I have not owned a laptop for years but it is now 2026 and I find myself in need of one. There are three broad categories that encompass why that is that I will outline below:
Primary Reasons For Needing A Laptop
- I need to have access to a portable computer to be able to do work on.
- I need to have access to a computer with a DVD drive to access discs on.
- I would like a portable computer that I can watch my physical movie library on occasionally and one that I can digitize my CD collection with.
Secondary Reasons For Wanting A Laptop
I want to divest myself from the Microsoft ecosystem. I used to tolerate Microsoft/Windows but over the last few years they have become insufferable. Their hardware requirements for running Windows 11 are absurd and will result in so much usable hardware being decommissioned and then ending up in landfills. It’s an environmental catastrophe that is entirely avoidable and I shame them for their decisions.
Microsoft is also intent on shoehorning their “Co-Pilot” AI into every piece of software they maintain. From Windows 11 to Microsoft Office and even the lowly Windows Media player (which as of this writing no longer functions to retrieve album information from a CD database when burning a disc and just returns an error message and lists every track as unknown). AI has its purposes and should be heavily regulated but none of its functions are required for me in these instances. I have a brain and the ability to think and reason. I do not want AI shoved down my throat at the expense of degrading or all together ruining the end user experience. Make AI available when it’s needed but don’t force it on me at every occasion.
That leaves me to choose between the Apple ecosystem (which besides the wholly ingrained unappealing nature of their hardware also appears to be headed in the AI direction with their software) and Linux. It’s apparent then that some flavor of Linux operating system will be my choice but I have not used Linux for many years. In fact the last time I used Linux was when I requested/received an Ubuntu DVD via the mail. I don’t even remember what version it was and I remember being amateurish in my use of it back then so there will be a learning curve now no doubt.
Tertiary Reason For Wanting A Laptop
I want to see if Thinkpad laptops live up to the hype. I’ve seen a lot of Youtube videos praising Thinkpads from creators that I respect. I’ve also read many testimonials expounding their virtues on the internet. I want to see for myself whether these things are true or not.
My Brief Personal History With Laptop Computers
For posterity but also pertinence I guess I have a small history of owning and using laptops
Laptop 1 – Toshiba Satellite A110 (mid 2006 to April 08, 2014)
Specs
- 15.4 Inch 1280 x 800 Screen Resolution
- Intel Celeron M 410 1.46 GHz Processor
- 512 MB of DDR2 RAM
- 60 GB Hard Disc
- Windows XP Home OS
I purchased the Satellite A110 for $479 ($550.73 after tax) open box from a Futureshop store in mid 2006 (I can’t remember the exact date). I knew very little about computers at this point in time but I needed something for school with some urgency. Between laptops and desktops it was the cheapest available at any nearby stores since I did not trust buying things online in 2006(LOL).
In retrospect using the Satellite A110 turned out to be a miserable experience but it got me through school which is what counts I guess. It was a big bulky machine that ran hot and slow even under Windows XP. It ran so hot it made the fan grates brittle and they all snapped off by the end of the first year of my owning it. It also almost immediately discolored the grey plastic on chassis where my palms rested to black (with the rest of the plastic on the body discoloring eventually on its own thereafter).
Instead of a regular trackpad with buttons directly underneath it, the Satellite A110 had two large black bars that were part of the bottom chassis that doubled as buttons towards the middle. It was a mushy mess using them and you had to adopt a finger gun pose with your hand to use them properly with the trackpad because of how it was situated. My hands still get cramps remembering how much I used it in this way.
Repairs/Upgrades
Within a month of owning the computer the hard drive developed the “click of death” but I had no what that meant at the time. All I knew was that sometimes the laptop clicked. It took 2 years for the hard drive to die and require replacing by which time I had also decided that since it was unbearably slow to upgrade the RAM to 2GB.
The upgraded RAM helped but it suffered from other failures over its lifespan. The AC Adapter died and had to be replaced as did the keyboard which stopped working. Eventually I had to try installing Windows 7 with the end of XP support. After several hours it eventually succeeded but it abruptly shut down forever later that day never to be powered on again. My guess it that all that generated heat over its lifespan eventually wore out a component on the motherboard which failed.
Laptop 2 – HP Mini 1116NR (September 2009 to January 2014)
Specs
- 8.9 Inch Screen with 1024 x 600 Screen Resolution
- Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz
- 1GB DDR2 Ram
- 16 GB SSD
- Windows XP Home
I purchased the HP Mini 1116nr in September 2009 for $199.99 ($229.94 after tax) from Futureshop (online this time!). The reason I purchased the HP Mini was because I wanted an alternative to be able to browse the web and do basic tasks with that was cheap. A computer that was light, usable and with good battery life (essentially the antithesis of the Toshiba Satellite A110). Netbooks were all the rage at the time and when i stumbled upon the computer it had everything I was looking for.
It was surprisingly fast using Windows XP and a SSD. The trackpad was still bad with the buttons on either side of it but it was an upgrade over what I had been using. I adapted to the small screen and keyboard. I also eventually purchased 512MB of extra ram because it was absurdly cheap by that time ($5) and a 6 cell battery that meant I could use it all day if I wanted to without having to charge it (vs. the 1 hour I would get with the Toshiba Satellite).
The HP Mini eventually died in January 2014 when my cat Grizzly knocked it off a table and broke the hinge. Looking back I surprisingly have little to complain about and enjoyed my time with the netbook. It was very underpowered even for the time and had pitiful storage but none of those things mattered to my end user experience which was great.
This post is getting a little long so I’ll continue in part 2.
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