching for reviews from journals. I know it's tempting to endlessly discuss something hardly anybody can get their hands on, but what's the point?

Now if I can only get Verizon to stop sending me inserts advertising their "new" 3.0M DSL service--they've already told me they can't give me any DSL anyway.

#48 Post by **JaneL** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:20 pm

>Disappointed that the main review thread for the T43 has deginerated into a winkey discussion. Hasn't thinkpads.com already been through this 1000 times?
>

You're right. It has been discussed before, and actually, another thread about the winkey isn't scheduled until July. Mark your calendars! ;-)

trikster2 · #49 Post by **trikster2** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:03 pm

zelchenko wrote:Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but I suspect that it's premature to get impressions from many T43 "users", as there are very few people with the connections to already possess the product. Keep searching for reviews from journals. I know it's tempting to endlessly discuss something hardly anybody can get their hands on, but what's the point?

Now if I can only get Verizon to stop sending me inserts advertising their "new" 3.0M DSL service--they've already told me they can't give me any DSL anyway.

My bad. I took the Feb 05 listed in the tabbook as gospe, and the CNET "user reviews" users are claiming they recieved T43s as early as 18 Feb. Given the product has been on the street for a month, I assumed everyone but myself to be the owner of a shiny new T43.

If they are shipping T43's it's curious that there are no mainstream reviews.

mpdn · #50 Post by **mpdn** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:18 am

My T43 was ordered in mid-Feb with a delivery date for 8 March. Then was told that it would be 29 March. Now my supplier is not able to give me a concrete date. When are they actually arriving??!

mikejcmurray · #51 Post by **mikejcmurray** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:20 am

Sorry to add to the Windows key discussion, but I was wondering what the keyboard shortcut is for right click on the mouse? Thanks

mpdn · #52 Post by **mpdn** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:52 am

T43, model 266892G, arrived this morning! Inserted extra 512mb mem, all well so far. Finishing work early to check it over as per the FAQ's.............

zelchenko · #53 Post by **zelchenko** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:27 am

Oops. Looks like I'm the one who should be embarrassed. I could've had one in my hot little hands if I wanted. There are T43s in stock in the higher education store. I kept hearing from so-called "reliable" sources that they aren't available yet.

kknute · #54 Post by **kknute** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:17 pm

There is a utility available on the IBM site called Keyboard Customizer that allows you to easily map a key combination and has the Windows Key as a default combination. Search the IBM site for 1qkca3ww.exe. The companion text file (1qkca3ww.txt) provides the details regarding installation, applicablity and use. Works fine for me and doesnt require a startup folder entry (but probably isnt as versatile as other key mappers that are available).

darrenf · #55 Post by **darrenf** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 10:25 pm

mikejcmurray wrote:Sorry to add to the Windows key discussion, but I was wondering what the keyboard shortcut is for right click on the mouse? Thanks

Shift-F10

-darren

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