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Comparing 15" Powerbook to Thinkpad X41

iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
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IMBY
I bought a Thinkpad X41 yesterday. I got it to resell, at least that's what I told my mom. :D

Anyway, this thing is incredibly small. It weighs 2.7lbs with a battery installed, and has way, way more ports than the Air. Plus it was $350. It's a Pentium M 1.5GHz, with 1.5GB RAM and a 60GB HD. It averages about 0.8 inches thick.

Being bored, I took two pictures of it and my 1.67GHz 15" Powerbook together. As you can see, it is friggin' tiny....

20080328-cw4xmw1654bfft67p5xdehc9i2.jpg


20080328-kmsre452ibtnirjygfpnj5n84w.jpg


Oh, and for you guys thinking my hand is insanely large, I ain't grown. :D
 
iDAG

iDAG

macrumors 65816
Sep 9, 2007
1,064
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Athens, Ohio
My school has Thinkpads for notebooks. They are one of the worse PC's I have ever used. I hate them with a passion (and any PC as a matter of fact). :cool:
 
iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
iDAG said:
My school has Thinkpads for notebooks. They are one of the worse PC's I have ever used. I hate them with a passion (and any PC as a matter of fact). :cool:
Click to expand...

IBM Thinkpad: Superior hardware, craptastic OS.

I really wish your experience with thinkpads wasn't in school. Schools take horrible care of their laptops, and they're so locked down it's pathetic. :mad:

What are your specific reasons for hating them? I mean, they are utilitarian (read:fugly), but...

Oh, well, it's not their fault they're slow.... Blame the school.
 
R

redrabbit

macrumors 6502
Aug 8, 2006
320
0
I love my thinkpad + Ubuntu. No speed issues and great OS. Awesome for travelling, since I can swap out the battery.
 
iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
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queshy said:
The air has a C2D and is probably way faster...but the X41 is sick!
Click to expand...

I really hate to be a "traitor", but what the hell. This thing is awesome. It's lighter than an air and has all the power most people need in their computer.

On the other hand, if ol' Stevie dropped an air off, I WOULD NOT SAY NO. :D

ryannel2003 said:
You hate anything tech wise that doesn't bear the magical Apple logo...
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Is it morning where you live? Because I think you've consumed a ROFL waffle.

But, iDAG, this isn't true, is it?
 
iDAG

iDAG

macrumors 65816
Sep 9, 2007
1,064
0
Athens, Ohio
iMpathetic said:
Is it morning where you live? Because I think you've consumed a ROFL waffle.

But, iDAG, this isn't true, is it?
Click to expand...

Every time I have used a PC, it has been a bad experience. I tried to get along with them, but it was never meant to be. I never touched a PC until I was in seventh grade and the first one I ever used was a Thinkpad. Who needs crap when you can have a Mac! :cool:
 
Abstract

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,889
921
Location Location Location
The only negative against the current Lenovo equivalent is that the processor is slower, and it's uglier than the MBA. Otherwise, it's a better laptop, and is probably what most people wanted the MBA to be. The same people who don't like the X41 in this thread would have been drooling over the current version of this machine from Lenovo if the outer casing was designed by Apple.
 
iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
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IMBY
iDAG said:
Every time I have used a PC, it has been a bad experience. I tried to get along with them, but it was never meant to be. I never touched a PC until I was in seventh grade and the first one I ever used was a Thinkpad. Who needs crap when you can have a Mac! :cool:
Click to expand...

What did the school do to those poor PCs? Light them on fire? I mean, PCs aren't that bad. XP Pro is a tad awkward at times, but it's lightweight and reasonably stable. What model of Thinkpad did you first use?

Also, it's always good to make yourself comfortable with PCs. You can't spend your life in la-la-land. :rolleyes:
Abstract said:
The only negative against the current Lenovo equivalent is that the processor is slower, and it's uglier than the MBA. Otherwise, it's a better laptop, and is probably what most people wanted the MBA to be. The same people who don't like the X41 in this thread would have been drooling over the current version of this machine from Lenovo if the outer casing was designed by Apple.
Click to expand...

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. While I do agree that the thinkpad design is dated and utilitarian, I don't mind it at all. The keyboards are out of this world, and considering I suck at typing, that's a plus.

To take a leaf out of a video's book, "Leave the air alone!" Everyone's whining about it because it's got no optical drive, blah blah blah.... The thinkpad doesn't have an optical drive either, and I don't expect it to. If the air did have an optical drive, it'd essentially be an overpriced MacBook.

At least the X41 has a nice, 1.5lb dock with a DVD drive and tons o' ports.

EDIT: Also, a point I want to stress. i do not expect anything I bought for $350 to be an Air killer. It comes close though.
 
digitalnicotine

digitalnicotine

macrumors 65816
Jan 11, 2008
1,171
40
USA
OP: congrats on your new laptop. I haven't seen this model in person before, so the perspective shots are appreciated. I haven't owned an IBM laptop in years (not since windows 98 hehe), but I loved that little workhorse when I had it. I know this isn't anything a guy wants to hear about their hardware, but it's kinda cute (forgive me lol). :)
 
kondspi

kondspi

macrumors regular
Sep 6, 2006
131
0
NC
If the Thinkpads were utilitarian computers, the argument you guys would be making is that their form follows their function.

This argument is flawed, for it assumes they actually function.

The Thinkpad's intetnded design aesthetic is an interesting one: the Armonkeys have to make a computer that LOOKS like it works. Gratiutious black plastic seems to hide a powerful machine. This is a trick they've been using ever since the days of Big Blue. This is also the trick the Borg attempt to replicate in their design of the Vista and XP interfaces: the "corporate" builds look more serious, even though they are the same exact system, functionally.

At least Apple's design is honest. The more powerful Pro Macs also appear more powerful from the outside than the consumer and prosumer models.
 
iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
digitalnicotine said:
OP: congrats on your new laptop. I haven't seen this model in person before, so the perspective shots are appreciated. I haven't owned an IBM laptop in years (not since windows 98 hehe), but I loved that little workhorse when I had it. I know this isn't anything a guy wants to hear about their hardware, but it's kinda cute (forgive me lol). :)
Click to expand...

It sure is! :D I like cute computers. They are cool.

Want some more shots, anyone?
 
digitalnicotine

digitalnicotine

macrumors 65816
Jan 11, 2008
1,171
40
USA
kondspi said:
If the Thinkpads were utilitarian computers, the argument you guys would be making is that their form follows their function.

This argument is flawed, for it assumes they actually function.

The Thinkpad's intetnded design aesthetic is an interesting one: the Armonkeys have to make a computer that LOOKS like it works. Gratiutious black plastic seems to hide a powerful machine. This is a trick they've been using ever since the days of Big Blue. This is also the trick the Borg attempt to replicate in their design of the Vista and XP interfaces: the "corporate" builds look more serious, even though they are the same exact system, functionally.

At least Apple's design is honest. The more powerful Pro Macs also appear more powerful from the outside than the consumer and prosumer models.
Click to expand...

Interesting point. I never really thought about it before.

iMpathetic said:
It sure is! :D I like cute computers. They are cool.

Want some more shots, anyone?
Click to expand...

I'd love to see more shots.
 
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