[delllapssuck]

Amen. This is why I'll never buy another inexpensive Dell laptop.

Stupid things like hinges or fans will fail and the way these laptops are contructed, it's more trouble than it's worth to try to repair them, even when you know te rest of the components are doing fine.

Disposable Computers.

Fail.

In the end, I'd rather have an older ThinkPad, say a T61, than a new Dell.

There's one great thing about older computers: there are fewer problems with non-Windows drivers. Lots of non-Windows OS's will run great on, say, a T61.

[eckyptang]

Spot on.

T61 user here. eBay is a veritable goldmine of bits for T61's. There's not a single bit you can't replace for trivial amounts of money. I've spent about 150GBP on this T61 since I got in a couple of years ago (and that included the purchase price!). All I did was chuck more RAM in it, buy a genuine mains adapter (after the shitty clone one zapped me) and a new key scissor after I bounced the TV remote off it by accident.

I'd also say that the T61 works better with Windows than some of the new machines as well. It has proper hardware and no corner cuts like shitty network interfaces, "odd" graphics devices and b-rate media devices.

Also screw mag-safe - this thing just bounces if the kids trip over the cable (much better engineering IMHO).

[learc83]

Mag safe is the only thing I miss after moving from a macbook pro to a thinkpad.

It really makes me mad that apple was granted a patent when magnetic power adapters were invented by UL in the 90s for deep fryers.

[w1ntermute]

> It really makes me mad that apple was granted a patent

Is that why no one else has implemented this feature?

[eckyptang]

Actually a company I worked for had prior art on that and had working implementations in the field but as it was the defense industry, they aren't that fussed.

[rorrr]

Same with Lenovo Ideapads. One hinge broke in mine 2 months after I got it. It got fixed under warranty, they replaced the whole section of the laptop, both hinges. Now 1.5 years later the other hinge broke, I will have to either live with it or eat the costs. The engineering is absolute garbage, and it's too bad, because the specs/price ratio for Ideapads is pretty much the best.

[delllapssuck]

Exactly.

Specs/price is one thing. Dell was a clear winner in that department. But when something like a hinge breaks, or a fan starts wailing, or some other structural part of the system fails, the "specs/price" ratio suddenly does not mean much. Because it's non-trivial to salvage the parts that still work, the ones for which you got a good deal.

With Dell or Lenovo, one might say we're not paying for the hinges and such. But that stuff has to work too or what's the point? You can't take those parts you were paying for out and move them around easily.

Someday maybe we'll be able to build our own laptops or "ultrabooks" like one can build a mini-ITX.

This is what I hope comes by way of 3D printing.