
Lenovo Accidentally Leaks an Image of Its ‘Retro Thinkpad’ - nwrk
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/09/retro-thinkpad-image-2017
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thinbeige
I (as a decade long MBP user) still think that Thinkpads nailed notebook
design.

Since I moved more and more to Arch on a cheap Chinese notebook which seems to
replace my MBP for 90% of my tasks I hope to get a Thinkpad with Arch as my
next main notebook.

~~~
Crontab
What model notebook did you move to?

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thinbeige
It's the Xiaomi Mi 12.5". It's a great subnotebook, Arch working flawlessly
since all parts are from Intel but sometimes I need a bigger screen thinking
that 14" of a Thinkpad X1 might be the sweet spot.

~~~
koolba
Where do you buy Xiaomi laptops?

First couple of sites that came up after a basic search were either selling
Chinese versions or priced in HKD. Is there a preferred USA based distributor?

~~~
Crontab
I would like to know as well.

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nullc
Gigantic useless trackpad. Looks like no status leds. Where oh where is the
x60 of today?

Is there some place where I can just pay them the profit margin for this
laptop and have the count added to their sales figures? This laptop is an
improvement, but it looks like it still has a long way to go. :(

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ggreer
> Where oh where is the x60 of today?

It's an ordeal, but it's possible to have one. This[1] is my primary computer.
It's an X61 chassis with a Core i7-5600U, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. The screen
is a 12" 1400x1050 IPS LCD (matte, not glossy). It's my favorite laptop.

Putting it together took months. There's a group of enthusiasts in China
called 51nb that make modern internals for old ThinkPad chassis[2]. I ordered
a barebones chassis from them in March and received it in June. After that I
replaced the LCD's ancient CCFL backlight with an LED conversion kit[3],
improving battery life and brightness.

If you want to know more, I wrote a blog post detailing the whole
experience[4].

1\.
[https://geoff.greer.fm/photos/x62/DSC_2304.JPG](https://geoff.greer.fm/photos/x62/DSC_2304.JPG)

2\.
[https://www.51nb.com/benzhanshiye/2017-06-08/83668.html](https://www.51nb.com/benzhanshiye/2017-06-08/83668.html)

3\. [https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/thinkpad/led-
backlight.sht...](https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/thinkpad/led-
backlight.shtml)

4\.
[https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/](https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/)

~~~
mncharity
Off topic, but regards "VR with Eye Tracking [...] Imagine this technology
being used in a VR Silent Hill or Resident Evil. You put the headset on and
start playing. You see something move in your peripheral vision, but by the
time your eyes have saccaded, it’s gone. No matter how hard you try, you can’t
get a good look at it. With only hints and sounds to go on, your imagination
fills in the rest. [] Such a game would be –without a doubt– the scariest game
ever. I can’t wait to play it."[1]

My fuzzy recollection is there was a CAVE setup (at siggraph? some years back)
which used a head-mounted backwards-facing tracking camera, and the hemisphere
behind you was filled with tracking markers. So if you quickly turned your
head, out of the corner of your eye... apparently it created "something is
behind me!" creepiness.

There's also a VR game prototype that mutates the world behind you when you
are facing away. "Wait, was that chair there before?" It's disturbing.

The Shadertoy Fovea detector[2] illustrates how narrow your high-res fovea is.

[1] [https://geoff.greer.fm/2016/05/14/interesting-tech-that-
is-j...](https://geoff.greer.fm/2016/05/14/interesting-tech-that-is-just-
around-the-corner/) [2]
[https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4dsXzM](https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4dsXzM)

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kwhitefoot
Not retro enough. I want an up to date T62p. The original had a 1600x1200
screen! Surely should be able to get a better screen than that now, but no the
W540 that the company leases for me is worse in almost every way.

On the T62p I could view an A4 pdf in life size. I suppose I could do the same
on a modern Thinkpad if I were to rotate it 90 degrees, :-(

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infodroid
I'm not sure what is so retro about the 16:9 display. Surely Lenovo can do
better than that?

~~~
bonzini
I'm not sure no one even makes 4:3 panels with a diagonal more than a few
inches long.

I would have hoped for the light, though... It is one of the reasons why I am
clinging to my X230.

~~~
4ad
Apple makes a 12'' iPad with a 4:3 display.

Apple also makes a ton of 16:10 laptops while nobody else does.

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josteink
If that's the real deal, I hope the Ctrl and Fn keys can be swapped in bios.

My muscle-memory just can't cope with control not being lower left.

~~~
nothrabannosir
Last Lenovo I had (±2y ago), it actually could. So there's a good chance this
will be possible.

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kev009
I will probably end up buying one of these because I am a complete sucker for
the concept and that keyboard is to die for.

But I have a ThinkPad P50 right now and it is pretty much the ultimate
laptop.. 4k screen w/color correction, trackpoint, 2x nvme storage, Xeon with
64G ECC RAM. It doesn't even cost that much if you do all the non-soldered
stuff yourself off newegg.

~~~
blfr
_ThinkPad P50 right now and it is pretty much the ultimate laptop_

Impressive specs but not terribly mobile. It's 377.4 x 252.3 mm (14.86" x
9.93") and the weight _starts_ at 2.5 kg (5.6 lbs).

~~~
kev009
I didn't actually /want/ a 15", previously I'd always used T4x and T4xx, but
the specs are not possible on the existing 14". The specs outweigh the form
factor for me by far.

It is usable on an airplane. Weight doesn't bother me at all, and it's not
heavy or thick. But I'd buy a 14" if I could get the same specs.

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funwithjustin
"Accidentally"

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dom0
"Leaked"

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PaulRobinson
I found my 240 the other week when unpacking some boxes I'd not looked in for
years after moving house. Genuinely great little machine.

A decent retro Thinkpad as a Hackintosh would probably make me a very happy
camper...

~~~
limeblack
I have messed with macOS on Thinkpads and the updates are an absolute pain.
Not even to mention the iMessage and App Store issues. Yes there are
workarounds.

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einrealist
Lets hope they did not just put retro keys on a chiclet keyboard. And if this
thing is on par with a T470p, they can shut up and take my money!

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klez
While I see were you're coming from, even the x60 (which is still IBM-branded)
had chiclet keys, and so does the x220 (my weapon of choice), but it's still a
great keyboard (at least, it is for me and for many people I read on the
various *chans when ThinkPad topics are discussed, so ymmv)

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askvictor
The x220 did not have chiclet keys (at least not the 700 or so of them that i
purchased and administered).

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cyberferret
Nice. I've used ThinkPads for many decades now. Love the retro look and
keyboard feel. Might have to replace my W520 soon...

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emergie
They did a 7row keyboard - thats good. But why they had to mess with Insert
key?

I want t60/t400 keyboard, not this t420ish

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Terr_
Does it come with newer spyware?

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pls2halp
I’m pretty sure I saw a Windows 10 start menu, so yes.

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Crontab
This is the correct answer. Microsoft has made Windows 10 a joke - which I
hate to say because I have generally liked the NT line.

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binaryapparatus
Real beauty. I rarely use laptops but I will get this one as soon as it is
available.

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bitL
Nice! Finally something with non-chiclet keyboard! I am in! My wrists will
rejoice!

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Multicomp
Finally a great-great-grandchild for my 380XD

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arthurcolle
looks like alan kay's dynabook

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fit2rule
I think the GPD Pocket looks more like a dynabook these days ..

