Computers, Laptops

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Review

Leave a comment

I originally intended to replace my t400 with a t420 or t420s, but given that I’m typically docked to my two monitors when I’m doing anything that needs more screen-estate, I decided that I just don’t need a big laptop anymore.

I didn’t need to search far for an alternative to the t420(s). The vanilla x220 boasts the same spec as the vanilla t420 in a smaller form factor. Furthermore, the base x220 is only $100 more than the base t420 on Lenovo’s website, and the difference in price on the second-hand-new and second-hand-used market is basically nothing.

Traditionally the price gap between a comparable mainstream and ultra-portable laptop has been closer to the range of two times.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Review →

Computers, Laptops

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet Review

Leave a comment

I wasn’t planning on trading up on my X200 Tablet until the warranty ran out, but it turns out that that was going to be sooner than I thought. The label on the bottom of the machine suggested that coverage would end in August 2012. Lenovo’s support site said that coverage would end in January 2012. I’m also trying to work out a “better” upgrade/replacement cycle. With the TC4200, I kept it for more than two years, during which the value more than halved. With the X200 Tablet, I’ve had it for somewhat more than a year, but I think I can get at least 75% of what I paid for it. At the same time, it might have been a bit too early to buy a replacement, so this buy/sell balancing act is a work in progress.

So here I write a brief X220(i) Tablet/x220t review. This is the first current laptop I’ve owned since my E6400 and subsequently the most expensive laptop I’ve owned since then. I believe the (i) indicates that the machine is base spec or close to base spec, but the base i3-2310M, 4GB, and 320GB hard drive (obviously I threw in an SSD instead of that last piece) are more than enough for basically everything I do – as most base configs have been for the past few years. The base price is about $1100 average on the Lenovo website, but I managed to snag an MISB unit for $825.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet Review →

Outliers

RMS Titanic Part 3

Leave a comment

About a month ago, I finally had the chance to run the Titanic in the pond-fountain near J’s house, and it didn’t last long. While it was running it was pretty good, though between turns, the wind, and the natural instability of the ship, there were definitely moments where I feared it would flip. Then I drove it off of a wall and into a debris field and lost my only propeller in the process.

So that was that. I didn’t intend to get it back out on the water again this season, but obviously, fate intervened. Through some sequence of events, I made a trip out to a “local” J&M Hobby with some of my siblings and some family friends, and I asked them if they had any propellers for model boats and the like.

As it turns out, they did.

Continue reading RMS Titanic Part 3 →

Outliers

RMS Titanic Part 2

Leave a comment

I wanted to name it “Ita-Titanic” or “Itanic”, both of which play off of “itasha“, and the reasoning will become clear in a bit. As of the last update, there was still a bit of work to be done, but at this point I think it’s more or less complete (for now).

I say “for now” because this is as much an art project for me as it is a hardware project… or at least that’s how it’s turned out. When J and I first considered doing boats round two, I had really just wanted to bring Titanic up to par mechanically (fix the leaks, streamlined circuitry, etc), but as I mentioned in the last update, once the mechanical business was sorted out, I got caught up in cosmetic improvements. Even then, I’d originally only wanted to make the single cutout as shown last time, but things just kept going.

Continue reading RMS Titanic Part 2 →

Outliers

1:350 Scale RC RMS Titanic Part 1

Leave a comment

A few years ago J and I took scratch-built RC boats and sputtered around a pond-fountain near J’s house for loads of shits and giggles. This year we are doing RC boats again! Hopefully there will be more giggles and less shits this time around.

This is the Titanic. I call it the Titanic because the hull is actually from an approximately 1:350 scale model of said ship. When I was very young, I bought the kit at my (now long defunct) local hobby shop but putting it together at that age was obviously disastrous. Over the years, the rest of the ship has gradually been torn up and discarded, but just getting the hull has probably been well worth the $60 I paid for the entire kit.

Continue reading 1:350 Scale RC RMS Titanic Part 1 →