On Tue, 18 Mar 2014, Thierry de Coulon wrote:

> On Monday 17 March 2014 18.30:07 Felmon Davis wrote:
>
>> the trick will be, I think, getting the touchpad to work. I abhor
>> touchpads but still want it to work. also there are only two usb
>> ports.
>
>
> I hate touchpads too, which is why almost all my laptops are/where Thinkpads.
> I've taken a look at the c720 (they say 1.25 kg) and Lenovo's x131e (1.8 kg!)

I seem to be on a binge since I just got a Thinkpad x131e too! it's ok 
and is meant to replace my trusty netbook but there are some things I 
dislike about it and I find it hard to abandon this netbook.

> and I must say I'm more and more surprized at the Chromebook trend.
>
> They are cheap ok. However, I just purchased a second hand Thinkad X200 for
> less than $250, it weights 1.4 kg and runs Debain perfectly (with TDE of
> course) on a 64 GB SSD.  The X201 is just a little more expensive for
> Touchpad friends.

of course the Chromebook is cheaper new than the second-hand Thinkpad 
you cite but not so much if one buys a nice big ssd card.

> I understand it is fun to see if these netbooks can run with Linux, but I
> doubt it is really usefull.

oh, I have no doubt it is really useful depending on your purposes. in 
fact, the more I look at it, it would be more likely to replace my 
netbook (my steady helpmate) than the fancy new Thinkpad! (I wanted 
the Thinkpad for the power, however.)

'would' be more likely because there are some drawbacks so I'm 
undecided if I'll even keep it.

it doesn't have a proper BIOS, a fact I very much dislike; a lot of 
'open software' research went into this but Google is playing 
lock-down; even opening it voids the warranty - basically no 
'user-serviceable parts'. the keyboard is weird, lacks function keys. 
no ethernet but a usb ethernet dongle works fine but only two usb 
ports, which is also a problem for me since I like to use a 
usb-connected trackball.

less than a week to go then keep or return. but if I keep it, it will 
be more than a 'toy'.

F.

-- 
Felmon Davis

You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.
                 -- William Blake