Lenovo ThinkPad T23 2648

I love the IBM T2x series of laptops. I did my research before deciding because I have very specific requirements, chief among them being weight & keyboard. I was a bit concerned at first about the screen size: I had recently upgraded my desktop from a 15" to a 17" monitor & saw a significant difference, but the LCD on the laptop looks as big as my 17" monitor looked & is easier on the eyes as well. I knew I had to keep the laptop to around 5 lbs (believe it or not, there is a significant difference in how 5 pounds and 7 pounds feels), & having spent much of my life typing for a living I knew I would want a keyboard that held up well & had the right 'feel.' How IBM managed to get the feel of a full-size keyboard into a laptop I don't know, but however they've done it, it works (I have no experience with the newer ones made by Lenovo). The keyboard has just enough give to the keys where there's a tactile sensation but not so much that they feel like 'Chiclet-style' keys. The keytops hold up for quite some time, as well; all of my machines have been used & of course I use them every day, but I have yet to have a problem with the letters fading away. There is a ThinkPad light if you should need it, which provides just enough light for you to see your keyboard but not enough to bother other people. There are volume keys at the top of the keyboard, incl. a mute key, & they've really come in handier than I would have guessed :). The TrackPoint is a pretty personal preference: a lot of people hate it, but a lot of people love it. The TrackPoint is IBM's version of a mouse & comes in several different versions: it's a red button that sits between the 'g' & 'h' letters with a corresponding set of buttons at the bottom of the keyboard for scrolling & for button selection. I currently use a wireless mouse but depending on the application sometimes it's easier to use the TrackPoint & I have no problem going back & forth. The biggest complaint I have is the noise of the hard drive; when I got the first laptop I figured it was the machine, but after getting another one I realized that it was the hard drive, so I try to stick to Hitachi hard drives since so far they seem to be the quietest. This is, again, personal preference, & most people probably wouldn't even notice. The fan is a bit noisy when it comes on, but it doesn't stay on for long & I'd rather put up with the noise from the fan cooling than not!! I am currently on a wireless network, but I've used both Ethernet and dial-up connections & they each work well. I also use both USB and Card connections & both work fine. The USB is still only 1.1, but considering the age of these machines I can't quibble. I now have several laptops, because I'm at the point where carrying them around is not an easy option so I have one in several rooms. There is also a handy feature called an UltraBay that allows you to swap out certain things: most of the time there's a CD/DVD player in there, but you can also use it for a second hard drive, an extra battery, a 1.33 floppy drive or a Zip drive (I've used all of these at various times & all work well). As for operating systems, I've run DOS, Windows 98, & Windows 2000; my next test is Linux. In short, there is a reason that these IBMs keep showing up on eBay: they hold up very well, so if you're considering a laptop it's hard to go wrong with an IBM ThinkPad :)