[ale] online build-your-own used/refurbished Linux-ready laptop

Wed Jun 18 15:03:41 EDT 2014

I was willing to throw down cold, hard cash for that machine!

I never spilled anything into the keyboard but I did dribble pear juice
into the mouse buttons on the second day I had it :-(  Good pear, bad
sticky button. wound up taking a brand new laptop apart by day 4 to get the
sticky button cleaned up. Used some stiff paper that was barely damp to run
under things and clean it up once I took out enough stuff to get to the
buttons.

On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 2:46 PM, Dustin Strickland <
dustin.h.strickland at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm sure you had fun trying to talk them out of that laptop :P Did you
> get to find out if the Lenovo business laptops still have spill-proof
> keyboards?
>
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:39:17 -0400
> Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > My work laptop was a W520, quad-core I7 with 16GB RAM, dual graphics
> > with 2GB on the NVidia and 1 on the Intel, 17" screen with a really
> > high pixel count (don't recall) and a 500G HD. It was also bought
> > with the extended battery that stuck out an extra 3/4 inch from the
> > rear but gave it a full on working lifespan of about 4 hours running
> > VPN, wireless, 2-3 VMs, firefox with a zillion tabs and dozens of
> > terminal windows tabbed plus 10-15 remmina tabbed windows open to
> > remote machines. I worked that thing hard and really tried to buy it
> > when I left IBM.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 2:31 PM, Dustin Strickland <
> > dustin.h.strickland at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I second Jim on this one, the W520 is the way to go. Those are some
> > > solid machines, though the T-series "equivalent" isn't bad. Most of
> > > the T520's have an i5, but some of them come with a dual-core i7(as
> > > do some of the W520's, though most are i7 quads). It's very
> > > uncommon for a T-series to have dedicated graphics, but I have seen
> > > configurations with an nVidia card. Correct me if I'm wrong, but
> > > don't the T520's have a max capacity of 8GB of RAM?
> > >
> > > Some eBay sellers will create custom listings if you message them
> > > asking for certain specs. I don't know if many do this with laptops,
> > > but I know there are plenty of people and companies who will make
> > > minor modifications to desktop machines if they have the parts on
> > > hand.
> > >
> > > On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:16:10 -0400
> > > Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have a T520; it's pretty good.
> > > > I've got a T540p that should arrive in the next day.
> > > >
> > > > -derek
> > > >
> > > > Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> writes:
> > > >
> > > > > Look for a Lenovo Thinkpad W520. Do NOT get the 530 or the 510
> > > > > even though the 510 will work. It's crap compared to the 520.
> > > > > The 530 is brain dead and may be the first one designed by
> > > > > Lenovi. The 520 is a honking desktop replacement with dual
> > > > > graphics each with dedicated ram. Intel and an nvidia.
> > > > > Be prepared to drop a was on it. They started at $2600 new. The
> > > > > 510/530 started at $1500.
> > > > >
> > > > > On Jun 17, 2014 9:56 PM, "Ed Cashin" <ecashin at noserose.net>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >     Hi.
> > > > >
> > > > >     Does anyone know of an online place where I can build a used
> > > > > laptop and select Ubuntu as the pre-installed O.S.?
> > > > >
> > > > >     There's thinkpenguin, which is pretty much exactly what I
> > > > > want, but it's for new systems and the selection is limited.
> > > > >
> > > > >     This is the kind of system I have in mind, but it's hard to
> > > > > find all this in a used/refurbished state.  It's pretty hit or
> > > > > miss, mostly miss, on eBay.
> > > > >
> > > > >       Intel i7 CPU
> > > > >       16 GB RAM
> > > > >       500 GB SSD
> > > > >       14" screen
> > > > >
> > > > >     Ideally the graphics card would be programmable using
> > > > > Intel's GPU libraries, but I cannot remember whether their
> > > > > libraries are Linux-compatible.
> > > > >
> > > > >     Thanks!
> > > > >
> > > > >     --
> > > > >       Ed Cashin <ecashin at noserose.net>
> > > > >
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-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III

Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain
at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail.
It won't fatten the dog.
- Speech 11/23/1900 Mark Twain

*http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/
<http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/>*
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