OT: Major (25%) savings on Thinkpads (today only)

[Madison Kelly]

Jamon Camisso wrote:
> Madison Kelly wrote:
>> I swore up and down that I'd never buy a /Lenovo/ Thinkpad again, and 
>> today I proved myself a hypocrite.
> 
> Why?

The (IBM) T4* series had a problem where a very large number of the 
mainboards with discreet ATI GPUs would fail because of the BGA solder 
joints breaking. This was generally caused by lifting the laptop up by 
the right palm rest area. IBM/Lenovo never officially acknowledged this.

My T40 died because of this problem, and I got a T43p to replace it. 
Then, seven days after the 3 year warranty expired, the T43p died the 
same way. They wouldn't honour the warranty (fair enough) despite 
"unofficially" acknowledging a design flaw (not fair enough!).

In the end though, they're still the best built laptops I can find. Even 
ASUS, whom I *love*, don't really have a proper business line (read: 
reliability/durability over performance/bells and whistles).

>> They've got a sale on that ends today where you get 25% off a laptop 
>> over $1,500 and free shipping.
>>
>> I was going to get an ASUS B50A but I can't seem to find them 
>> anywhere... Even Supercom, whom I have access to through work, stopped 
>> carrying them. The promotion code is "CAP72HOURSALE".
>>
>> I decided that my 3.5yo T43p is due for a replacement, so I got a 
>> shiny new T400s (or rather, will have in 3 weeks). Apparently it's new 
>> enough the Linux support isn't perfect, but I don't suspect it will be 
>> too long before the bugs are ironed out, and none seem to be 
>> show-stoppers.
>>
>> I got:
>>
>> ThinkPad T400s (3.9lbs!)
>> - Intel Core 2 Duo SP9400 processor (2.40GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2)
>> - Windows Vista Business 64 (I know...)
> 
> You can argue for a couple days and get a credit for Windows if you 
> don't agree to the EULA and stop the setup process at that point.
> 
> It takes getting through to and being nice to a manager. Mention tied 
> selling if they give you a hassle about how Windows is a part of the 
> complete Thinkpad package -- it isn't, and claiming it is is illegal. I 
> got a $75 credit from Lenovo on my T61 for Vista, and they didn't bother 
>  asking me to send the serial # back either -- afaik it will still work 
> if I try to setup windows.
> 
> In the end it all depends on how valuable your time is.

I thought about that, and may well do that yet. However, I've got enough 
uses for Windows that I may leave it there as a dual boot option. 
Occasionally I need to access IE-only websites or run Windows-only 
software for work...

>> - 14.1WXGA+ LED B/L (1440x900)
>> - Intel GMA 4500MHD (I didn't want discreet graphics, preferring 
>> battery life)
> 
> You'll probably find that the backlight (LED or not) does some funky 
> stuff with that chip. Once you're booted it should be fine, and I think 
> you can mess with acpi stuff for thinkpads in /etc to fix it permanently.

"funky stuff"?

Apparently, a lot of ACPI events aren't (yet) picked up by the kernel.

>> - 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (1 DIMM) (has a second DIMM slot, will upgrade 
>> later)
>> - T400s UltraNav with Finger Print Reader (doesn't work in Linux atm)
>> - 120GB Hard Disk drive, 5400rpm 1.8" Low Halogen (will upgrade when 
>> SSDs mature a bit more)
>> - Intel Turbo Memory 1.6, 2GB (not sure about Linux support, but 
>> should improve battery life on platter HDDs)
> 
> Friend with an SL300 (not available any more) says that it isn't usable 
> by Linux. But that's fine, fast enough anyways :)

Well, it was a $50 option... Given that I had to put the order in today 
and was already distracted enough from work, I went for it. Maybe I'll 
play with it later.

>> - DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Slim
>> ExpressCard 34 Slot
> 
> I think that's the one thing I haven't used at all on my T61, there's 
> just nothing to plug in that I want. I guess some express card storage 
> would be handy, but tbh, if they didn't offer the thing at all I 
> wouldn't mind.

In my case, I'd originally planned to wait until USB3 was available on 
laptops before I bought. However, my current laptop has been running 
hotter and hotter and I've started getting video artifacting, so I 
decided to jump on this offer. So for me, I am expecting to use the 
ExpressCard slot for a USB3 card once they become available.

I *still* plan to get my backup program off the ground someday! :)

>> T400s 6 cell Prismatic Battery (no 9-cell option [yet])
>> - Integrated Bluetooth PAN 2
> 
> I was expecting a huge hassle with bluetooth, but 
> Linux+Thinkpad+Bluetooth=fun! Worked out of the box.

Apparently not... I heard the T400s model even has a GPS receiver in 
some versions, but the Canadian CSR hadn't heard of it. :(

>> - Intel WiFi Link 5300
>> - ThinkPlus 3 Year EasyServ Total for 1 Year EasyServ (I expect my 
>> laptops to last three years!)
>>
>> They have the docking station now, but it's not on the system yet. I 
>> had to order it separately and the CSR was only able to take 10% off 
>> of that, which worked out to an extra ~$210.
>>
>> All in all, this cost me $1,834.72 + the dock, saving me ~$811.35. 
>> That's quite the savings, if you're looking for a business laptop... 
>> My one warning though is; Don't expect even five minutes extension to 
>> the warranty. Lenovo sticks to the end of their warranty period like 
>> glue. My T43p's mainboard died 7 days after it's 3 year warranty 
>> expired and they wouldn't help me. I ended up buying an R-series 
>> mainboard to keep it going until I had the money to replace it.
>>
>> Anyway, hope this might help someone and if not, sorry for the line 
>> noise.
> 
> Seems like a good deal, I'm sold on Lenovo for a ~$1000 laptop. 
> Definitely better hardware for the money than an Apple. And you can 
> install OSX on the Thinkpad as well if you're a real die hard fan (who 
> is also willing to risk incurring the wrath of Cupertino's legal team 
> and their draconian policy that OSX can only be run on official Apple 
> hardware).
> 
> Enjoy, let us know how the setup and install of your preferred Linux 
> distribution goes!
> 
> Jamon

I'll let the list know how well Linux works on it once I get my grubby 
little hands on it! I expect there will be hassles, given how new this 
unit is. Same as when I first got my ASUS Eee PC1000h... Was a pain, but 
before long it was fully supported.

As for apple, I actually stopped into the Apple Store in the Eaton's 
Center yesterday. On top of being totally ignored (guess I don't look 
'hip' enough), none of their machines had a comfortable palm rest. 
They've all got ridiculously sharp corners. Combine that with their 
inaccessible guts, all having only 1280x800 (or there abouts) screens 
and I just couldn't bring myself to get one. I like a laptop I can tear 
apart myself. :)

Madi
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