I have been wanting to get my hands on a Thinkpad X61 for the last 6 years. They are not really hard to find, and I actually bought one from Yahoo Auctions about 4 years ago. However that particular unit was a bit of a lemon, and I ended having to dispose of it. The screen did not work and the machine would not boot. Afer that, I never really got around to buying another one, until just yesterday. A YouTube video inspired me to try again (I will provide a link to the video in a post update).
Before I get into the details of where and how I bought the machine, I want to share some of the reasons why I love the Thinkpad X61 so much. I think it all boils down to three things:
- The form factor
- The IO ports
- The keyboard
The form factor
The Thinkpad X61 is a 12.1" laptop. It is a bit smaller than your typical 13" laptop. This makes it very portable and easy to throw in your bag. And did I mention that it has a squarish aspect ratio? I love it! I believe it is a 4:3 aspect ratio, which makese it a lot more square compared to modern 16:9 or 16:10 laptops. This actually equates to more screen real estate for a given width. It is also an ideal size for reading text-based documents, such as code, markdown, and of course, novels.
I really wish there were modern offerings that still had this form factor. I think it is a shame that we have moved away from the 4:3 aspect ratio, as I think it is a more ideal size for laptops.
The IO ports
The Thinkpad X61 has a lot of IO ports. It has a VGA port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a 56k modem port, and a PC Card slot. It also has a Smart Card reader. And if you use the Ultra Base, you get a parallel port, and a floppy disk drive. Sure these are all legacy ports, but there are many cool things that you can do with them. More about those in future posts, hopefully.
The keyboard
I think many other people have talked about how good Thinkpad keyboards are. And they are! I won't bore you with my take on the matter. I like it and that's all that matters.
The only thing I would say is that the keyboard is not backlit. But I don't really need it, so it is not a big deal.
In conclusion, I love the Thinkpad X61. I think it is a great machine. I am sure I will have many more posts about it in the future.