Mainstream follower, but beginning to remember the values of the IBM corp
Jul 06 '01
The Bottom Line Slightly higher priced, and often not the top of the list in performance, but justified by service and support reliability.
In general, IBM has suffered from the perception of starting it all in terms of giving a sense of legitimacy to the PC generation, and then leaning back and letting things slide for a while. This has given their hardware designers a bit of a problem in that they have allowed the marketplace to leapfrog them while they scramble to catch up -- cf. the dominance that Compaq possesses in the server marketplace.
With the release of the Thinkpad series, they have regained some of the traditional driving force that IBM plays in other marketplaces -- the Trackpoint mouse and some of the other innovations in the Thinkpads are particularly useful examples of the kind of R&D that IBM can do when it puts it's mind to things.
For new buyers, it's important to realize:
1) IBM is usually slightly behind the performance curve (it's rare that a Thinkpad will be the performance leader), but the compromises IBM makes on speed are generally in favor of usability factors such as case, keyboard feel, etc.
2) IBM concentrates more on reliability and serviceability than most other vendors. If you take your Thinkpad to a foreign country, you are almost positive to be able to get next-day service if it fails with an IBM system. Most other vendors will require you to return the system to the US. Wrt to serviceability, the Thinkpads are designed to be modular and simple, which limits the number and type of moving parts. Both NEC and Dell have specifically ruggedized models, but in general production, the Thinkpads do better than average for surviving the slings and arrows of day-to-day portable use.
3) Recent IBM notebooks have finally abandoned the incompatible software-base MWave modems in favor of hardware-based modems (finally!). Historically, the MWave modems had great difficulties with software that used the modem ports extensively, and thus caused the Thinkpads to gain a well-deserved reputation as a difficult system to build communications tools for. Most modern Thinkpads now ship with 3Com mini-PCI or Lucent Winmodems, which are much more friendly to communications software (although to be fair, much of the problem code was in Windows, not in the MWave code, so IBM has received a somewhat unfair rap for this one).
4) A down side of the smaller X series models (such as the X20) is the absence of a IR port. The A and T series models retain this useful device (particularly if you also carry a palmtop or cell phone with a IR port), but it's a pain to have to carry a serial cable for communication with supposedly wireless devices because the laptops lack the IR communications port. This appears to be a trend in newer IBM laptops, and one that is not a positive step (IMHO).
5) Another disadvantage of the smaller X series models is the complete lack of internal bays -- and thus no internal CD or floppy. While this may sound small, if you travel a lot the process of keeping track of a lot of detached devices and protecting fairly delicate gear such as a CD ROM or DVD drive from getting hopelessly misaligned or damaged in transit is considerable. Also, having to carry a "media slice" or "port replicator" to restore the ability to support CD and floppy operations often defeats the weight and size improvements that caused the X series models to be attractive -- as an example, forthe X20, the media slice DOUBLES the weight and height of the computer.
6) Note that newer Thinkpads no longer ship with operating system media, primarily due to the illicit trade in OEM media over the Internet. The original preload is available on a hidden disk partition, but beware if you are installing multiple boot partitions, or an operating system other than the one that came with the machines -- you may not be able to reinstall the original OS if something goes wrong.
7) The quality control at IBM is essentially unmatched. I've been very pleased with the machines and the service. IBM continues to take advantage of their 30+ years in the computing business to make service easy if something does break, and to do everything it can to stop problems before they happen.
8) Ordering has improved quite a bit. IBM now handles orders directly without having to find a local dealer -- a vast improvement IMHO. Both WWW and phone orders are often competitively priced with dealer "specials" and you get the IBM reputation behind the deal.
In general, they're excellent machines. They are priced somewhat higher than the bargain basement, but you get what you pay for in service, tooling, and reliability.
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Epinions.com ID:
dboyes
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Member: David Boyes
Location: Ashburn, VA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Mild-mannered engineer with decided uppity streak. None genuine without the face on the label.
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