Falling Behind
To get to the point, yes…I fell for the meme. But more truthfully, I was tired. Tired of using computer hardware with the constant fear of ‘falling behind’ technologically. It seemed like every month new computer hardware was released that invalidated my purchase made only a few months before. Trying fruitlessly to keep up with constant iterations on hardware is a joke. Not to mention that billions are pumped into the psychological manipulation of we, the subservient people.
It was time I thought, to get a ‘real mans’ laptop, not some macbook for middle aged white women. I needed a tool for getting things done, a device that wouldn’t restrict me in terms of repairability and software. So then, why did I choose an old thinkpad for data science at university? To prove a point to myself!
With all that being said, the irony of avoiding consumerism by making another purchase is not lost on me. However, when we engage in 2nd hand purchases, it generates no GDP growth at all, in fact the company’s preaching at us to be green and reduce our carbon footprint will also guilt trip us or sow seeds of fear when it comes to buying second hand. For instance take a look at this now removed blog by lenovo which exposes their true motives (Video by Louis Rossman). Dont fall for the green washing.
Now moving onto the laptop itself, here she is
Upgrades
I took this photo around January 2023 and highlighted the upgrades made on a forum. Here they are.
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RAM: 4pg —> 16gb
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Storage: 300GB HDD —> 256GB SSD + DVD Caddy & 1 TB HDD
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Bios: Stock bios —> Flashed Coreboot + seabios
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CPU: I5 2520M —> I7-3632QM (unsupported with OEM bios)
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WiFi card: Stock wifi card —> Intel Centrino-N 6205 Mini PCIe WiFi Card
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Bluetooth Card: Stock bluetooth card —> Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter Card 60Y3303
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OS: Windows 10 —> Arch linux
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Battery: stock 6 cell —> 9 cell
Makes her run like a rocket!
Currently
The fact that this is even possible should be enough to open your eyes. That’s right, I upgraded the CPU of a laptop. The repairability, upgradability and durability are incredible. They don’t make em like they used to for a reason…they wouldn’t make enough money.
Since then, it has carried me through my final year of university without breaking a sweat. I wrote my 10k word thesis comforably fueled by coffee and the aid of the think light late at night, I preformed heavy statistical analysis with r, browsed the web and managed to get an A in data science overall. Felt quite good seeing everyone else with their gaming laptops compared to my 2011 thinkpad and still exceeding them academically! Rest assured the thinkpad will be carried happily into my Data science masters this year.