It's funny, I switched off Arch.. probably 8 or 9 years ago now, and went to Fedora. At that point I just kind of became a Linux user, instead of a Linux enthusiast. I moved to the Apple ecosystem about two years ago, getting sick of Google's shit and deciding to go all in.
Now I'm coming back to the fold, and getting back to AOSP since I still don't want to deal with Google's bullshit. As I get deeper into ROMs, I'm realizing just how uncomfortable I am in Fedora. It's easy, it works, but there's a certain lack of control that really makes me uneasy. As I start messing around with Arch again in a VM getting ready to install on my Thinkpad, and in WSL on my work laptop, it's like I never left. Sure, I have to learn a bunch of new stuff because a lot has changed in almost a decade. But it's less about Arch, and more about changes in the Linux landscape. I feel so much more comfortable, like coming home after a long time away.
The repairability is still good, you can get parts and there's a manual published by Lenovo that will guide you on everything. But upgradability just isn't there anymore. I guess in some of the high end P series like P1, but most have soldered RAM now. The AMD models even have soldered wifi cards. I like my P14s g4 AMD, and also my T14s g3 AMD from work, but I'm really looking forward to the progression of Framework, and also System76's in-house design.
AMD currently tends towards running significantly cooler and quieter, and the graphics in the APU are far better.
Edit: I agree to avoid the E and L series, L is better than E if you absolutely must. But I wouldn't. I'd also avoid the X1, they sacrifice way too much to be thin. The T series is really the sweet spot. T14s is tuned to run cool and quiet, and is only about 1mm thinner than the T14. The T14 is middle ground, and boosts a little more but sacrifices a bit of noise. I really can't tell the build quality between the T14s and T14 in this latest design, the T14s used to use significantly better materials. The P14s is simply a T14 that supports more RAM and boosts even further.
The T16 and P16s are the same relationship at the 14 incher, but with a bigger battery and an offset keyboard with a numpad.
The X13 is the same motherboard as the T14s, but in a 13" design. The T14s and X13 also get dual USB4 on the AMD models, while the T14/P14s only get one. I think that carries over to Intel models with Thunderbolt, but I'm not sure.
The Z series is odd. Better touchpads, sleeker design, AMD only. The Z16 doesn't have an offset keyboard. The Z16 is also the only option for discrete graphics from AMD. But... they're not really Thinkpads, in a traditional sense. The materials aren't as robust, and they sacrifice cooling some for thinness. I'd consider one a lot more than the X1 series, and I'm excited for the redesign in a few years.
The P series is really diverse, from the P14s and P16s that are really just rebadges the T series, to the P1 that is a serious workhorse. There's quite a bit inbetween, but aside from the entry models, they're going to be quite a lot less portable, more power hungry, be louder, and have worse battery. If they're what you need, great, if not, eh.
I chose the P14s gen 4 AMD with 64GB of RAM. I'll run some VMs at times, and the RAM will also help future proof me since I can't upgrade down the road. I was back and forth between it and the T14s, but when I got my T14s at work I realized that this gen just isn't any more premium than the T14/P14s. I popped in a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro, which is the only single sided 4TB drive with RAM that I know of.
Originally I ordered an OLED model, but the battery life was horrible. The 400 nit low power LCD is probably what you want. The 500 nit privacy guard has horrible viewing angles by design, and the 300 nit LCD is below average in color reproduction and uniformity. The T14s has a 300 nit low power with slightly higher resolution, I probably would have gotten that if the P14s offered it. I might swap later.
SR-IOV is the keyword you can start with. I know Nvidia only supports it with pro cards. Didn't used to be the case, but I think AMD followed suit. I'm not sure on that point. I read recently that Intel is working on it for their Arc cards in the new driver, or something, but I'm really not familiar with anything regarding Intel's discrete cards.
I'm much more worried about the social implications. Namely, the displacement of workers and introduction of new efficiencies to workflows, continuing to benefit only those who are rich and in power, and driving more of us towards poverty.
It's not an immediate existential threat, but it's absolutely a serious issue that we aren't paying enough attention to.
Yeah, I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, but I'm tending towards some forced adherence to standards. Or at least interoperability through open federation.
That's why we need them to open up the APIs in the short term, but the long term goal should be to get the Universal Profile advanced, and move away from a Google-centric implementation.
Which, to be fair, Google really did seem to want carriers implementing their own interoperable RCS solutions. But they needed shit to be done, so they ended up doing it themselves.
This would be great if I could actually use it in AOSP without Google's own app, and view/reply to RCS conversations on my laptop using a 3rd party application. Open the APIs, Google, or you're just blowing hot air.
You would be very very wrong, since I hardly use my phone.
But to your point, a soft keyboard is very different for conversational input that autocorrect and predictive typing excels at, and command entry and scripting where syntax is critical and you aren't really typing in English or some other language.
Personally, I'm waiting to see how support for the M1 Macbook Air and Thinkpad X13s develop. I have a MBA already, so I'll probably throw Asahi on it eventually, and then wait for the ARM wars of 2025.
I'm not at all a fan of the keyboard on the MBA, but being passive and 13" is perfect for the couch.
They block countries that originate a lot of spam from signup, which includes the US @smokedclover@feddit.de. You can use a VPN to signup, though I did have to reach out to support at one point very early on to finalize some provisioning. I don't know if it was related to the geo-blocking, it's been awhile. But I've had no problems since.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=color+e-ink&t=ffab&ia=web