Intel486dx33 wrote:

Okay, then try a mid-2012 13-inch Macbook Pro. You can find them today for about $300 used. Just add 16mb. ram ( $80 ) New batte […]
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Okay, then try a mid-2012 13-inch Macbook Pro. You can find them today for about $300 used.
Just add 16mb. ram ( $80 )
New battery ( $50 )
and 500gb SSD ( $75 )
So for about $600 you can have a very good laptop that can dual boot OSX and Win-10.

I have this same setup but I don't even use it anymore as I use my iPad.
But when I was using the Macbook, I found myself slowly getting off of MS-Windows and just booting into Mac OSX.
You can do everything on a Mac and No need for MS-Windows.
I ran bench marks on both OS's on this macbook pro and they where almost identical.
Execpt for the fact that MS-Windows constantly updates and reboots I prefer MacOSX.
Thats why I got into macs because you can have both OS's on the same computer.
Only if your work or school requires you to use both OS's.
But after a while you realize you don’t need MS-Windows and all you really need is an iPhone and iPad to do almost anything.
The mid-2012 MacBook Pro is really easy to repair too any many parts still available.

Even though I am an Apple Fanboy, but I do not push this to others.

The 2012 Macbook Pro does not support a lot of the macOS Mojave features plus iCloud newest features. Try 2015 and above. Still, I do not push the macOS/iOS environment to others unless they want to use.

He wants to use other OS, so accept that.

Meanwhile, in Real Life Land, I made a big freaking deal in the OP that I already own a mid-2012 MacBook Pro, and am keeping it around for whatever I have to do that absolutely requires a Mac.

I am not pushing anything on anyone. This poster ask what could be the perfect laptop.
A perfect laptop could load any OS legally and has all the ports and features one could want.
I am merely suggesting a possible candidate.

I said the perfect laptop for ME.

The perfect laptop in general is a completely different discussion, and many people would disagree with you regardless on that matter.

I'm not saying the MacBook Pro 2012 is not a good laptop, or that the iPad is not a good tablet. I just don't prefer them. And this thread is about me finding a laptop that I like, based on the criteria I laid out in the OP - which, by the way, pretty specifically exclude either the iPad or the MacBook as a possibility.

As for you, if you are happy with the iPad, then be happy with it! But your obsession with the idea that it is somehow the "perfect computer" is bonkers. You could make a much better argument that it is the perfect tablet computer (bluetooth keyboard or not), and I might even agree with you.

junglemontana wrote:

+1 for Thinkpads. Or, the real Thinkpads aka the T and P series. Although they have chiclet keyboards nowadays, I can still agree that they have the best laptop keyboards available. And they have the awesome Trackpoint mouse. I haven't used a touchpad for years, really.

They're not as solid under Lenovo as they were under IBM, but probably still the most robust construction short of a ruggedized laptop.

Lately I was thinking that a possible interesting to try config possibly could have the most unique and alternative config beside speed or whatever? Like an in-order-execution atom dual core based netbook with the powervr gfx500 gpus not-well supported on-linux gpu, 4gb fastest ddr3 and the best ssd disk?

gdjacobs wrote:

They're not as solid under Lenovo as they were under IBM, but probably still the most robust construction short of a ruggedized laptop.

Meh. In some ways they are not as solid; in other ways they are more solid now than they used to be...

Pics of the X230!

Shiny!

Great looking machine, especially since the keyboard replacement!

I am having some disappointment with the battery, however. When I first purchased it, the power manager said the battery capacity was 96% of original. Now it has dropped to 76%, after charging and discharging it several times. Maybe I should look at getting a new 6-cell or 9-cell battery, or maybe rebuilding the one that's in there - I have some brand new high-quality Samsung 18650 cells.

I wouldn't bother until it drops below 50-60% of the original capacity, otherwise you'll be replacing the batteries too often.

I have a T43 ( 14-inch ) and A28p ( 15-inch ) and some other late 1990's Thinkpads. Not to mention my collection of 380's.
What I really liked about the Thinkpad was it's design and engineering. From the 380 on they are easy to service and repair.
I like the Titanium lids. But what I really liked about the Thinkpad is the Keyboard. It is just right. very comfortable to work with and easy for typing.
You can type on it all day and not get tired.

Just like the early uni-body Aluminum shell Macbook pros.

These keyboards are are great for typing.

You can't say that about allot of laptops.

What I don't like about the early model thinkpads are the low resolution displays.
That's why I would rather use a Macbook.

I'm a low-resolution display guy. I like to be able to see the individual pixels, and I want no font smoothing.

What I'm finding, though, is that this only works for vintage displays that have a low DPI. For more modern displays with higher DPI, lower resolutions look crappy in comparison.

It's kind of sad that all of a sudden we decided that our text wasn't even worth looking at if it wasn't extra-super-high-resolution with high-quality smoothing.

As a result non-smoothed text scaling is really crappy these days. I simply cannot get it to look good with any modern fonts.

Yeah, My IBM A28p 15-inch thinkpad had a so called high resolution display with ATI graphics and this font smoothing option.
I hated it because the image was blurry.
Windows-2000

mmm pre-*30 keyboards

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but since people here were talking about ThinkPads, and there are some serious fans of that model, I wanted to ask if there is any slimmer Thinkpad model? I am not really a fan of robust big laptops.

Feel free to browse the Thinkpad lineup on any of Lenovo's websites. There are plenty.

Generally, X1 Carbons are probably the slimmest Thinkpads.

I have an L390 Yoga. Touch, Pen, i7, upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and it's pretty slim.
Only the boost clocks are ridiculously high by default and the case can't handle that.

I had to undervolt the CPU and limit the CPU boost to 2.5GHz. (4.6 by default! The cooling system is way too underpowered for that.)

The machine has survived being soaked in rainwater for an hour, so I'd say it was worth the 1.200 €.

Thanks for the nice suggestions! They are for a friend 😀

Lenovo is really a good brand 😀

Since making this thread, I was bitten by the Thinkpad bug.

I got the X230 as mentioned earlier. Then I saw the light and realized that Thinkpads are the best computers ever made.

Then I began to transform into an enlightened being, and attracted all Thinkpads to myself.

I now have:

IBM 365CD
IBM 560X
IBM 600E
IBM A20m
IBM T41
Lenovo T420
Lenovo T420s
Lenovo T430 (2)
Lenovo X230

I got the four non-X Lenovos for $5 total in a freak recycle center find. The rest on eBay.

They are all in various states of disrepair. I don't currently own a fully functional laptop except for the MacBook. Help!

Nice!

I am still waiting for my A31p to arrive. It will extend my collection of: X201, X230T, A31, T23, R52 and L390 Yoga.

I should really get rid of some of these.

Once the ThinkPad bug has bitten, it's hard to recover from it.

schmatzler wrote:

A31p

What's the advantage here over the A31?

I picked my A20m initially because it was the last fully DOS-compatible machine to have both a floppy and CD drive built in. But it turned out to have a terrible keyboard, and was a bit too large for my uses, so I got the others.