[yoodenvranx]

For me it's the Lenovo T61 with a 14.4" 4:3 display (or any of the older 4:3 IBMs).

Yes, compared to modern laptops it is heavy, slow, bulky and has a shitty display but: i) I can replace every single piece of it with a simple screwdriver and ii) 4:3 is still the best aspect ratio for reading and developing. If I am doing the latter I prefer a screen with a lot of height. A 4:3 aspect ratio gives me a tall screen while keeping the overall size of the laptop down.

When DVDs became popular there was suddenly the idea that a laptop _had_ to have a 16:9 aspect ratio (e.g. "HD") and unfortunately this killed the whole idea of a laptop with a tall but narrow screen. Microsoft seems to go back to an older style with their 3:2 but I'd still love to see a modern T61 with a true 4:3 screen.

[JoshMnem]

I thought it was going to be an older Thinkpad. Matte screen, great keyboard, three-button touchpad, runs Linux, and you could drop it on concrete while running with barely a scratch. (I haven't dropped one recently to test the newer models.) Also cheap next-day, at-home repair plans where they drive to your house and fix anything that is broken without asking any questions.

[RachelF]

The matte screen is a must have for me. I dislike seeing reflections and find matte screens have way less eyestrain.

[O1111OOO]

> For me it's the Lenovo T61 with a 14.4" 4:3 display (or any of the older 4:3 IBMs).

Which is why I thought it was odd that he didn't even mention aspect ratio. 16:9, for example, is a deal-breaker for me personally. This limits the kind of devices I have available (and sadly, increases the price point) but I simply can't do 16:9 as I find it too constraining.

My options today are 16:10 and 3:2. From a hardware standpoint, Apple's document-friendly screens on both their laptops and tablets have always been a strong selling point. Currently on a 16:10 but shopping around for a more modern 3:2/16:10 that's Linux-friendly.

[sAvi0r]

What do you find constraining with 16:9? It's got more wasted space than 4:3 when you're working with a single window I guess, but who seriously works with just one open window?

Maybe I'm having trouble envisioning a modern 4:3 screen, since the only ones I have for reference are a couple old 19" ones I've got lying around but I can't imagine I would comfortably be able to have 3 vertically split files open on a screen e.g.

[yoodenvranx]

The main advantage (at least for me) is the physical height of the display. If I sit in front of a laptop I don't want to look _down_, I want to look forward as much as possible. The taller the screen, the more comfortable I can sit. And the T61 with a 4:3 ratio has a higher display than all modern laptops while keeping the size down. I could get a 17" gaming laptop for a similar height but those machines are massive.

[walterbell]

As a longtime and current Thinkpad user, the best 4:3 solution on the market today is Apple’s iPad Pro 12” Retina TrueTone + Logitech Create keyboard + Pencil.

There is no technical or supply chain barrier to 4:3 displays, panels are available in quantity on alibaba.

[platinumrad]

16:9 (or 21:9 even) is fine for large displays that sit on top of a desk but wide aspect ratios don't have the required physical vertical height to be comfortable at laptop sizes.

[madengr]

I miss 16:10. Probably will never have those in a 4k resolution.

[platinumrad]

Seconding 4:3 being the absolutely best aspect ratio for working with text. My X220 is amazing in a lot of ways but 16:9 is borderline unusable on any display under ~17 inches in my experience. Even 16:10 feels so much better.

You may be interested in making a "T70", which is a 15.4" T61 shell with a contemporary motherboard made by a group of Chinese ThinkPad enthusiasts. I've been considering an "X62" (same concept applied to the X61) but haven't pulled the trigger yet due to concerns about reliability and maintenance.

[camgunz]

Hey! I just got a couple X62s last weekend.

Quality control is an issue, but only kind of. There's a warranty and the 51nb people are super cool and helpful. Some people go all out with the backlight mod etc, but the only reason I'd do that is improved battery life; the regular backlight suits me fine.

Other than that, it's an amazing machine. I used an X60 for years and it's just like that, but better in basically every way. And relative to other comparable machines they're pretty cheap too.

[platinumrad]

If you don't mind answering how was your experience with the ordering process? Did you get them via LCDfans or did you use a proxy in China? Did you order them assembled or did you put the motherboards in X61s that you acquired separately? Thanks!

[camgunz]

Of course!

I tried a few different ways; ordering was kind of difficult. I tried a couple PMs on Reddit which got lost, I tried the order form a couple times from facebook.com/lcdfans but that didn't work out either. Then I sent a Facebook message, Jacky responded and we started emailing. That worked. I think their email addresses are listed on the FB page. Basically the strategy is to be relentless haha.

Ordering itself took more than a month; I think I wired money 10/5 and finally got them 11/10.

I did order them assembled and they were perfectly new, no blemishes, scratches or anything. They're so new it's eerie (because all the parts are new old stock), except it's such a beautiful experience you don't care. I think the shell I got was an X61s; I still have that X60 and there are some small differences (no infrared, for example), but they mod them - ex: for the video outputs - so it's possible they do other tiny mods also.

I ordered 2; one was completely fine, the 2nd freezes with 2 DIMMs installed (works fine w/ 1) and I haven't decided whether or not to warranty it.

All of which is to say that you're right, it's significantly more effort than just loading up Amazon and clicking a few times, but I love ThinkPads so it was completely worth it to me. Even with 1 DIMM I'm super satisfied - so I guess either I'm completely in the tank or they're really great haha.

LMK if you have any more questions :)

[platinumrad]

Awesome, thanks a lot!

[yoodenvranx]

Yep, I am thinking about one of those, but my main problem is not so much the CPU/RAM but the display itself. The 4:3 display in the T61 is just not up to date anymore (e.g. it is utter garbage in every single category). I'd rather have a modern IPS display in 4:3 than a new motherboard but this does not exist.

If there would be a modern "IBM" with a 1600x1200 IPS display in a 14"-ish chassis I would be first in line to buy it.

[platinumrad]

It's true that there are no 14.1" 4:3 IPS displays but 15.4" 1400x1050 and 1600x1200 IPS displays do exist which I believe is why the modders decided to target the 15.4" T61 rather than the 14.1" T61. Unfortunately, 14.1" 4:3 ThinkPads are really the sweet spot for me as well as 12.1"/12.5" is just a bit too small and 15"+ is too large.

[yoodenvranx]

> Unfortunately, 14.1" 4:3 ThinkPads are really the sweet spot for me as 12.1"/12.5" is just a bit too small and 15"+ is too large.

This is exactly my problem! 12" is too small for longer reading and 15" is already getting too bulky for carying it around. 14.1" is the perfect myth of both worlds.

[sliverstorm]

Movies have always been widescreen, in general. I believe VHS and broadcast was a detour. Do you remember all the "this has been modified to fit your screen"?

Since computer displays are advertised by their diagonal measure, for monitors with the same display area, a wide screen monitor will have a larger diagonal measure, thus sounding more impressive. -- Wikipedia

[wl]

4:3 came first. Televisions mimicked the movies. Then the movies went wide screen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_ratio

[nullc]

I was really surprised to see a macbook named there. I've used that model and hated it -- though I suppose not more than other modern laptops.

In my view there is no comparison to the x61 and x61-tablet with the higher resolution screen. I continued using mine until I couldn't get a replacement screen and backlight dimming and bubbling made the screen unusable.

[fapjacks]

I'm a big Thinkpad person, too. Had and loved the W530. Now I have and love the P50.

[jlgaddis]

Here in my home office, I have three laptops within 10 feet or so of me: a late-2015 MacBook Pro, a ThinkPad T420, and a ThinkPad W530.

95% of the time I'm using the workstation on my desk but when I'm not I almost always reach for the W530. I've probably only touched the MBP three or four times in the last year or so (since I built the workstation).

I absolutely love the W530! I've had it for, I think, about 4.5 years but it still has twice as much RAM as the MBP (32 vs. 16) and a pair of Samsung 850 PRO SSDs in a ZFS mirror. It is a beast of a laptop (considering its age) and it takes a beating riding around in the saddlebag of a Harley-Davidson.

[fapjacks]

Yes! I was sad I had to leave it behind (work laptop) and actually strongly considered buying one for myself. Then I started using the P50 and honestly, if I did buy one for myself, I think it would be this one. It's essentially the W530 brought forward.

[SirFatty]

I know this is a story about Apple.. but you are spot on, the Thinkpad, especially the IBM versions were the best laptops. I used a Thinkpad from the mid 90's right up till they sold to Lenovo. I had an x41 for years, one of my favorites... and like you said, all the parts were replaceable.

[NovaS1X]

I was also a Thinkpad user and switched to Mac for the primary reason of the 16:10 screens (with the resolution and color accuracy to boot). I loathe 16:9 in anything less than 27"

[dzhiurgis]

With high resolution screen and 19:10 (or whatever format macbook has) you can do side-by-side work reasonably well. IDE on side, app on another.

[vvanders]

Those things were also an effing tank, practically indestructible.

[fapjacks]

This can't be understated, truly.