[Discuss] A laptop for Linux

[kentborg at borg.org (Kent Borg)]

Plural years ago I bought a Thinkpad X230. It isn't the toughest machine 
physically--the plastic case is showing some, er, stress--but I have to 
admire it technically. It is still kinda fast, it supports 16GB of RAM 
(tough 12GB is the price/byte sweet spot where I sit now), and it runs 
Linux nicely: graphics, sound, sleep to RAM, hibernate to disk, wifi 
(okay, needed a Realtek blob), extra function keys, all work.

What really impresses me is the features that I was indifferent to when 
I bought it: it has a Display Port outlet (I didn't know what that was 
but it is useful now), it has an mSATA slot (I couldn't have cared less, 
but I have 500GB of SSD plugged in there now). I was going to upgrade 
the hard disk, but, though it is admittedly oddball-thin, the stock disk 
is still the fastest available. VGA out. Three USB ports, including two 
that are USB 3.0, another obscure thing I have never heard of when I 
bought it. Gigabit ethernet, SD slot, removable battery. Tasteful LED 
that shines down on the keyboard that I can turn on in low light 
circumstances.

It even has a PCMCIA slot (sad I've never used it, and can't think of 
how I ever would). But how's that for spanning technologies?

No serial port, but USB serial adapters work well enough.

The LCD is crappy, I have to admit, but later versions have the option 
of a better display.

Trackpad is too coarse, I can't rock my finger back and forth for single 
pixel positioning. (Why not?! Previous computers I have had could do 
that. It does two-finger scrolling...) The trackpad itself is also a 
stiff mouse button, but I ignore that. It has a force stick rubber 
nipple mouse thingie, if you are into that.

No camera nor mic nor fingerprint scanner on my version (those lacks are 
a feature to me).

My wife thinks I need a new computer, it has been awhile, but I'm 
hanging on to this one a bit longer. In some respects it is just coming 
into its own.

-kb