Reject Convenience Forum

I run a ThinkPad X200s with GNU Boot and GNU Guix System.

My server Farnsworth is a ThinkCentre.

I have an update to mine!

So the Framework laptop totally didn't work out (seems they still have some QA issues to work out), so I returned it and instead got the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i and threw in my 4TB NVMe drive that has Ubuntu on it. I know, I know, but it's stable, and that's all I ask of a computer these days. I did have to change the desktop environment to KDE's Plasma, since the color management was insane (the colors were super saturated, but switching to Plasma totally resolved it). Since this has a built in 4060, I can also do test renders on the couch, which I am a big fan of.

rejectconvenience wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:23 pm I have an update to mine!

So the Framework laptop totally didn't work out (seems they still have some QA issues to work out), so I returned it and instead got the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i and threw in my 4TB NVMe drive that has Ubuntu on it. I know, I know, but it's stable, and that's all I ask of a computer these days. I did have to change the desktop environment to KDE's Plasma, since the color management was insane (the colors were super saturated, but switching to Plasma totally resolved it). Since this has a built in 4060, I can also do test renders on the couch, which I am a big fan of.

Damn. What was the issue?

The keyboard/trackpad would constantly disconnect and reconnect over and over, it was unusable as a laptop. Plugging in an external keyboard and mouse worked fine, but that's not why I got a laptop. Tried going back and forth with support, they eventually sent me a midplate replacement, which resulted in the same issue. I really have no idea what the actual problem was, I requested to returned it at that point, as I had it for nearly a month and I was just tired lol. I had done things like swapping the RAM, (I even went to a Best Buy and bought new RAM and tested it right in the store with the same issue), reseating every single cable and connection, BIOS updates, I even put Windows on it at one point to see if it was maybe a Linux issue, even thought it was also a problem in the BIOS itself. I suspect it was a motherboard issue, but I really have no idea at the end of the day, there were too many variables. It could have been one of the modules, it could have been the keyboard, and going back and forth with support via email with multiple days between responses was not the most satisfying thing in the world when I was trying to do my job with the dang thing.

I know what it's like to be on a small support team, and even a big support team, so I'm not upset with anyone I interacted with (though, every response was from a different person, which was a little weird. Seems like "case ownership" isn't really a thing over there). Knowing they're a smaller company, I'm not super surprised with some of the response times, my only wish was that they asked me to troubleshoot more than one thing at a time. If you know your responses are gonna take a couple days to get back to me, make me try like 5-6 things, ya know? But again, I get it for sure.

If I was using it as a more casual device, I think Framework would have been much more acceptable, but I bought it to deal with my YouTube stuff, so it wasn't ideal for me to be troubleshooting and have it not work with what I bought it for. I just needed a thing that worked, and this Lenovo is working perfectly so far. And if it stops working, I can just waltz into a Best Buy and return it for a new one same day, no questions asked.

I totally get that. Update from me, I also get a new laptop - a ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 (Intel) - and I chose it over the Framework for that reason. I didn't want to gamble with a small issue that I wouldn't be able to solve. So far my experience on my ThinkPad has been great, but at least the one I picked up is one of the new repairable ones to still send the signal that I value repairability. I also got the option with Ubuntu preinstalled to send the signal that I want to be able to buy Linux laptops!

My computer is an oldie, but a goodie!
It has seen some upgrades in it's time, and I'm it's current owner!

It is gonna see a change to it's software config soon but here is the current config!
(with some parts cut)

I'll probably move to something newer eventually but this is serviceable for now! (perhaps a PC, or a chrultrabook?)
This laptop has taught me a lot about what I like and dislike in computers

I got two, currently! One's a desktop I originally bought in 2014 and ship-of-theseus'd it into what it is now. It came with an Intel Core i7 CPU of the time (can't remember what exactly), a GeForce GTX 1060 or smth, 16gb of DDR3 RAM, and Windows 7 Starter. Over time, I upgraded to Windows 10 in 2017 or so, and this decade I used the money from my first real job to buy an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and a new PSU. Later on, I replaced the old motherboard and CPU, now I have an AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and 24gb of DDR4 RAM. The original HDD it came with broke down after a move, so I had to get a new one (might as well, since an SSD is better for a modern computer lol).
The only remaining original parts to this computer, other than the case and the fans is the DVD-RW drive it came with. Not even its original peripherals remain lol. I'd change to Linux Mint, but I gotta use Windows for work... I could dual-boot but since I use it while also working, I'd just be using Windows all the time.

My other computer is a beat up old Dell laptop I got during quarantine, back when I was still living with my parents. The PC was at my dad's but I was staying with my mom. I first got a second-hand MacBook Air but I absolutely hated it, so I got this other laptop. That one does have both Mint and Windows 11, which is pretty nifty. It has no GPU and the fans are a lil busted but I never use it for much more than working when the power's out and I can't use the desktop.
Edit: I lie, there is one thing it has that my PC doesn't, and that is a micro SD card reader, so I use it a lot for homebrew on my 3DS