Joining The Thinkpad Cult
When I was looking for a new Linux laptop back in 2021 I inevitably thought about getting a Thinkpad. Thinkpads have a great reputation (although somewhat diminshed since their heyday) or being reliable, sturdy machines, that also play nicely with Linux. In the end I decided to plump for a different device, in no small part due to the massive price difference between it and the new Thinkpads at the time.
Having spent many months perusing r/Thinkpad though, I learned that a popular pastime was to pick up used corporate machines on the cheap. It's common to be able to get laptops in good condition that are being disposed of due to expiring warranties, for a relatively low price. And being Thinkpads it is possible to get many more years of productive use out of them, particularly if some form of Linux is installed on them.
I didn't really need another laptop, but I was intrigued by what I was reading and last year I found myself clicking around various websites seeing what secondhand devices were on offer. My research suggested that it was best to get at least an 8th Gen Intel machine, as this was the earliest that still officially supported Windows 11 (if you had any intention of performing the sacrilegious act of installing it), and in any event the 8th Gen was a good step-up in performance from the 7th and still offered a few more years worth of performance. The T480 was considered a good balance between old Thinkpads and the newer ones, being the last ever device to feature Power Bridge technology, a feature that consisted of two separate batteries, allowing the hotswapping of one on the go. It also still offered good upgradability options.
My problem with the T480 is it looked chunky. The upgradability came at the expense of size, with it weighing in around 1.65Kg, or 3.63 pounds. Thinkpads have a certain retro style to them anyway, but this one looked like a really ancient thicc boi. Instead, I looked to the sister-device from that period: the T480s. This was a slimmed-down version of the T480, which sacrificed the Power Bridge and some upgradability (only one RAM slot instead of two) for a more slender and modern frame. As I was only intending to use this for a experimenting on, and had no intention for upgrades other than perhaps a little extra RAM, this seemed ideal.
The first device I got was a T480s, advertised as in excellent condition, for AUD299 (about $200 US). When it arrived I was really impressed, the condition seemed almost new, and although advertised as 8GB RAM, it actually had 16 inside. I even proudly posted a picture on r/Thinkpad of my new device. Alas it was not meant to be, and after about two days the machine died on me. With troubleshooting suggestions from the vendor exhausted, it was returned and I got a refund.
It turned out to be quite hard to find anything of similar quality in that price range, but eventually I found another similar machine for only AUD269, the only real difference being it had 256GB storage instead of the 512GB of my previous device. This turned out to be in pretty good condition, not as pristine and the previous device, but still good. I put in an extra 8GB of RAM to make it up to 16, and it worked great.
My intention with this machine was to use it to experiment with, to try different Linux distros. I know this can be done in VMs, but I prefer the whole experience of having it on a physical device. I started out, of course, trying Arch, and then after a while I thought I'd try Fedora. The thing is, to really try out a distro, you kind of have to install all the programs you use to get a feel for what it's like using it daily. I found once I had Fedora on it, I really liked using it as an alternative to my main Pop_OS machine. Obviously the keyboard was great, and I would often spend the evening typing away on it, having spent most of the day on my main device. So I effectively had two laptops doing the same job, and was not experimenting at all!
But now things have change a bit. I recently bought a Macbook Air M4, and I think this will probably run alongside my main Linux laptop as a stable reliable device. So, I think the time has come to wipe my Thinkpad and start again with something new. I'm just not sure what yet. Funnily enough, the Thinkpad is the only laptop I have that has a valid Windows licence, so I could install Windows 11 on there, in case I need to dip into the World of Microsoft. But I'm really trying to avoid that, so I think for now it is destined to be used for more distro hopping. Here we go!