Thinkpads work. They don't make user hostile choices like zero-upgradability and zero-repairablity, the touchbar, replacing the esc key with the touch bar 'key' (only to roll it back) like the the macbooks. They also don't make confusing usability decisions like the giant ass trackpad that routinely registers false positives as you type.
I recently got an old refurbished Thinkpad T430 for casual use when I am not near my desktop and installed Debian + LXDE on it. T430s are models from 10 years ago and is more enjoyable to work on than the 2019 MacBook Pro provided by my employer that I have to use for work. The only way I can make the MacBook tolerable is by using it in clamshell mode connected to monitors + physical keyboard/mouse so I don't have to interact with the actual hardware. It takes off like a rocket engine and warms my side desk pretty well (not to mention physically hot to touch, can't even imagine using it on my "lap"), docker is crap on it, not to mention the cmd-ctrl nonsense in addition to the things mentioned earlier. I have already dropped my Thinkpad a couple of times in pretty bad falls as it has survived whereas I don't have the same level of confidence in the MacBook.
> They don't make user hostile choice like [...] the touch bar
This is false.
This monstrosity first appeared on the X1 Carbon 2nd gen (along with the loss of our beloved dedicated trackpoint buttons), and the backlash was so big that they reinstated all the buttons for the next generation.
Correct. I would lump ‘erratic trackpad clicking’ to its list of hostile user behaviors. The hardware inside the laptop on the board is nice. It’s the peripherals and body that make me feel like I’m working for IBM in 1996. Small changes in the design won’t make up for an outdated design.
Also, outside of SDD or RAM, what else are you upgrading? Does it even need to have that capability considering how often you do? Would you rather have better parts that won’t fail so easily in a slimmer, sleeker, design than one that sacrifices weight and size to allow you to maybe have the choice?
I like right to repair. I like being able to upgrade something. The frequency of which I upgrade my ram and sdd is about as frequently as I’ll need a new motherboard anyway as my board is outdated 4x cycles.
I recently got an old refurbished Thinkpad T430 for casual use when I am not near my desktop and installed Debian + LXDE on it. T430s are models from 10 years ago and is more enjoyable to work on than the 2019 MacBook Pro provided by my employer that I have to use for work. The only way I can make the MacBook tolerable is by using it in clamshell mode connected to monitors + physical keyboard/mouse so I don't have to interact with the actual hardware. It takes off like a rocket engine and warms my side desk pretty well (not to mention physically hot to touch, can't even imagine using it on my "lap"), docker is crap on it, not to mention the cmd-ctrl nonsense in addition to the things mentioned earlier. I have already dropped my Thinkpad a couple of times in pretty bad falls as it has survived whereas I don't have the same level of confidence in the MacBook.