Originally Posted by
alanw
*GAG* You're right. There was a profile shot on Gizmodo the other day and there it sat, awkward jagged black plastic latches sticking out in all directions, exposed screws, and a design inspired by Soviet-era wheat thrashers. It is the anti-MBA. Some people like that, evidently. Paying an extra grand for something slower with smaller battery, though, doesn't make much sense to me, but it does have an available internal optical drive for all those times you have to reinstall Office!
I wonder if it's available with OS/2?
Never used OS/2 thankfully. IMHO, the TP and Apple laptops have historically shared a common "keep it essential and practical" design ethic. Lenovo is moving away from it. Apple may be carrying it a bit far.
My previous TP, a T42, traveled extremely well for 3+years. I don't like XP, but it was reasonably stable except for the last 3 months. The CD/DVD was seldomly used. I don't think I'd miss it.
The new T61 is a pure Lenovo product. It still uses the basic Thinkpad design principles but doesn't feel as well constructed, and it's big and heavy and the battery (extra cells) discharges and charges seemingly too fast. I'll try to get an X300, but the MBA felt like a work tool the first time I picked it up and opened it. I'd be able to
use it as compared to dealing with it. And OS X is so much nicer.