jcarax @ jcarax @beehaw.org

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2 yr. ago

Typically go for the model coming off business leases, with the slim T model or 13" X model being very popular and well built. The X1 series tends to have cooling issues, so I'd avoid them without a lot of research into the specific model. The P series tends to get run harder, so I'd be a bit hesitant there as well. It seems a lot of companies extended to a 4 or even 5 year lifecycle, so normally I'd be saying to start looking for the T14s g1, of which the AMD models started being very good. But you'd probably be looking more towards the T480s and T490s, still, and I think you'll probably want to stick with Intel for those. But if you find a good deal on a T14s, particular the AMD model, I'd say jump on it.

In recent models, target the 400nit low power IPS screens. Avoid the 500nit privacy guard screen, which basically behaves like a TN panel as far as viewing angles. The 300nit screen has color reproduction and uniformity issues, but I do have one on my work T14s g3, and it's not horrible. I have the 400nit on my P14s g4, and it is substantially better.

Thinkpads aren't as upgradable as they used to be, so be mindful of the RAM in particular.

Also none of the 500 nit privacy guard, and the 400 nit low power is generally much preferable to the 300 nit. Not just for brightness, but color reproduction and uniformity are far better.

I believe the T480s and T490s are in the sweet spot right now. Most companies seem to be moving to 4 or 5 year lifecycles, so we don't seem to be seeing many T14s g1 coming off lease yet.

It’s aggressive marketing. Or unfair marketing.

I believe the technical term is "horseshit"

Yeah, I can't see other options other than this or VMs being worth the trouble.

Configuring local software vs delegating to a web service

Agreed, but unfortunately, unless they implement VJOURNAL in their caldav implementation, I'll probably switch to Fastmail when my prepay is up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I very well might be, but doesn't Bluemail do the same thing as the new Outlook for their "instant push" feature? I don't see how else they'd accomplish that.

To be fair, they aren't journalists. They're a privacy-centric mail provider that is warning their customers.

Definitely not GNU, that's even worse than calling it Linux. We should simply call it by it's own name, Vega or whatever it ends up being. Android is Android. ChromeOS is ChromeOS. We can acknowledge they utilize the Linux kernel and some other open source code, and as such give some back. But they are not what we refer to as Linux, as that is a spirit as much as if not more than it is a collection of software.

Slackware. In its early days, fine, it's been around forever. But a modern distribution without dependency handling is just nuts to me.

Yeah, I gave Apple a try over the last two years, largely because I was annoyed with Google and wanted to ditch Android. I've been fed up since about 6 months in, but gave it some more time, which led to an eventual waiting game to get the replacements I want.

I just picked up a Thinkpad P14s g4 AMD with a 7840u, 64GB of RAM, and a 3 year onsite warranty for $1270 after taxes. I added a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro for another $270. I can't imagine spending more than that and only getting 8GB RAM (and less warranty), which is what I have assigned to the GPU. Plus I get to run Linux, which I really didn't realize how much MacOS would leave me wanting.

The thing I'll miss is the iPhone 13 Mini size. I found iOS to be absolute trash, but there's just not an Android phone that's a reasonable size. But at least I can run Calyx/Graphene on a Pixel and get a decent OS without spying.

I do like the M1 MBA form factor, too, but I'll grab the Thinkpad X13s successor for portability and get a better keyboard. I don't need top end performance out of that, I really just want battery life and passive cooling.

And don't even get me started on the overpriced mess that are the Airpods Max. I much prefer the Audeze Maxwell and Sennheiser Momentum 4 I replaced them with.

I just don't go to McDonald's.

If I had to choose between Windows and MacOS, I'd definitely choose MacOS. But I sure am glad I don't have to.

Maybe it's not on sale everywhere, but it's the same price as a 256GB Pixel Tablet for twice the RAM, twice the storage, and full Linux instead of Android.

Tablets are traditionally a closed design, with the OS tightly locked down. Even if that price were high, which I'd challenge it's not aside from the CPU choice (probably by necessity), there's bound to be a bit of a premium for early devices to a niche market.

Yeah, I got fed up with Google, so I got an iPhone and Macbook Air a couple years back. I decided to try to buy into the Apple ecosystem fully, and have been... less than thrilled. I switched back to a Pixel 5 running Lineage earlier this year, and just ordered a new Thinkpad to go back to Linux.

I do like the passively cooled MBA, and I'm not sure if I'll install Asahi or keep OSX for more mainstream needs. It's pretty minimally specced, unfortunately, with 8GB/256GB. I initially got a MBP 14, but decided it didn't fit a specific need, so got this MBA as a stopgap.

I am seriously looking forward to the upcoming Qualcomm/Nvidia/AMD ARM competition.

Unfortunately, I still have to use Windows at work. I could install Linux on my workstation, but I have a couple Windows apps I absolutely have to use, so I'd have to run a VM. I'd be restricted to Ubuntu LTS, so I might give it a go in May or June.

I actually had to check, since I never use them. No, it does not.

Ah, I see. I think. I'm mostly troubleshooting through logs, packet captures, configurations, etc.

Unfortunately I deal with sensitive data in my notes, so I'm restricted. Can't even sync my notebook off my local SSD.

My big takeaway from this thread is that, wow, people actually use that feature. I use OneNote at work, and I absolutely loathe that if I click a bit too low, I end up outside my note.

I'm on one too, and I wish it was a little smaller. The Nexus 5 was just about perfect, though I thought it was a touch too big at the time. I think rounding the corners a bit more would do it.