Mastodawn

the IBM ThinkPad 235, a cult classic subnotebook released in late 90s. IBM engineering made incredibly compact machines like this one, which was exclusive to the Japanese market. There was time when IBM and many consumer products were made with industrial design teams and user replaceable parts. Sadly that era is gone now. Anyway, i am sharing this for nostalgic reasons.

nixCraft 🐧14h ago

the worst part is lenovo trying to copy Apple without understanding why people brought those thinkpads.

Wiredfire 14h ago

@nixCraft always loved me a sub-notebook. The netbook era was peak personal computing ^_^

@wiredfire @nixCraft It really was! Though for me the best I ever had was a 2-in-1 "Transformer" by Asus. So light and thin. Sure it ran on an Intel Atom, but IMO people who think they need a Core i9 running at 10GHz or an AMD 48 core server CPU and a gaming GPU in a """laptop""" just completely lost the point of what a laptop even is.

They also lost their wallets. It costs 2x, even 3x as much to have such hardware compared to desktop equivalents and they're always worse no matter how hard they try due to hardware constrictions... (So you spend far more to get less...)

Aravinth Manivannan 11h ago

@nazokiyoubinbou @wiredfire @nixCraft my dad is still nursing an Intel Atom Samsung netbook. He just got a battery replacement for it too, so it doesn't seem like it's going away soon

@realaravinth @wiredfire @nixCraft Sadly my 2-in-1 just suddenly quit one day. It started randomly locking up, then one day wouldn't boot anymore.

The one downside of this type of thing is it is quite a lot less repairable. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Probably some tiny SMD capacitor died or something.

Space Catitude 🚀14h ago

@nixCraft
Apple never believed in repairability. At least not since the Apple II era.

The Doctor 14h ago

@TerryHancock @nixCraft The Mac-crack comes immediately to mind.

@nixCraft was the macbook air ripping an envelope thinkpad advertisement lenovo days or ibm days?

Rafał 🇵🇱🇺🇦🇲🇽🇩🇰🇬🇱🇪🇺14h ago

@nixCraft Never seen this before. Now I'm enchanted. No touchpad, full od ports, great design.

ggdupont 14h ago

@nixCraft lenovo laptop ranges is much wider than what was available from IBM (and includes some shitty machines)

But they still have a very decent range of ThinkPad that are some of the most repairable of the market. Not as extensible as before (but it might be also a consequence of the deeper integration of components).

Lars Marowsky-Brée 😷13h ago

@nixCraft They did realize.

They just thought the other market segment was more profitable.

Alex Blackie 13h ago

@nixCraft as a current macbook user and former thinkpad neckbeard, lenovo truly doesn't understand why people buy a macbook either. modern thinkpads are a compromise in all areas, and achieve nothing for it. I miss my X230.

mirabilos🐈‍⬛14h ago

@nixCraft soooooo many connectors!

Why have we lost this? *looks angry at Apple and “designers”*

ehushagen 14h ago

@nixCraft PCMCIA: never forget 🫡

fluxdrive 14h ago

@nixCraft thibk pa.d..
humor aside this specific model seems like something i'd buy immediately
old thinkpads (and laptops in general) were just so cool but now they're all just the same generic laptop model but altered slightly

I do not need it, but I want it now.

Mars 🌰 Squirrelbite.com 13h ago

@nixCraft I want a modern rendition of this! I dont ever use a trackpad, just give me the nipple!

@mars @nixCraft You can have a dedicated nipple:

https://ploopy.co/bean/

Bean – Ploopy

rhempel 13h ago

@nixCraft I had a Thinkpad 701 with the butterfly keyboard - and I sold it.

I would LOVE to get that one back :-)

lemgandi 12h ago

@nixCraft https://frame.work

Framework Computer | Modular Laptops & PCs You Can Repair and Upgrade

Meet Framework Laptop 13 Pro & Desktop. Modular hardware built for performance, repairability, and ownership that lasts. Configure yours today.

Framework

@nixCraft i very much love think pads that i wrote an extensive thoughts on them https://klaxzy.net/var/infra/x230.html

klaxzy[dot]net/var/log

Cailean Gallimore 12h ago

@nixCraft
Lots of people are travelling back from our own future searching for these machines.
They were that good.
They are particularly sought after in 2038.

@nixCraft Tell ya the truth, I was happy with my Kaypro.

Fuck 12 11h ago

@nixCraft my father had a modular machine in the 90s, at least 3 ports that you could swap out, plus the battery was removable. I don't remember the manufacturer though.

@nixCraft ALL THE PORTS!

Knightmare 10h ago

@nixCraft I miss working for IBM in the late 90s.

Davi Ottenheimer 9h ago

@nixCraft I still have my 701 butterfly!

Javensbukan 9h ago

@nixCraft LOOK AT ALL THE PORTS!1!1

🥲

Robert [KJ5ELX]

@nixCraft Steve Jobs and Jony Ive turned laptops into fashion accessories and cell phones into jewelry.

We can go back to functional hardware, but I doubt it will be with the corpos we have running the show now.

Jorongo Ringo 8h ago

@nixCraft
What a sexy beastie of a laptop

@nixCraft You need a Panasonic Let's Note then.
https://panasonic.jp/cns/pc/products/sc7a/
I saw. I laughed. Then, I needed so I tried and I'm converted.
My model still has one but they only just stopped adding 15-pin D-Sub(VGA)…

レッツノートSC（CF-SC7） | パソコン（個人向け） | Panasonic

レッツノートSC （CF-SC7）2026年春モデルの商品情報ページです。

レッツノートSC（CF-SC7） | パソコン（個人向け） | Panasonic

Frobnitz Coil Oil 5h ago

@nixCraft I'd be happy if they'd just start including 9 pin serial ports, again. I buy about 5 replacement USB to serial dongles a year.

mafe en españa 5h ago

@nixCraft I find the frame.work products come close to that era.

Ray—Golden Retriever Whisperer—🔝Insights 5h ago

@nixCraft IBM ThinkPads were among the most versatile laptops ever.

Palmisano saved IBM but he should have kept this division. IBM DEs and Fellows would have created even more magic.