Re: ibm 560

[Randy Whittle <whittle@usc.edu>]

At 12:01 PM 10/19/96 -0700, Sandy Meltzer wrote:
>At 12:18 PM 10/19/96 -0500, you wrote:
>>I am considering the purchase of a 560, thw 133 Mhz model.  I wonder if
>>anyone has any comments or information regarding this machine?  In

        I'll chime in my thoughts along with Sandy's.  Also, if there are
list archives, I wrote all about my then-new 560 (P120) a couple months ago.

>>particular, i'm interested in whether people have experienced problems with
>>the keyboard (i remember something some time ago about certain keys
>>sticking), or the trackpoint (the drift problem), and the overall quality of
>>the machine.

        No sticky keys, and everybody with a ThinkPad has a "drift feature".
;-)  But just keep your finger off of it you'll be fine--it resets like its
supposed to.

>  One group member said something about the 560 being made of
>>different plastic than other tp's, and seeming less sturdy.  Any comments

        The key word here would be "seeming"--yes, it *is* made of a
different plastic that some of the other TP's, but the truth is its a
*better* plastic!  I *wish* I could remember what article I read, but it
cited the exact material the TP 560 casing was made of and it was some new
polymer (snazzy name--can't recall what it was!) that was both stronger and
lighter.  If anything, an argument could be made that the 560 just might
have a *better* casing than the other ThinkPads.

        At ay rate, the case is *nothing* to worry about.

>No, I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever with the keyboard and REALLY
>like it compared to other TP's I have (755CX, 701, etc.).  It has a
>slightly mushy feel to it, but I'm very comfortable with it and haven't had

        I concur with the "slightly mushy" comment, but you'll get used to
it and come to realize the keyboard is really quite good.  I'll have to
admit its not *quite* the same caliber as my old 750C's keyboard, but its
still very good.

>I have noticed that the lithium-ion battery doesn't seem to last as long as
>advertised, but it could be faulty.  I called IBM this week and they are in
>the process of sending me a replacement.  I'll let you know if the
>replacement is better.

        Barring Sandy's having a "special case" battery, I'd be inclined to
essentially say that ALL ThinkPads have over-inflated battery claims.  I
think you can safely expect 2 1/2 hours on the battery.  That's all I've
*ever* been able to expect on any TP I've owned.  One of my biggest beefs
was way back when I bought my 750C, the *CLAIM* was "3.4 to 8 hours" on a
battery--which was, of course, bogus.  I never expected 8 hours, but I had
assumed that I could expect at least the 3.4 hour "Minimum".  It simply
wasn't true.  Again, 2 1/2 hours was the norm--almost a full HOUR less than
was claimed to be the minimum.  The only good part about this story is that
my moaning to IBM about this fact got me a free battery (they didn't ask for
my old one back, and essentially without admitting their marketing
department *lied*, they could say "you must have a defective battery" and
replaced it).

>Overall, the 560 is the best TP I've used to date and fits my needs
>perfectly...which I think is the most important consideration.  I agonized
>over the idea of buying the 560 instead of the 760ED because I didn't want
>to lose functionality.  Much to my surprise, this was not the case.  The

        I concur.  In my opinion, only people who are simply *dying* for
that built-in CD-ROM would really want a 760 (or big, heavy machines of that
ilk).  Otherwise, unless you *really* have to eek out those few extra MIPS
that a 760 would give you (mainly from a secondary cache).  The 560 will
save you nearly 3 pounds and $3,000 for your trouble.  (Odd, isn't it?)

>Oh, another little advantage was cost.  I took the extra money I saved NOT
>buying the 760ED (~$3,000) and was able to buy the components to build a

        Sandy illustrates my point.  :-)

-------
Randy Whittle		rwhittle@usa.net
USC Graduate School of Business    http://www-scf.usc.edu/~whittle
  "If you've been in the game for 30 minutes and still don't know who
is the patsy...*YOU* are the patsy."      - Warren Buffet