Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 15:51:59 -0700 From: Nate Williams <nate@yogotech.com> To: des@des.no (Dag-Erling =?iso-8859-1?q?Sm=F8rgrav?=) Cc: freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org Subject: Re: The Best Laptop Message-ID: <16489.64015.51518.862906@emerger.yogotech.com> In-Reply-To: <xzpad1yq81b.fsf@dwp.des.no> References: <40686157.3020902@cs.uiowa.edu> <20040330201107.GA95453@empiric.dek.spc.org> <xzphdw6q9jn.fsf@dwp.des.no> <20040330220947.GA45392@yoda.anything-inc.com> <xzpad1yq81b.fsf@dwp.des.no>
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> > Wow, considering that, I had no issues other than having to use > > OLDKERNEL to get my pcm slots working, my TP600X runs 4.9 perfectly. So > > much for the above. > > I've had three ThinkPads, including a 600E. I've personally owned 6 different models of them, including a 750, a 755CX, a 600, a 600E, a 600X, a T21, and a T22. All of them worked very well under FreeBSD. I also supposed 200 of them in the field running various OS's (including Win95/98/NT/2K) as well as FreeBSD. We did stress testing on numerous laptops, and time and time again the Stinkpads won out. They had *FAR* *FAR* *FAR* less problems than any other laptops I've owned, included the older NEC boxes, various Sony's (which I consider to be absolute junk), and numerous Toshibas. Note, the Toshiba's were nice, but weren't nearly as usable as the Thinkpads. > All of them had problems > running FreeBSD. The 600E even had problems running Windows 2000 and > XP, even though it had a sticker on it that said "designed for > Microsoft Windows". Problems I've experienced include: > > - original battery dies, brand new replacement battery also dies > within months Never had a problem, although mine spent about 50% of the time in the docking station. Every laptop I've owned or supported has had the battery die within 12-18 months, regardless of make/manufacturer. > - increasingly severe trackpoint drift culminated in the trackpoint > being completely unusable, keyboard / trackpoint unit was replaced, > symptoms reappeared months later. This (unfortunately) is a very common ThinkPad problem, which they seemed to have finally licked in my T21. I will admit things tended to become a problem, so I solved this by always using an external mouse whenever possible (not on planes obviously). > - BIOS detects trackpoint malfunction during POST, and refuses to > boot without first running complete systems diagnostic (which takes > about half an hour and requires a working mouse because the BIOS > setup / diagnostic utility is graphical rather than text-based) I've never seen this *ever* > - laptop suddenly decides to suspend even though AC is plugged in; > upon resume, runs for 30 seconds before suspending again, etc. > Once this kicks in, laptop is unusable. The only remedy I found > was to clear NVRAM in BIOS setup. Never seen this. I find this interesting as the Thinkpads refuse to go to sleep when plugged in. (This one of the issues I faced when debugging the APM code). > - DOS / Windows utility required to select RS232 instead of IrDA, > because BIOS setup utility has practically no useful functionality > besides "select boot device" and "set boot password". Correct, but this is a one-time affair. There were Linux utilities to do this, but no-one ever took the time to port them to FreeBSD, as it was a non-issue for most bocks. > > And considering the troubles I have had with office based Dell > > Brickbooks (at 9 pounds or so, they are not really portable) Inspirons > > and Latitudes, I would not use them if I could do otherwise. > > That's disingenious. Both IBM and Dell have a variety of models, some > designed for performance and others designed for low weight. Lumping all IBM's as bad because *YOU* had a bad model is no worse. My experience is quite the opposite of yours, and given the # of FreeBSD committers who have had good luck with the Thinkpads, I'd say that it was even out-of-the-orginaary. Now, as of the Internet meltdown I've not owned a laptop, so my experiences with newer models is nil. However, if I were to buy another laptop today, I would *seriously* look at buying an older model T2X series, since: 1) I don't make the big $$ anymore 2) I know they work well w/FreeBSD 3) I've had great experience with ThinkPads and IBM support I can't speak to any long-term ownership issues with Dell's, although what experience I had with them made me love the light weight and keyboard 'feel' of the Thinkpad which I find vastly superior to any other laptop I've used. Then again, Warner like's his Sony, and I wouldnt' touch one with a ten-foot pole. Nate
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