Thinkpad s30!?!?!

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bronevaya · #1 Post by **bronevaya** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:28 pm

http://www.dynamism.com/thinkpad/main.shtml

Why have I never seen this before? I am in love!! Where can I get one? (other then on that website)

bronevaya · #2 Post by **bronevaya** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:32 pm

P.S

I want my x31 to have that piano black gloss, how is this possible?

bbray · #3 Post by **bbray** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:34 pm

That is beautiful. I'd wax it like it was a Porsche.

shartley · #4 Post by **shartley** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:33 pm

Unfortunately these are no longer available from Dynamism. This link is still active but you can not get to it from their main site anymore. I was fortunate enough to pick mine up on ebay a couple of years ago. Only place I know of now to get one unless you know someone in Japan. That is the only other place that they may still be available.

bronevaya · #5 Post by **bronevaya** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:35 am

what do you think about yours? I am going to get my x31's top done in that piano black. I know that the s30 isnt the fastest thing on the planet, but I love its design. Are there any other thinkpads released outside of america?

shartley · #6 Post by **shartley** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:36 pm

I totally love it. You are correct tho about the speed. The 600Mhz processor is adequate for normal stuff like office apps, web browsing and light photo editing but the stock hard drive is the real bottleneck. I've heard of other S30 owners upgrading the HD to a faster 7200 RPM 8MB cache drive and being amazed at the performance increase. Only problem with the black gloss finish is that it scratches so easily. Almost to the point where it limits it's usefulness as a portable! Maybe I'm too careful with mine. I'ts definitely not a knockaround laptop. It gets stares whenever I have it out with me. All in all it's the best thinkpad I've ever owned. Battery lasts for over 5 hours, screen is crystal clear and the thing just looks cool. There is a version of the X31 that comes with the gloss black finish (I think it was the 10th Thinkpad Anniversary edition) but that model is impossible to find, probably even rarer than an S30.

manixc · #7 Post by **manixc** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:15 am

IBM need to bring back this S-series. It looks gorgerous. Just imagine the S30 with today's specs. WOW

Batuta · #8 Post by **Batuta** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 6:13 pm

lilserenity · #9 Post by **lilserenity** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:42 am

Batuta wrote:(Very) Good: >1 compact flash slot<
Bad (joke): >The Pentium III SpeedStep and 256MB RAM (max)<

This thing must be oooold. I like the design, but CPU and RAM size are not adequate, even for WindowsME (certainly not for WinXp SP2 or Win2K).

Did they ever develop a follow up model?

One : the Mobile Pentium III isn't all that old, we're probably talking a 2000/2001 era machine here. For the average person who word processes, makes a spreadsheet, browses the web and does their email, uses IM, and perhaps manages their holiday snaps from their digi cam, a PIII 600MHz on Windows 2000 or XP I think is actually a rather nice setup.

I of course could have more patience

Two : old does not mean of no use. You'd be surprised what you can do on a ThinkPad with 160MB and a Pentium II 233MHz if you are prepared to wait a few more seconds for the usual things. This is just based on personal experience with a vast array of setups.

Three: 256MB may refer to the maximum that IBM ship it with. The S30 is of the T20/21/22 era so I am guessing it's actually 512MB maximum.

Four: I have used Windows 2000 just fine with 160MB plus, it does of course depend on what you do, but I have found that Windows 2000 is fine on 160MB+ and Windows XP is also fine on 192MB is you turn off System Restore.

Five: I believe there was an S31.

Finally

It was not the X31 afaik that was celebrated in the 10th anniversary of the ThinkPad but rather the X24.

The X24 is of course a rather mean little contender too

Vicky

Batuta · #10 Post by **Batuta** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 9:54 pm

lilserenity · #11 Post by **lilserenity** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 8:27 am

Nobody said you had to buy one

However those who do want to get hold of a S30/31 despite it's 4yr old specification might appreciate to know the real deal with it.

I found the Hardware Maintenance Manual for the S30/31 series.

It states:

10.4" TFT LCD at either 640x480 (ERK!) or 1024x768 resolution (still prefer 1400x1050 myself
Pentium III 600MHz - although curiously it says 128KB L2 cache, insinuating this is a Celeron... I'm sure it is 256KB and IBM's stuff has bee wrong time to time.
128MB Onboard, expandable with a further 128MB DIMM meaning indeed 256MB is the maximum. However it might take more, as a lot of 600Es can exceed the maximum memory level IBM stated.
Ethernet and 56K Modem built in
802.11b Option on some models

All in all, for anybody interested in such a machine of this size, I'd say they were better off looking at the X20 series which is much more cheaply had and have a more recent specification.

Also, the X20 series does have an integrated compact flash slot too, instead of two PC-Card slots it has one.

I don't think I find myself gagging for a S30/31 at this point

#12 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 1:02 pm

Mhhhm, let me think. Hammer in nails into the wall? Smash racoons over the head with?
Use for target practise? Twisted Evil

I'd rather use an old PowerBook for that.

shartley · #13 Post by **shartley** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 12:21 pm

Everyone has valid points here. But, the point of the S30 is not it's performance (Tho, I realize that that is what most consumers consider when purchasing a computer). The point to the S30 is compromise. The machine is MUCH smaller than an X20 (I had an X21), much more portable, incredible battery life and it looks beautiful. All attributes that the X series does not posses. I paid $655 for my S30 (with 256 MB Ram), External Floppy, External CD-R-RW and I sold my X21 to help fund it. Most may say that I paid more to downgrade but only on performance (and the performance hit was marginal). The truth is, I do not put much stock in a computer's performance anymore since I don't do much gaming or video editing. If the computer can easily do what I want it to do then I don't need the extra horsepower (I still use my old Apple Duo 2300c to control all of my X10 units in my house). Battery life and portability become the selling point (and the fact that it just looks frickin cool is also important)

shartley · #14 Post by **shartley** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:08 pm

Also, FYI. The following is a link which compares the S30 and the X23. Page is in Korean but most of it can be translated using Altavista:

http://www.ibmmania.com/review-aticle/x ... 23-s30.htm

Batuta · #15 Post by **Batuta** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:06 pm

shartley · #16 Post by **shartley** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 6:33 pm

There is an interesting article on slashdot about a craftsman in Europe who has taken a Dell 600mhz laptop and completely rebuilt the plastic case using wood and leather. It is a stunning piece. Not many may understand why this individual decided to take an old Dell laptop and spend uncounted hours and money to transform it into a work of art. I am sure that the time and materials involved far eclipse the cost of the actual hardware (laptop itself was probably only worth about $300). Probably the same reason most S30/31 owers shelled out the $ for their units. I am not saying it's a smart thing to do, buying stuff because of form rather than function rarely is. But, in the end, whatever makes you happy. I should have also stated previously that I am a collector (which was also a big reason for the purchase).

Also, check out folding@home (http://folding.stanford.edu/). I have this running on all machines (including my S30!). Donate computing time analyzing protiens for possible new cures

(Response typed on IBM Workpad Z50 running NetBSD) - No WINCE here!

JHEM · #17 Post by **JHEM** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 7:24 pm

I've been running United Device's shared component on all of my systems since the first IBM funded share way back when.

http://www.grid.org/projects/

Much more satisfying than what I consider a fruitless attempt at communication arising from SETI.

Regards,

James

#18 Post by **daeojkim** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:20 am

bronevaya wrote:P.S

I want my x31 to have that piano black gloss, how is this possible?

Check this thread...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=8609

Batuta · #19 Post by **Batuta** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:32 am

JHEM · #20 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:51 am

Batuta wrote:I'll report you to NASA and the X-Files

You have my permission Rick, as long as you can guarantee that Scully will be the lead investigator!

Regards,

James

f1hp · #21 Post by **f1hp** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 11:32 pm

Batuta, you're a 'techno-snob', aren't you! Fess-up ... ;))

Batuta · #22 Post by **Batuta** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:20 am

gazingwa · #23 Post by **gazingwa** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:29 pm

And what PDA is that?????

f1hp · #24 Post by **f1hp** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:11 pm

"...f1hp, I'm a Power User so address me with appropriate humbleness..." -you meant "humility" of course... How appropriate that is!

;)

Batuta · #25 Post by **Batuta** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:51 pm

gazingwa · #26 Post by **gazingwa** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:16 pm

Brand, model, i'm actually curious, not mocking you

Batuta · #27 Post by **Batuta** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:01 am

bronevaya · #28 Post by **bronevaya** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 5:16 am

I had one of those, great build quality, but it was a bit too big for me. The camera was perfectly useless.*

Batuta · #29 Post by **Batuta** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:10 am

bronevaya · #30 Post by **bronevaya** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:03 am

I geuss its just my mentality of "I want it to do more" in terms of performance. Yes the camera was great for a pda, but its no 3 megapixel digital camera. And browsing on it was always a pain for me. I geuss honestly i had no bussniess owning one as my work doesnt really call for one

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