Revisiting The Thinkpad

For the past four years, we have been doing all our web design work on laptops. I no longer own desktop machines. The convenience of being absolutely mobile is very important to me. One of the very first laptops I ever owned (over six years ago) was the legendary IBM Thinkpad 600. Purchased used (off corporate lease) it was built like a battleship with superb reliability. It wore well, looking brand new even though it was over three years old at the time I purchased it. Well, I have since purchased a number of other brands of new consumer oriented laptops for my business use. Not a good decision. While pretty and gadget filled, they simply don't hold up under heavy business use. Even my treasured Macbook I found too expensive to maintain over the long haul. I needed something that could work 8-15 hours and still look fresh the next day. Recently, after being frustrated when my Acer 2010 laptop suffered a second broken screen hinge, I decided to revisit the IBM (now Lenova) Thinkpad. I purchased two three-year-old refurbished IBM Thinkpad T40's, laptops that are not only beautifully engineered, but perfectly suited for heavy business use. The IBM Thinkpad T40 has a rock solid black magnesium composite case (not plastic) and the best laptop keyboard on the market today. These are the Mercedes of computers, using top components and well thought-out design. With Pentium M processors, they run very cool, and have a battery life of 6 hours or so. They have a full set of ports (not just USB) for connecting old and new peripherals. I purchased these well maintained machines for $450 each. The fit, finish and execution reek quality . . . They should. They cost over $3200 when new. Buying a used Thinkpad is like buying a Mercedes or BMW with 50,000 miles on the odometer--if well maintained they will still provide many years of service. And, you avoid paying the cost of new car depreciation. The top model Thinkpads provide similar value, especially lightly used commercial lease machines that were maintained by IBM.

As the owner of a web design studio, I seek the best value from the technology I purchase. Used or refurbished business class Thinkpads provide years of reliable service, and are easy to repair and obtain parts for. Plus, they keep their good looks for years--something you want to keep in mind if you visit clients and travel with a laptop. Oh, one more thing: Processor speed has become meaningless. Any computer built over the last five years will provide all the speed needed for typical business software. Just be sure to install at least 1024 megabytes of memory.