I don't know about others but I am very sentimental about my ThinkPads.

From my first sight of a TP (back in 1997), my first TP, a 760XL, back in 1998, through a long journey with the 770, a 600X, T30, X31, T43P and T60, each has a memory, especially the earlier ones.

My first TP, the 760XL back in Jan 1998 cost me $2000 and travelled the world with me. I was inseparable from it and used it to play MP3's everywhere (this was before portable MP3 players!).

As an unemployed guy struggling 2001-2002 I used to get by the bad times by watching DVDs on my 770 (with DVD Accelerator Card!) as it was all I could afford until I got a lucky break. It was my *total* entertainment. I loved it.

2003 as an Int'l Consultant travelling the world again the X31 with the great thinklight kept me up on late night flights across continents reading and developing powerpoints. I think back to those days and the X31 and think what a beautiful little machine it was, and still is.

The Consultancy I worked for had a few thousand T23's but I luckily managed a T30 from them and then a T43P back in 2006.

I am now back to the X31 (and have a spare X32 base unit in case of failure) and the memories come flooding back. I had forgotten how great this machine was. It seems to make today's netbooks look like little toys.

If I could do 1600x1200 through the non-working (for X series) DVI on the Dock to my 20" I'd be in ecstasy but I know you can't have everything in this world.

I must be one of millions who can mark periods of their lives with TP models!

I don't know about sentimental, but I do cherish all my personal Thinkpads and treat them nicely.

Was this thread inspired by my post yesterday? I have a feeling it was . (Just wondering)

I guess that if you read my thread you'll know by now that I'm sentimental about my ThinkPads and the brand as a whole. They (and the brand itself) mean so much to me and each has their own unique stories and personalities.

@edik: Great post/thread and its nice to hear from others who feel the same way I do about ThinkPads. Its nice to see that there are others I can relate to.

I used to think I was obsessed with my Thinkpads, but didn't really know what "obsessed" meant until I bought a Dell Latitude D820. To me, that Dell is by far the most gorgeous laptop I have ever seen in person, and I was truly obsessed with it. In comparison, all the 45 Thinkpads I owned were forgettable. Unfortunately, due to its weight of 5.82 lbs even with a travel bezel, I never used it much and eventually decided to replace it with my current Latitude E4200. I could have just held on to it so I could continue to admire it, but I would have felt guilty about having too many underused laptops. So I decided to sell it last week, very reluctantly.

From a practical standpoint, I like my current laptops very much: the E4200 for traveling as light as possible (2.57 lbs even with the extended battery), the CF-Y5 (with 14.1" 1400x1050) for getting some semi-serious work done while on the road, and the Inspiron 7500 for playing background music in my office (its 250GB HDD has MP3 ripped from almost 3,000 of my CDs). But I can't say I am sentimental about any of them.

Thanks for the responses guys.

thePCxp, after College (1997) all I have owned is ThinkPads ))))

My special memories though are reserved for the 760XL, the 770, T30 and X31.

All four of these were used daily in defining points of my life, and as an IT Consultant, working literally worldwide, spending a significant amount travelling, all I had for company was the Hotel Room and the ThinkPad.

When you are stuck in strange countries, with just your laptop and (sometimes) the internet for company, you grow attached to it.

I was in Georgia (the Country) during the Russian 'invasion' and could even hear the shelling from my hotel room quite near the border.... the power went out.... heating went kaput....

But my 'old' T30 and the DVD set of 'Dream On' (an old HBO series) kept me in another world.... under the sheets... laughing like a maniac.

I can think of plenty of similar stories, so you see, for me these machines are part of my life )))

Very glad other people also feel this way!

I do know one thing though.. I'll be using the X31 for many years to come. It is IBM's finest machine imho.

Same thing goes for when you grow up in isolation because your parents, peers, and the adults who are supposed to be guiding you while still letting you be yourself don't understand your differences.

That's how it is with myself and my mother.

@edik
All I have to reminisce on when It comes to ThinkPads are the dead T22 that I used to own and the X200s I currently own and use daily.

This first event happened in my second year of University. The T22 was given to me by my fiancee after she bought herself a netbook. I didn't think much of the big, slow, heavy machine as I had a smaller, lighter, hotter (literally), and more powerful Mac-book. I had always liked UNIX-like operating systems and especially Arch Linux in particular. When the MacBook's power adapter was fried due to a frayed cable between the power adapter and the machine, the T22 took its place. I immediately installed Arch Linux on it and set it up. While it wasn't as good as my custom workstation at the time, having the extra screen real-estate helped a lot. When I got a new power adapter for my MacBook, it joined the ThinkPad on my desk in a three screen configuration. You can see everything that went into it here: http://www.head-fi.org/gallery/album/view/id/12294/user_id/null


This next event happened on Thursday, April 4, 2012 between 5 PM and 7 PM EDT. I had gotten my latest ThinkPad, the X200s after several months of research and deliberation; some of with you can see here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=102043
My father gave me the heads up on on April 2nd about a job fair that would be taking place on April 4th and 5th. After already having set the machine almost to the point where I can consider it fully usable (automount as user still outstanding), I had to get to work. I created my resume from scratch as the others in my possession were too old and bland. It took me until 2 PM on April 4th before I completed everything I needed for the job fair. I rushed out of the house after a quick shower and headed to the fair with the resumes, X200s and Duals hock 3 in my bag.

Once there, I went to the employer I had wanted to work for but never saw the opportunity arise. I presented them with everything I could to show them what I could do for the company. The X200s made up the core of my presentation. If you ever wanted to see my portfolio, the X200s was it. Running an Arch Linux installation configured to have everything possible accessible from the console and with several official repository and Arch User Repository sourced packages installed, you would learn a lot about what I know, am learning or can do just from me showing you what I've done. That is exactly what I did. I showed the recruiter how I've setup the system to run as lean as possible which allows for some interesting feats such as running Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Mupen64Plus with the Duals hock 3 as the controller. I also showed them how my blacking setup is where I can post to all of them using email and how i got the idea from network design. This impressed the recruiter so much that I was told to expect a call on April 10th. While I haven't received a call yet, I'm confident that I will get that job. All this thanks to some ingenuity and one of the two best X-series ThinkPads ever created (IMHO).

Eureka: X200s (7470-5HU), Arch Linux
Mirandra: T22 (Unknown), Arch Linux

Agreed. I had a D620 and a D430. I absolutely loved that design/color scheme, and the laptops themselves are *very* easy to work on. Unfortunately, I know this because the larger D620/D630's were plagued by the same nVidia chipset problem found on the T61. My only other qualm is that the trackpoint is too small for practical use. It's a shame that Dell decided to follow up with bland looking machines in the E6400 series.

I'm with the OP. I love my TP's, and might actually be buried with them!

It was the 760XD for me then, and the T61 now. I've lost both, and assumed them stolen only to have them returned to me. If I can help it, my next laptop will again be a TP.

I like the looks of the DELL Latitude D series too. However, it seems that they don't weather so well - plastic tends to wear, paint peels of corners etc.

There is one thing that I never figured out and perhaps you can clarify for me. As far as I know, only the Nvidia chips using G84 and G86 cores had problems, and these chips were certainly used in the T61, D630 and D830. But the D620 used Nvidia 110m, which is NOT based on G84/86. So, was the D620 (and D820) really affected by the same issue, or did it suffer from some other problems?



I didn't think my D820's trackpoint cap was too small, but did find it too slippery, just like those on HP business laptops. But I much prefer the touchpad anyway, so it didn't bother me at all.



Agreed. While the E4200 that I have looks at least as professional as the D420/620/820, it looks rather bland and uninteresting. I can never "fall in love" with this little machine like I did with the D820.



I like only the widescreen D Series. The 4:3 ones look awful, and feel fragile as well.

Why don't you guys go drool over Dell laptops on the Dell forum?

Ha ha ha... LMFAO... Well said...

(Having working with Dells the last 5 years I don't particularly like them)

Going back to Thinkpads I'm specially sentimental on some of them that were rebuilt by me, like one of my X40's, my X41 I bought in Japan and my two T61's which came as barebone and were completed with selected components...

Let's go back drooling over Thinkpads!!

I agree. It feels like this thread is getting off-topic.

I guess I should make myself much more clearer about my sentimental feelings over my ThinkPads (and the brand as a whole): I treat my ThinkPads (and any ThinkPad I see) like human beings. I have a deep attachment to them. They mean the world to me. I don't really know why that is but I believe that there are many factors, but I'm guessing that the main reason is because I grew up in isolation for at least most of the time, starting in late childhood. I was different than my peers and parents (and still am) so they didn't understand my differences. As a result, I had a hard time relating to them and so I didn't hang around them a whole lot. I needed someone (or friends) who could help me with my social/emotional development and generally to help me understand my world. One day, out of nowhere, I came upon a ThinkPad (I was in 6th grade). It thought they were so cool when I first saw one, but my love for ThinKPads intensified once I entered 7th grade. I had found out more about them and I was impressed by their history and all of that stuff, plus my middle school was about to purchase a whole bunch of ThinkPads for all the classrooms and I was going to help them set them all up. There was this guy at the school who was responsible for purchasing and setting them up and he accepted my offer to help him out when I asked him if I could help. It was a great experience that I'll never forget. I credit this guy for really getting me into ThinkPads. Sadly, he died tragically (he was murdered) almost a year ago and this is probably another reason why I'm so attached to my ThinkPads (and the brand as a whole). We were great friends and really got along. He was like a father-figure to me because I basically grew up without a father (even though he was there physically, he wasn't there emotionally - he cheated on my mom the whole time). Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. On the isolation side, things have improved since I was a kid (I'm 21 now, but turning 22 in May) and I believe that ThinkPads are responsible for turning things around for me. If I didn't use my imagination to personify them I don't think I would be were I am right now.

Now I'm going to share some memories of my ThinkPads:

My R51 ("Steven"): I got my R51 back in November 2004. This was my first laptop and my first ThinkPad (you can already see the meaning it has for me). I used it for school (I was in high school at the time) and it pretty much went everywhere with me. I was really attached to my R51. It was like a son to me (in fact, all of my ThinkPads are). I was very protective of it when I first got it (I just felt very protective of it at the time). I would even huddle around it whenever I was feeling down (which happened plenty of times during that time, as there was plenty of drama going on between my parents and at school).

My T41 ("T.K."): I got my T41 back in August 2007 as a barebones unit. I got it because I wanted to rebuild a ThinkPad and I also wanted to see how a T series feels like. I also wanted to have buddy (a little brother, as to say) for my R51. In addition to my R51, I carried my T41 nearly everywhere (even the beach, but I didn't use them. It was just to have them around - or in my own words, "to spend some time with my kids").

My 600 ("Bobby"): I got my 600 back in 2009. It was given to me by a relative. During this time, my R51 and T41 fell victim to the "loose GPU" issue that is so common on these ThinkPads, so I had use it until early 2010 (when I got my T60). It was great to get a feel of how its like to use a 600, as I had heard many great things about them, and I had a great time using it. I like to call it my "cousin" since it was given to me by a relative (who's a cousin of mine).

My T60 ("Justin"): I got my T60 back in February 2010. I got it because I needed to upgrade to something more powerful (instead of going back to my R51, which was my main computer before I got my T60), and because I really wanted a T60 since they first came out. I'm currently using it for my music, design, and business studies (I'm self-schooling), as well as for social networking and entertainment. When I retire it as my main computer late this year or next year, it will become my "assistant" (I'm in the process of starting my own business and could use it to do some tasks). Over the last 2 years, I have really bonded and formed a deep connection with my T60. It's been helping me with everything that I needed to do recently to help me get my career up-and-running. In addition, I really see myself in it - in fact, if I were I ThinkPad I would most likely be a T60.

Interesting thread. I'm not too sure I'm too overly attached to my TPs, although there are some machines I've kept over the years for the fact they've stuck with me through all this time without any complaint.

The main one is my ancient T21. That one has been through Hades and back since I got it in November of 2004. Paid $500 for it, and think it was worth every penny. It played DVDs at friends' houses when I was spending the weekends, served as a great writing platform, I studied for my A+ and Network+ certifications on it, it accompanied me on several road trips to New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and South Dakota, did quite a bit of light gaming(it could barely run the original Half-Life, so I got quite a bit of mileage out of Jagged Alliance 2 and Doom source ports), and even served as my in-car MP3 player for a good spell. It went through three hard drives, overheated a few times due to abuse(I was a bit careless and stupid with my hardware), and was knocked around more times than I can recall. Other than that it was a great machine when I semi-retired it in 2007 after getting a T40 as a replacement. When the T40 went bust due to the infamous BGA problem,the T21 was put back into service until i could find a replacement(admittedly I went Dell on that one). When I sold everything else, I went back to the T21 only to find that it suffered a broken LCD due to my cat jumping on the lid. I needed a computer so I hooked up an external LCD and used it that way. A $20 parts T20 later and it was back up and running.

I've even used it when I had warranty repairs done on my other ThinkPads. It's seen various other models come and go, and I can safely say that it's the one I'll be keeping no matter what. Its sentimental value far outpaces the tiny amount I'd be getting for it if I sold it, and it makes an excellent last-ditch backup machine if I need one. It's got a NOS T30 battery I stumbled upon at a local used electronics store, and despite that battery being eight years old still holds an hour and a half of charge.

As far as my more modern ThinkPads are concerned, I think the one that will be taking the T21's place as my long-term workhorse will be my T500, despite having an X200. My X200 unfortunately suffered a pretty bad drop about a week ago and is pretty badly damaged, and I had the T500 sitting around as backup. Yet, the more I use this machine the more I appreciate its strengths. I really like the reinforced display lid; this is the same machine which shrugged off an eight foot drop with minimal damage(slight lid damage, broken display latch, and some dead pixels on the LCD). Unfortunately the replacement screen I bought for it is starting to fail(brown 'smudge marks' all around the borders), but the machine itself is still working fine. I'll likely throw in a T9600, T60 NMB keyboard, new battery, and 8GB of RAM as well as a WUXGA display to round it all out and use it until I can't really use it anymore. Considering I can do moderate gaming on it due to the ATI card(I can run Fallout 3, the Modern Warfare titles, even Skyrim acceptably) it'll serve my on the road entertainment needs just fine. This is what I reached for when I went to Louisiana last year on my first plane trip since 9/11, and this is what I'll be taking with me out there on an upcoming road trip last month. All in all, I feel that this system has been and will continue to be a very worthy traveling companion.

At this point in time I will admit I'm really lusting after a well-specced W520; the footprint of my T500 combined with the power of my Asus G73JH gaming rig with more battery life than both combined in one neat package is very appealing. However, the reality of the matter is that I'll be making do with the T500 for a good long while, and I don't think I'll be complaining about it.

I don't know whether "sentimental" is the word I'd use, but looking back there are a couple of ThinkPads that I wish I haven't sold...

As for the (hopefully very distant) future, an A31p gets buried with me, along with a couple of other non-ThinkPad-related items...

including a gold or silver coin to pay the boatman..?

Nah...a pack of Winstons, Zippo, my old Parker fountain pen and possibly one of my guns...just in case that the boatman is stubborn...