Marie SWE wrote: ⤴Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:55 pm
...I am a bit surprised about the poll that Lenovo won... what is it with that laptop that is so popular?
Lenovo does make good laptops and are easy to get into to replace components like drives and RAM. Their keyboards are fairly decent and hold up well over time.
However, they share the top position on my "
Specialized
High
Intensity
Training" List with other inferior laptops because Lenovo DRMs their laptops to work only with Lenovo batteries. When the last two Lenovos I have needed new batteries, Lenovo had discontinued them and, when I tried well known name brand aftermarket batteries that were supposed to be for those laptops, the notebooks (light duty laptops with 15" screens) would barf up an error message on the screen as soon as the notebook powered up saying the battery was incompatible due to being non-Lenovo and wouldn't charge (and it didn't). I even contacted Lenovo about the problem and they basically said "tough luck". That is the reason I will never buy another Lenovo product!
It's also the reason, when I bought my System 76 current daily driver, I also ordered a spare battery and PSU. It's a good thing I did, too, since System 76 discontinued it a couple of months or so after I bought it and never replaced it with one as good as the one I have.
Another reason I'm glad I bought the extra PSU is it is a brick, literally the size, shape, and weight of a building brick, and is a PITA to find a place to put it, route cables, etc. when using the laptop at my desk, then having to dig it out and put it into the laptop's carry case. I wound up keeping the spare boat anchors...er...PSU and battery in the carry case and Velcroing the other PSU to the side of the desk so it won't be the way on the top of the desk or on the floor. The cable leading from the PSU to the laptop is bundled and taped to the desk to keep it off the floor and out of the way. I coiled PSU cable (similar to the coiled handset cable on an old land line telephone) so it will stay out of the way but can stretch out when I move the nightstand that has the power strip the PSU is plugged into without having to unplug it or unwind it from the hook I had originally hung it onto.