Comments on: Super-Slim ThinkPad Sneak Peek

By: Thinkpad X300 gegen Macbook Air - The Inquirer DE

Thinkpad X300 gegen Macbook Air - The Inquirer DE — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:21:50 +0000

[...] All Things Digital // [...]

By: Abe Olandres

Abe Olandres — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:35:14 +0000

Did you guys see that new parody on Youtube?

By: Andrew Wagner

Andrew Wagner — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:38:39 +0000

@ Steve Markman, and lest we not forget that almost all laptop manufacturers (Apple and Dell included) have ODM’s out of China and Taiwan manufacturing their laptops (Mostly out of the Shenzhen region and Taipei).

By: Andrew Wagner

Andrew Wagner — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:34:22 +0000

@ Steve Markman, Thinkpads are still manufactured in the same plants as they were when IBM owned them. Nothing has changed in that regard. And beyond that, Lenovo is actually planning on transfering assembly out of china and into Tawain. Regardless, they make a great product and the thought of China implementing some magic microcode is a ridiculous notion, especially for someone who apparently works in the security market.

By: Steve Markman

Steve Markman — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:08:11 +0000

Lot’s of good and thoughtful comments among the usual bashing comments. No wonder I can’t decide.

I am often just a poor old user and to be honest I have to use Macs and Windows systems because the world is a mix. But I am very tempted to switch to Apple hardware and software with Windows on the same hardware so I can start to save some money on hardware and software.

The MBA is not designed for me, I need more power for video editing in the field. But I love the design and I’m hoping for lighter weight, higher power, large memory, large storage MBPs. The next laptop for my wife will be the MBA. It’s a perfect fit.

The new ThinkPad looks great, but the SSD is too small and the benefit is not clear other than mechanical reliability. I’ve been very happy with all the IBM ThinkPads I’ve used in the past including the oft maligned version with the expanding keyboard. They just work.

But I am now heavily engaged in the security market designing products to thwart cyberattacks. Consequently, I will never buy another ThinkPad now that they are made in China. This is not a prejudicial comment about China’s capabilities. In fact it is those very capabilities that force me to shun Chinese-manufactured computers. The Chinese have shown a propensity for cyberattacks on our infrastructure and undoubtedly plan to use these well honed capabilities (coupled with millions of Lenovo ThinkPads, which could bear hidden microcode), when it furthers some cause. I don’t plan to help them or anyone else by inadvertently spreading such capabilities.