The long wait for a new Thinkpad

Two years ago I bought the first laptop I really loved and claimed as my own - the Thinkpad T42p. While it wasn't exactly a competitor compared to the Core Duo laptops during that era, that Thinkpad was IT for me, given its size (14" screen with 1400x1050 resolution), weight (2.2kg with the 9 cell battery), ran Linux flawlessly, no Windows keys, and durability (my first laptop, a Dell Latitude C640, was already dead beyond any repair) that's unsurpassed in mainstream brands (no, Toughbooks don't count as "mainstream"). Coupled with a good price of P63,000 back then it was a steal for me to get that mobile workstation.

Fast forward to today. After having sent it for repairs to replace the FireGL graphics card and a new screen, the Thinkpad that I loved is already showing its age. Sure it's still fast, but given the nature of my work, a laptop with a 1.8GHz Pentium M and 1GB of system RAM will not be enough for running multiple VMware images. What I'd want/need is a laptop that would go 4GB, or better yet, beyond, without breaking my back in terms of weight.

I must admit, I've been considering the Macbook Pro - it's sleek, it's got a Unix already preinstalled (Mac OSX), and it will go to 4GB without hiccups. A definite plus is VMware offering their bread and butter app for only $70 on Mac OSX, whereas in Linux and Windows they easily cost $180. The only thing I'm worried though is how much level of abuse will it take. The Thinkpad I'm already familiar with its build quality and ability to last a long time, but not with Apple portables.

There have been reports lately that Lenovo has already revamped their numeration strategy with the advent of the Thinkpad X300. It seems that their numeration system already indicates the the size of the LCD - X300 at 13.3", the rumored X200 at 11", while there's news of T400, T500, W500, W700 Thinkpads. Now if they only have arrived now I would've gotten one.

Looks like it's gonna be a long wait for me. I'm not getting the current X or T-60 series. Besides, I'm still short on cash so it's not really a priority for me.

Syndicated 2008-04-01 11:27:00 (Updated 2011-08-20 17:30:59) from Living Core Dumps