Re: [LUG] college laptops

To: list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: [LUG] college laptops

From: Simon Avery <digdilem@xxxxxxxxx>

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 2020 14:00:46 +0000

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Since our resident biochemist, Fraser Kendall, has entered the
discussion with his recommendation of a ThinkPad, I see no reason to
contradict this view - I don't own one myself, but I've never disliked
any I've used. They are solidly built and have quite a following among
free software enthusiasts too; notice that 8 out of the 10 laptops
listed for Libreboot compatibility are ThinkPads!

I've enjoyed owning Thinkpads in the past, they were good - but there's a couple of caveats to that.

Firstly, Lenovo watered down the Thinkpad range when it launched the Thinkpad Pro range. Actually, that's misleading (as it was intended to be). Thinkpad Pro = old, rugged, thinkpads. New non-pro Thinkpads = generic base level laptops. It's trading on a reputation, which is fine if you understand it, but their business hopes you don't.

Secondly, since Superfish, I plain don't trust Lenovo. If you don't know what I'm talking about, search for "Lenovo spyware scandal" and pick the reputable news source of your choice. That was only five years ago.

Thirdly (I'm known for being bad at maths) - chances of salvaging parts from any modern laptop for re-use these days is slim. Don't bank on being able to do that.

Follow-up: Re: [LUG] college laptops

From: maceion@xxxxxxxxx