[sf-lug] seeking laptop recommendations to upgrade from thinkpad t61p

[Bobbie Sellers]

On 05/22/2014 02:08 PM, Michael Shiloh wrote:
> I love my trusty Thinkpad T61p, but it's getting quite old. Time to
> upgrade, but to what?
>
> I've owned many Thinkpads and loved them all. What are the Lenovo
> steps up from the T series?
>
> Or is it time to try something non-Lenovo?
>
> I strongly support what ZA Reason is doing, and would be inclined to
> go with them if one of their selections fits my needs. I know at least
> one of you uses a ZA Reason laptop and would love to hear your
> experience.
>

        Well if Zareason has what you need why go further.

    Aside from that.
    Maybe a late model Dell Latititude?  I set up a E6430 for a friend
recently and envy its speed.
    Some Dells are very highly specced and so priced.
    What do you consider heavy?
    Most of the ultra-lights sacrifice connectivity few USB ports, no
external SATA ports, or RJ-45
connectors.
     It is too early for the Lenovp Yoga Pro 2 as they need to update
the graphics processor from
what I read.
   
    I got an HP TP 15 because I had enough money and very little choice
as the Compaq had died.
but since you like the little pencil eraser-style mouse mover you don't
want the HP products line.
I will say that the Compaq was better for me because it permitted easy
hard drive changes/upgrades
while the HP does not.
 
    If you have the money the Hard driver makers will be happy to sell
you an 2.5 inch Terabyte plus
in the hybrid style with enough space for your regular OS stuff and some
programs on the SSD
side and the nearly a Terabyte on the hard drive.  I saw this the other
day with a weird name from
a Japanese maker who stuffed it into a 9 mm height package.   Other
hybrids just have a larger
than normal Flash buffer.
   
   
> Considerations:
>
> - What's a reasonable amount to spend? I expect to pay more than $1000
> but need to keep it below $2000.
    Oooh! For that price you should get some good specifications.
    Try to read the reviews of the models that sound good online.
> - Some SSD for speed. Could be all SSD, or some SSD and some spinning
> disk.
> - I carry my laptop everywhere, so weight is a concern.
> - I use the laptop constantly, so a really good screen is important.
> - Nice keyboard. I'm spoiled by Thinkpads.
    What is a good keyboard for you?  I like a full numeric keypad and
light key action but if
I had gotten a machine without them I can plug in the external keyboard
which is what I use
98% of the time.
> - I love the Thinkpad joystick thingy between the GHBN buttons. I
> don't think I could get used to a trackpad. I've tried often and I
> hate them.
    I don't much care for the trackpad but have used it.  The new HP has
a touch screen and
that can come in handy.  I do like to use a capacitive pen with touch
screens.

> - I travel quite often and long battery life is somewhat important,
> although on the one hand in-seat power is becoming more common and on
> the other hand some time away from the computer is a good thing too.
   
> - I speak publicly very often so flawless external monitor hookup is
> critical
    Tricky as the 15 PIN VGA port is going away as the .hdmi comes in
more often.
but on a a high quality machine you should have few problems with
connectivity.
> - I don't do many CPU intensive things. Mostly lots of web pages (I
> typically have 30 open tabs) and Thunderbird. Lots of Arduino compiles
> but that's pretty fast anyway. I mostly used git, Inkscape, OpenSCAD,
> Fritzing, vi, etc. I suspect lots of RAM and the SSD is more important
> that CPU speed, but I could be wrong.
    A graphics processor with lots of dedicated memory should be helpful
too.

> - Style is not terribly important to me (thank goodness)
> - Obviously something that works well with Linux (standard Ubuntu)
> without having to jump through too many hoops is important

    Well with Zareason you should have no problems  with 'buntus but if
you have to go to other
sources Ubuntu and its variants are quite adaptable to hardwares.  Some
later model graphic
processors are not yet supported in Linux but in the current Linux Pro
Klaus Knopper shows
a user how to specify the need support for a late model of nVidia gpu.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions for and against? General discussion?
>
    Hope these trivial remarks help a tiny bit.

    Bobbie Sellers