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Comment by nullc | Hacker News Reader

Gigantic useless trackpad. Looks like no status leds. Where oh where is the x60 of today?

Is there some place where I can just pay them the profit margin for this laptop and have the count added to their sales figures? This laptop is an improvement, but it looks like it still has a long way to go. :(

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> Where oh where is the x60 of today?

It's an ordeal, but it's possible to have one. This[1] is my primary computer. It's an X61 chassis with a Core i7-5600U, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. The screen is a 12" 1400x1050 IPS LCD (matte, not glossy). It's my favorite laptop.

Putting it together took months. There's a group of enthusiasts in China called 51nb that make modern internals for old ThinkPad chassis[2]. I ordered a barebones chassis from them in March and received it in June. After that I replaced the LCD's ancient CCFL backlight with an LED conversion kit[3], improving battery life and brightness.

If you want to know more, I wrote a blog post detailing the whole experience[4].

1. https://geoff.greer.fm/photos/x62/DSC_2304.JPG

2. https://www.51nb.com/benzhanshiye/2017-06-08/83668.html

3. https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/thinkpad/led-backlight.sht...

4. https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/

That is gorgeous, but I don't think I have the dedication to go through all that.

Wow, this is excellent.

I have a thing for the x201 and there is apparently a mobo upgrade on the bench for that thing too.

Sadly no working docking port.

This is incredible, thanks for sharing this!

Wow this is awesome and tempting...

Do you have any write-ups on your bikepacking trip?

Off topic, but regards "VR with Eye Tracking [...] Imagine this technology being used in a VR Silent Hill or Resident Evil. You put the headset on and start playing. You see something move in your peripheral vision, but by the time your eyes have saccaded, it’s gone. No matter how hard you try, you can’t get a good look at it. With only hints and sounds to go on, your imagination fills in the rest. [] Such a game would be –without a doubt– the scariest game ever. I can’t wait to play it."[1]

My fuzzy recollection is there was a CAVE setup (at siggraph? some years back) which used a head-mounted backwards-facing tracking camera, and the hemisphere behind you was filled with tracking markers. So if you quickly turned your head, out of the corner of your eye... apparently it created "something is behind me!" creepiness.

There's also a VR game prototype that mutates the world behind you when you are facing away. "Wait, was that chair there before?" It's disturbing.

The Shadertoy Fovea detector[2] illustrates how narrow your high-res fovea is.

[1] https://geoff.greer.fm/2016/05/14/interesting-tech-that-is-j... [2] https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4dsXzM

There is a modern x60, specifically a x61 equipped with modern internals, called the x62:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/X62-Laptop-Review.211598.0.htm...

However, it is quite rare. There are some people in contact with the sellers (51nb) at r/thinkpad if you are interested.

Rare? I have three! Two i5s and an i7 model.

I know exactly how you feel, I'm not upgrading past the X201 series, its the last model I can completely remove the trackpad on, and its the last model without a screen aspect ratio only optimised for watching video.

http://mos6581.com/pictures/thinkpad/x201t-bios.jpg

It's very difficult to find good laptops with 4:3 or even 16:10 screens these days. Heck, it's very difficult to find good monitors with aspect ratios other than 16:9!

I got my hopes up with the small splurge of 3:2 devices we got the other year, but that seems to have sputtered out.

How about a laptop with 9:16 instead!

I lusted over A4 displays in the 90s

I can understand your preference for the X201 (r/thinkpad is full of folks like you and my first Thinkpad was a X20 or so) but the screen resolution would kill me. It's 2017 and text, bash, vim or I mean just anything on a 120dpi or less screen is just a terrible idea.

At a normal viewing distance I cannot see individual pixels, its only a 12" panel and at 1280x800 is quite serviceable (I wouldn't mind a 1440x900 panel though)

It might just be my poor eyesight, but the resolution has never bothered me.

Really? Maybe I should get an old model as well, the build quality then was unmatched.

Its not like they are expensive, my X201 cost £90.

X201's are plentiful but most eBay auctions are missing the drive caddy, caddy cover, AC adapter or all of the above.

In that state you can get an i5 2.53ghz for ~$50 and the missing parts for maybe $25.

Newegg also has refurbs but I received one with a black textured sticker cut to fit the entire lid to hide damage. :/

It's a project but these things are beaters, at one point I wanted a "burner" chromebook and spent $100. :P

I usually don't mind getting a semi-beatup one as I can get the replacement plastics from China inexpensively, and its very easy to strip this model down and replace its parts.

Trackpad isn't useless, but it not having physical left and right buttons sure is. The worst design decision of laptops is having it one 'pad' that you have to guess where the left and right is.

There are physical buttons above the trackpad. Granted, they are meant for the trackpoint, but they are still there.

Yes, but your palm is resting on the touchpad now, moving it around.

You can disable the trackpad entirely, either via your OS or better yet in the BIOS.

The gpdpocket is pretty close if you are looking for a trackpad less design (though too small for daily use). If you can afford 100,000k for a mould they could be you best bet for doing something custom.

Looks the same as what I have on my X250. I hit the corners of it with my palms all the time :\

Other than that and the crap display panel used in it, it has been a great little laptop so far.

You can disable trackpad in bios.

I've never gotten the hang of the ThinkPad nipple unfortunately, so disabling the trackpad would make me quite a bit slower. It's actually a nice trackpad, just perhaps a bit too large for the device.

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