Shot Gun Wedding Review of the Lenovo ThinkPad T410

About every three years I get a new corporate laptop.  Highly secure; “don’t mess with me – strictly business”; the corporate standard.  This is simply to say that this laptop and me is something like an arranged marriage.  Or, a shot-gun wedding.  Not my choice but I’ll “learn to love it”.  Maybe.

So, since it’s sitting here I thought I would write a short review.

Background

This is now my third ThinkPad.  My first one was a T41, the second one was a T60, and now the T410.  The T41 had the IBM logo on it.  Then IBM sold the PC Division and the ThinkPad brand to Lenovo.  When Lenovo took over ThinkPad I noticed a decrease in the quality of this line of laptops.  The T41 seemed much more of a solid machine, it had a better display than the T60, and a much better keyset.  The basic design and layout of the ThinkPad has remained essentially unchanged through these three models with the exception of the biometric device with is on the T410.  What has persisted is that “red eraser gizmo” stuck between the G and H keys.  Who uses that?  Let’s all agree that that that “pointing device” was a mistake.

The machine came with Windows 7 and it’s the pretty standard stuff. 

General Observations

1. Price.  The price for this laptop seems very high compared to other models with the Intel Core I5 chip and similar size hard drive and memory.  For example, the Gateway, ASUS, and HP have models that are priced in the $600-$700 range where the Levono 41o is about $1,000.  (price and specs)
2. Keyset.  To people who use a computer all day the feel of the keyset is very important.  The keyset on the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 sounds hollow when you type on it.  When I buy a laptop an important consideration is the feel of the keyset.  I have two HP Laptops, a DV6 and DV7, and I prefer the feel of these keysets.
3. Screen.  The Lenovo ThinkPad T410 has a LED backlit screen.  Very sharp and clear.  In fact, it’s so bright that I have to tun the brightness down from the maximum brightness.
4. Ports.  The Lenovo ThinkPad T10 has plenty of ports.  Four USB ports. eSATA, Firewire, and VGA

Unique features of the Lenovo ThinkPad T410

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Java4Ever Movie Trailer

Coming soon – take a look.  PG-13, please, not for sensitive viewers

Alternative link for above – http://jz10.java.no/java-4-ever-trailer.html

How digital-to-analog converters can be applied to the development of e-commerce

It’s amazing how many great academic papers are out there.

Unlike the debacle with Cold Fusion, these papers are vetted by professionals before they are accepted for conferences sponsored by professional organizations such as the IEEE.

This paper was accepted with review by the 2008 International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE).

CSSE is one of the important conferences sponsored by IEEE Computer Society, which serves as a forum for scientists and engineers in the latest development of artificial intelligence, grid computing, computer graphics, database technology, and software engineering.

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in cooperative technology and classical communication are based entirely on the assumption that the Internet and active networks are not in conflict with object-oriented languages. In fact, few information theorists would disagree with the visualization of DHTs that made refining and possibly simulating 8 bit architectures a reality, which embodies the compelling principles of electrical engineering [19]. In this work we better understand how digital-to-analog converters can be applied to the development of e-commerce.

Read the full text of this paper:  Towards the Simulation of E-Commerce by Herbert Schlangemann

Tips and Tutorials on Extreme Computing on YouTube

If you are in to building extreme computing platforms you should know about this YouTube channel.

A recent video blog

The YouTube Channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/NCIXcom

Excellent!

“A Computer for your fingers” – iTouched the iPad

Quite by accident, I found myself in front of the Apple “store within a store” at Best Buy. 

There they were.  Three iPads laying on the table, fully powered up, and waiting for someone to pick up and play with them.  Here I was; there they were; it was a match made in heaven.  So I picked one up and gave it a workout.

Here are some observations

Extreme AMD Quad Core Overclocking – 6.5 Ghz

What does it take?  Liquid Nitrogen, 500 Liters of Liquid Helium, take it to -242 degrees Celsius and see what happens.

See the experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB0JodKgZ0A

Dave, The Mechanical Turk, and the fate of ordinary people

A few days ago I had a conversation with “Dave”.  This was part of an assessment of processes and software tools in use by a Fortune 100 Insurance company.  During the interview, I asked Dave some questions about what he did, how he did it, how what he did fit into the larger picture of the business unit that he was in, and what the future was for the applications and software tools he was using to do his job.  I also asked him what ideas he had to improve (make more efficient, easier, create more value for his effort, etc) the work he did or the work of the business unit in general.

Dave was an expert at what he did and how he did it.  As far as answers to the other questions, I got mostly “don’t know” or silence regarding ideas for changes or improvement.  When Dave recognized that he did not have answers to some of the questions he seemed annoyed that I was asking these things of him.  Dave said a very profound thing to me.

“I just do what my boss tells me to do”

The question to you is, … Is Dave the perfect employee?