Re: Why no third party solutions?

[dvchan@netcom.com (Derek Chan)]

> 
> > 
> > I find it strange that Apple's Powerbook and Duo series have several dock
> > and accessory options, yet there are none for the Thinkpads. Why no third
> > party port replicators, battery chargers, batteries(!) or AC adaptors?
> > 
> > What I'd really like to see is a mini-dock with SCSI on it. The regular
> > dock may be semi-portable, but I really don't need all that..... The
> > additional PCMCIA slots on the Port Replicator2 don't make a lot of sense
> > to me personally.
> > 
> 
>      What seems really strange to me is that the ThinkPad itself is 
> impecably designed and built like a rock, but the Docking bay is garbage.
> If you open the cover and look at the ridiculously shaped speakers, you
> find a cheap half-dollar sized speaker like you'd buy at Radio Shack for
> $1.50.  I was also genuinely annoyed when I purchased a very expensive 
> digital storage oscilliscope ISA card and found that the power supply in
> the Dock I was unable to power it.  Finally, the construction of the 
> Dock I itself, as well as the locking mechanism belongs on an Acer laptop,
> not on an IBM ThinkPad.
> 
> I guess they drew straws and the first-string engineers got to design the
> ThinkPad, and the summer co-ops designed the Dock I.

Well...actually, Toshiba was responsible for the Dock I.  Don't know if 
that's the case for the Dock II.