[PLUG] IBM T60

Mike Connors mconnors1 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 17 10:56:45 UTC 2011


On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 7:28 PM, Marvin Kosmal <mkosmal at gmail.com> wrote:

> I can get this for  $350..  Is that a good price and will Linux fit well??
>
> IBM ThinkPad T60 14" Laptop w/ Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83 GHz (Centrino
> Duo), 2GB DDR, 60GB, DVD / CDRW Combo, 802.11g, Windows XP
> Professional.


I've been running various versions of Debian Linux on my refurbished T60
that I bought for $1500 back in '07. Initially, I had some challenges w. the
ATI Radeo video adpater, Intel wifi chipset, Gigabit NIC, and suspend. But
all of those issues have since been resolved in the mainline Debian / Ubuntu
stream.

Some things to consider...

The Thinkpad is thee most solid built laptop I have ever used. I've been
using my refurbished T60 as my everyday computer for 4 yrs. now w. nary a
hardware problem. I just replaced the keyboard, which I got for free. There
is also a known noisy fan bearing problem. It finally started happening on
mine about a year ago. It hasn't affected the cooling ability of the fan.
The fan can be easily replaced.

I also upgraded mine to 4GB of RAM. For most of us, who aren't actually
doing real computing or graphics intensive tasks, memory is going to be more
important than CPU. The cpu in the T60 is higher performing than an ATOM but
it uses more power.

The key benefit of an ATOM processor, is it's low power consumption. I get
approx 4 hrs on the stock battery, I would expect an ATOM based netbook to
get double that. I have an extra battery I carry w. me that's easy to swap
out.

For any problem I've had be it software or hardware, I've been able to find
the information I need fix it. Because there are lots of people out there
running various versions of Linux on Thinkpads.

There's 2 very good online resources for running Linux on Thinkpads:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki
http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ibm.html

Also, Keith L has a neat thing he's done to the display that greatly
increases the resolution!

So, I say $350 is a good deal. I just bought a 15inch T61 from a guy on
Craigslist for $450. If you don't want to buy it, let me know, because I
will!

_Mike




































I've been running various version of Debian Linux on my refurbished



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