Backstory - Thinkpads and me
How did our glorious hero fall into the ThinkPad rabbit hole?
Well, it started a little after adopting Linux as my preferred OS (I use arch btw). I was enjoying the new life of my Ideapad…which did not last much long.
During the pandemic I developed the horrible habit of going to bed with my computer, which prompted me to wake-up in the middle of the night with a loud THUMP of the computer hitting the floor?
Did I change this habit after the computer falling too many times? I absolutely did not!
All this accumulated damaged and fatigue started wearing on the chassis, particularly on the side of the power port. By the time I was finishing the Algorithms and Data Structures course at the end of the second year’s first quarter I was using the Ideapad with a large metal clamp to ensure the connectivity of the charger (the battery also started to wear off by this time - the computer has ran a 6.5 year cycle of daily use and abuse).
I did not need much convincing about having to retire this laptop, however I did have to convince others that replacing it by a Thinkpad from 2013, bought from a goverment official, by the cheap price of a little over 100€, was in fact a good idea. That’s how I acquired the T430 (Khâzad-Dûm) Thinkpad, which I daily drived for the remainder of my BSc and MSc.
“But you’re talking about a T430 Thinkpad, how did you get the x200?”
Fun story: This X200 (Aglarond) was bought as a Linux replacement for Martim after we (presumably) fried his old Linux laptop while trying to upgrade it (we in fact did not, we only super-charged the security capacitors, and therefore that same computer was restored a year later). And so this X200 was bought as a joint venture where Martim contributed 25% of the moolah and I contributed 75% (I felt bad for having (presumably) fried his PC at the time - a guy has feelings).
The X200 and me
Honestly, I have kinda been an absent father to the X200, with this machine being used by Martim for around 75% of its lifetime.
Has I regularly upgraded the T430: new battery pack, new screen , dock station, installed a corebooted MoBo on it…you name it!
Damn did I enjoy the heck of it, It is still my favourite machine.
But…
But when it came to travelling I was craving something lighter, something more portable like a 12’’ Thinkpad B^))
Also the T430 hinges have this problem where they break and its a pain to replace them.
And so, like the Don Corleone to the undertaker Bonasera, I asked him for a favour…For the X200 to come into my possesion for some time.
Altough I like to joke that the T430 was my back and leg workout, I soon understood why the classic X-series is so famous - this guy is seriously ultra portable, I don’t even feel it in my bag! Its amazing!