Published 2026-04-27
tag(s): #random-thoughts #failures
Yesterday I read Kev's review of
the Thinkpad T480, which triggered some core laptop memories for me. And a while later I
got to Alex's post about a different Thinkpad
model and his experiences installing Windows 11.
To top it all off, I had been doing some mmm "stuff" in my work laptop and then
syncing to personal laptop at the same time, and going back to my trusty Thinkpad keyboard
after the crappy HP one was SO delightful... So I felt compelled to write this post
🤷[1]
Sometimes, you read something and you feel validated.
I
shared a
while ago my experiences with Windows 11, and Alex had a very similar experience:
Once online I of course had to login to a Microsoft account. I also had to agree to sell my information to advertisers. Then I was presented with 7 pages of upsells. I'm not kidding! "Subscribe to Gamepass", "How about Office 365?", "You need Onedrive, right?".
The end of the story from my original post is that I did end up installing the iPhone app for "Microsoft Family", by the way. A total failure.
I have a friend who for years told me Thinkpads were the superior laptops, and while I liked
their aesthetic, I hadn't used one so I was fine with whatever I had.
Then, it all changed when the Fire Nation...ooops, no. It all changed when Starz gave me a
Thinkpad!!! A T480s. Was it pretty? Yes. Powerful? Quite!
But also, it had the best laptop keyboard I had ever typed on.
And later, when I was allowed to dual boot, Linux worked so well on it. Zero
problems.
When I decided I needed to get a new laptop (years after mine died, and I used all type of
really old hand-me-downs as replacement) I knew right away I was going to get a Thinkpad. The
L390 was on sale, I liked the idea of a 2-in-1, and the rest is history.
By the way, I like the L390's keyboard even more than the T480 one.
I have the best memories of the T480, which is why Kev's post gave me laptop nostalgia.
I guess it's not only about the laptop, I also really liked my time at Starz and that team, so
my discovery of Thinkpads goes hand in hand with my work there :)
Emailing with a friend
, we discussed a few times what to do in the hardware front when it is finally time to
make the switch (I brought it up
here recently
too).
And yesterday, after reading these two posts, and typing in my lovely Thinkpad after using my
work laptop, I realized that yep, it will be another Thinkpad...when the time comes. Part of
me doesn't want my current laptop to die, ever. <3
(I just realized that I don't have a "hardware" tag. I really need to review my tag list...)