The real question is why you don’t have a complete precision screwdriver set
Comment on Apple argues in favor of selling Macs with only 8GB of RAM
akilou@sh.itjust.works 2 months agoI had a extra stick of RAM available the other day so I went to open my wife’s Lenovo to see if it’d take it and the damn thing is screwed shut with the smallest torx screws I’ve ever seen, smaller than what I have. I was so annoyed
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 2 months ago
akilou@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I thought I did! Until I got the smallest one out and it just spun on top of the screw
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I bought the E495 because the T495 had soldered RAM and one RAM slot, while the E495 had both RAM slots replacable. Adding more RAM didn’t need any special tools. Newer E-series and T-series both have one RAM slot and some soldered RAM. I’m guessing you’re talking about one of the consumer lines, like the Yoga series or something?
That said, Lenovo (well, Motorola in this case, but Lenovo owns Motorola) puts all kinds of restrictions to your rights if you unlock the bootloader of their phones (PDF version of the agreement). That, plus going down the path of soldering RAM gives me serious concerns about the direction they’re heading, so I can’t really recommend their products anymore.
If I ever need a new laptop, I’ll probably get a Framework.
tal@lemmy.today 2 months ago
I keep looking at the Frameworks, because I’m happy with the philosophy, but the problem is that the parts that they went to a lot of trouble to make user-replaceable are the parts that I don’t really care about.
They let you stick a fancy video card on the thing. I’d rather have battery life – I play games on a desktop. If they’d stick a battery there, that might be interesting.
They let you choose the keyboard. I’m pretty happy with current laptop keyboards, don’t really need a numpad, and even if you want one, it’s available. I’ve got no use for the LED inserts that you can stick on the thing if you don’t want keyboard there.
They let you choose among sound ported Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, and various types of USB. Maybe I could see putting in more USB-C then some other vendors have. But the stuff I really want is:
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A 100Wh battery. Either built-in, or give me a bay where I can put more internal battery.
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A touchpad with three mechanical buttons, like the Synaptics ones that the Thinkpads have.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Yeah, ThinkPad used to allow either a CD drive or an extra battery in their T-series. They stopped offering the extra battery and started soldering RAM, so I got the cheaper E-series (might as well save cash if I can get what I want).
I think there’s a market there. Have an option for a hot-swap battery to bring on trips and use the GPU at home. Serious travelers could even bring a spare battery to keep working for longer.
touchpad with three mechanical buttons
Yes please! And give me the ThinkPad nipple as well. :) If they had those, I’d not bother with even looking at Lenovo. The middle button is so essential to my normal workflow that any other laptop (including my fancy MacBook for work) feels crappy.
I’m guessing the things they made modular are just the low hanging fruit. It’s pretty easy to make a USB-C to whatever port, it’s a bit harder to make a pluggable battery in a slot that can also support a GPU.
tal@lemmy.today 2 months ago
I don’t know if I’d recommend it, but if you are absolutely set on having the Thinkpad nipple – I don’t use it, even if I really want the Thinkpad trackpad – the factory that made the original IBM Model M keyboards is still in business somewhere in Kentucky. IIRC the employees bought it or something when IBM stopped making the things. They offer a nipple keyboard, goes by the name of “Endura Pro”.
I got one like twenty years back, and while the actual buckling-spring keyswitches on the keyboard are pretty much immune to time, I wore out the switches on the mouse buttons, so I don’t know if I can give a buy recommendation for the mouse-enabled version (though maybe they improved the switches there). But if you really, really like it, that might be worthwhile for you. Last I looked they were still making them.
checks
They’ve got a message up saying that a supplier of a component used in that keyboard went under due to COVID so they suspended production. I don’t know what the status is on that.
www.pckeyboard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&C…
NOTICE CONCERNING AVAILABILITY – Unfortunately, we have had to temporarily suspend the sale of the Endura Pro keyboards due to another supply chain shortage. The supplier of one of the flex harnesses had to close their doors during the pandemic. We’ve begun the task of sourcing a new supplier but do not have a definite time frame for when these keyboards will be available again. For our customers with orders already placed, we have enough stock to complete all on order.
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Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world 2 months ago
all kinds of restrictions to your rights
The document mentions a lot of US laws. I wonder if they try the same over in the EU.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I’m guessing it wouldn’t hold. But I’m in the US, so I’ll just avoid their phones going forward, and will probably avoid their laptops and whatnot as well just due to a lack of trust.
akilou@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Yeah, it’s a Yoga
tal@lemmy.today 2 months ago
Torx is legitimately useful for small screws, because it’s more resistant to stripping than Phillips.
Now, if they start using Torx security bits or some oddball shapes, then they’re just being obnoxious. But there are not-trying-to-obstruct-the-customer reasons not to use Phillips.
generichate1546@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
IFixit kit is a great toolset from the site that has every type of bit in it.
NekkoDroid@programming.dev 2 months ago
Got myself an IFixit Mako a while ago, really nice even if I mostly just use the philips head ones
generichate1546@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
Right? It’s nice to have the occasional reverse tri head metric upside down weird random bit when you need it.
seth@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Does it have triangle bits? Nintendo uses some really unusual driver shapes.
generichate1546@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
I’ve taken apart so so so many things… sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes for the wrong reasons…my ZuneHD still works. I’ll never ever try to open a Surface product.