[Thinkpad] NY Times re the TP X40

Guys and Gals--

This appeared today in the Circuits, the New York Times Thursday column
on consumer tech. It's usually by David Pogue but he's
on vacation. This is by J.D. Biersdorfer. Sound fair?

--Ellis

If the (Sony Viao) X505 is the laptop equivalent of a sporty little
two-seat convertible, the I.B.M. ThinkPad X40 is the compact black sedan
with an emergency road kit in the trunk. The X40 has a typical weight of
about 2.7 pounds, depending on the type of battery (an extended-life
power cell for 7.5 hours of computing fun is an option) and other
accessories you have attached. It does not include a DVD/CD drive, but
you can add the optional X4 UltraBase Dock, which connects to the bottom
of the laptop and adds a disc drive as well as old standbys like serial,
parallel and V.G.A. ports to connect the ThinkPad to a larger monitor.
ThinkPad X40 prices start at $1,499 at www.ibm.com; the X4 UltraBase
Dock is $199.

The keyboard is nice and punchy, and the X40 has a clear 12.1-inch
screen, but one thing that makes the I.B.M. stand out is the thought put
into people-proofing the PC. Laptops are prone to more accidents than
desktop systems, so the company has added some features to help guard
its ThinkPads.

To help save your hard drive from a fall, the X40 has a microchip inside
that detects sudden motion and automatically yanks the sensitive
read/write heads away from the hard drive so they don't smash into the
delicate parts that are full of your data. There's also a wireless
connection manager program that can keep your computer safe when you
move from your home network to a public one.

In case Windows won't even start because of system files or settings
damaged by viruses or human error, there's a panic button, too  the
company prefers to call it the Access I.B.M. button  shaped, fittingly,
like a Tylenol capsule. Push it and the ThinkPad leaps into action with
a virtual tool belt of utility software to run diagnostic tests and
download critical system files from the Web. Data backup and recovery
controls are here, too.

_______________________________________________
Thinkpad mailing list
Thinkpad@stderr.org
http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
Received on Thu Aug 26 16:20:04 2004