Podcast: ThinkPad’s Evolution Design Strategy
March 2, 2010
Post a Comment (15 Comments)
I recently did a podcast with Information & Design founder Gerry Gaffney. Operating out of Australia, Information & Design is an innovative usability and user experience consulting firm. Not to suprisingly, Gerry is also a big ThinkPad fan. I thought you would find the content regarding the evolution of ThinkPad interesting.
You can read the transcript, or give it a listen here.
David Hill
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
March 2nd, 2010 3:59 pm
David, nice interview. I found it very interesting and am always happy to hear that Lenovo is continuing to invest in ThinkPad design.
I did have one question though about the stickers on the laptop. I recognize that you can’t control the Centrino and W7 stickers on the palm rest; but why is there a “Lenovo Enhanced Experience” there? This seems like an unnecessary design blemish from your standpoint. Just curious.
Best, Michael
March 2nd, 2010 10:49 pm
IBM shut off the budget on its PC/Laptop division because it was making no profit from that unit. But to be fair, IBM did make some really nice avantgarde stuffs like the Transnote…
Obviously it would no longer be possible for many large companies to divert so much of their profit into ‘useless’ R&D, unless there is a prospect of profit return in short period of time.
Profit margin is the ultimate goal now….
March 3rd, 2010 2:46 am
Great podcast David! It was fascinating to read the “how this came about” threads in the discussion. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that more of this would be awesome. Things that I ponder on a lot more than what would be normal, like why some ThinkPads have the red highlight stripe on the UltraNav buttons and some do not. Why the screen hinges are stainless as opposed to coated black like the rest of the chassis (I suspect durable paint adherence?) and even why the standalone ThinkPad keyboards never came with a Windows key until the latest version. Fascinating trivia, all.
March 3rd, 2010 5:21 pm
David,
I enjoyed the interview and found it very imformative.
Do you have any tips you can pass along on the best way to remove the stickers from the palm rest area. I want to make sure that I do not harm the finish.
Many thanks
Jim
March 3rd, 2010 7:47 pm
Jim, I wrote a blog on this subject. Please check it out here…..
http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=1185
March 3rd, 2010 8:00 pm
After conducting the interview, I felt guilted into removing my stickers ;>)
The residue did take quite a while to remove (probably 5 minutes, but that’s a lifetime!). Now I have a much nicer looking ThinkPad, so it was worth the effort.
March 3rd, 2010 8:15 pm
David,
Thank you for the link to your blog on the sticker question.
I certainly do agree with you on the car stickers.
March 4th, 2010 2:35 am
The hardest part with many of these stickers is getting the first corner lifted up so you can get a grip on it.
I found the ideal tool for this: The plastic toothpick from a Victoronix Swiss Army Knife.
The tip of this toothpick is fairly sharp and very flat. It slides easily under the corner of a sticker to break the adhesive and lift the corner.
And the best thing is that the toothpick plastic is softer than the ThinkPad plastic and paint. As long as you keep the toothpick flat as you slide it under the sticker, it would be very difficult to scratch the palmrest plastic.
March 4th, 2010 8:23 am
If you really dislike the stickers the best approach is to get them off as soon as possible. The adhesive gets more agressive over time. Mine stay on about 1 second.
March 4th, 2010 10:05 am
Same here, David – stickers come off as soon as I turn it on for the first time. I use the same method you do to get them off. If, after dabbing at any remaining goo with the sticker, there’s a little left, a wet fingertip has always gotten rid of it for me.
March 4th, 2010 11:17 am
[...] we should do them if we believe that the solution is truly better.Source: [InfoDesign] via [Design Matters] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "David Hill discusses design philosophy in interview", url: [...]
March 4th, 2010 1:59 pm
I admire the fundamental design of the Thinkpads, but I think the shift from the ’00s to the ’10s/’01s has taken too much of a geological/evolutionary timescale.
I would like to see Thinkpads make more of their starkness – the early leaked photos of the 410s promised as much.
There are in my opinion too many logos, lines, joins and grooves on the latest thinkpads – much more serious than removable stickers. a keyboard/palmrest area with fewer separate panels would help in this respect. The diagonals around the screen bezel on the x and w series could go. adding the touchpad, while understandable for commercial reasons, brings another complication to their design.
March 6th, 2010 12:42 am
I couldn’t agree with you more on those stickers, Dave. I peel them off as soon as I get the laptop too.
I’m so glad to hear that Lenovo pays attention to the design aspect of laptops. I’m so tired of shiny laptops with flimsy keyboards and poor built quality. I still work on a Thinkpad T61. It’s like my sidekick basically. My next laptop definitely will be another Thinkpad.
Thank you! And keep up your good work.
March 6th, 2010 8:36 pm
David, this isn’t directly related to this specific topicl; but since every now and then you blog about past designs and the planning that went with them, I thought I’d chime in.
I’d like to hear the story about how the ThinkPad influenced the design of other IBM products, even if they were just concept products (like the Pocket Yoga). Two such items come to mind: the PS/2 E Model 9533 (touted as one of the first energy-efficient PCs); and the Leapfrog tablet concept PC with the Lilypad dock that was on the cover of BYTE magazine in October 1995. Both had TrackPoint keyboards and small footprints; and the latter was in classic black with, tada, a red-tipped stylus.
March 14th, 2010 2:16 am
Hi Mr Hill…
It was a pleasure to read this interview! I have a question which, I am sure, you will be able to answer. I was discussing the materials used to build the T400 series and the R400 series (I am a very satisfied R400 user). Would it be possible for you tell us what, if any, are the differences between these two series of machines in terms of the materials used to build them?
One last point: Like you (and, I suspect, like millions of others), I too like minimalistic designs and the ThinkPads are a wonderful example of this. Thanks for your work in maintaining and evolving the design of these wonderful machines.
Cheers!